From Harford County government:
Harford County Executive David R. Craig, assisted by James Richardson, Director of the Office of Economic Development and others from Harford County Government and the Aberdeen Proving Ground, will host the final BRAC Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, September 7, 2011. The meeting will be held in the auditorium of Aberdeen High School and will begin at 6:30 p.m.
The BRAC Town Hall meeting will be the final session of several community meetings that have been held during the past several years to share information with citizens and those with an interest in BRAC and the impact to Harford County. The BRAC Town Hall meetings are part of the County Executive’s “Open Government” initiative.
Soon after the formal announcement in 2005 by the federal government of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) initiative with respect to the Aberdeen Proving Ground, County Executive Craig formed the BRAC Planning Advisory Commission (BPAC). Members of the Commission included leaders from the Harford County Department of Public Works, Department of Planning and Zoning, Division of Emergency Operations, Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Harford County Public Schools, Harford Community College, Upper Chesapeake Hospital, the Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor (CSSC), the municipalities, State Delegation and the Aberdeen Proving Ground. The BPAC developed an action plan and monthly meetings were held to ensure action on various initiatives related to BRAC.
“I commend and congratulate members of the BRAC Planning Advisory Commission for their outstanding teamwork and efforts in helping Harford County and our neighbors at the Aberdeen Proving Ground prepare for the implementation of BRAC,” stated Harford County Executive David R. Craig. “BRAC is making a tremendous impact to both APG and the region and we look forward to continuing our efforts to improve infrastructure, economic development as well as science and security initiatives with the federal, state and local governments,” Craig remarked.
Among those scheduled to participate in the final BRAC Town Hall meeting will be County Executive Craig, Major General Nick Justice, Tom Sadowski, Chair of the BPAC, and Brig. General (Ret) Mike Hayes, Director, Office of Military and Federal Affairs for the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.
Additionally, several members of Maryland’s Congressional delegation have been invited, including Senator Barbara Mikulski, Senator Benjamin Cardin, Congressman Dutch Ruppersberger, Congressman Roscoe Bartlett and Congressman Andy Harris. All incoming BRAC organizations will also be represented by their senior leaders.
Major General Justice will provide an update to the community on the enormity of changes at APG and work still in progress. There will also be a discussion regarding upcoming federal impacts to Maryland and APG as this segment of BRAC concludes.
Immediately following the final BRAC Town Hall meeting, a “Zoomerang” survey will be distributed by the Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor (CSSC) to those individuals who attend the meeting. The survey will provide Harford County Government and the CSSC, the opportunity to gauge the knowledge level of the public regarding BRAC milestones, concerns and other issues of interest.
“As we wrap-up the initial phase of the transformation of APG, Harford County is well positioned to see economic growth in the areas of communications, testing and evaluation,” stated James Richardson, Director of the Office of Economic Development. “The past five years have been exciting as we welcomed new neighbors and companies to the county. The future of Harford County looks just as exciting,” Richardson commented.
The #1 BRAC achievement: creating a traffic nightmare for drivers in Aberdeen.
The #2 BRAC achievement: exposing poor planning on the part of Maryland government and SHA.
The #3 BRAC achievement: New Jersey drivers that don’t understand what a stop sign is.
The #4 BRAC achievement: leaving Aberdeen council out of the inner loop when it comes to impact on the city.
My suggestion: Have all of these elected state and federal officials meet at David Craig’s office at 5 pm and drive to Aberdeen on Route 22. When they arrive much later at Aberdeen High, ask them if they can think of anything that could use improvement.
The government is actually building 210 new homes on Aberdeen Proving Ground. Local homeowners are now competing against the government in an already devastated housing market.
Sir/Ma’am
Please do not forget that Harford Coounty issued the bonds to finance this project at the request of Aberdeen Proving Ground, and the builder.