Group offers BRAC place to send planes, people after closings.


By DAVID DECAMP, The Times-Union


NEW ORLEANS -- In a surprising twist, state leaders asked a federal panel Friday to study a massive return of Navy fliers to the old Cecil Field in Jacksonville.


Members of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission suggested they were open to the idea, though time and burgeoning investment by businesses at the defunct naval air station could play against the idea.

The new move, pushed by Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton and state lawmakers, was made because the commission on Tuesday decided to add the Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia to its list to consider cutting or closing. Facing a Sept. 8 deadline to report to President Bush, the commission is trying to find a potential new home for 233 fighter planes and more than 11,000 personnel.

''We're looking for anything to help the Navy find an alternative to Oceana,'' commissioner James Hill said at Friday's hearing in New Orleans. ''And Cecil Field represents an interesting dilemma for us as we go through the process. Once you give something up, it's very difficult to go back and get it back.''

Encroaching development leaves Oceana no long-term future, according to the Pentagon, but few bases are immediate answers. Defense officials instead suggest they should build a new East Coast base.

The commission still could leave Oceana intact or transfer its assets to other bases. Moody Air Force Base in Valdosta, Ga., has been suggested, but commissioners appeared skeptical of that option on Tuesday. The Air Force would have to be moved off and in excess of $500 million would be needed to renovate.


Team asks for nuclear carrier


But Cecil Field's new direction as the Cecil Commerce Center poses questions and obstacles. Jacksonville City Hall, the state and Washington have invested at least $100 million to improve roads and utilities for companies at the Westside location, and the city built a major new equestrian center nearby. The base was shut down in 1999 after a 1993 round of base-closure decisions.

The Cecil offer came during the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's hearing over proposed cuts, moves and closures to bases in Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi. The panel is reviewing the Department of Defense's May proposal to cull dozens of bases. Three of the nine commissioners attended.

Florida's team, including Gov. Jeb Bush, also asked the commission for the Pentagon to make Mayport Naval Station ready for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. The Navy wants to decommission the Mayport-based USS John F. Kennedy, a conventionally powered carrier.

Several state leaders also asked the commission to reject a proposed transfer of Navy missile testing from Cape Canaveral to Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base in Georgia, part of Jacksonville's military region. The move would cull 750 jobs from Cape Canaveral, but officials there say the Pentagon's decision hurts security and efficiency.

The Cecil suggestion was dropped into opening testimony by Florida's lead lobbyist, retired Adm. Robert Natter of Ponte Vedra Beach. Peyton and U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw added it into their testimony, along with U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla.

Nelson said no admiral doesn't ''say that doing away with Cecil Field [nearly] 15 years ago was a wrong move.''



By Florida Times Union-David DeCamp

Cecil Field Reopening -BRAC 2of2

Deadlines put crunch on ideas


Peyton and other Jacksonville officials previously had warmed to Oceana's Navy planes moving to Moody, because it would boost their arguments for replacing the Kennedy aircraft carrier. The same could be said for reviving Cecil Field.

By itself, Hill said the state's plea for adding the Mayport upgrades was ''an excellent idea.'' That request also is under a time crunch, though city officials say the Navy and Congress may approve it later.

''We can add language in our report that urges the secretary ... and Congress to move forward in an expeditious manner,'' said Hill, a retired general from Florida.

However, there was little detail on how the old Cecil base could be renewed. Jacksonville Airport Authority, which oversees the center, declined to comment until more is heard about the proposal.

''There's obviously some issues there you'd have to work with, but I don't think there'd be anything insurmountable,'' Crenshaw said. ''It depends on what the Navy thinks, the city thinks, the airport authority thinks, long range. You could foresee a joint-use situation.''

Commission staffers are supposed to begin considering options for Oceana immediately, but commissioner Philip Coyle of California noted the September time crunch.

''That's going to be a big effort for our staff. ... But we were told they could, if they get support from the Navy for doing that,'' Coyle said, as Peyton sat among reporters listening.

Peyton said later that city officials also have yet to gauge the ability of the former base to handle the military and the businesses there. But U.S. Rep. Cliff Stearns, whose district includes the Westside, pledged to help.

''If the Navy sees a need to return to Cecil, I will work with them on developing that facility for dual use,'' said Stearns, who did not attend the hearing.

Henry Mooneyhan, president of the Argyle Area Civic Council near Cecil, said he supports the idea of exploring the Navy's return. However, the potential jet noise is a concern to him because of the area's growing neighborhoods, and Mooneyhan said he wants more details.

''But I guess a certain amount of inconvenience comes with the territory, if you want a military that's going to protect the country,'' he said.

He said he's certain the Argyle council would support having the base back because of the economic impact.

Even with enough time, Cecil's feasibility appears uncertain. The city has torn down most of the old military buildings of the 23,000-acre base.

It was shut down as the military was decreased following the end of the Cold War. Cecil lost out to Oceana in 1993 because the Virginia base had a special, secret mission.


Few remnants of military left


Industrial aerospace giants including Boeing, Embraer and Northrop Grumman have taken up shop. For the past several years, the Chamber of Commerce has called it a blooming success story of turning loss into economic gain.

It also served as the hub for privately chartered aircraft during the Super Bowl in February. Over 30 years, the city's plan promises 24,000 jobs and $750 million invested at the commerce center.

''We want a solution or remedy that will include them, too,'' Peyton said of the businesses. ''What we're saying is, we're willing to explore the opportunity.''

There are remnants of the military, including roads, airplane hangars and larger airstrips. And notably, the military still controls the airspace. The base had been home to 10,000 military members. A few National Guard and Coast Guard units call it home now.

Yet the major industrial projects have yet to come. DaimlerChrysler investigated building a van plant there several years ago, but decided the site needed too much work.


david.decamp@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4699

TU Website: http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/072305/met_19317087.shtml



By Florida Times Union-David DeCamp

Cecil Field vs. Cecil Commerce

I live in the Watermill subdivision along Argyle Forest Blvd. The neighborhood has come along nicely in the past two years. There is a new strip mall anchored by Publix and a massive one, Oakleaf Town Center, is on its way with 860,000 square feet of retail space in 35 buildings. There are many other commercial and residential developments along Argyle Forest Blvd between Cheswick Oaks Blvd, Old Midlleburg Road and SR23 (Branan Field/Chaffee) road. Many more subdivisions are coming online along Old Middleburg, Chaffee, Branan Field and Normany Blvd.

All this development came about because of the understanding that Cecil Field, the military base, was dead and gone. All this development is coming online because of the current Cecil Commerce Center and other new facilities like the Equestrian Center, the new Argyle Branch library, new road improvements and more.

I believe that numbers are blinding the Mayor and his Cecil Field Task Force. He is being seduced by ''12,000 jobs, $1 Billion in economic impact, what would take a generation to create''. I believe he is not considering quality of life issues for those of us directly affected. He is not considering the huge economic development already on its way. Commercial development is best versus government or military, which can be capricious. We should have learned our lessons from the last BRAC round.

What will happen when the Navy decides to pull out again in 10 years? Or when all those developments under way ''encroach on the base''. Who will fill that void? One huge project makes a community way too vulnerable to the success or failure of that one project. Large projects, by their very nature, are fraught with complexities and many variables that would result in unintended consequences.

Paced economic development has the ability of communities to become established and responsive businesses to flourish. We had Cecil Field; we don't want it back. Let Cecil Commerce Center continue on its current path of commercial, private economic development. We may have already jeopardized Embraer from coming to Jacksonville at all. Embraer wants to build planes for the U.S. market, regardless of an Army or Navy contract. Those jobs would pay more than the military jobs.

Another quality of life issue is the noise that over 200 combat jet would generate. The former Cecil Field did not have that level of activity. It will be very intrusive and annoying to have that level of combat jet activity soaring above our heads. NAS Jax recently reminded us that crashes around airfields are way too common for a residential neighborhood's safety. The military, by its very nature, needs to train 24/7 under all conditions. That means non-stop take offs, landings and maneuvers around the base; non-stop noise.

The sudden, relatively speaking, influx of a large number of people (military personnel, plus families, plus support groups) will put a huge strain on the immediate local infrastructure. The roads are not adequate to handle potentially near 20,000 civilian vehicles. What about schools? Who is going to pay for that?

The Mayor is wrong in offering money to they Navy when he is talking about curtailing Better Jacksonville Plan projects. The Navy should be paying Jacksonville.

I'm asking you to oppose the reopening of Cecil Field as a Navy master jet base. My wife, my child and I will thank you as will my neighbors and their families for opposing the reopening of Cecil Field as a Navy master jet base.