Release date: January 01, 2009

Cannon Air Force Base Report Regarding Local Growth Managagement Released

January 01, 2009

The RGMP is a proactive attempt to address challenges associated with the changing economic, social, and physical attributes of the cities of Clovis and Portales and the counties of Curry and Roosevelt and prevent them from becoming problems.

The RGMP is both a "process" and a "document." The process is focused on identifying how to handle future development in eastern New Mexico that will be mostly caused by the transition and growth of Cannon Air Force Base. The document will be a dynamic plan that addresses both generalized area-wide planning efforts and detailed county, municipal and individual project planning activities. Upon completion of the process portion of the initiative, implementation of the plan will be the responsibility of each county and community member of the Microplex. The intent is to provide a coordinated approach to satisfying the challenges of growth in a broad range of service and physical areas.

The plan can be downloaded at Local Growth Management Plan.

RGMP Direction

Periodic review and amendment of key plan elements will be essential to ensure the groundwork provided in the document continues as a living process to support the communities. The RGMP project and plan are especially important since it will be the foundation for future county comprehensive plans, regional transportation plans and other planning and infrastructure updates. As such, regional planning, as envisioned by the RGMP, cannot substitute for local, county, state and federal planning activities, but it must supplement those efforts to ensure the individual contexts can be considered within a collective whole. To ensure this goal is achieved, it will be important for the Microplex to periodically review and re-evaluate recommendations included in the plan in light of the changes in the Microplex that are beyond this effort's planning horizon. The RGMP is designed to encourage inter-jurisdictional cooperation of ongoing planning for Physical Conditions, Community and Social Services, and Fiscal and Economic Issues.

The Objectives of the Planning Process

Prepare and maintain a coordinated and uniform data collection and analysis that provides a baseline for the project; summarize data on population, land use, public services, and utilities of the Microplex
Promote a better understanding of the interrelationships between land use and transportation, public utilities, and housing as factors influencing physical growth and development within the Microplex
Promote a better understanding of the interrelationships between health and social services, public safety and emergency services, and education as factors influencing community and social services
Promote a better understanding of the interrelationships between economic impact, employment, and quality of life as factors influencing the economy of the Microplex
Reinvigorating formal and informal mechanisms for continuous public participation and public involvement within the community
Promote cooperation among Regional, County and Local planning and development activities

What is Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA)?

The Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) is the Department of Defense's primary source for assisting communities that are significantly impacted by Defense program changes, including base closures or realignments, base expansions, and contract or program cancellations. OEA offers technical and financial assistance to communities, and coordinates the involvement of other Federal Agencies through the Defense Economic Adjustment Program and the President's Economic Adjustment Committee.

The OEA embodies DoD's experts and expertise in helping communities adjust to significant changes in DoD investments and presence in local economies resulting from defense program changes, including base realignment and closure (BRAC) or programmatic adjustments in force structure beddown. OEA is staffed by a wide range of professionals economic developers, community planners, real estate, land use, etc. – that constitute a resource communities can access to benefit from hundreds of years of collective expertise. In addition to financial assistance for planning and management of expansions and contractions in defense impacts on communities, OEA offers robust technical assistance. OEA's extensive library of technical resources include materials developed to assist community adjustment to changing economic realities, case studies from its forty (40) year history, and lessons learned from the BRAC rounds prior to 2005.

Mission Growth
As part of Cannon AFB's transition to an Air Force Special Operations Command, the Microplex will experience both a change in the type of military activity and the number of military, civilian and family members assigned to the base. These changes will challenge the Miroplex's capacity to absorb the population increases within a short, six-year window, as well as the region's ability to support increased demands on community services and facilities.

The Microplex leadership responded to the mission change and growth challenges by establishing a formal partnership with Curry and Roosevelt counties, the cities of Clovis and Portales and Cannon AFB. This partnership, the Local Growth Management Committee (LGMC), which includes two elected officials from the four political subdivisions for the purpose of providing a framework to address the changes that will impact the communities as it relates to AFSOC and its mission at Cannon AFB.The LGMC's goal is to formulate a community adjustment strategy. The LGMC has worked to assess the likely impacts from Cannon AFB's transition and plan the community's response to the growth generated from military and civilian growth anticipated for the region. One of the strategies adopted by the LGMC is to secure a Growth Management Planning Grant and technical assistance from the OEA and engage a team of professionals in military and community growth assessment and planning. The team is working with the LGMC to identify potential issues and opportunities; develop an adjustment strategy and plan; and identify local, state and federal resources that can support implementation.

What is happening with Air Force Special Operations (AFSOC) and Cannon AFB?

The transition of Cannon AFB from the host of an Air Combat Command F-16 Wing to an AF Special Operations Wing will change not only the kind of aircraft operating, but also the size of the base's workforce and character and demographics of the assigned personnel and their families. For example, the Final AFSOC Beddown Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) projects the total number of military and civilian personnel will increase 1,213 by 2014 — approximately a 25% increase. Those unfamiliar with the nature of military forces will consider a 25% increase in base personnel as presenting a rather straightforward challenge for planning community support needs; however, the total increase tells only part of the story. In order to ensure the "correct services," not simply "increased services," will be available when they are needed, the community must address the implications from the character of the personnel increases (officer, enlisted, civilian job mix) and demographics of the resulting workforce (distribution of personnel by grade), not simply the total increase.

In addition to personnel changes, the nature of the AFSOC operation will introduce additional challenges to providing the right kind of community support. The FEIS projects that between 25% and 33% of the aircraft will be routinely deployed away from Cannon AFB. Since a large percentage of the enlisted personnel assigned to the AFSOC Wing – unlike those assigned to the F-16 wing – will be "flight crew members, operators, or shooters," it will not only be officers that deploy to support the aircraft. This will increase the number and change the nature of unaccompanied families remaining in the community and needing support.

The physical facility demands of the AFSOC beddown will add another layer of complexity to the community's planning. Through 2013, construction of new facilities at Cannon AFB could add a significant number of non-DoD employees to the community. While not part of the long-term community/Cannon AFB family, the nearly 2,700 people that will be associated with the construction period (2008 – 2013) will place demands on the community and its services that the Plan must also address.

Finally, the changes that must be managed to properly support the beddown of the 27th SOW at Cannon AFB will not occur in a vacuum. In addition to changes occurring both inside and outside the installation fence line resulting from the new mission, there are non-base-related dynamics that must be considered. While the ebb-and-flow of the military's transition takes place, it will occur within the larger context of other growth in the Microplex. Therefore, growth planning for the AFSOC mission must consider the net implications for the community and not simply the effect of transitioning Cannon AFB from a fighter base to a special operations installation. Managing both the near- and long-term transition will be essential to successfully establishing – and potentially leveraging for further growth – DoD's West Coast AFSOC base.

What is the LGMO?

In efforts to prepare for the new mission at Cannon AFB, leadership in the Microplex responded by establishing a formal partnership with Curry and Roosevelt counties, the cities of Clovis and Portales and Cannon AFB. This partnership, the Local Growth Management Committee (LGMC), is comprised of elected officials from the cities of Clovis and Portales as well as the counties of Curry and Roosevelt. The LGMC, in an effort to engage all stakeholders, formed the Local Growth Management Organization (LGMO) to work with the community. Members of the LGMO represent farmers and ranchers, local business leaders, representatives from local school districts, community facility and service providers, neighborhood organizations, and other non-governmental organizations. The LGMO's& goal is to develop a regional growth plan that addresses the affects of growth to the region. The LGMO is unprecedented in eastern New Mexico in its efforts to coordinate a common regional growth plan and implement its recommendations. The LGMO meets monthly and is working closely with consultants to address concerns from the Microplex and Cannon AFB.

More detailed information can be found at www.clovisportalesmicroplex.com.

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