N.Va. Seeks More Money For BRAC

Region Isn't Prepared For Burden, Officials Say

Northern Virginia officials plan to ask the state for more money to offset the effects of the Army's realignment of the nation's military bases, which will increase the number of workers commuting to Fort Belvoir and alter traffic and economic patterns across the region.

Local governments have received millions of dollars from state and federal agencies to prepare for the Base Realignment and Consolidation program, known as BRAC. The program aims to consolidate bases to save money and to move certain sensitive jobs to secure locations away from Washington.

Local officials say the funding has been insufficient to offset the increased burden on transportation infrastructure and the local economy.

Fairfax County is expected to ask the Virginia General Assembly for additional money next year to support 13,000 new employees headed to Fort Belvoir and the nearby Engineer Proving Ground. It is a request that has been sought each year since the base realignments were announced in 2005, with no success. Most of the state funds for BRAC have been destined for Oceana Naval Base in Virginia Beach, Fairfax officials said.

Having the Army move a huge number of people to Fairfax's largest employment center is going to be costly to local government, said Mark Canale, the county's BRAC coordinator. "But we haven't gotten any additional money from the state to mitigate that," he said.

The county is asking not only for money to improve transportation, but also to study ways to take advantage of the economic development opportunities presented by the infusion of workers.

Arlington County is set to lose about 17,000 Army and National Guard jobs from Crystal City by 2011, the deadline for moving all the positions under BRAC. Some of the jobs will move to Fort Belvoir, but the rest will be scattered around the nation.

Although many of the workers are likely to move with their jobs, county officials estimate that hundreds will stay and will need assistance finding new work. About 300 workers have inquired about counseling, training and other services available at the county's BRAC transition center, said Andrea Morris, BRAC coordinator for Arlington.

"Eventually, we will be going back and asking for more dollars," Morris said.

Alexandria will lose more than 7,000 jobs but will gain 6,500 from the Department of Defense at the Mark Center, a private development off Interstate 395 and Seminary Road. A spokesman said that the city has no immediate plans to ask the state for more funds but that it has not ruled it out.

Prince William County officials are in the process of deciding whether to request additional funding, as Fairfax has. Hundreds of jobs are set to move to Andrews Air Force Base and Quantico Marine Corps Base, and many of the employees headed for Fort Belvoir live in Prince William and Stafford counties.

But it is unlikely that the state will dole out that much money this year because of the ailing economy, said Pat Thomas, Potomac communities coordinator for the Prince William's planning department, who works on BRAC issues.

"We're obviously looking for as much funding as we can," Thomas said. "But there isn't a lot of state money to ask for right now."