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Thursday, August 25, 2005
Brunswick saddened, focused on future
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Also on this page: In Depth: Base Closings | |||||||||
BRUNSWICK — Within hours of learning that the Brunswick Naval Air Station will close, the towns of Topsham and Brunswick signed an agreement with Gov. John Baldacci to create an authority to develop a plan to reuse the 3,200-acre base. Wednesday's announcement came as residents absorbed the news that the area will lose 3,275 civilian and military jobs through relocation or elimination. "It was a shock," said Clive Tillotson, a retired veterinarian from Harpswell who came to Brunswick to watch the broadcast of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission's meeting. "I thought we had a chance at keeping the Navy here." Brunswick Town Manager Donald Gerrish said after the vote that he and others were "disappointed." "But we will make (redevelopment) happen," he said. "We are a resilient community, and I think we will come out of this a better community. We will move on and Brunswick will survive." The redevelopment agreement recognizes the mutual benefits - to the state and the region - of redeveloping the installation. The authority, which will be formed immediately, will consist of residents from the area and two members appointed by the governor. Baldacci, who visited Brunswick on Wednesday along with Maine's congressional delegation, said the agreement was developed in the last several weeks in case the base was closed. It creates the Maine Office of Economic Adjustment, which will make available all state resources that the redevelopment authority will need to ensure that the base is reused. One of the authority's main tasks will be vying for ownership of the military facility that has operated in Brunswick since World War II. The authority will have plenty of time to complete its task. Base officials estimate that it will take three to five years to relocate BNAS's P-3 Orion squadrons to the Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida. "We are going to stand together to make sure that tomorrow is better than today," Baldacci said. "The commission made a poor decision today, a bad decision that was unsupported by the facts or the national defense interests." Members of the Brunswick Naval Air Station Task Force tried to convince the base-closure commission that it would be foolish to let go of the military's last active airfield in the Northeast. They argued that its military and strategic value were too great to lose, but their efforts, which began two years ago, failed. "With today's unnecessary, unwise and dangerous commission vote for closure, the loss of BNAS will be listed among the commission's major mistakes," said Rick Tetrev, the task force chairman. Earlier in the day, about 30 town officials and residents gathered at the former Brunswick High School on McKeen Street to watch members of the base-closing commission deliberate on BNAS's future during a broadcast on C-SPAN II. The commission had three options: closure, realignment or keeping Brunswick open. As people stared at an overhead projection screen, their expressions turned from hopeful to disappointed as commissioners voted 7-2 to close BNAS. Bill Moore, owner of Brunswick-based Moore Painting, does contract work at the base. "I am disappointed. I don't think the commission got its facts straight," he said. "I think closing the base is going to be economically devastating to Brunswick." Base officials broke the news to base personnel during an afternoon town meeting. "I think the reaction, especially among the civilians, was a little bit of surprise. I think it caught many of them off guard," Capt. George Womack, the base's new commanding officer, said during a press conference near the main gate. Staff Writer Dennis Hoey can be contacted at 725-8795 or at:
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