Reimagining the City Base Model

Agenda

1:00 PM – Welcome and Introductions

1:10 PM – The Brooks City Base Concept• Pat McCullough• Mark Frye• Craig Zgabay

1:30 PM – The Brooks Success Story• Leo Gomez, President and CEO, Brooks Development Authority

1:35 PM – City Base 2.0• Steve Bonner• Craig Zgabay• Mark Frye

2:00 PM – Exercise: Turning Theory into Reality

3:00 PM – Group Reports and Summary

Introductions

• Moderator:– Pat McCullough

• Presenters:– Steve Bonner– Craig Zgabay– Mark Frye– Leo Gomez (by message)

• Participants…

Ground Rules

• Be heard!! Ask questions, make comments and fill out question cards!

• Nothing is off the table• Don’t be hobbled or constrained by the past• There are no bad questions or wrong

answers!

Community Partnering Continuum

No Community Partnering

Maximum Community

Partnering

Real Estate Government Controls

Government Controls

Community Controls Some

Community Controls All

Support Services Government Provides All

Community Provides Some

Community Provides Most

Community Provides All

DefinitionsFor the purpose of this bootcamp, the following definitions should be used:Real Estate Control -

Support Services -

"Control" may be in the form of fee-simple ownership or a long-term lease. The controling party has the rights to economic benefits, and the responsibility of carrying costs and risk management.

Those services required by the government that can be provided by non-governmental entities. Categories and examples can include the following:

Services Examples

Mission Support Base Operating Support Municipal ServicesAirfield operations Facilities Maintenance & Repair PoliceChildcare centers Work order management FireHeathcare Electric distribution system maintenance Emergency Medical Services

Lodging Gas distribution system maintenance Road Maintenance & RepairHousing Electricity billing and collections LibraryGolf course operations Gas billings and collections Water distribution maintenanceFitness center operations Trash collection Sanitary sewer collection system

maintenanceMotor pool operations Recycling program Water and sewer billing and collectionsEducation & training Landscaping Potable water treatment plant

operationsLogistics Minor construction Wastewater plant operationsMission equipment maintenance Engineering services PlanningMission manpower augmentation GIS mapping & data management Animal services

Building inspections / construction code enforcement

The Brooks City Base Concept

• What is the City Base concept and why is it relevant?

• How could it fit into Base of the Future and/or BRAC planning?

• Why Brooks? What were the drivers and factors that led to this innovative project?

• What were the goals of each party (Community, Military) and were they achieved?

• What was the process (players, legislative authority, time frame, critical path, obstacles)?

The Brooks City Base Concept

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The Brooks City Base DealStructure• The Air Force conveyed ownership of all 1309 acres to the Brooks Development Authority (BDA)

for Fair Market Value as identified in a joint appraisal• The BDA provided base operating support services; the City of San Antonio provided municipal

services, including fire, police and emergency services• Utility Systems were transferred to the municipal utility providers under separate transactions• The parties agreed to operate under a joint development plan• The Air Force leased back (under a multiple 20-year leaseback arrangement) most of the facilities

and personal property for mission use; land was released for economic development purposes• Military family housing was turned over to the BDA for operation as “privatized” housingBenefits• The Air Force saved between $8-10 M/year without impact to mission effectiveness• The BDA and the City benefitted from significant economic development because the

property was de-federalized • The City Base is the location for multiple public-public and public-private partnerships• When BRAC 2005 relocated Air Force missions from Brooks, the

redevelopment of Brooks was already well underway

Benefits to the City

Brooks AFB - 1995 Brooks City Base—2015

41

2

Home Depot

Target

3 Single Family Residential

5

Walmart

Mission Trail Baptist Hospital

6 Office / R&D

Summary of Economic ImpactJobs: Since initial development/redevelopment, 26 new businesses accounting for 3,000 new jobs at an average salary of $50,000.Local Tax Collections: Approximately $7 million in 2014

1 23

4

5

6

Benefits to the Air Force

Benefits to the Air Force• Cost Savings—The Air Force began saving $8-10M per

year in Manpower, BOS and SRM immediately after the deal was completed. This represented a reduction of approximately 20% of their annual operating budget

• Mission Focus—The transition relieved installation leadership of the requirement to manage infrastructure operations and maintenance, letting them focus more on their research and medical training missions

• Mission Enhancement—Many mission partners and supporters from academia and the private sector were able to relocate to Brooks, improving overall mission effectiveness

• Career Opportunities—Many Brooks government employees were able to complete highly successful career transitions because new jobs were created in a timely manner

Examples of Mission Support Benefits

• HVAC Manpower Augmentation: HVAC is a mission-critical function for laboratories and research facilities. The Brooks’ HVAC team faced a situation where they would have only 4 of 12 manpower positions filled. They used a cooperative agreement to augment the Brooks’ HVAC team with the City’s HVAC maintenance provider and found that only 8 FTEs were needed due to more efficient use of technical capabilities. This saved both the mission and 4 manpower positions. The remaining 4 government workers transitioned to the City’s team within a few months.

• Monkey Futures: Brooks maintained a large number of animals, including monkeys and pigs, to conduct research. The City Base transition allowed the Air Force to trade the ownership of the monkeys to Southwest Research Institute in exchange for use of monkeys when needed. This save considerable facility and manpower costs, while also maintaining the required mission support.

• Strong support from top leadership in the Community, State, Air Force and Congress is essential

• Select the right people to work directly on the project• Complete a joint appraisal of property value• Get legal support from attorneys who have the right

kind of expertise and instruct them to help find ways to say “yes”

• Develop metrics that support success and reduce interference from hidden agendas

• Security is not equal to jurisdiction

Brooks City Base: Lessons Learned

City Base 2.0 - A Flexible Option For The Base of the Future

• How could the City Base be applied at existing installations? – AF2023– What skills are really important for expeditionary efforts

• What are location-specific factors, including ongoing P4 initiatives, to be considered? – Mission – Markets – Development – Local transportation, utilities, and development planning – Community Services– Base infrastructure – State involvement – Political support – Tax base– Community Financial Strength – Geography and current land use

Exercise

• Instructions– Divide into 3 groups– Common Fact Set and the Variables– Maps of Base X/Camp Swampy– Parameters for each group– Take 50 minutes to discuss

• Capture ideas both on your map and verbally• Strive to achieve your group focus

– Take 10 minutes to prepare your outbrief– Choose a speaker to debrief the group’s conclusions

Fact Set Common to Each Group

• Community civic and political leadership provided strong support to working with the base

• There are no environmental concerns with the base real estate preventing a lease and/or transfer

• 5,000 military/civilians/contractors work on the base• A protocol has been established for base security if the

fence is moved• There are 2.2 million square feet of buildings (80%

utilized/20% vacant) and 500 acres of vacant land• Jobs are growing, sales taxes are increasing, property

assessed values have increased 3-5% for each of the last 3 years

• Military sustainment, restoration, and maintenance (SRM) and MILCON budgets continue to shrink

The Variables for Each Group

• Consider the possibility of:– Military vacating buildings (low occupancy or high value)

and consolidating into other buildings– Moving the fence– Using excess capacity of base utilities as assets– Using public-public and public-private (P4) partnerships

for public services such as waste removal, streets, libraries, child care, etc.

– Recapitalizing dormitories and lodging through the private sector

– Transferring functions to local government or the private sector

The Groups

• Group 1: Community Owns all Real Estate and Provides all Support Services

• Group 2: Military Owns Most Real Estate and Cooperates with Community and Private Sector to Provide Services

• Group 3: Military Owns all Real Estate and Community/Private Sector Provide Limited Support

Group 1 Instructions

• Congress has provided carte blanche to the community and the military

• Create a base of the future assuming no legal restrictions and the ability to move missions and all functions within base boundaries

• Focus: Optimize redevelopment opportunities to strengthen mission support

Group 2 Instructions

• Congress is willing to expand the community partnering authority within 10 USC 2679

• Optimize use of non-BRAC authorities• Do not move mission facilities and assets

inside base perimeter• Focus – maintain mission function and

provide increased opportunities for local economic development

Group 3 Instructions

• Do not move mission or mission support facilities/assets

• Free to move military/dependent services functions as required

• Focus: Enhance mission function and transfer SRM costs to local support

Exercise – Report Out

• What is the ideal base configuration?– Why is it good for the base?– Why is it good for the community?

• What are the major obstacles to reaching that configuration?

• How can communities and the military help each other to achieve the “base of the future?”– Partnership?– Advocacy?– Legislation?

Summary and Discussions

• Legislative changes might be considered to enhance the federal authority

• Would implementing it at a particular location increase/decrease the risk of the installation’s closure as part of a future BRAC? – It depends

• What would be the next steps for interested installations and/or communities? – Communication, communication, communication– Organize for success– Pay close attention to past successes and failures