The Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC) made a decision to move jobs from Monmouth, NJ to the Aberdeen Proving Grounds (APG) in Harford County, MD and to a lesser degree to Fort Meade, located between Baltimore and Washington.
Since York County is positioned on the Mason-Dixon line we are obviously affected by what is occurring in Maryland. The southern tier in particular, but in some respects, the entire county is impacted by Maryland's growth policies, job markets, commutersheds, and roadways, among other things.
Although the numbers have been all over the place, we have been told that APG will receive a net gain of 8,200 jobs by 2011. With those on-base jobs will come as much as 20,000 to 30,000 indirect and associated jobs. Add in other family members, and the potential number of new people to the region obviously goes even higher. Given our experience with in-migration, we fully expect to feel an impact in York County. The average salary of the on-base jobs is estimated to be $86,000, with 38% holding associate degrees, 47% bachelors, and 15% masters or PhDs.
In order to get a handle on this impact, the YCPC has been working with the BRAC office that has been established in Aberdeen, MD and York County (represented by the Planning Commission and the Economic Development Corporation) has joined the Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor Consortium. This group is comprised of the counties of Cecil, Harford and Baltimore in Maryland, Baltimore City, Newcastle County in Delaware, and Chester, Lancaster and York Counties in Pennsylvania. The purpose of the Consortium is to work on BRAC issues together as a region, and to approach the Department Of Defense as a region in order to coordinate our requests for any funding that we will need to help prepare for this impact.
Throughout the next year we will work with stakeholders in York County to identify potential impacts on York County from the BRAC decision. The group of stakeholders will include municipal officials as well as business and economic development interests, utilities, transportation, and others. This group will work to develop an action plan which will be used to apply for funding from the Department of Defense and to help the County and communities plan for potential impacts. So stay tuned and become involved.
Contact Joe Heffner for more information.
CSSC Mapper (MyReGIS)
The Chesapeake Science and Security Corridor (CSSC) was formed to facilitate and coordinate the projected growth in new businesses and residents associated with the relocation of military units to Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG).
This mapping website provides general information about the CSSC community including:
- Land-use and community characteristics
- Location and availability of public services
- Business and commercial opportunities
The CSSC is a regional planning consortium of eight county jurisdictions and two metropolitan in three states that was created to allow simplified sharing of information across jurisdictional and state boundaries.
Contact Wade Gobrecht for more information.
