Advisory board gets first look at BRAC planning

By Richard Arndt
Fort Belvoir Public Affairs Office

The Fort Belvoir Base Realignment and Closure Board of Advisors heard first-hand April 20 of the initial plans for managing the process of bringing an additional 21,300 military and civilian employees to the installation.

The board received an introductory briefing from Belvoir New Vision Planners, the team of planners, managers, architects, environmental experts and transportation experts that has been selected by the Army to lead the realignment of Fort Belvoir.

The board of advisors is comprised of the installation commander, key members of his command group and staff; elected officials of the Fairfax County and Prince William County boards of supervisors; and representatives of the major government agencies being relocated to Fort Belvoir under BRAC 2005. The group’s purpose is to ensure that all stakeholders have the opportunity to review initiatives, raise issues, provide comments, and make recommendations regarding BRAC implementation at Fort Belvoir.

BNVP Project Manager Ken Kost briefed the board on the structure of the organization and discussed the management and planning principles that BNVP will apply to the project.

The immediate focus areas for BNVP are conducting initial site planning, collecting existing data, interviewing key stakeholders, creating a communication strategy, establishing a program management framework and developing a master integrated schedule, Kost said.

Phil Enquist, master planner for the project, laid out some long-term goals.

“Our vision is to build an urban place of high quality,” he said. “The goal is to create a total design that will bring the installation together, will strengthen neighboring communities, and will leave the environment stronger when it is finished.”

The post-BRAC Fort Belvoir should be a high-density, transit-oriented community, Enquist said, with facilities within walking distance of mass transit options, and also within walking distance of other facilities.

“As much as possible, we want to reduce reliance on cars,” Enquist said.

The process of interviewing stakeholders is already underway, Kost said, and will continue as BNVP builds a total picture of all the concerns and issues associated with the project.

Installation Commander Col. Brian Lauritzen said stakeholder communication is key to the success of the project.
“We need you, the individual stakeholders, to make sure that you are communicating your issues and concerns to [BNVP],” Lauritzen told the group. “Don’t sit on issues until the next meeting of this group. Make sure you and your staffs are bringing issues to the developer as they come up.”

One of the first tasks BNVP must complete under their contract is a preliminary siting report. This document, a summary of initial recommendations for the locations of major agencies moving to Fort Belvoir, is due to the Office of the Army Chief of Staff for Installation Management by June 30. ACSIM is the approving authority for all recommendations made by BNVP.

Members of the board posed many questions to the developer; most of the questions focused on Fairfax County’s involvement in the planning process.

“We don’t want to be in the position of opposing the siting recommendations once they’ve been made,” said Mount Vernon District Supervisor Gerry Hyland. Hyland, Lee District Supervisor Dana Kauffman, and Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly recommended the board reconvene in late June to review the developer’s recommendations and provide additional input before the document is forwarded to the Army level.

The group agreed to the motion, but Lauritzen restated stakeholders should communicate their issues and concerns directly to BNVP as they arise.

“There should be no surprises in the recommendations that we will review before [BNVP] presents them to the ACSIM,” Lauritzen said.

Laurtizen also reminded the members of the board that their role is an advisory one. “There may be some instances where you will disagree with the recommendations,” he said. “In those cases, your objections will be noted for the record, but this group does not have decision-making authority over the project.”

Dr. Richard Repeta, BRAC implementation planner for DeWitt Army Community Hospital, said he and his staff have already met with BNVP planners, and were impressed with the detail of the information being sought.

“We found them to be very receptive to our concerns,” he said.