Region getting ready
for influx from BRAC

By Holly Hollman
DAILY Staff Writer
hhollman@decaturdaily.com · 340-2445

ATHENS — They’re coming.

That’s the battle cry.

And it’s been heard time and again since the announcement that the latest Base Realignment and Closure process will bring more than 4,000 jobs to Redstone Arsenal.

It’s a battle cry because educators, local government officials and real estate agents are trying to get ready to handle the influx of families the jobs will bring.

They need to know whether to build new schools, fix roads, expand sewer and construct subdivisions, and if so, when and where.

On Wednesday, Redstone’s garrison commander, Col. John Olshefski, spoke about the expected impact during a briefing at Athens State University.

The arsenal will lose 639 jobs with BRAC, he said, but BRAC will bring an estimated 4,693 jobs here. That figure includes jobs not mandated to move under BRAC, but that are moving because of BRAC.

Olshefski said BRAC could lure up to another 10,000 more people to the area.

Greater Limestone County Chamber of Commerce President Hugh Ball estimated Limestone would get about 20 percent of those families.

Relocation starting

The relocation has already started. Olshefski said the Huntsville area had 600 additional students this school year. He said the U.S. Army Material Command is bringing an advance party of between 200 and 300 from Virginia to the area in March or April.

According to the BRAC timeline, realignments must be complete by 2011.

“Whether that means fiscal 2011 or the calendar year, I don’t know,” Olshefski said. “Probably whichever the Army thinks is the longest.”

Majority non-military

The majority of those relocating will not be military, Olshefski said. He said 53 percent will be contractors and 38 percent civilian government workers.

Many who move will be in Olshefski’s age bracket. He’s 48. The average age of those moving will be 47 to 51, he said.

Athens Mayor Dan Williams asked whether those would move here and only work a couple of years before retiring.

“And if that is true, once they retire, will they stay here?” Williams asked.

Olshefski said many will retire soon after their relocation. But, he said, most will stay here because of the lower cost of living, lower property tax and proximity to the arsenal.

“I moved here from the Washington, D.C., area, and I’m not interested in leaving when I retire,” he said.

Olshefski said the local BRAC committee made one mistake the first time it went to Virginia to talk to families about moving to North Alabama.

“We were only showing them housing in half-a-million dollar homes in subdivisions like Hampton Cove,” Olshefski said. “But this area offers more than that, and these families are looking for more than that. Some will want farms or homes on the river, and this area can sell that.”

But the benefits don’t come without problems.

School officials are monitoring projected population increases as closely as they do state test scores.

Limestone Superintendent Barry Carroll said that without BRAC, Limestone schools grew by 150 students from last year. Carroll said that with BRAC, the system could start seeing 200 to 300 more students a year for the next five years.

“We’re watching it closely,” Carroll said. “The eastern part of our county will probably see the growth initially.”

But other areas have the potential to grow, he said, with Elkmont High being near Interstate 65, Ardmore High and Cedar Hill Elementary being near Alabama 53 and Clements High being on U.S. 72.

“There are those who are willing to drive a distance to Huntsville to work,” Carroll said.

Limestone’s five-year capital plan includes new elementary schools in 2007 that would be feeders for Clements and Elkmont high schools. Each school would cost about $11 million.

Education top concern

Olshefski said education is the No. 1 concern for relocating families. He said North Alabama spends less per student than Virginia, but North Alabama students are scoring just as well or better.

“That means you’ve got excellent teachers and parents,” he said. “We can sell that. But the answer (to providing space) isn’t trailers. The only way to do it is to build.”

Athens Superintendent Orman Bridges Jr. said his system is in the process of adding classroom space at Athens High and Julian Newman and Cowart elementaries.

“Based on the projections, I think we can withstand the growth,” Bridges said, “and we can do other additions later on.”

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