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Published in the Asbury Park Press 08/28/05
BY JOE LO TEMPLIO
SPECIAL TO THE PRESS

PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. ‹ When leaders in Plattsburgh first heard the local Air Force base would be closing, they felt physically ill. "It was like getting punched right in the stomach. It was a sick feeling," said Mark L. Barie, who was chairman of the Plattsburgh Chamber of Commerce when the base was slated for closure in 1993.

It was a situation with which municipal leaders from the towns surrounding Fort Monmouth, targeted last week by the Base Realignment and Closure commission for closure, can now sympathize. And as officials in Eatontown, Oceanport and Tinton Falls prepare for an uncertain future, officials near the former Plattsburgh Air Force Base have some words of advice: "Don't waste time thinking you are going to fight the decision, because it just isn't going to happen," said Garry Douglas, President and CEO of the Plattsburgh-North Country Chamber of Commerce.

With more than 10 years of post-BRAC experience, Plattsburgh provides a glimpse into the do's and don't's of base redevelopment. Among the most practical suggestions: Get over the shock, keep politics out of the process, decide what you want the base to be in the future and make sure your decision-making agency is small enough to be efficient.

A surprise decision

Plattsburgh advocates had carefully promoted the base as a viable and relevant facility to Air Force generals. Built in the mid-1950s as a Strategic Air Command base, with nuclear bombers poised to fly against targets in the Soviet Union, the base needed a new mission after the Cold War ended. By early 1993, the hope in Plattsburgh was that the base was going to become the major hub for the Air Force's East Coast airlift and air refueling operations ‹ with many of its new aircraft coming from McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey.

At its peak, Plattsburgh, sitting on Lake Champlain a short drive from the Canadian border, was home to about 4,400 military personnel and their families. More aircraft and more personnel were to be on their way, ensuring more years of economic benefit to the area.

But in the weeks leading up to the final decision, the communities around Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome, N.Y., and McGuire in New Jersey rallied to save their bases, which were proposed targets for closure.

Plattsburgh leaders were hoping then New York Gov. Mario Cuomo would provide the political clout needed to stave off closure. But Cuomo would not pick between the two bases in his state. He would describe the dilemma as that of a father having to pick one of two children.

Meanwhile, New Jersey officials led by Rep. H. James Saxton, R-N.J., mounted a well-financed campaign to point out shortcomings at Plattsburgh and burnish McGuire's attributes. In the end, McGuire came away with all the riches and both Plattsburgh and Griffiss were closed.

"For us, dealing with the base closure was different than many communities because most of them were on the list for closure and were kind of expecting it," Douglas said. "We weren't expecting it at all, so there was the initial stun factor."

"No clear mission"

In the summer of 1993, the Air Force announced Plattsburgh would officially close on Sept. 30, 1995, giving the community about two years to prepare a team to take over the property and begin the redevelopment process. Leaders were warned about letting politics bog down the efforts and not to make the transition team too big.

But that's exactly what happened.

The Plattsburgh Intermunicipal Development Council was created, featuring 15 members from government, education and business. "It was an unmitigated disaster," Barie recalled. "It was too big and had no clear mission or purpose."

For a while there was talk of suing the federal government over the BRAC decision or seeking an alternative military use for the base property. Douglas warns that such efforts are futile.

"You can't dwell on the past. You need to see it as the loss of a friend. You mourn, you grieve, you say your farewells but then you move on," he said.

Assemblyman Chris Ortloff, a member of the development council, wanted to fight the BRAC move. He sees it differently now. "Don't spend a lot of time in mourning," he said. "Get yourself prepared to negotiate the best deal you can with the Army for the property. Don't let them give you a bunch of buildings with asbestos and lead paint."

Many proposals

As the development council was getting its feet on the ground, several quick-fix proposals were put forward. One group of Mohawk Native Americans began talking about a resort and casino. Others in the area favored a prison, which offered good-paying jobs and no environmental issues, on the site. But the community quickly decided it would not take that route. "A community facing closure has to decide if it wants the quick fix like a prison or another military operation and they have to decide firmly," Douglas said. "We decided that we weren't going for the quick fix because it precluded a lot of other things that may be better."

Political squabbles

By the time the Air Force was ready to send off the final KC-135 Stratotanker in the fall of 1995, the Plattsburgh Intermunicipal Development Council had evolved into the Plattsburgh Airbase Redevelopment Corporation. The redevelopment corporation was a smaller group (seven members) with more business representation. David Holmes, an out-of-state businessman, was hired to lead the redevelopment effort. But less than a year into his contract, Holmes left amid political squabbles.

Plattsburgh Mayor Daniel Stewart, who was a city councillor in 1995, said the political in-fighting was a distraction. "Regardless of what party you are, you have to learn how to play in the same sandbox because nothing will kill redevelopment quicker than combative local politics," Stewart said.

Phish and bottle caps

Barie took over in early 1996, and the main goal was to find something for the massive flight line. But he first had to deal with hosting a concert for the immensely popular rock group Phish.

Under a deal made with Holmes, Phish, natives of Vermont, a short ferry ride across Lake Champlain, would hold a three-day music festival called the Clifford Ball on the flight line of Plattsburgh in August 1996. About 100,000 people showed up, and officials estimated nearly $25 million was pumped into the local economy.

And since the event was held at the base, a base designed to be secluded for security measures, the local community hardly even knew the concert was going on.

But when redevelopment officials took a look at the monstrous amount of debris left behind on their flight line (cracks in the cement were filled with beer-bottle caps, an absolute no-no for jet engines) they decided that would be the end of concerts.

"I spent about six months dealing with that alone," Barie said. "Here I am trying to talk to the Pratt & Whitneys of the world and we're having this concert."

Courting big business

With Phish gone, Barie and the redevelopment board began to get serious about bringing in business. They came close in 1997 with TAG Aero Group and a few other smaller aviation companies. But Barie, like Holmes, became a victim of the political wars and he left after 23 months on the job. "It will be the rare community that divorces itself from the politics in the aftermath of a base closure," Barie said. He was replaced by Daniel Wieneke, who served as Barie's assistant. Under Wieneke's leadership, base redevelopment eventually began to flourish. Pratt & Whitney set up an engine-testing facility on the flight line and several other companies bought or rented space on it, creating more than 1,000 jobs.

A base reborn

More than a decade after the closure of Plattsburgh was announced, the base is being transformed, with the help of a clear vision and a focused redevelopment board. The base housing was turned into successful private neighborhoods and the Clinton County Legislature recently broke ground on a new airport at the base site. The base oval, or parade ground, is now home to six soccer fields, and three baseball fields will be soon be added. "We are seen as one of the shining examples of base redevelopment," Mayor Stewart, who served at the base as an enlisted man from 1984 to 1988, said. "There is light at the end of the tunnel, and, personally, even though I loved the base and was sad to see it go, I think it was the best thing that ever happened."

Staff writer Kirk Moore contributed to this article.
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