Posted on: Monday, January 17, 2005
Few jobs created after base shuttered
By Frank Oliveri
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Civilian job creation at the former Barbers Point Naval Air Station has been among the worst among military bases closed since 1988, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Friday.
Barbers Point — now known as Kalaeloa — which still does not have a formal plan for its reuse, has seen only 33 new jobs created after 618 jobs were lost when the base closed in 1999. Only six other bases nationwide have done worse.
"Communities surrounding the former defense bases have often faced long-term challenges in the economic recovery process," GAO stated.
Of the 73 bases closed since 1988, on average 72 percent of the civilian jobs lost were replaced when local authorities reused the property, as of Oct. 31, 2003. The Defense Department is preparing for a new round of base closures this year.
Stanton Enomoto, director of planning and development for the Kalaeloa Community Development District, which encompasses the entire former base, said more jobs have been created since October 2003. The Hawai'i Community Development Authority oversees the development district.
"The number may be closer to 100 new jobs at this point," Enomoto said. "There has been increased job creation, but not near the number of jobs that were lost."
By comparison, Glenview Naval Air Station in Illinois was closed at around the same period as Barbers Point and lost 389 civilian jobs. Since then, more than 3,200 jobs were created.
Enomoto said there were several reasons for the slow recovery at Kalaeloa. Both the Navy and civilian authorities have delayed the transfer of properties. Some environmental cleanup also took longer than expected.
More importantly, however, some civilian developers are holding back to see if the Navy plans on reusing the former base.
The Navy is nearing completion of a $1.8 million study to determine whether it could base an aircraft carrier and its air wing in Hawai'i, said Jon Yoshishige, Pacific Fleet spokesman. Kalaeloa could be a home for the aircraft.
Enomoto said the Navy has highlighted Marine Corps Base Hawai'i and Wheeler Army Airfield, as well as the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kaua'i, as possible areas to host the air wing. "They haven't talked about how they would distribute the aircraft among those areas. But they informed us those are the airfields under consideration."
Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, said Kalaeloa would be a good place to start. He acknowledged that there are concerns about setting a precedent by reopening a base previously closed.
Enomoto said the Hawai'i Community Development Authority, which took over redevelopment of the old base in July 2002, would develop a master plan for the area by year's end. It will take into consideration the Navy's potential reuse of the land, residential development that is moving closer to the former base and a new resort and marina being built to the east of the area.
"In the end, we hope to see our employment numbers in the area increase," Enomoto said.
Honolulu's unemployment rate already is significantly lower than the national average.
The Defense Department has reaped a net savings of $28.9 billion so far in the past four rounds of base closures nationwide, and can expect an additional $7 billion in savings in each year thereafter.
