Lincoln Journal
Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Selectmen update residents on Hanscom changes

By Selectman Sara Mattes

The Lincoln Board of Selectmen would like to make residents aware of recent
activities and discussions concerning Hanscom Air Force Base (not to be
confused with the civilian airport at L.G. Hanscom Field).

First, we want to clarify Lincoln's official connection to Hanscom Air Force
Base. We are one of four "host" communities to the base. The other
communities are Lexington, Concord and Bedford. These are the four
communities that form HATS (Hanscom Area Towns). A portion of the base falls
within the geographic boundaries of each of these towns. But, as a federal
reservation, the base is neither governed by these communities nor subject
to any of their zoning or other bylaws. Base residents may choose to
register to vote in Lincoln or they may choose to retain their voter
registration in their hometown.

Housing for personnel at the base, which totals over 800 living units, is
located almost entirely within Lincoln's geographic bounds.

Lincoln has a long-standing tradition of close collaboration with the Air
Force base through the town's administration of the Hanscom K-8 schools
under a contract with the Department of Defense. Lincoln receives
reimbursement for this. Children of base personnel go to Bedford for High
School.

Two recent developments have been the source of much discussion and,
unfortunately, considerable misunderstanding: housing privatization at HAFB
and the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

This week we will discuss the role of the town in the BRAC process, and next
week, we will follow-up with an explanation of "housing privatization."

BRAC is a process through which the Department of Defense analyzes all
military bases and their functions to see if there are consolidations,
enhancements, realignments or closures that will improve efficiencies and
effectiveness in achieving our national defense mission.

BRAC has occurred in 1988, 1991 and 1995,with the most recent rounds
resulting in the closure of Fort Devens in Ayer and the Weymouth Naval Air
Station (1991 and 1995 respectively). Lincoln, through HATS, has been
working to better understand the role for our communities as we enter yet
another BRAC process.

The leadership for advancing the case for base's unique and dynamic role in
national defense has come from the governor, our Congressional delegation,
the Massachusetts High Technology Council and MassDevelopement under the
aegis of the Massachusetts Defense Technology Initiative (Mass DTI). The
private and public sectors, including the HATS communities, are actively
participating in MassDTI's initiative to keep the base open. A current focus
of the MassDTI, through the Installation Improvement Committee, is to seek
efficiencies and cost-saving measures in service delivery at HAFB while
exploring options for base enhancements that will best serve national
defense in the 21st century. A visit to the MassDTI Web site at
www.massdti.com offers further information on this important initiative.

HAFB is a major factor in our regional economy, contributing $3-4 billion
dollars annually and accounting for approximately 30,000 jobs, and it has
been a good neighbor and partner for Lincoln. These positive factors along
with recognition of our responsibly as citizens to be a part of providing
for the nation's defense argue strongly for Lincoln's support of the base.
We are also deeply concerned about the consequences for the town and the
region in the event that the base is closed. Maintaining the base makes
sense for Lincoln, and we are doing everything we can to achieve this end.

In January, the Lincoln Board of Selectmen weighed in on the criteria to be
used for evaluation in the BRAC process, urging consideration for the
intellectual capital and critical technology cluster that we believe makes
Hanscom Air Force Base a unique defense asset.

Following this, Lincoln took positive action by passing, with a unanimous
vote at our March Town Meeting, a resolution expressing our support of the
Base and the effort to keep the base open. The other HATS communities joined
Lincoln in this statement of public support. Most recently, the Board of
Selectmen have requested that the Lincoln Housing Commission consider
granting priority status to qualified base personnel as applicants for
Lincoln's affordable housing lottery.

Lincoln and HATS will continue to seek ways to make constructive
contributions to the MassDTI initiative to position the base for the most
favorable possible review in the BRAC process. We will continue to keep the
town informed as this initiative moves forward.

In our next update, we will report on "housing privatization" at military
installations, and, specifically, at Hanscom Air Force Base.

(The above was submitted by Selectman Sara Mattes. The other members of the
Board of Selectmen are Gary Taylor and Sara Cannon Holden.)

Copyright by TownOnline.com and Herald Interactive Advertising Systems
==========
**NOTICE: In accordance with 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is
distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in
receiving the included information for research and educational purposes.**
==========