Boston Globe -- West section
Thursday, May 19, 2004

Town plans for base's growth
Many see good future for jobs at Hanscom

By Matt McDonald, Globe Correspondent

Lincoln officials are beginning to plan for the expected expansion at
Hanscom Air Force Base.

Not only was the base spared from the list of closures released last Friday,
but the US Department of Defense announced plans to increase Hanscom's role,
adding about 1,100 jobs in all.

''The base stays, the base grows, but it grows moderately. It's not
overwhelming numbers," said Sara Mattes, a member of the Lincoln Board of
Selectmen who also chairs the Hanscom Area Towns Selectmen group, during a
selectmen's meeting Monday night.

Even though activity at the base is to expand, Mattes and her fellow
selectmen discussed the possibility of asking federal officials to create a
local redevelopment authority. Such an authority is usually created when a
base is closed or downsized. But Mattes said it could be a boon to the towns
if the federal government decides to sell off small portions of the base.

Both the details and the time frame for changes at Hanscom are unclear, say
town officials. The Defense Department's recommendations are being
considered by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, which has until
Sept. 8 to make its own recommendations to President Bush. The president has
until Sept. 23 to accept or reject the recommendations in their entirety.

If he accepts them, then Congress will have 45 legislative days to accept or
reject the recommendations in their entirety.

Even then, realignments and closures are expected to take about two years.
While much of the focus has been on jobs and the economic impact of military
bases to a region, Lincoln officials also see keeping Hanscom open as a huge
savings in town spending.

A study by a consultant found that, if Hanscom were closed and redeveloped,
residential building there could have added as much as $6.6 million net to
the cost of providing local government, since Lincoln would have lost
revenue from the federal government and picked up responsibility for
providing services to adults and schooling for children.

The children of military personnel who live on the base attend an elementary
school and middle school that the federal government pays Lincoln's School
Department to run. Lincoln is about to enter the final year of a five-year
contract to run the schools at Hanscom, for which the federal government
will pay the town $9 million next school year, said Superintendent Michael
Brandmeyer.

The federal government owns the school buildings, which need attention.
Brandmeyer said federal officials are considering several construction
options, including demolishing and replacing the middle school while
renovating and adding on to the elementary school.

Another option is to build a new K-8 complex, sharing core facilities such
as the library, cafeteria, and offices. A third option is to renovate both
buildings, though Brandmeyer considers that unlikely.

Under an existing contract with the federal government, a company is moving
ahead with plans to replace existing homes for military personnel on the
base with larger homes with more bedrooms, which may bring more
schoolchildren.

Brandmeyer said an influx of new schoolchildren could affect both the space
needed for school buildings and negotiations for a new contract to run the
schools.

''I do think that as we move forward we have to incorporate future growth
into our thinking," Brandmeyer said.

Randy Davis, principal of Hanscom Primary School, which serves about 600
children in kindergarten through third grade, said the mood at the school
has been festive since the announcement last week, though she noted that the
decision to keep and expand Hanscom will not become official until later
this year.

''I think it's not over till it's over, but people are very happy," Davis
said.

''We have a wonderful school here. Certainly, planning for the future and
worrying about having more children is a very nice problem to have."

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