Press Release of Senator Cardin

TEAM MARYLAND ANNOUNCES $5.6 MILLION TO PREPARE FOR THOUSANDS OF BRAC JOBS

Funds will support road improvements near Ft. Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground

Contact: Sue Walitsky: 202-224-4524
Monday, January 25, 2010

Click here for a PDF Document

SEVERN, MD – U.S. Senators Benjamin L. Cardin and Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD)joined Congressmen C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, (MD-2), John Sarbanes (MD-3) and Frank Kratovil (MD-1) today to announce $5.6 million in new funding to help prepare Ft. Meade and Aberdeen Proving Ground for the thousands of new jobs that will be heading to Maryland through the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.

The federal funds, which were included in the FY 2010 Omnibus Appropriations Bill that passed Congress in December, will pay for much-needed road improvements near Fort Meade in Anne Arundel County and Aberdeen Proving Ground in Harford County. The Omnibus Appropriations Bill also included $2.5 million for BRAC-related improvements to Andrews Air Force Base in Prince George’s County. Additionally, the FY 2010 Defense Appropriations Act, which also passed Congress in December, includes $130 million for BRAC-related improvement for the future Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda. A total of 30,000 BRAC-related jobs are expected to come to Maryland at the four sites.

“The relocation of thousands of BRAC-related jobs to Maryland brings with it great responsibility and enormous economic opportunity,” said Senator Cardin. “This year, Team Maryland secured more than $138 million in BRAC-related infrastructure improvements for Harford, Anne Arundel, Prince George’s and Montgomery counties that will make it possible for employees to get to their jobs safely and efficiently.”

“I fought to BRAC-proof Maryland’s bases, now I am working to BRAC-ready our transportation systems. Fort Meade will house high-tech, high-pay jobs of the future,” Senator Mikulski said. “Their genius club at NSA, and soon-to-be DISA and Navy’s Cyber Command, will combat cyber spies, cyber criminals and cyber terrorists trying to steal our secrets and take our systems down. I wanted to make sure they – and the surrounding community – weren’t stuck in a traffic logjam. I am proud to partner with my Team Maryland colleagues to make BRAC a success and secure the federal funding needed to meet the increased demands on our communities.”

“In these trying economic times, additional high-paying jobs are music to our ears,” said Congressman Ruppersberger, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “But we need to make sure that we preserve the great quality of life that residents experience all across the state, especially here in Anne Arundel County. Together, Team Maryland has worked hard over the last four years to make sure we have the proper infrastructure in place – everything from roads to schools to hospitals to public safety – to make the transition as smooth as possible as we welcome our new residents.”

“BRAC is bringing thousands of new, good paying jobs to Maryland during difficult economic times,” said Congressman John Sarbanes. “It is critical that we bolster our transportation infrastructure around Fort Meade so this economic growth is not stunted by traffic gridlock and does not diminish the quality of life in the surrounding area.”

“BRAC will bring new jobs while reinvigorating the workforce, commerce and economy of our region; but we need to be ready in order to fully realize the economic benefit it presents,” said Rep. Frank Kratovil. “We fought for these funds because they represent a significant federal investment in the future Fort Meade and Aberdeen Proving Grounds, the surrounding counties and the families who live there.”

“The Maryland Department of Transportation’s relationship with Congressman Ruppersberger and our other federal partners has brought much needed and greatly appreciated funding for projects that benefit all who travel throughout Maryland,” said State Highway Administrator Neil J. Pedersen. “The funds announced today will certainly help prepare for enhanced safety, improved traffic flow and ease of congestion for the Ft. Meade community.”

UMBC release

December 15, 2009
UMBC Receives $83,208 BRAC Higher Education Grant

Cybersecurity Program Will Help Develop BRAC Workforce

CONTACTS:

Deborah Shapiro, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
410-455-1509
dshapiro@umbc.edu

Michael Raia, Office of the Lt. Governor
410-260-3888
mraia@gov.state.md.us

ANNAPOLIS, MD – December 15, 2009 – Lt. Governor Anthony G. Brown announced earlier today that the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) received one of 12 BRAC Higher Education grants. The grant, made available through legislation passed by the Maryland General Assembly (the Higher Education Investment Fund) in 2008, will help UMBC establish a Center for Cybersecurity Training focusing on developing regional workforce with qualifications and skills to support local cybersecurity needs, as well as national cybersecurity initiatives within the State.

Fifteen courses will be developed by UMBC Training Centers and will be targeted to employees of state and federal government agencies and contractors, active military, veterans and any others seeking job training or skill enhancement. Courses planned include Java Development for Secure Systems, Enterprise Linux Security Administration, and Securing .NET Applications and Web Services. The goal is to begin delivering pilot courses to small groups of students this spring, at either UMBC or a government or contractor location via a mobile computer lab. While it is projected that 75-150 students will be served during the pilot phase, ultimately the goal is to serve about 720 students per year.

“We want to thank Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown for their outstanding support of our efforts to build a strong education and training foundation for the BRAC workforce,” said Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski, III, president of UMBC. “This grant from the Maryland Higher Education Investment Fund (HEIF) will enable us to establish a Center for Cybersecurity Training which is an essential component of BRAC.”

“I applaud UMBC and the ten other institutions of higher education on their successful grant application. It is only through our partnerships that Maryland will reap every benefit of BRAC,” Lt. Governor Brown said. “Governor O’Malley and I have set clear priorities that put an emphasis on job creation and we wholly understand that our strong network of public, independent and community colleges play an important role in reach our ambitious goals.”

The 2005 decisions by the Commission on Base Realignment and Closure will create as many as 60,000 new jobs across Maryland, including jobs in communications, intelligence and other high-skilled fields. To fully grasp the potential of this expanding economy, Governor O’Malley and the General Assembly created the BRAC Subcabinet, which Lt. Governor Brown chairs. In 2008, the General Assembly passed an administration bill that funds the BRAC Higher Education Grant program. This is the second year grants have been awarded to colleges and universities across the state.

Every Maryland institute of higher learning is eligible to apply for the BRAC Higher Education Fund grants, including two- and four-year public or independent colleges or universities, Maryland research institutions, Maryland Regional Higher Education centers, and Maryland private career schools.

WBAL.com

One of the federal agencies that is relocating to Fort Meade next year as a result of BRACC [sic] is holding a job fair Saturday for college students and recent graduates.

The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) will hold the job fair at the Anne Arundel Community College’s Arundel Mills Center, on Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The center is located at 7009 Arundel Mills Circle in Hanover.

[...]

Penkoskie says at least 100 jobs are expected to be filled at Saturday’s job fair.

The positions to be filled are Intern positions, which are entry level jobs for recent college graduates. Penkoskie says the starting salaries for some of these jobs is $40,000-$50,000 per year. He also notes there are CO-OP positions for students who are still in school

[...]

Penkoskie says that the agency is looking mainly for computer science, engineering and businesses majors.

Penkoskie says the agency will make offers for some jobs on Saturday. He adds applicants should bring resumes.

[...]

Starting in the fall of next year, 4,300 DISA employees will be moved from the Pentagon to Fort Meade, as a result of BRACC [sic].

More info at DISA’s website here.

Michael Dresser mentions this:

The proposal being batted around in Prince George’s would take the Green Line as far north as Route 32 near Savage before it would curve east toward Fort Meade and Odenton. That would make it a lot easier to get to Washington via Metro without getting mixed up in traffic jams.

He also links to the Greater Greater Washington post on the subject. Dresser proposes that the MTA in MD get together with the WMATA in making the two systems more connected if this happens. He mentions the possibility of the light rail connecting to Metro somewhere as well as the B30 bus from BWI making trips to the new terminus of the green line (it now goes to Greenbelt.)

Another intriguing proposal Dresser mentions is allowing for off-hours or weekend connections for MARC’s Camden Line in the Savage or Laurel area.

Aberdeen officials have cleared the way for a 500,000-square-foot business park next to Ripken Stadium, but not everyone sees the planned development as a home run for the city.

Towson developer J. Joseph Credit wants to put up the complex of four buildings to cash in on a wave of military jobs being shifted to Aberdeen Proving Ground as part of the military’s base realignment.

City leaders say the new offices — approved by Aberdeen Mayor Michael Bennett and City Council Aug. 24 — should help make up for a lack of space to accommodate thousands of workers. But the business park likely will not come with the hundreds of thousands of dollars in tax revenue promised by earlier plans for the property. Credit had planned to build a 16-screen multiplex movie theater and 130,000 square feet of restaurant and retail space within walking distance of the stadium.

[...]

Construction at the Commons at Fieldside Village is not slated to begin until after Credit has lined up enough tenants to lease space at the property, according to city documents.

Credit, formerly CEO of Nottingham Properties Inc. and now head of Sherwood Partners LLC, has been planning to develop the property since 2002 as a companion to the city’s Ripken Stadium baseball stadium. He could not be reached for comment. The project’s costs have not been disclosed.

As much as 3.1 million square feet of commercial space will need to be built surrounding the military base for defense contractors, space which isn’t available in the county now.

[...]

Fieldside Village is just one of several planned business parks in the city, Miller said, and he expects many of those developments will start to move forward in the coming months. Developers including Manekin LLC, Stewart Associates and Preston Partners are all planning projects tied to BRAC. That’s in addition to two large business parks under construction by Corporate Office Properties Trust and St. John Properties Inc.