Base housing residents attend Town Hall meeting

  • Published
  • By Mike Wallace
  • Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Skywrighter Staff
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Residents of Green Acres and Pine Estates attended a town hall meeting June 23 at Chapel One here to learn about near-term plans to demolish the two housing areas and their options for moving to other housing in the local area. 

The two military family housing areas, located in Area C on both sides of Wright-Patterson Medical Center have been identified as excess. Plans to begin demolition of Pine Estates this fall are well underway, with Green Acres demolition to begin next spring. 

Col. Colleen M. Ryan, 88th Air Base Wing commander, summed up the reasons for the demolition. She said there were only 59 families living in Green Acres and 10 living in Pine Estates, and that maintenance costs had risen to nearly $2 million annually. She added that the Air Staff's aim was clear: reduce operations and maintenance expenses by demolishing excess government housing. 

"We have money to demolish the housing," said Ryan. She gave the dates by which residents must leave. In Pine Estates, residents must leave by late-September/early-October this year; and in Green Acres, not later than April 30, 2009. 

The planned demolition will include housing structures, roads, and the playground areas. When complete, the areas will be restored to green space and designated as future, developable areas. 

A few renovated Pine Estates units, located near the visiting Airmen Quarters, will remain to be utilized as Temporary Lodging Facilities. 

Asking the residents to "vacate sooner rather than later," Ryan told the attendees that the base wanted the moves to be done "in a manner acceptable to your families. We're asking you to vacate your housing, and the Air Force will pay to move you anywhere in the local area." She added, "We will take care of you to the best of our ability." 

The meeting featured several question-and-answer dialogues. 

Ryan, with the help of representatives of base housing office and Properties at Wright Field, the company managing the privatized housing units at the Prairies and Woods at Wright Field, then answered questions from the attendees. 

When the families move out, the units must be minimally clean, meaning no trash. Also, when military family moves, it will get a $657 dislocation allowance as a deposit for hooking up utilities. 

Acknowledging there a plenty of great housing options to choose from in the Miami Valley, Ron Piontek, program manager for the Properties at Wright Field made a pitch and offered a number of special incentives for displaced Airmen and their families to move into the Prairies or Woods at Wright Field, where occupancy is a little over 80 percent. 

In the Prairies and Woods housing areas, there are 42 floor plans for units, and Ryan pointed out that these neighborhoods feature comfortable housing, mostly Air Force neighbors, 24-hour-a-day emergency services, and security courtesy of 88th Security Forces Squadron patrols. Air Force families pay for living in these units with their basic housing allowances. 

Attendees were given descriptions of housing amenities available at the Prairies. These included a fully furnished clubhouse that could be reserved for free, stocked fish pond, playgrounds, functions for residents--including a cookout the evening of the Tattoo, carnivals, food drives and other community events, and proximity to Chapel Three. 

Utility costs of Prairies and Woods housing units are based upon average usage plus 10 percent for each floor plan. If a resident family's utility cost is higher than that, they must pay the difference. If lower, they could get money returned. The plan encourages energy conservation, officials said.

Since a priority for the properties is to attain a near-100 percent residency rate, and active duty military families get first priority, there are areas within the Prairies and Woods that conceivably could be rented to families from the general public. The message to meeting attendees was: "The sooner you move into a new residence within base housing, the more choices you'll have." Potential residents also were given an inspect-before-you-rent offer. 

"We're not telling you where to move to, but we are saying that you will need to vacate the units planned for demolition." 

Ryan emphasized to attendees that military members "should not have to take leave to move. Supervisors must understand that you're being forced to move." 

Ryan also said her staff is working with the base Traffic Management Office, so residents who must move due to the demolition will receive priority in scheduling household good shipments. 

"We realize their will be extenuating circumstances. We will do whatever we can to make these moves go as smoothly as possible."