Commission catches on: Time to plan for BRAC is now

By: Editorial | Opelika Auburn News
Published: April 02, 2008

When it comes to the Base Realignment and Closure Initiative (BRAC), it appears that the Lee County Commission is getting ahead of the curve.

Monday, the commission was presented with projected statistics, including population and project’s purpose, in order to better educate themselves on the realignment that is sure to have a major impact on Lee County’s housing industry, schools and infrastructure. Making the presentation was a company named Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), which is helping develop the regional management plan for BRAC.

In coming years, troops from a number of military bases across the nation will be reassigned. Some bases, including Fort Benning just south of Columbus, Ga., will grow.
Some estimates have the Georgia base growing by nearly 28,000 troops. Not all of the troops will live on base, making east Alabama, particularly Smiths Station, an attractive location to buy a home and raise a family.

Projected areas affected include Barbour, Russell and Lee counties in Alabama, and Chattahoochee, Harris, Marion, Muscogee, Stewart, Talbot and Taylor counties in Georgia.
SAIC is trying to assess the impact BRAC will have on neighboring communities. Naturally, the housing market will change, plus schools must be prepared to handle a dramatic change in enrollment.
We encourage SAIC to continue to make public their plans and ideas on how not only to make the changes as easily as possible, but to also find measures to make these changes positive for affected locales.

We encourage the public to take an active role and be attentive to upcoming changes regarding maintaining this imminent growth.

We encourage citizens to take part in whatever public forums are available on the issue. To complain about the way a community grows after the fact is counterproductive. Now is the opportunity to do something before it gets here. If you do nothing now, you have little room to complain later.

The Lee County Commission is doing the right thing by learning the ins and outs of BRAC and how it will affect the community.

As county leaders, they must be kept abreast on issues that will affect constituents and our daily lives. Planning now will make life things better for all involved in the future.