and the planning staffs are excellent resources available to the community organization. The Office of Economic Adjustment; the Economic Development Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development are also prepared to assist with funding (applications completed) and development expertise. Local Strategy. The City/County Steering Committee formally requested the Department of Defense to maintain Hamilton AFB in a military role. In response to this request, the Coast Guard, Navy and Army have identified uses for major portions of the flight line, cantonment area and the housing area. Community Needs. A request was received from the Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Virgil Hollis, for consideration of facilities to be used for expansion of Marin College District Activities. Buildings #630 and 691 are identified for these purposes. By allocating the base housing among the military services in the area, the impact on the elementary school system will be eliminated. Disposition of DoD Property Pursuant to Section 2662, Title 10, United States Code, the Air Force will submit a disposal report to the Armed Services Committes of the Congress during late July 1973. The amount of property to be excess is not determined at this time. When the statutory requirements have been met, the excess property will be disposed of in accordance with the Federal Property and Administrative Services Action of 1949, as amended. Assessment - The Army, Navy and Coast Guard have submitted requests for portions of the base to be vacated by the Air Force those portions not required for the remaining Air Reserve units. Should these requests be honored, only moderate economic impact will result from the Air Force realignment action. An EAC team visit is tentatively scheduled for September 1973. Local actions are now awaiting the decision on what property will be declared surplus and available for the civilian conversion process. Federal and State organizations are also in "standby" status. A study grant for updating the city/county master plans to include any excessing at Hamilton AFB is approved by EDA and awaiting a start date (using the July decision data). Community Location The Navy Pacific Missile Range, Point Mugu complex, is located The U.S. Naval Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme, is located on the California coast approximately 60 miles west-northwest of the heart of Los Angeles. The station is bounded entirely by the cities of Port Hueneme and Oxnard, with the exception of a tract of unincorporated land to the southwest and the Pacific Ocean to the south. DoD Impact The Pacific Missile Range, including operations at both Point Mugu and Port Hueneme, will convert from an "in-house" to a contractor operation by July 1975. At Port Hueneme the Naval Civil Engineering laboratory will be closed by November 1973. Over the past three years there have been severe cutbacks in the industries in adjacent San Fernando Valley. closed in December 1969. The recent Navy these previous economic setbacks. defense and aerospace Also, Oxnard AFB was realignments intensify Of the military personnel, 225 at the Missile Range will be transferred, 367 will be relocated to Point Mugu Naval Station from Hunters Point, San Francisco, and 16 from Civil Engineering Lab will be transferred. This is a net gain of 126 military. Of the civilian personnel 1448 from Missile Range have word of an informal agreement of the contractor to retain their services. One hundred fifty seven out of the 223 at Naval Civil Engineering Lab will transfer to Construction Battalion Center, Port Hueneme. A net total of approximately 66 civilian jobs will be lost. At the request of Congressman Teague and local officials, the Federal team first visited Ventura County in mid-1971 after the closure of Oxnard AFB was announced. A follow-on OEA staff visit took place in December 1971, and subsequent trips have been made to the area for consultation with county supervisor, mayors and other leaders at the request of local officials. No additional request has been received for assistance related to the April 17 announcement but EAC expects to incorporate any assistance which is needed into the ongoing effort. EAC Program A number of positive results have been achieved since EAC became involved in Ventura County. Some examples are: ● EDA announced a $150,000 public works grant to the county and an additional $50,000 grant to the City of Simi Valley. • HUD "reserved" $121, 000 in 701 funds for the City of Simi • DOL supported the Neighborhood Youth Group with a $700,000 budget and 1000 students: the Manpower Development Training Act funded six programs and placement ran as high as 85%. The County's Regional Occupation Program has tripled its enrollment during the past two years. • $2.5 million were provided in Emergency Employment Act funds. • A county-wide housing authority was established. The county obtained EDA approval of its Overall Economic Assessment The greatest obstacle to continuing EAC assistance has been the failure of local officials to reach agreement on future civilian use of Oxnard AFB. This decision is long overdue. Two conflicting applications are now before the GSA. The city of Camarillo wants the property for educational use with four co-sponsoring institutions; Ventura County wishes to establish a general purpose airport, with restrictions as to type of planes and hours of operation. GSA is expected to make a decision regarding the two applications in the near future. The economic climate of Oxnard/Ventura County is such that the minimal impact produced by realignments at Point Mugu and Port Hueneme should be readily absorbed with assistance from EAC. In spite of the fact that DOL currently classifies Ventura County as an area of "substantial unemployment," aerospace employment has been on the upswing. Moreover, United California Bank's authoritative 1973 Forecast reported that "Recent efforts to broaden the economic base of Ventura County will result in impressive business advances in 1973. Most noteworthy is the continuing growth in employment. Ventura County in 1973 will record the third highest overall economic growth among California's 17 metropolitan areas. Status Until status of Oxnard AFB is resolved significant progress with development programs will be impeded. |