Army Base Wetlands Permit Process Proceeds

Residents of Boardman Lane were alarmed last week to see engineers examining the wetlands on the 88-acre parcel which they thought had been rejected by the US Army Corps of Engineers for a Military Training Facility to be built in Middletown. However, the activity turned out to be part of the normal process for the Corps to gain a wetlands permit for the site that the Army ultimately selected, Cucia Park.

Debbie Terrell, who rents and farms the property originally selected by the Army, told me that on Thursday, "there were 8 people, women and men, taking pictures." At least one resident was concerned enough to contact the City Planner, Bill Warner. Responding to a comment from another neighbor on The Eye, Bill Warner wrote, "The Boardman Lane site was not evaluated in the environmental assesment. I dont see how the Army could jump to that site." Warner was referring to the environmental assessment released April 13th, which did not evaluate the Boardman Lane site, but instead evaluated a site on Ken Dooley Drive which does not include the Boardman Lane land. That environmental assessment selected Cucia Park as the military's preferred site. The City agreed to sell the Park to the Army for $2M, this sale is dependent upon the Army obtaining all necessary permits for construction.

The construction at Cucia Park will require filling of some wetlands, and the Corps of Engineers team, led by project manager Diane McCartin, needs to have a permit from the Corps of Engineers Regulators and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do this. Part of the environmental review, according to an article by Sloan Brewster in the Middletown Press, requires a determination that the preferred site is the "least damaging practicable alternative." Thus, the review often includes an evaluation of other possible sites for the facility.

McCartin confirmed this in a phone interview with The Eye, saying that the EPA was doing "due diligence to determine if Cucia Park is the least environmentally damaging site. Visiting previously considered sites is something they decided to do before they would issue a permit." In addition to Boardman Lane, the regulators wanted to tour a site off of Ken Dooley Drive (this property abuts the rear of the Boardman Lane property), Cucia Park, a property owned by Walter Manthay at Middle and Bell Street, and a property owned by Krane Development on Atkins Street. In an email to Warner, McCartin indicated that regulators asked them to delineate the wetlands on the Boardman Lane site "because the regulators believe there are more wetlands there than originally delineated and they want this information for their records."

Larry Rosenberg, corps chief of public affairs for the New England District, told The Press that 99 percent of wetlands permit applications are approved with conditions. These conditions might include a mitigation plan, wherein the Corps would enhance or protect other wetlands within the same watershed.

Army base report delayed

The Army Corps of Engineers has told the City that the report on their selection of a site for the Armed Forces Reserve Training Facility will not be released this week as originally planned. The release is now expected to happen in approximately the 1st week of April.

Three Westfield sites are being considered by the Army for the training facility: a historic farm on Boardman Lane, an industrial park development on Middle Street, and the city-owned Cucia Park on Smith Street. Westfield Residents, as well as many others in the city, strongly opposed the siting of an Army base on Boardman Lane. Mayor Giuliano convened an advisory panel, led by Ron Klattenberg and consisting largely of Westfield residents, to work with the Army to select a site.

The mayor's advisory panel rejected both the Boardman Lane and the Middle Street sites, and endorsed the sale of Cucia Park to the army for their base. The army did not accept these recommendations, and instead continued to view Boardman Land and Middle Streets for their facility. With a view towards blocking the army from taking prime industrial land, the Common Council approved an offer of city funds to provide tax relief and to purchase land in the industrial park, which is owned by Ted Bysiewicz. This week the Council voted to extend the deadline for this offer.

Last summer and fall, the Army held a series of public hearings in an attempt work with the community on the site selection. The ranking of the sites was to be released in October, but in a meeting on November 10th, the Corps of Engineers announced that they would instead conduct a full environmental assessment on all of the sites. This environmental assessment is to include plant and animal surveys, geotechnical boring, archeological, economic, other studies.

The City is now awaiting the release of the reports on Environmental Assessment (EA), and a Draft Finding of No Significant Impace (FNSI). These will indicate which of the sites the Army views as most favorable for its military training facility. Following the release of those reports, there will be a mandated 30 day period of public comment.

Disclosure: I am on the Mayor's advisory panel.

Army to return to town without site ranking

The last time that the Army Corps of Engineers were in Middletown, they held a public hearing to get community input on 4 sites they were considering for an armed forces reserve training center. At this meeting, which occurred September 30th (coverage in the Eye), the time line that they announced for site selection included the following (from their PowerPoint presentation, available HERE):

*17 October - Complete Draft Site Identification Report and forward for approval
*Early November - Release ranked sites; NEPA and real estate process continues
*March 2009 - Contract ready to advertise
*June 2009 - Contract Award

In a call with Diane McCartin (Middletown AFRC project manager) and Ron Elliot (ACE public affairs specialist) today, I asked whether they had made any progress towards the release of ranked sites. To my surprise, Ms. McCartin told me, "I don't believe there is a ranked list of sites." Apparently, no such ranking will be determined until next March or April, when the draft Environmental Assessment will be made available to the public for a 30 day comment period.

In the standard procedure for site selection, the Corps and the clients for the facility (in this case the Guard and Reserve) submit a draft report to a general at the Pentagon. He then responds with a letter to the Corps, in which he approves, disapproves, or requests modifications to the report; this letter essentially provides commands to the Corps for how to proceed with planning for the facility. McCartin and Elliot could not tell me anything about the report that was scheduled to be submitted on October 17th, nor could they say what they expected to hear from the general.

However, the Army Corps will return to Middletown on Monday, November 10th, for a Press event. Mr. Elliot indicated that Colonel Keith Landry, commander of the Louisville District of the Corps, would be joining the civilian staff from the Corps at this press event. Its purpose is to "tell people exactly where we're at in the process [of choosing a site]," according to Mr. Elliot. A media advisory will be sent out on Friday to announce the time, location, and format (press release or press conference) for the event. Neither Mr. Elliot nor Ms. McCartin could be specific about what sort of information would be provided that was not already provided in previous meetings and press conferences.

Ron Klattenberg, councilman and liaison from the city to the Army Corps of Engineers, told me this evening he had received no inkling that the Corps would be coming to Middletown next week. Upon hearing the news of Monday's press event, he said, "It shocks me that the information [about the press event] would come through the media, and not through communications with the mayor." In addition, he said the army had indicated on multiple occasions that they would release the rankings of the sites in early November, and he was outraged at their apparent change of heart.

During the past month, Army consultants have been very busy evaluating the 4 sites under consideration, according to Ms. McCartin. Cultural resources surveys by archeologists, traffic analyses, and wetland surveys are being done on the Bysiewicz Industrial Park, Cucia Park, and Boardman Lane/Ken Dooley Drive parcels. Threatened and endangered species are being looked at on the Bysiewicz and Boardman properties. These studies are either completed, underway, or will be completed in the near future. Ms. McCartin told me that since the Mile Lane property is already owned and operated by the army, their knowledge of that site was extensive enough to preclude the need for additional studies. She said that all of the sites are being given equal consideration, both for the NEPA process and the preliminary development of site plans and building footprints.

A good site selection by the army.

News and Commentary.
by fishmuscle

The army, taking a page from the Middletown Eye, has established a community newsblog. In addition to being a repository of information (via army postings), it is a major mechanism for Middletown community members to provide feedback to the army (via our comments). All comments posted on the blog will automatically go in the report submitted by the Corps to the Army Reserve around October 1st. Project Manager Diane McCartin explained to me this morning that she deliberately turned to a blog hosting service external to the army's domain, because everything posted on the army's internal servers requires extensive moderating and filtering to remove threatening language and to ensure that there are no security risks. Ms. McCartin did not want to filter postings or emails, and she wanted to ensure complete transparency, to assure residents that their comments would be included. This idea, using an external blog hosting server, is not something that has been done before in the Louisville District of the Corps of Engineers.

The comments section is divided into 5 parts, one for each of the possible sites, and one for general comments (clicking on each of the following will take you right to that comment section):

• Boardman Lane (with Ken Dooley Drive entrance)
• Bysiewicz Industrial Site (Middle Street and Smith)
• Cucia Park (Smith Street and Industrial Park Road)
• Mile Lane (Former Army Base, still owned by the Army)
• General comments about the Army Training Facility in Middletown
  

Ms. McCartin emphasized to me that all comments are welcomed, both positive and negative. She suggested that negative comments about Boardman Lane would not be as helpful to the process as positive comments about other sites, saying, "I've heard lots of comments about Boardman Lane. I'm a pretty intuitive person, and I get it that Boardman is not y'all's favorite site." Ms. McCartin acknowledged that there is a danger that unfiltered blog postings might have problems of their own, but she feels that transparency is too important to sacrifice.

Commentary
The army has finally done something right in the area of site selection. This new website is elegant, intuitive, and transparent, it is an outstanding means for gathering and organizing community input. The Army should take full advantage of this site and greatly expand the information available. They have given themselves an opportunity to show with their actions the openness of the process. On this site should be maps of each parcel, information about environmental, engineering, traffic, etc issues relating to each site, and schematics of how the army would place its buildings. The army should post here all other information that residents have asked for, including information that they have previously denied to us. The links should be expanded, there is a link to the City's Army information clearinghouse, but they should also link to other Middletown websites that have featured information (the WRA website, and hey Ms. McCartin, how about a nod to THE MIDDLETOWN EYE?).

The open nature of the blog postings has the very important ancillary benefit that Middletown's citizens can learn from and respond to what others in the community are thinking. It will not bring us to the level of democracy and discussion enjoyed by those in Vermont who attend the famous "town meetings", but it can bring us much closer than Middletown has been in a very long time. If the blog postings get out of hand, the Army should ask individuals trusted by the community to apply a minimal filter. All comments should be accessible to anybody who wants to read them, but the on-topic comments should not be made irrelevant by being buried in a swamp of off-topic comments.

Our elected officials should use this forum with us, to make clear their opinions on each of the 4 sites and on the entire site selection process in general. The army has given our Mayor, our Common Council members, and our state and federal elected officials an opportunity for them to show their constituents that they are engaged in the issue of the Military Reserve Center in Middletown. All should take advantage.

The army returns

For the second time in less than three weeks, the Army Corps of Engineers will be visiting Middletown to discuss the training facility on Boardman Lane, according to several sources in City Hall.  Top military officials will be in town to explain the mechanism by which the Corps of Engineers chose to build the Army Base on Boardman Lane.  Common Council Members and the Mayor have been invited to attend.  Invitations have also been extended by the city to many of the state and federal elected officials who represent Middletown.  

Tuesday, August 19th, 6:30

Council Chamber

Middletown City Hall

Diane McCartin, the project manager for this Training Facility, will be making her fourth trip to Middletown this summer.  Ms. McCartin hails from Indiana, just across the border from the Corps of Engineers Louisville headquarters.  Her husband is a pharmacist at the world famous Butt Drugs in Corydon, Indiana (check out their hot T-shirts available on-line).   Ms. McCartin has earned the respect of Middletown residents who have attended her public hearings. In those venues and others, she delivers what information she can in a forthright and open manner.  Her last visit was on July 31st, when she infuriated local officials by barring them from a press conference held regarding the Army's plans for the Boardman Lane site.  

Middletown this time will also welcome Colonel Keith Landry, the recently appointed Commander of the Louisville District of the Army Corps of Engineers.  Since graduating from West Point, he has earned an MBA, an MS, and a PhD, the latter from Rensellaer Polytechnic Institute.  He has served at many levels in the Army, from Platoon Leader to Professor.   Col. Landry is a highly decorated combat veteran, with three combat tours in Iraq. His most recent publications are, Effecting a major road repair in Baghdad, and Fording the Imjin River--Korea. Among his many decorations are a Bronze Star, an Army Commendation Medal, and the Order of the deFleury Medal. Col. Landry assumed command of the Louisville District on July 9th of this year.  This is his first trip to Middletown.

Army Corps Press Conference: In which the story gets buried by the story

The Army Corp of Engineers held a press conference today at the Inn at Middletown in which they laid out their reasoning for wanting to build an Army Reserve Training Center on Boardman Lane in Westfield. Only press were allowed at the meeting. The Eye will have a full report on that meeting later this evening.

In declaring "press only" the Army Corps of Engineers unintentionally created a secondary story which will be the lead when this "package" is aired on the suppertime news this evening.

The Corps refused to allow Mayor Sebastian Giuliano, State Senator Paul Doyle, residents of the affected are and other political leaders into the room (though they allowed entry to Attorney General Dick Blumenthal), creating a story in which the Army appeared to be keeping something from the local government, and simultaneously angering the local politicians.

I arrived at the meeting just in time to hear Doyle and Giuliano complaining to the assembled press corps.

As I was leaving, Diane McCartin, who has been the public face of the Corps in these meeting climbed the spiral staircase to the hotel mezzanine to find Mayor Giuliano standing at the top.

"I'm sorry I had to keep you out of the meeting," McCartin said to the mayor.

"It's unfortunate," the mayor replied. "Because no one will hear anything about the facts of the meeting. All they'll hear is that you locked us out of the room."

McCartin then invited the mayor to join her, and some Boardman Lane neighbors to view the presentation she had made to the press. Giuliano followed McCartin and the group of residents into the hotel conference room.

The army digs its heels in

(The Army's Diane McCartin- Pearce Pinch, file photo)

And so it begins.

Residents of Westfield have voiced their opposition to siting an Army Reserve Training Center in Westfield on Boardman Lane.

According to a report in the Middletown Press today, the Army Corps of Engineers is "adamant" about building the center in the Westfield section, despite a letter from Representative Rosa DeLauro which cites several reasons why the location is undesirable.

The Corp's Diane McCartin addressed the objections, but her responses, as reported by the Press are less than convincing. The Army "promises" traffic studies (and we are to believe the results of a traffic study conducted by the army?). The Army is convinced the center will be an economic boon to Middletown (though it will take the property off the tax base, be located closer to commercial districts in Cromwell and Meriden, and only concedes that local businesses will be "allowed to bid" on services needed at the Center).

McCartin also insists that the law requires the center to be built in Middletown, though as several knowledgeable people have pointed out, that's true only if a "suitable site" is found. When a townspeople agrees that the chosen site is not suitable, I would think it's not suitable.

DeLauro is upset at the inflexibility of the Army. If you think the Army is inflexible now, consider what will happen once they acquire a site.