Howard County BRAC Task Force|Presentation Summary
December 17th, 2007 Categories: BRAC
Last week I introduced you to the Howard County BRAC Task force and mentioned the public meeting where the task force reviewed the presentation made to our County Executive, Ken Ulman. The detailed presentation outlines key areas of opportunities as well as areas needing improvement in order to handle the expected growth of Howard County.
In this post I plan to share some key findings that the task force has identified in their process so far.
Just for fun, the picture I chose for the post shows Union Soldiers welcoming troops at the oldest surviving rail road station, the Ellicott City B&O train station Museum. I highly recommend a visit.
First, take a moment to refresh your perspective on the role and mission of the Howard County BRAC Task Force:
- Mission: Identify and evaluate the impacts and opportunities presented by Fort Meade Growth on Howard County
- Objective: Ensure that solutions adopted by the Task Force protect and enhance Howard County’s quality of life
- Task: Use fact-based analysis to measure the impacts of various assumptions and scenarios on Howard County
- Task: Deliver and present actionable information to government leaders, Howard County residents and Howard County businesses.
With that in mind let’s review the initial findings of the Howard County BRAC Task Force presentation (dated 12/4/2007) Later on in the week I will write about specific sub-committees.
The key finding according to the report is that Howard County’s General Plan is adequate to absorb the growth of BRAC. Many of the sub-committees reported that they found no cause for alarm when considering the additional growth to Howard County.
There were, however, indications of concern for particular County resources and the strain that the additional demand will put on them. According to the report these areas are as follows:
- Highway congestion
- Critical Workforce Skills, Not enough Science, Tech, Engineering, Math.
- Disaster Management
- Solid Waste Disposal
The growth associated with BRAC is also expected to burden the already strained Health and Human Services of Howard County as well as influence the Affordability of Housing.
Among the recommendations, the task force suggested that Howard County monitor these key indicators and take action now. They urge Howard County to work with regional and federal partners to provide solutions to the problems associated with growth.
In the coming posts I will pick out a sub-committed and highlight their individual findings. In the meantime, check out my other posts on BRAC or refer to my BRAC Page.
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