Updated 06/18/2008 07:47 AM
Bragg area readies for influx of people
FAYETTEVILLE -- Community leaders from 11 counties surrounding Fort Bragg found out Tuesday what needs to be done to prepare for 40,000 people moving into the area because of BRAC, the Base Realignment and Closure plan to move the headquarters for the U.S. Army's Forces Command to Fort Bragg by the year 2013.
"We have to look under every rock to try and find all the resources available to help us with this huge task ahead," Fayetteville city manager Dale Iman said.
Now the counties and the state are learning what needs to be done to ensure Fort Bragg’s growth goes smoothly. There are more than 62 recommendations in the task force's final report, ranging in areas like housing and education to parks and recreation.
Five of these recommendations are deemed critical, meaning that if they are not addressed soon, it could affect the operations out at Fort Bragg. Two critical needs include improving the Murchison Road corridor running through Fort Bragg and conducting a traffic study on roads surrounding the base.
Because Fort Bragg will have some of the highest concentrations of generals outside of the Pentagon, and have an increased threat of terrorism, a VIPER radio network is needed that allows first responders from different agencies to be all too able to talk on the same radio channel.
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Paul Dordal, executive director for the BRAC Regional Task Force, says the most pressing concern is education. He says federal and state funding is needed for the estimated 7,000 students moving into the area by 2013 and counties need to develop short-term strategies to handle the influx of students starting this fall.
"If we wait until the school starts, we may not have the classrooms, we won't have the teachers, and we won't have the type of education we need to insure that these kids receive what they need," he said.
And now that soldiers and their families are starting to move into the area, Dordal says it is time to roll up their sleeves and dig in for the long haul.
“The hard work is just beginning as we try to get into the implementation phase and turn the action plan into reality," he said.