Notes from Base Closure Teleconference

AUDIO TRAINING

Securing Base Closure Property to Serve Homeless Veterans

March 24, 2005

Speakers:

Becky Troth, Legal Director for National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty (NLCHP) – (Sections I – III).

Ronald F. Rygg, Former Executive Director and current Board Member, Veterans Transition Center of Monterey County (Section IV).

Ronald M. Holland, Current Executive Director, Veterans Transition Center of Monterey County (Section V).

I.  Base Closure Property

Background

The Base Closure Community Redevelopment and Homeless Assistance Act of 1994, which is now codified at the note at 10 U.S.C. 2687, removed base closure properties from the general surplus property program that serves homeless people, Title V of the 1987 McKinney Act. 

Basically, the 1994 Act requires that the needs of homeless persons be considered in determining how to use base closure property.  Bases often include a significant number of housing units, so they can be especially suited to serving people who are homeless. 

Timing of the 2005 Base Closure Legislation

In October 2004, the president signed into law the FY2005 Department of Defense (DoD) appropriations bill, which included funding for 2005 base realignment and closure (BRAC) activities. The bill also modified the authority of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission in preparation for the 2005 round, and prevents it from suggesting bases for closure that DoD had not recommended closing. 

The next step occurred on March 15, 2005, when the president transmitted his nominations to the nine-member Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission to the Senate. 

By May 16, 2005, the Secretary of Defense must transmit to Congress the list of bases that DoD recommends for realignment or closure. It is at that point that the Army bases recommended for closure will become public.  

By Sept. 8, 2005, the Base Closure and Realignment Commission transmits its recommendations to the president.  The president has until Sept. 23, 2005, to approve or disapprove the recommendations.  If he approves, he transmits it to Congress.

The list is binding unless has both Houses of Congress pass a joint resolution of disapproval within 45 legislative days.

Will then (theoretically) become final some time after November (depending on when Congress is in session).

What Happens After the Recommendations Become Law?

1.  Other federal agencies get first crack at the property that will become available because of base closure, and must express interest in the base property within 60 days of the closure approval.  After that, the military department with authority over the property must publish a list of the available property in the Federal Register.

2.  While the federal screening process is going on, the community must form a Local Redevelopment Authority (an LRA) to convert the closed base to nonmilitary uses (DoD regulations are at 32 CFR 174; HUD regulations are at 24 CFR 586)

The Local Redevelopment Authority is any authority or instrumentality that the state or local government has established and that DoD, through its Office of Economic Adjustment, recognizes as the entity responsible for developing the reuse plan. DoD must publish the name of the LRA and contact information in the Federal Register and in a newspaper of general circulation in the community.      

3.  After DoD has approved the LRA, the LRA must advertise the availability of the former base property in a newspaper of general circulation in the community. The advertisement must state the period during which it will receive "notices of interest" from homeless assistance providers and state and local government agencies. 

A "notice of interest" is different from a notice of interest under the McKinney Act, which is very basic. The notice of interest for base closure property should cover the issues the LRA must cover in its reuse plan, and must describe the organization's or government entity's need for the property, the needs of the homeless population, how the applicant will coordinate with other providers, the ability of the applicant to provide the services, and the suitability of the property for the services contemplated.

4.  After the LRA has completed the outreach process, it has 270 days to generate a redevelopment plan and a homeless assistance submission. 

During this time, the LRA must negotiate with the homeless providers who submit "notices of interests" and develop legally-binding agreements reflecting the results of those negotiations.

Coordination between the representatives of the homeless and the LRA is critical to ensuring that needs are met; and to getting the best possible deal for homeless people.

The plan can meet needs of homeless people through giving them property directly, but can also negotiate agreements under which the needs of homeless people are met through cash or other resources and assistance. 

There is a lot of flexibility under the Act in determining how to meet the needs of the homeless population. For example, the LRA plan

·         Could create jobs or offer job assistance training on the former military base.

·         Could sell property for commercial uses; money from the sales could be put into a trust fund to support rental subsidies or other assistance to homeless people.  Philadelphia is an example of a city in which this alternative was successful -- HUD now suggesting they might not allow something so innovative.

·         Could sell the property and use the proceeds to buy property in a more convenient area.

·         Could rehabilitate the base housing and use it for permanent housing for homeless people.

Because of the options available, and because so many sophisticated organizations (like developers) will be competing for the property, it's essential that homeless service providers have sophisticated representation in this process -- people who know real estate and transactions law.

You are strongly urged to partner with other groups or a state or local agency to propose the best program possible. The more you can show the capacity to operate the program, the stronger your notice of interest will be.  

Public-private collaborations are particularly powerful -- like the Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust which took over Homestead Air Force Base and is a great collaboration between private service providers and the County

5.  Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has to approve the LRA plan, ensuring that the properly takes into account the needs of homeless persons and balances the community's "need for economic development with the needs of the homeless."  The Department of Defense approves the plan as well.  It can be a cumbersome process to work with all the interested groups and government agencies, but the payoff can be significant. We (National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty) estimate that millions of homeless people have been served by former base property.

 II.  Implications for this Year

With this round of base closures in 2005, we have heard that 25% of the military bases will be closing and the process will be expedited (closures will occur within 18-24 months of the announcement).

If you are in an area with a military base, be aware of the opportunities that may arise with a base closure. Many units of housing may become available.

III.  Process:

You must submit a timely Notice of Interest with the LRA after it publishes the advertisement.  The Notice of Interest will be due three to six months after the LRA publishes the advertisement.

You should plan for this process now if there's a possibility of a base closure in your community.

Although there is no way to predict what bases will be closing, you should assume that bases in your area may be affected, and start talking to other service providers and government entities about what needs could be fulfilled through the redevelopment process.  Review the community's consolidated plan and talk with members of the continuum of care to determine how to maximize the value of the property to the homeless population. 

We will also post on the NLCHP's web site any developments in the base closure process, including the sites recommended for closure when they become public in May. Will also try to post the LRA info.

Get a lawyer to help negotiate.  NLCHP is signing up lawyers to volunteer on a pro bono basis to assist homeless service providers in the base closure process.  Let us know if you are interested and we will try to connect you with someone to help.

Also, if you encounter problems along the way, let us know.  We can sometimes help to iron out issues that arise.

May be some DOD Technical Assistance money available to help assess homeless needs for the notice of interest process

If you have very specific questions that relate to a particular situation in your area, it might make more sense to talk about your concern off-line.  I would be happy to talk to you after this phone call.  Just e-mail me at rtroth@nlchp.org. 

IV.  Introduction to Veterans Transition Center of Monterey County

(www.vtcmonterey.org)

Speakers:

Ron Rygg and Ron Holland

Property Acquisition:

·         Fort Ord closed in 1994.

·         Coalition of Homeless Services Providers (CHSP) needed a veteran component.

·         Veterans Transition Center of Monterey County (VTC) was created and incorporated in June 1996. 

·         HUD money became available in late 1997 for supportive services.

·         Property was received from Health and Human Services (HHS):  Received 40 units of Capehart style housing (duplex), the 38,000-square-foot base reception center known as Martinez Hall, and two auxiliary buildings.       

·         Total: 15 acres and 23 buildings.  Quit claim deed, October 1998.

Program start up

Essentially starting from scratch:

1.       Start up a nonprofit business.

2.       Start up social services for homeless veterans.

3.       Street outreach to homeless veterans and the homeless in general (the veterans were not self-identifying).

4.       Integrate into a coalition of service providers.

5.       Grant management, coordination.

6.       Fundraising.

7.       Training a Board of Directors.

8.       Attend training classes for nonprofits through the local community foundation program.

9.       Attend conferences and meetings with various federal, state, county, city organizations and other nonprofits.

10.   Bookkeeping, money management.

11.   And a whole host of other details.

Facilities development

HHS's quit claim deed gave us use of the property for 30 years to serve

homeless veterans.

Limitations:

1.       3 years to develop and occupy the property

2.       No commercial for-profit entities allowed to sublease spaces, only nonprofit entities.

3.       HHS was to approve all subleases.

Problems:

1.       Raising grant money, city planning, going through a bidding process, construction could easily take more than 3 years.

2.       VTC was regularly approached (unsolicited) about renting out spaces that included for-profit, nonprofit and governmental entities. This would have been very welcomed sources of income during start-up for unexpected expenses. Grant dollars are very specifically targeted dollars, but there were many, many unexpected expenses and fees along the way. 

3.       In short, VTC acquired a lot of property to develop in 3 years; however, if not acquired now, would have been unavailable in the future.

4.       Too many players in the redevelopment process. The list went well beyond 50 agencies.

5.       Property taxes. The other nonprofit agencies that got property were able to move in and start operations very quickly. Consequently, they didn't have to deal with property tax issues. VTC's property had to be developed over a period of time and thus became subject to property tax issues because the property "was not occupied or under construction."  We were hit very quickly with a tax bill for $47,500. 

6.       Priority was the housing.  Trying to create a budget was very challenging.

7.       Ultimately had seven grants totaling $2.4 million to rehabilitate 20 units of housing (10 duplexes). Most all of the money had to be in place before any of the money could be drawn on. Most of the grant money was on a cost reimbursable basis with invoices being presented before payment.

8.       We were also developing our reception center.  Creating a budget, fund acquisition (especially difficult for non-housing construction), plus had historical interests to maintain (it was a 1941 WPA project).

9.       Street addresses were very problematic. 

V.  Summary of lessons learned

Finances-From the beginning, get it right.

·         Be bullet-proof, get good audits.

·         Grant makers seem to loosen up once they have more confidence in your financial management.

·         Cash pays the bills, provide six-month projections for the board.

Attitude

·         Sense of entitlement.

·         "Win, win, win" relationships.

·         Bureaucrats have to operate in their bureaucracy.

Show value added.

·         To the community.

·         To the partnership.

Join NCHV to get up to speed about homeless veterans.

Conclusion

We are here to work with veterans groups and other homeless service providers to help homeless people get housing and the services they need.   Please let us know how we can help.   Contact me, Becky Troth, at rtroth@nlchp.org; or by phone at:  202-638-2535, ext. 210. You should also e-mail me if you are interested in being on our housing list serve. 

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