Project Highlights
OEA continues to assist communities, both large and small, with adapting to Defense program changes. Communities benefit from decades of OEA knowledge and community best practices, allowing them to leverage state and federal resources to proactively and positively change their individual community.
Each project highlight story below showcases a challenge the community is facing and how this community, with OEA support, is working to solve it.
 Kirtland Air Force Base, New MexicoMilitary MissionKirtland Air Force Base (AFB) covers more than 80 square miles in the City of Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. It is home to the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center and more than 100 mission partners, including headquarters or elements of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center, Air Force 58th Special Operations Wing, Department of Energy, National Nuclear Security Administration, and Sandia National Laboratories. Nuclear survivability and security, and special operations and Combat Search and Rescue training, are hallmarks of the Kirtland AFB mission. Joint Land Use Study Planning ProcessNominated for a Joint Land Use Study (JLUS) in September 2005, Kirtland AFB shares its airfield with the Albuquerque International Sunport under a joint use agreement, whereby the City of Albuquerque owns the airfield. Given the regional impact of the installation, the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG) sponsored the JLUS in cooperation with the State of New Mexico, City of Albuquerque, Bernalillo County, Pueblo of Isleta, Kirtland Partnership Committee, and many other organizations across a five-county region. MRCOG hosted a series of well-attended Advisory and Technical Committee meetings throughout 2009 and the first part of 2010. A citizen survey received approximately 1,350 responses, and reflected positive sentiment about Kirtland AFB and its relationship to the local community. Consultants interviewed more than 80 stakeholders across the study area. MRCOG hosted four public sessions and Advisory and Technical Committee meetings to encourage public feedback on the draft JLUS. After significant revisions to the draft JLUS based on Committee and public feedback, MRCOG released the Final JLUS report in June 2010. Implementation StrategyAfter reconvening the JLUS Advisory and Technical Committees in January 2011 to discuss implementation, MRCOG sought input from study participants and stakeholders using an online survey to prioritize recommendations for initial implementation. MRCOG identified ten recommendations on which to focus initially, grouped into three categories:
MRCOG formed an Implementation Committee to guide its efforts, with support from the State of New Mexico and Kirtland AFB.
Community Website: www.mrcog-nm.gov/land-aamp-water-mainmenu-158/kirtland-study-mainmenu-281 |