Harford County will get another $1.7 million in federal funding to study the impact of growth at Aberdeen Proving Ground and expand the new BRAC manager?s office.
The grant money recently was approved by the Department of Defense?s Office of Economic Adjustment, which is helping local governments deal with the impact of Base Realignment and Closure changes. A previous OEA grant allowed the county to create the office of a BRAC manager, who will help coordinate the region?s preparations.
Currently, 8,200 new jobs are projected at Aberdeen Proving Ground, and tens of thousands more could be created indirectly in support of those posts.
Local officials hope to get a clearer picture of where those employees will move and which areas will get the most growth, said Harford County Director of Economic Development James Richardson.
His office will use the money to complete a study of projected growth across Harford, Cecil and Baltimore counties, to get more detailed information on the region?s water, sewer and energy capacity, and to analyze what kind of additional parks and amenities the county will need. A detailed demographic study will also be undertaken, using estimates from the state Department of Labor and combining them with the Army?s surveys of employees whose jobs are being moved, Richardson said.
“This second phase study will give us the specific drilled-down data we?re looking for as we move forward in our planning efforts,” said County Executive David Craig in a statement.
In addition, the funding will allow the county to hire an assistant BRAC manager at the Aberdeen-based office. The assistant will help Emery with her tasks, which include writing grant requests and coordinating efforts between the three counties.
