Letter to John McHugh, Secretary of the Army - Working with Arsenal & Partnership to Develop Plan that Would Allow it to Use Rental Income to Reinvest in Campus & Keep Watervliet Viable

Letter

Dear Secretary McHugh:

I am writing with concern over the future of the Watervliet Arsenal and specifically the future of the local development corporation that was created to help utilize the unused space on the campus. As a fellow New Yorker, you fully understand the value our military installations provide communities throughout New York and to the entire nation's defense. Since being elected to the Senate, I've been a strong supporter of the preservation of New York's installations and have fought to do whatever we can to ensure their viability for generations to come. One of our many success stories is in Upstate New York, just north of Albany at the historic Watervliet Arsenal.

The proud history of the facility is well-documented throughout its 201 year history: from its reputation as America's Cannon Factory, to the manufacture of the Bunker Buster that was instrumental in the first Persian Gulf conflict, to the more contemporary Armor Kit retrofits performed to fortify our vehicles used in the most recent conflicts in the Middle East, the Arsenal has consistently been there when this country has needed it.

Recent trends cannot be ignored, however, and workload and employment levels continue to dwindle, and there is quite a lot of unused space on the Watervliet campus. One of the solutions I was instrumental in supporting was enhancing private development at the site through the utilization of an Economic Development entity called the Arsenal Business & Technology Partnership. The Partnership works to secure funding to invest in the historic facility and then attracts private-sector companies to utilize the space, ensuring the Arsenal remains a vital economic engine in the regional economy. Currently they partner with 13 private companies that have 250 private sector employees on site. This development generates revenues in excess of $2,000,000 annually in rents and other fees, the bulk of which, goes directly to the Arsenal's base operations budget.

The Partnership has been effective in attracting investment, from both the public and private sectors. However, the end of the Arsenal Support and Program Initiative and the elimination of earmarks have taken a toll on their ability to invest in the site and now their very existence is threatened. To be clear, the Partnership has done an admirable job of standing on their own two feet, becoming a rarely seen, self-supporting non-profit organization. But without a dependable revenue stream, the organization is at a crossroads. A decision must be made whether we continue to reinvest in jobs here in the Capital Region or continue to send all of the rental income to the Army.

To that extent, I'm seeking your assistance to allow the Partnership a mechanism, under their current contract authorities or by modification, to control the fees, or at least a portion, they raise for the purpose of reinvestment in this facility and to continue to sustain a valuable, commercial use program that reduces the cost of Army operations at Watervliet Arsenal. There is established precedent throughout the Department of Defense where site managers have performed services and executed infrastructure projects in lieu of rent for this exact purpose. This contractual arrangement exists in a number Army Ammunition Plants (Milan, Radford, Hawthorne, Iowa, Scranton, Holston) under ARMS and at EUL sites such as Fort Sam Houston.

Together, we can ensure the continued viability of the critical public sector work at Watervliet and grow private sector jobs and continue to provide savings to the Army at this historic facility.

Thanks, in advance, for your consideration.

Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator

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