The 21st Century Partnership has commissioned
multiple studies that will show how the region around Robins Air Force Base
compares to 12 other military communities.
“We have an open-book test for the next BRAC (base
realignment and closure),” stated Maj. Gen. Robert McMahon (retired), the 21stCentury Partnership president and CEO, during the meeting Thursday at the
Museum of Aviation. He noted that the studies will focus on the areas the BRAC
commission has looked at in the past to determine which bases were closed.
The studies, which will be compiled by the Middle Georgia
Regional Commission, will look at education, crime, medical availability, housing,
cost of living, innovation index, transportation, capacity for new missions, encroachment,
air quality, community cost reduction initiatives and the capacity to grow,
according to Laura Mathis, the deputy director of the commission.
The results will be released between March and June of this
year.
McMahon said the studies are “just step one.” He said that
once the results are released, the focus would be on improving the areas in the
region that may be lacking.
HHJ News
