How to Build a Cross-Base Highway

Pierce County's long awaited and continually delayed Cross-Base Highway keeps looking for a solution to a need long overdue. For a project that started with a donation of right-of-way worth millions of dollars by Ft. Lewis, that head start in funding hasn't made much progress against other state-wide projects that keep bumping the Cross-Base Highway.

As Fort Lewis is a work site that has gained 13,000 workers in the last demi-decade and seen a daily increase in thousands of vehicle trips, soldiers taking housing outside the post are continuing to seek housing in Thurston County as closer Pierce County housing is inaccessible via the congestion along the Pacific Ave.-SR 512-I-5 route, located in Parkland-Spanaway. Who hasn't noticed the increase in congestion on I-5 south of the post as soldiers commute back and forth to Thurston County?

But is our challenge so unique that we must create a solution, or is experience available elsewhere. Of course! We are not unique! Others have solved this problem!

Mayor John Cook, City of El Paso, TX and Charles H. "Chuck" Berry, El Paso District Engineer, Texas Department of Transportation, recently shared with nation-wide delegates at the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), Department of Defense, how El Paso responded to the transportation demands of military (job) growth.

El Paso and Texas built a 7.5 miles freeway across Fort Bliss and an airport. This was a $200 million construction project accomplished by a public-private partnership. El Paso and Texas cooperated with the private sector to build and finance this highway (pictured above). Using what they called "pass through tolls," the State of Texas pays to the private sector vendor a toll based on the number of cars that use the highway. For mutual protection, payments will not fall below $10 million nor rise above $12 million.

Today's state (and local) budget climate gives all parties an instant excuse for not spending $10 million in capital expenses each year. But alternatives do exist. For one example the Stimulus Bill, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, contains the Build America Bonds, which provides a federal subsidy to state and local bonds.

Others have taken notice. Mayor Efrain Valdez, Del Rio, TX, rose from the conference floor to endorse the Texas public-private partnership in road building and announce his city is doing the same thing.

Military Citizen of 2009 Announced

Honored today as the John Anderson Military Citizen of the Year is Master Sergeant Tabatha A. Bennett. MSgt. Bennett is currently the full-time office supervisor for the Washington Air National Guard West Recruiting Office.

MSgt. Tabatha Bennett and George Cargill, TriWest Healthcare Alliance.

MSgt. Bennett volunteers as assistant coach to the Rogers High School Girls Junior Varsity Soccer Team in Puyallup, assisting with the team’s physical fitness program and helping to secure funding for future school sports programs. She also volunteers at Rogers High School with classroom support and at Kalles Junior High School providing administrative support in the front office.

MSgt. Bennett is actively involved with the Washington National Guard’s Youth Program, designed for children ages 11-19, promoting high quality youth programs in conjunction with community partnerships. The program provides a better understanding of being a military child, especially during times of military deployment.

MSgt. Bennett volunteers most Friday nights with the Tacoma Rescue Mission serving as a cooking and service specialists, in addition to organizing their food bank and other services.

As an owner of a computer graphics, design and website business, each year she provide a free website and support to a non-profit that can’t afford design fees.


There is no question that MSgt. Bennett devotes countless hours and boundless energy to improving our community, said George Cargill, award sponsor representative and Vice-Chair of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber, in making the award presentation.

About John H. Anderson
John H. Anderson served as Tacoma’s mayor in the early to mid 1950s. He is also a past Chair of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber Board of Directors, as well as a successful local businessman.

About Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber
Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber was founded in 1883. Its mission is to promote a strong business climate fostering economic opportunity and a more livable community through advocacy, networking, resources and services for business development.

Noteworthies With a Local Link

Today, the chief of staff, Army announced the following assignments.

Maj. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho, commanding general, Western Regional Medical Command and Madigan Army Medical Center/Chief, Army Nurse Corps, Tacoma, Wash., to deputy surgeon general, U.S. Army/chief, Army Nurse Corps, Falls Church, Va.

Maj. Gen. Philip Volpe, deputy commander, Joint Task Force - National Capital Region Medical, Bethesda, Md., to commanding general, Western Regional Medical Command and Madigan Army Medical Center, Tacoma, Wash.

Part II: To Be Counted

You may remember our earlier blog: To Be Counted or Not, where we discussed efforts in Congress to insure deployed military votes are counted and looked at Washington State's current program.

The AUSA Legislative Newsletter reports that new rules that will make it easier for deployed servicemembers to cast ballots was folded into the fiscal 2010 National Defense Authorization Act that was signed into law by President Obama last week.

The Military and Overseas Voters Empowerment Act (MOVE Act) introduced after a Senate Rules Committee survey showed that as many as one in four ballots cast by military and overseas voters went uncounted in last year’s presidential election easily passed the Senate last week.

The bill would fix several of the flaws responsible for such widespread disenfranchisement. It requires that all states provide military voters with ballots no later than 45 days prior to the election so that they have adequate time to complete and return them. It would also require states to provide ballots electronically and expands the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) at the Department of Defense, which is the main source of election-related information and assistance for many members of the military. The legislation would also bar states from rejecting military ballots for lack of a “Notary” signature—a feat difficult to achieve in the bases of Iraq and Afghanistan.

59 Senators co-sponsored the bill. The MOVE Act represents the most sweeping reform of military and overseas voting law in a long time, and its significance cannot be overstated. I'm proud to have worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to enact these common-sense reforms, which come just in time to help our troops and their family members participate in the November 2010 elections, said Sen. John Cornyn, TX.

TAP Gallery Features Veteran's Art

TAP Gallery Features the Art of Veteran Charles Minton.

November 1st – November 30th

Minton's large and intricate bronze/copper works are all initially designed by him and hand drawn on transfer paper. He then hammers and crafts every detail of the design and frame.

Several of his bronze and copper pieces showcase local landmarks such as Seattle's Space Needle and Tacoma's Union Station.

Minton also creates individualized pieces for veterans killed in action and provides them to Fort Lewis Army Base. Come see the work of this talented metal artist during Tacoma's Art at Work Month.

Artist Reception: Veteran’s Day
Wednesday, November 11th, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
(please note they are closed until 5:30 p.m. for annual observance of Veterans Day but will be open for this special evening reception)

Join TAP as it honors all veterans and especially veterans who are artists at their November reception. Also on view a sneak preview of December artist - veteran Mark Lubich.

TAP Gallery
1116 11th St
253-238-1006
TAP hours:

Wednesday, Thursday & Friday: 1:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Saturday: 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Sunday: noon to 5:00 p.m.

Service members & veterans bring this blog to TAP for a free one-month trial membership.

31st Military Citizen Event Announced

Military Affairs Committee Presents

31st John Anderson Military Citizen of the Year
Sponsored by TriWest HealthCare Alliance

The Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber’s Military Affairs Committee (MAC) will present the 31st annual John Anderson Military Citizen of the Year. Each year, the Chamber's MAC honors an individual who exemplifies the contributions local resident active-duty military personnel make to our community.

Date: Thursday, November 12
Time: 11:30 a.m.- 1:30 p.m.
Event: Rotary Club of Tacoma No. 8
Keynote Speaker: Doug Lineberrey, "A Recent Tour in Afghanistan"
Place: Landmark Conference Center
47 St. Helens Ave., Tacoma 98402
Price: $13.50 with RSVP
No prepayment, collect at the door only
Register: Rose Crist or 253-627-2175
Information: Gary Brackett or 253-627-2175

About John H. Anderson
John H. Anderson served as Tacoma’s mayor in the early to mid 1950s. He is also a past Chair of the Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber Board of Directors, as well as a successful local businessman.

About Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber
Tacoma-Pierce County Chamber was founded in 1884. Its mission is to promote a strong business climate fostering economic opportunity and a more livable community through advocacy, networking, resources, and services for business development.

DoD Prime Contract Awards

Pierce County is the acknowledged leader when it comes to numbers of uniformed personnel assigned to a local defense installation. But other communities are typically thought to have a defense (civilian) industry that contributes more to the local economy.

So, leaving aside the payrolls of uniformed and even civilian DoD personnel, what community in the state has received the most Prime Contract Awards? The obvious answer is King County at $2.3+ billion, and not just because of Boeing, which builds more than commercial airliners. Many other companies contribute too.

Kitsap County is most everyone else's candidate for second largest beneficence by virtue of the Puget Sound Naval Shipyards. According to the most recent report (2006), Kitsap County received just over 1/2 billion dollars, the bulk of that from the Navy.

But assigning Kitsap a ranking of #2 is wrong. Coming in with $753+ million in Prime Contract Awards is Pierce County. Pierce County is also diversified among the services. Here's the allocation:

• Army dollars: 449,211,814
• Navy dollars: 10,483,222
• Air Force dollars: 101,607,230
• DLA* dollars: 179,267,621
• ODA* dollars: 11,903,448

DLA: Defense Logistics Agency ODA: Other Defense Agency

And, Kitsap wasn't even third; behind Whatcom at $608+ million. Was that a single year aberration? We'll look at historical trends for that question in an upcoming blog.

Meet Vets as Job Candidates

An Opportunity Expo is scheduled to match job-seeking veterans, transitioning military personnel, members of the Guard and Reserve and military family members with hiring employers.

At this event, recruiters for employers, franchisers and educational institutions will meet face-to-face with these highly qualified and highly sought-after candidates. We invite you to join them!

Members of the Tacoma–Pierce County Chamber of Commerce who register to participate in this event are entitled to a 10% discount. To take advantage of this offer, contact RecruitMilitary’s Matt Murphy and mention your membership. Matt can be reached via email or 610-933-3331.

The Expo will be held on Thursday, November 19, 2009 from 11:00am – 3:00pm at the ShoWare Center. Additional details on this event can be found here.

At a RecruitMilitary Expo, you can begin the selection process with what is normally one of the final stages—a face-to-face meeting with the candidate. If you are looking to hire employees this year, or have a franchise/educational opportunity to offer, this is an event you won't want to miss!

Noteworthies With a Local Link

The chief of staff, Air Force announced today that Col. Jerry P. Martinez, who has been selected for the rank of brigadier general, inspector general, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, Scott Air Force Base, Ill., to deputy commander, political-military affairs, Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, U.S. Central Command, Kabul, Afghanistan.

Brig. Gen. (sel.) Martinez was Commander, 62nd AW, McChord AFB 2006-2008.

Defense Industry Means Economic Development

With the best performance of any industry, the military-defense growth in Pierce County has been not just an economic stabilizer, but a growth engine.

Yesterday's presentation by David Bugher, Assistant City Manager, City of Lakewood to the Chamber's Military Affairs Committee, showed the community how economic development infrastructure can support an expansion of this industry here.

Recently, the City of Lakewood, commissioned a study of the Woodbrook Business Park area of American Lake Gardens. Primarily now a low-income residential area, the City is extending public infrastructure to an area that could support economic development. While thorny challenges still remain as to social equity in affordable housing supplies, the maximum development option could provide up to 3,500 jobs and an assessed present value of $33,044,900 increased up to $184,258,800.

Although in the early stages of Lakewood's evaluation of this part of their community, military contractors serving Fort Lewis are a definite potential target for recruitment for such a business park. The continuing development of the post generates a greater opportunity outside the fence and areas available within become more scarce.