Fort Leonard Wood

Commander, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri

Posted byCOL Williams underGC Comments | Comments (0)

I was Interviewed by 97.9 yesterday our budget shortfalls. I think it went well, but I also think I talked too much. The bottomline is we don’t have a crisis, but we do need to be more cost conscious. It is our job to be good stewards of Army money, which is really all or our money; tax dollars. My goal is, despite the… shortages, is that our community will see no changes; tranparency. I also believe we will get more money. I believe we cut costs in many areas and not negative impact programs and services.

Posted byCOL Williams underServices and Programs | Comments (0)

The FY10 Budget shortfall of $24 million is causing us to make a lot of difficult decisions. One of the the potential cost savings measures we could make would to close Leiber Hieghts Pool. 2300 patrons over 80 days last year; we made about 100 dollars a day, and spent about 400-500 to open it for about 30 persons pe…r day. This does not include the annual maintenance and upkeep costs. Not a decision I want to make, but it is a possible option.

Posted byCOL Williams underCommunity Infrastructure, Family | Comments (0)

Folks, I apologize for the inconvenience at the gates this AM, 0700-0800, 23 Feb 10. This morning from 0700-800 we did a test of the IMCOM recommended manning for our North (Main) and West Gate (Polla Road) wherein our all manning could go down; which in turn could mean only one security guard per lane and the north and west gate vs. the 2-3 we have now during at least peak traffic times. It took less than 10 minutes for traffic to back up over a mile as you all well know, so we terminated the test by 0715-0720. The intent of the test was to demonstrate the impact of the proposed reductions, and to ensure that while we were certain we could not get by with the recommended numbers, that we made sure it was not feasible, acceptable or suitable. Our desire and intent to ensure we have adequate security guard manning, while ensuring convenience, speed, security and safety are still a central concern with our installation access program.

Posted byCOL Williams underGC Comments | Comments (0)

Greetings,

This is my first foray into blogging, and I wanted to start by providing some information on the family housing situation on Fort Leonard Wood. The bottom-line up front is that our family housing situation on Fort Leonard Wood is not what we need, desire, or within the Army goal for Army Family housing, in that we have about 26% new homes, and at end state we will have 74% renovate/converted homes vs. the DA goal of 66% new and 44% renovated. This occurred when the original RCI (Residential Communities Initiative) contractor defaulted, and in so doing left our housing project short. In order to get it back to where it needs to be, we would need approx. 173 million dollars, which is unlikely, so we have to work a variety of other solutions and plans.

1. The Background:

a. On 27 Jun 08, American Eagle’s interest in the Fort Leonard Wood project was sold to Balfour Beatty Communities (BBC), a world-class development/construction firm that has 10 other RCI projects.

b. Project bondholders demanded repayment of $79.5M in debt as a condition of the sale to Balfour Beatty which reduced future development and construction cost from $154.7M to $75.2M. In addition, a recent Housing Market Analysis (HMA) determined there was more available housing in the local community; thus, the project’s end-state was reduced from 2,242 to 1,806 homes.

c. The Project required a re-structure / re-scope regardless of the new development partner selected. The project was behind in performance after the first year. The amount spent on construction was 35%; new home delivery was 25%. Key metrics driving the need for restructure included:

- Slower than expected development.
- Greater than expected construction costs.
- Lower than expected revenue generation due to occupancy.
- Higher than expected operations expenses.
- Lower than projected Net Operating Income contributions.

d. As a result, a Modified Scope Plan (MSP) was developed by Balfour Beatty and approved by ASA I&E. Under this plan, new home construction was reduced from 1,877 to 472 units, and major renovations increased from 4 to 427 units and 504 conversions were added. This will ensure there are adequate funds to cover the debt service and complete the MSP. The Pro Forma used to develop the MSP used very conservative financial assumptions.

f. The modified scope plan results in 26% new homes and 73% renovated homes at the end of the Initial Development Period versus the portfolio average of 44% renovated and 66% new.

2. The wayahead:

– While we would to be at the Army average of 66/44, we are not and will not be for some to come. That said, BBC has a very good conversation and renovation plan that will have all current homes either renovated and/or converted NLT 2014. Many homes will be conversions, wherein (as an example) 2 family units are converted to 1 family homes and 4 family are converted to 2 family homes. The conversions and renovations are extensive and are far more than new paint; they are worth seeing. BBC will hold periodic open houses, and I encourage you to go and check out these renovations and conversions.

- We continue to carry the message to the Army we need funds to get our project back in line with the Army average. The is a possibility we will receive more funds to build new homes this year, and in the future on an incremental basis.

Sincerely, COL Williams

Posted byCOL Williams underCommunity Infrastructure, Family, Housing | Comments (0)

Posted byCOL Williams underGC Comments | Comments (0)