published: Sunday, January 11, 2009

Good neighbor policy

By CHRISTOPHER TUFFLEY

christopher.tuffley@newssun.com

SEBRING -- Lt. Col. Charles "Buck" MacLaughlin, the Avon Park Air Force Range base commander, and Patricia Steed, of the Central Florida Regional Planning Council, visited the city council Tuesday night.

They came to Sebring to ask the city to join in helping secure the base's future.

Not that civilians will have a direct say in the military's mission.

The bombing range, with 106,000 acres, is the largest training complex of its kind east of the Mississippi. As one of the few places where live ordinance may be used in training, it is an important site, used by all service branches and law enforcement agencies.

Its rare combination of land and air space, and relative isolation, and its central location means it will become busier as time passes not less so, MacLaughlin said. It is ideal for its purposes.

Because the Department of Defense has had difficulties in the past when civilian population growth, attracted by military base economics, ended up crowding up close to base borders, threatening military missions, it now works to maintain good neighbor relations from the beginning while keeping civilians at a safe distance.

The object is to prevent problems before they start by creating a Joint Land Use Study -- a final vision of the area all the surrounding stake holders can agree with.

For example, in the case of the Avon Park Bombing Range, four counties and three cities are directly involved: Highlands, Okeechobee, Osceola, and Polk counties; and the cities of Avon Park, Sebring and Frostproof.

Noise is usually one of the top complaints between civilians and the military, but MacLaughlin said in this case, because of space, it shouldn't be a problem.

Certainly no one would be bothered by new noises like explosions, he explained, and the existing jet plane flight paths were already a part of every day life -- a point several of the city council members agreed to with laughter.

"The planes are noisy at night; we know when they are flying," said one member.

While another said he didn't mind the sound, "As long as it keeps flying, and doesn't stop."

Margie Rhoades said, "I like it, the sound out over the lake."

Sebring's mayor, George Hensley, as the ranking military member on the council (retired navy captain), was named to represent Sebring on the land use policy committee that will help the military and civilian populations co-exist. Members will meet periodically, to oversee choices made by staff and technical personnel.

The land study will address the welfare and safety of the surrounding area, and provide a way to resolve incompatibilities when they arise, while maintaining the base's ability to accomplish its mission.

The land study process will be an open one, with community meetings, press releases and a Web site for examination. It should take about a year.

The Department of Defense is providing 90 percent of funding for the study, the remaining 10 percent is from Enterprise Florida Inc. Enterprise Florida is a not-for-profit group including business and government leaders. It is primarily concerned with economic development.