Cutler mulls options for Navy base conversion

CUTLER – Two hundred sixty acres of coastal real estate that the Navy says it no longer needs could become an industrial park, a school or a retirement community – and there are pros and cons to each of those conversions, according to a newly released report.

Consultants hired by Eastern Maine Development Corp. provided a summary of their conversion study Tuesday to approximately 20 people at Cutler’s Bay View School.

A multitenant industrial park would generate the most jobs, but could take 10 years to reach capacity, according to representatives of ASZ Associates, Seareach-CMI and the Maguire Group, consultants based in the Boston area.

In the meantime, marketing and management of the park would be expensive, as would the cost of maintaining the base infrastructure until the buildings were in use, they said.

Site maintenance, which is covered by the Department of Defense, costs $654,000 a year, according to the consultants’ report.

A school, such as a preparatory school or satellite college campus focused on marine studies, could be an attractive option because it would involve a single user that would be responsible for managing the property.

But, the institution would have to be financially sound enough to develop the property, the consultants warned. And a school would provide few local jobs and no local taxes.

Lead consultant Alan Zimlicki of ASZ Associates said market demand for moderate-income retirement homes is strong and three Washington County real estate agents told him they each sell 50 to 60 homes a year to retirees.

The option is attractive because the property could be turned over to a developer who would oversee marketing. Still, Cutler is quite far from areas of high demand and the winter climate is hard on older people, he said.

A retirement community would generate tax revenues and retirees would generate income for the area and jobs, according to the report.

All three options would require an initial investment of about $1 million to upgrade infrastructure – such as electrical poles and telephone lines – for civilian use.

John Holden, a community economic development specialist with EMDC, told the group Tuesday that grants might cover some of those costs and that his organization will pursue several funding options for the work.

EMDC hired the three consultants under a federal Economic Development Authority grant last February to identify potential ways to reuse that portion of the base that became government excess when the Navy transferred military personnel from Cutler last year.

Cutler’s mission as the communications link between the Pentagon and Navy ships and airplanes remains the same, but the base is now a detachment of Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station Atlantic in Norfolk, Va.

A crew of 85 federal civilian employees remains at Cutler to maintain the base power plant and the 26 very low frequency and 19 high frequency communication towers.

But 260 acres of base property, including 22 administration buildings, 61 units of base housing, and a variety of recreational facilities, garages, a concrete dam and a freshwater reservoir, are now government excess.

Maine’s congressional delegation introduced successful legislation to transfer that property to a local reuse authority – if the authority wants it – rather than declaring it government surplus for disposal through the General Services Administration.

The Cutler Development Corp. is made up of representatives of Cutler, Machiasport, East Machias and Machias and the group is working with EMDC and the Sunrise County Economic Council to find a base conversion project that replaces at least some of the economic activity the area lost when the almost 200 military personnel were transferred.

Dianne Tilton, executive director of the Sunrise County Economic Council, said Tuesday that the authority had been waiting for the consultants’ report to put out a request for bids on the excess property.

Tilton said the group expects to put out a request for proposals on all three options, but won’t limit reuse of the base to those three scenarios. If someone has another proposal that will be of benefit to Cutler and the surrounding towns, that proposal would be considered, she said.

Tilton said the Cutler Development Corp. expects to issue the request for proposals soon, and prospective developers will have at least three months to respond.

Jean Marshall, defense conversion coordinator for both the Cutler and Winter Harbor Navy bases, said the Cutler Development Corp. wouldn’t take title to the Cutler property from the Navy until the group has a buyer or decides to manage the property.

The Navy has promised Maine’s congressional delegation to keep Cutler in “a warm state” until that happens, Marshall said.

If Cutler Development Corp. doesn’t receive a proposal the group believes is reasonable, the property will go to the General Services Administration for disposal, she said.