Loring to aid DFAS expansion

LIMESTONE – The Loring Development Authority Wednesday discussed the proposed expansion of the Loring Defense Finance and Accounting System to 600 employees and beginning the process of bringing even more jobs to the center.

Loring DFAS was saved from closure by the Base Realignment and Closure commission last month. The action called for the center to increase the number of employees from the present 340 jobs to 600 employees.

Ideally, local officials would like the number to increase to 1,000 employees at the facility. They realize that can mean some difficulties.

“The present challenge is to make sure everything is all set to expand to 600,” LDA President Carl Flora said. “Still, we want to also begin the process about seeing jobs in excess of that.

“It’s a good goal to have,” he said. Flora said shift work could be explored as could expansion of the facility at the site or to other buildings.

There are also other questions, including the availability of housing in central Aroostook County. New construction might be needed.

There are also questions about present infrastructure, things like schools, and whether the area can take the influx of people if the numbers at DFAS grow dramatically.

Having 1,000 jobs at the center would mean a nearly threefold increase in employees. The increase, however, would be gradual over a number of years.

“The first order is to get the 600 employees online,” Flora said.

The LDA on Wednesday also approved a request from a local group to have a small building at the Loring Commerce Centre house a Loring Military Heritage Center.

Flora said the local group was approved to have a former bank branch building on the LCC.

The group will work through the winter to secure money to pay for maintenance of the former Beauty Unlimited building.

The group wants to have a military museum to document the history of Loring Air Force Base and its role in the Cold War.

The effort was originally started shortly after the base closed in the early 1990s. The group has collected artifacts and assembled the former base’s history, and it seems ready to take another shot at a museum, Flora said.

In other business, while most of the LCC’s large buildings are occupied, the LCC has a number of smaller buildings that remain empty.

Using the success of DFAS, the LDA is launching a marketing initiative to market the LCC’s smaller buildings. About 75,000 square feet of space is available in a number of smaller structures, according to Flora.

The small to mid-size buildings are located all over the LCC. Some stand alone, while others are buildings that can be divided.

Along with the initiative, the LDA is realigning some staff roles to create time to work on marketing.

Ed Nickerson, director of the Loring Applied Technology Building, will move his office to the LDA headquarters to spend more time on business development.

His assistant, Diane Martin, will take over day-to-day operations of the Applied Technology Center.

The LDA also is developing a new marketing brochure.