“Maryland really isn’t a business friendly state.” The statement was from the president of the Southern Maryland Navy Alliance (SMNA) Glen Ives during a briefing Tuesday to the St. Mary’s County Commissioners.
Ives’ comments came in a response to a question by Republican Commissioner Todd Morgan about whether Ives had seen any change in attitude during the administration of Democratic Governor Martin O’Malley regarding the state’s military installations. Ives responded; “Over the last few year Maryland has taken for granted what we have done militarily.” Ives said Maryland needed to “wake up” or it could be a loser in the next round of Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) decisions.
“I think Maryland as a state could do much more in support of the (military) alliances,” Ives added. Ives is a former commander of Patuxent River Naval Air Station and now works for a local military contractor. Morgan is a past president of the Navy Alliance.
At that point Democratic County Commissioner Francis “Jack” Russell interrupted the conversation by saying “Now that we have got this off our chest, let’s get back to what’s at hand.”
Later in the discussion Ives praised Maryland’s Democratic Congressional Delegation (known as Team Maryland) for interceding on the issue of wind turbines in Somerset County on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. O’Malley vetoed a bill that would have delayed implementation until completion of a study of the impact of the turbines on testing at Pax River.
“Without a doubt wind turbines off Somerset County are going to impact our industry. That’s a no-brainer,” Ives said.
Russell noted that St. Mary’s has been talking to Somerset officials and that several attended the ribbon cutting for the UAV test site at the county airport. Russell said the officials were pleased that the Crisfield Airport in their county would be used for UAV testing.
During the presentation Ives reported that Maryland has the fifth highest amount of defense spending among the 50 states, but that others, such as Florida and California, are ahead of Maryland in preparing for the next BRAC.
Of the state’s $19.9 billion in defense spending, Pax River generates $1.4 billion and Indian Head $446.7 million.
The Navy Alliance just finished a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis commissioned by the county that showed a relatively upbeat future for Pax River.
One of the concerns raised during Ives’ presentation was the lack of funding for Pax River’s aging infrastructure. He said there was no NAVAIR military construction funding in FY 13-14 and only one project for the Atlantic Test range in FY 2015. He also pointed out that congressional earmarks had been cut off.
His message to the commissioners and the community is they “must be open minded and candid about potential ways to partner with Navy to improve infrastructure inside and outside the fence line at NAS Patuxent River.”
The Southern Maryland Navy Alliance was one of the first such military alliances, formed in 1992. It has 68 members, most of whom are defense contracts, but also businesses and non-profits such as banks, Cherry Cove Development and MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital.
