LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Virginia –
The long-anticipated privatization of housing at Langley Air Force Base should take place early in 2007.
Until then, housing and 1st Civil Engineer Squadron officials must wait until all steps, such as releasing the request for proposals, selecting a proposal, negotiating the best deal, coordinating Air Force approvals, notifying Congress and awaiting completion of their review, and closing the transaction, are completed.
Once these steps are complete, privatized housing management and new construction of housing can start.
While the officials wait and work the details, the Airmen residing in base housing or sitting on the waiting list in hopes of making it into base housing wonder: What will happen to their residences from now until privatization becomes a reality?
The housing and civil engineer folks anticipated this question when they began initial planning for privatization.
According to Dick Moynihan, housing office flight chief, there are several projects and initiatives underway to improve the quality of life for residents in Bethel Manor until all base housing is privatized.
“Air Combat Command provided an additional $3.1 million to support our projects and initiatives that were targeted to have a significant impact in Bethel Manor,” he said.
Mr. Moynihan plans to use that money and other resources to improve housing and to keep Airmen as comfortable as possible.
“We are a customer service organization,” Mr. Moynihan said. “We are here to support and to provide services to our military families and members, whether they reside on or off base."
Housing projects underway this fiscal year include:
Replacing 148 Bethel Manor roofs by July at a cost of $500,000
Painting the exterior of units in the 1800-1900 area of Bethel Manor at a cost of $300,000
Installing exhaust fans and Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) electrical outlets in bathrooms in units located in the 1500-1900 areas starting in April at a cost of more than $1.5 million
Installed carpeting in 150 units
Correcting some drainage problems in the 2000 area to minimize flooding problems
Stenciled assigned parking spaces to help reduce parking problems
The housing office recently received the results from the first Air Force-wide Resident Satisfaction Survey conducted in June. The housing office received 241 customer critiques, which represented 19 percent of the base housing population. Sixty customers requested that the housing staff contact them to discuss issues further.
Some Bethel Manor residents recommended that housing be built to contemporary standards, electrical systems be upgraded, and litter be removed from Bethel Manor playgrounds. Others recommended the addition of more playgrounds, work to solve the parking problem and general concerns about the new maintenance contractor who started in May.
“We’re pleased to report that the projects we have underway to improve Bethel Manor, directly respond to our customers’ recommendations as expressed in their critiques,” said Mr. Moynihan.
Plans are underway to relocate a playground from the old Shellbank Youth Center to the area across from the skate park in Bethel Manor.
“Once privatization takes effect, playgrounds, common areas and other amenities will all be part of the privatized housing community,” Mr. Moynihan said. “Customers will be thrilled with the coming changes! Until then though, we’ll continue to strive to improve our housing and services provided to meet or exceed our customer’s expectations. Our new maintenance contractor has been receiving some excellent critiques from our customers, and we added litter control to their contract last year to keep the common areas looking clean.”
The housing office plans to publish in more detail the resident satisfaction survey results and other customer service evaluation scores in the spring housing newsletter, which will be mailed to all housing residents.