Thousands more Marines are expected to be stationed at three eastern North Carolina bases by 2011, and with that plan in place, Pender County has received its marching orders from military officials and regional business leaders to begin preparing for the growth.
Pender County, like other counties surrounding the Camp Lejeune, Cherry Point and New River Marine Corps bases, will be affected as 11,477 Marines and their families look for places to live, work and play.
The growth is part of the national 202K Grow the Force campaign, which will bring the number of Marines up to 202,000 nationally.
Camp Lejeune, in Jacksonville in Onslow County, is expected to add 8,052 active duty Marines and civilian workers, said 1st Lt. Craig W. Thomas, deputy director of public affairs at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune. Cherry Point in Craven County will add 1,485 troops and civilian workers to the base. New River, which is also in Jacksonville, will add 1,411 Marines and civilian support personnel.
To prepare for the expected growth, Pender County has joined with Carteret, Craven, Duplin, Jones, Onslow and Pamlico counties to form the Military Growth Task Force.
The task force, made up of business and government leaders from each of the seven counties, was started by representatives from North Carolina's Eastern Region Development Commission to help the counties plan and work through some of the issues that come from this type of growth.
Military officials are estimating about 25,000 more people will move into eastern North Carolina as part of the troop surge, said Al Delia, president and CEO of the commission. The number includes the troops, civilian workers and their families.
About 200 of the troops and workers already have arrived, Delia said.
"Typically, places have years to prepare for this type of growth, but we've only known about the military's plans since October," Delia said. "Our goal is to identify the issues that may come from this type of growth and work with the state and federal government to identify pots of money to offset some of the costs that will come with solving these problems."
The task force, which met for the first time last month, already has formed seven subcommittees to focus on issues such as the work force, schools, infrastructure, transportation, water, sewers and utilities. An executive committee also was formed so members can meet monthly to work on projects for the task force.
Pender County Board of Commissioners Chairman David Williams represents Pender County on the task force, and School Board Chairman Tom Roper is a part of the task force and on the executive committee.
With 75 percent of troops and civilian workers likely to live off base, Roper said he expects quite a few military families to move into Pender County.
"It's all about what's affordable," he said.
Roper said he expects a lot of the new families to move into Hampstead, Surf City, Maple Hill and possibly Burgaw because those areas are less than an hour's drive from Jacksonville.
Economic helpWilliams said the military will help the region's economy.
"Our armed forces are very important to our country, and on a selfish point, they're important to the state's economy," Williams said. "We need to look at the armed forces as a gift and embrace them with open arms."
Local Realtors and business leaders, who already have calculated the benefits, are prepping for the troops' arrival.
Chris Rackley, vice president of Lewis Realty Associates Inc., based in Surf City, will be breaking ground on new residential development in Onslow County geared toward military families. He said the company has another housing development for military families in the works next year.
Rackley said the influx of military families might be the shot in the arm that the local real estate market needs to boost sales.
"We're anticipating the troops coming," Rackley said. "It's an added bonus to working in the coastal area."
Allan Libby, president of the Greater Topsail Area Chamber of Commerce, said he thinks the military growth will help Pender County business owners as well.
"It's going to benefit business owners because these people are going to need to go to the grocery store, bank and drug store," Libby said. "It's also going to boost the tourism economy because these people will have families that will come visit them, and what child do you know that comes to the beach and doesn't leave with a T-shirt."
Infrastructure impactRoper said the new residents will affect the county's schools, traffic and water and sewer systems. He said the task force will try to help the county come up with the funding to deal with the issues.
The task force is applying for a $1 million grant to help fund studies and projects to help the counties plan for the growth, Delia said.
Williams said traffic will be a major concern even if no military families move into Pender County.
"Highway 17 is the main artery into Wilmington and other points south, and even if they don't live in Pender County, they'll more than likely travel our roads at some point," Williams said.
Delia said the task force is hoping to get N.C. Department of Transportation officials involved with the task force to help come up with solutions to the potential traffic problems.
Williams said the benefits of the military coming in outweigh anything negative that comes from the growth.
"I'm just glad there will be money invested into the area," Williams said. "Even though you have some cons when it comes to growth, the good outweighs the bad."
Tyra M. Vaughn: 343-2070
tyra.vaughn@starnewsonline.com
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