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Home My WebLink About2015-04-14 - AGENDA REPORTS - SUPPORT LA AIR FORCE BASE (2)Agenda Item: 2 CITY OF SANTA CLARITA AGENDA REPORT CONSENT CALENDAR CITY MANAGER APPROVAL: DATE: April 14, 2015 SUBJECT: LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR THE LOS ANGELES AIR FORCE BASE DEPARTMENT: City Manager's Office PRESENTER: Matthew Levesque RECOMMENDED ACTION .City Council adopt the recommendation of the City Council Legislative Subcommittee to support the continued operation of the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center and transmit letters of support to the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Air Force, Santa Clarita's federal legislative delegation, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. BACKGROUND As part of President Obarna's Federal Fiscal Year 2016 bL - idget proposal, an itern was included to begin a process of military base closures in 2017 as part of the Base Realignment and Closures (BRAC) program. Concerns have been expressed by Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, as well as the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, that the Los Angles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center, located in El Segundo, will be a vulnerable location to be realigned or closed as part of the anticipated BRAC process. On February 2. 2015, Mayor McLean attended Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti's meeting for Los Angeles County Mayors. Mayor Garcetti encouraged mayors throughout Los Angeles County to send letters of support for the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of the Air Force. Additionally, on February 6, 2015, a five signature letter from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors was sent to Mayor McLean requesting the City Council indicate their in support of the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center. The Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center plays an important role in Los Angeles County's defense and aerospace industry. The base directly employs 5,800 military and civilian personnel. Additionally, approximately 11,800 jobs are created through contract work generated from the base. Page I Packet Pg- =18 Aerospace and defense manufacturing is a target industry for the Santa Clarita Valley. Currently there are 18 aerospace and defense manufacturers in the Santa Clarita Valley responsible for providing an estimated I .370jobs. It is common for these companies to subcontract with larger aerospace and defense contractors that work closely with the Los Angeles Air Force Base, such as Boeing, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. The City Council Legislative Subcommittee met on March I O� 2015, and recommends that the City Council adopt a position of support for the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center. ALTERNATIVIE ACTION Take no position on the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center 2. Refer the item back to the Legislative Subcommittee 3. Other direction as detennined by the City Council FISCAL IMPACT No additional resources, beyond those contained within the adopted FY 2014/15 City budget, are required for implementation of the recommended action. ATTACHMENTS Signed Letter of Support from Los Angeles County Mayors Letter from Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Page 2 Packet Pg February 2, 2015 Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James 1400 Defense Pentagon 1690 Air Force Pentagon Washington, DC 20301-1400 Washington, DC 20330-1670 Dear Secretary Hagel and Secretary James, As city leaders within Los Angeles County, we write to express our strong support for the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the critical role it plays in our nation's defense. Los Angeles County has a rich history in aerospace, missile, and defense technology and development. Los Angeles remains the top location for aerospace and defense in the nation because of its expansive supplier base of firms, skilled talent, and unmatched export capacity. Los Angeles' national designation as an advanced aerospace manufacturing community, one of only twelve manufacturing communities selected nationwide, is testament to its strength within this industry as is its recent selection to host the Department of Commerce's first annual National Aerospace Foreign Direct Investment Expo. The Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB) and the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) are critical assets to the aerospace industry and the nation's ability to design the military technology necessary to adequately provide for our national defense. The biggest asset to our country's safety, possessed by the LAAFB and SIVIC, is its unmatched skilled workforce based in Los Angeles. This brain trust, consisting of 5,879 directly employed military, civilian, and contractor workers and 11,776 indirectly employed, has made its home in Los Angeles and would be unlikely to migrate anywhere else if either the LAAFB or SIVIC moved some of its operations. This localized, highly skilled workforce is essential to the success of the LAAFB and the SMC, and has time and again proven itself crucial to the defense of the United States of America. SIVIC provides the nation with highly sophisticated intelligence gathering infrastructure that has -significantly contributed to the U.S. military's advancement in missions such as Operation Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom where SIVIC was noted as having added "unimaginable speed and precision to American military operations" through the use of space -based surveillance, communications, navigation and meteorology. As national defense continues to rely more on intelligence gathering, the role SIVIC has played in developing, acquiring, fielding and sustaining our military space systems cannot be overstated. SMC has proven to be a critical infrastructure asset to our national defense both in the past as well as for the foreseeable future. IPacket Pg LAAFB's and SIVIC's location also bolsters its strategic importance to our national defense due to the following factors: Los Angeles County remains the top location for aerospace and defense in the nation—home to major prime contractor operations, such as Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing. Raytheon, and Honeywell, as well as Aerospace Corporation which is physically connected to LAAFB and home to more small and mid-sized companies in the aerospace and defense supply chain than anywhere else in the nation. Los Angeles County graduates more engineers than any other region and has developed sophisticated programs at community colleges and universities to meet the needs of the aerospace and defense industry well into the future. Proximity to a significantly large aerospace and defense ecosystem of companies coupled with an unmatched skilled workforce available only in Los Angeles provides LAAFB with unparalleled built-in benefits to advance our nation's defense mission. Los Angeles provides LAAFB and SIVIC vital talent and connections to the country's largest aerospace manufactwing base. Similarly, the Los Angeles Air Force Base is a Los Angeles icon, keeping our region connected to the armed forces and the women and men who keep our country safe. Neither SMC nor Los Angeles would be as strong without the other. We, the mayors of the cities in Los Angeles County, support the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center, and firmly believe any relocation attempt of the SIVIC would be detrimental to national defense and the mission of the Los Angeles Air Force Base. Sincerely, City of f- 05 AJOE_ L C -J 6;e" — City of d_i_L2� City of —FLMA,64 /-!(-rx City of 51e��Oell� *OY t ity of) t� t�v C19 C Ci �Of Cityof CityV Packet Pg 21 City of OZT c i fy o f Ve -/"s zf 5 ity, a,4?, C it it f ��y of MLO, -71 ILI 1 06 zu__ city City/gf C� I e V, J�e C i I Of City0f CAI/FseA/ City of City of City of City of Packet Pg. 22 PATRICK CGAWA ACTING EXECUTIVE OFFICER COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES MEMBERS OF THE BOARD BOARD OF SUPERVISORS HILDA L, SOLIS KrNMETH HAHN RAIJ, OF ADMINISTRATION MASS R1DLEY-TJFOAS 500 WEST TEMPLE STREET, ROOM 383 LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA Won (213) 974-1411 - F� (2U) 03-500 SHISILAKLISFIL February 6, 2015 The Honorable Marsha McLean Mayor, City of Santa Clarita 23920 West Valencia Boulevard, #300 Santa Clarita, CA 91355 Dear Mayor McLean: DON "ADE MICHAELD ANTONOVICH We are writing to encourage your city to pass a resolution in support of the Los Angeles Air Force Base (LAAFB) and the Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC), which would be sent to Secretary of Defense Charles Hagel and Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James. Adopting such a resolution would be especially timely because the President's recently released Budget proposes a new round of base closures using the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process — the process which was previously used to close military facilities in Los Angeles County. Retaining Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles County is critically important to our regional economy and the Nation's defense. Our County lost valuable military facilities in previous BRAC rounds, including the Long Beach Naval Station in 1991 and the Long Beach Naval Shipyard in 1995. Moreover, the LAAFB and SMC were previously targeted by BRAC, and directly employ 5,879 military, civilian, and contractor workers and indirectly employ another 11,776 County residents. Therefore, if LAAFB and SMC are realigned or closed, the County would lose thousands of jobs and the approximately $1.8 billion that these vital facilities contribute to our regional economy. The Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center are also critical assets to the aerospace industry and America's ability to design the military technology necessary to provide for our national defense. LAAFE3 is of significant national military value because it houses the SMC, which oversees research, development, and acquisitions for U.S. military space systems, and manages the launch of satellites for important national security programs. I Packet Pg. 23 1 The Honorable Marsha McLean February 6, 2015 Page 2 Because LAAFB is in our County, it enjoys unparalleled built-in benefits including close proximity to a network of aerospace and defense companies, including Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, Honeywell, and others, as well as access to a highly skilled and educated workforce. Moreover, the LAAFB is a Los Angeles icon which keeps our County connected to the U.S. armed forces and the women and men who keep us safe. We, therefore, respectfully request that your city pass a resolution to the Secretaries of Defense and the Air Force in support of the Los Angeles Air Force Base and the Space and Missile Systems Center. We appreciate your assistance on this important matter. Sincerely, _J Mayor of the Board HILDA L. SOLIS Supervisor, First District ! N"I�& SHEILA KUEHL Supervisor, Third District MARK RIDLEY-TbfOMAS Supervisor, Second District D N KNABE Supervisor, Fourth District Packet Pg. 24