The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

City looks to consortium for future of air base

By Natasha Collins

Although Onizuka Air Station is not scheduled to close, the city of Sunnyvale is preparing for the day that the Air Force no longer occupies the base.

The city has entered into a contract with the Silicon Valley Defense Space Consortium to find viable uses for the base. The consortium's goal is to help communities attract businesses that support the defense and space technology industry. It is made up of representatives from local government, commercial companies and academia.

"It is an opportunity for us to investigate ways to utilize the unique facilities at Onizuka," said David Vosbrink, Sunnyvale's community relations officer. "We see the long-term status of Onizuka transferring to civil operations."

The consortium plans to use the air station as a "Western Defense Center" which would use satellite discs at the base to communicate with emergency vehicles throughout the county. The system would assist in fighting fires, finding people lost in the wilderness and jnotifying people of approaching fires and floods.

The only problem with the plan to convert Onizuka to civilian uses is that the Air Force does not plan on leaving.

"We see the use of Onizuka as an emergency notification center as a viable proposal, but we do not see space available at this time," said Art Haubold, public affairs officer for Onizuka.

The air base was placed on the federal government's realignment list in 1995 and has begun relocating personnel to Colorado Springs and other Air Force bases.

"It is always possible that Onizuka will be shut down, but we don't foresee it in the near future," Haubold said. "We will be continuing satellite operations here until at least 2004. The closure of the base has not yet been discussed."

The city fears that as each mission is completed at the base, those departments responsible for the mission will be closed.

But Onizuka officials say as departments are eliminated, the space they used will be utilized.

"We will be shutting down departments as they complete their missions, but we will be consolidating and those operations off base will be moved on base as space becomes available," he said.

Onizuka has more than 3,000 employees and is a major contributor to the city's economy, said Mike Curran, Sunnyvale's director of employment development.

"Onizuka has been a good partner with the city," Curran said. "We want to make sure that the people working at Onizuka stay in the community. We are hoping the consortium will be a benefit to the community because it will help keep the industry in the area after Onizuka closes.

"High-tech industry shouldn't been in Sunnyvale only because of the cold war. It should be here because it is good for the community," Curran added.

Sunnyvale has provided staff and political support for the consortium, but at this time has given no money to the cause, Vosbrink said.

"No direct city money has been used," Vosbrink said. "But we are the agent for the money given by the state."

The state has allocated more than $500,000 for the consortium.

"It is in the best interest of everyone involved if we can keep the industry here instead of it going out of state or somewhere else," Curran said. "Our focal point is to unite the government with the local cause to keep the government's special technology alive. We understand the importance of the defense technology in the community and want to keep it here."

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, July 2, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.