Monday, March 25, 2013
As the Federal Aviation Administration contemplates buying a site for a new air traffic control facility, Congressman Patrick Meehan said the agency should consider federally owned Willow Grove air base.
Instead of buying land in New York to build an air traffic control facility, Congressman Patrick Meehan wants the Federal Aviation Administration to instead make use of the shuttered Willow Grove air base. Meehan (R-7) told Patch that the cash-strapped FAA is in the "preliminary stage" of finding a location for a new air traffic control facility. And, while there is a "preference" for New York, Meehan said that "our region will compete." "We have a strong case to make," Meehan said. The FAA is beginning a 60-day request for information, Meehan said. From there, the administration will respond to those whose submissions were deemed worthwhile. Meehan first broached the topic of the FAA building on the base when the FAA, under the …
Thursday, March 21, 2013
The federal government this week announced 250 jobs coming to the Horsham Air Guard Station, but progress at nearby Willow Grove air base is expected to be much slower.
In the projected time it takes to establish and man a drone command center at the Horsham Air Guard Station, the status of the abutting former Willow Grove air base will be virtually the same. The 862-acre former military base will still be vacant, still be federally owned and its buildings will still be standing, albeit in disrepair, an official told Patch. It will be next March "or thereabouts" before Horsham officials are able to negotiate the transfer of land from the federal government to the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority, according to HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee. McGee said the HLRA's consultant, Matrix Design Group, is fact finding and gathering information pertaining to the real estate market in the Delaware Valley. …
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Officials announced that a drone command center will take flight in Horsham as of Oct. 1.
The flying mission of the 111th Fighter Wing may have been grounded, but officials said a new mission is in sight at the Horsham Air Guard Station. The U.S. Air Force has chosen the Pennsylvania Air National Guard's 111th Fighter Wing, located at the 238-acre Horsham Air Guard Station, adjacent to the shuttered Willow Grove air base, to take on a new Remotely Piloted Aircraft mission. The National Guard Bureau has authorized the wing to establish a ground-control station for the MQ-9 Reaper at the Horsham Air Guard Station effective Oct. 1. "This is an exciting time for our wing, and our Airmen are energized to embrace this new mission," Col. Howard "Chip" Eissler, 111th Fighter Wing commander said in a press release issued Tuesday. "I'm …
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
The volunteer-run Harold F. Pitcairn Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum in Horsham is working to boost its educational offerings to the public.
Once the fence around the sprawling 1,100-acre former Willow Grove air base come down to make way for homes, a school, a town center and more, future generations may not know its history as a military base, or an airfield. “Fifty years from now, no one’s going to know that Willow Grove base existed,” said Heather Salazar, curator of the volunteer-run Harold F. Pitcairn Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum. That is unless Salazar and the dozens of other volunteers at DVHAA's museum have a say. Salazar, of Willow Grove, who holds a master's degree in military history, joined the museum last July. Since then, she has strived to help “make sure history stays alive in the public’s eye.” Salazar, along with DVHAA, is working on several fronts to …
Friday, January 25, 2013
Horsham-based Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association received approval to fix and relocate a P-3.
It took six months of red tape, but the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association finally got the go-ahead to access its P-3 for repairs and relocation. Since the space the volunteer-run, Horsham-based group's Harold F. Pitcairn Wings of Freedom Museum is situated on is federally owned, DVHAA has had to make requests to the federal government to carry out seemingly simple tasks like extending its fence line and fixing a plane. During the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority's meeting this month, officials shared an executed license agreement between the Navy and DVHAA, which would allow DVHAA representatives to access the 142,000-pound plane to repair it and relocate it. HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee joked that the group has "…
Hatboro-Horsham School District officials said its annual disbursement from the federal government in lieu of taxes on Willow Grove air base is ‘guaranteed’ for a few years.
Calling it a “significant victory,” Hatboro-Horsham School District officials shared that for the next few years, administrators will not have to fret about how much – if any – federal aid will be received for Willow Grove air base. Robert Reichert, the district’s director of business affairs, said the district has been working for the last few years to “streamline the funding formula” in order to help stabilize payments. During Tuesday night’s school board meeting, Reichert said the district did just that. For this year, Hatboro-Horsham will receive $1.2 million, he said. For 2014 and 2015, the district is “guaranteed” $635,000 or $640,000 minimum. “We were able to get the past years payments that were due us,” Reichert said of the …
Friday, January 18, 2013
A Horsham resident expressed interest in the shuttered Willow Grove air base being used to film movies.
Instead of letting nearly 900 acres of shuttered Willow Grove air base sit vacant, long-time Horsham resident Bill Randel had another idea. "It looks like a perfect location for movies or a TV program," Randel told the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority during the board's monthly meeting this week. "Why not notify people in the entertainment industry that you have a large property?" HLRA Chairman W. William Whiteside said the board has done just that. Whiteside, who attends other communities navigating through a military base closure, said "that type of use is available." "The movie industry is aware that the property is available," Whiteside said. But, being "available" simply has not been enough to bring would-be actors and film crews …
Wednesday, January 16, 2013
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority chose the Matrix Design Group to lead the next roughly year-long phase of Willow Grove air base’s future.
After several months of reviews, interviews and discussion among an ad hoc committee, the Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority picked the consultant team to guide the next step of Willow Grove air base’s lengthy redevelopment. The board voted unanimously Wednesday to approve execution of a $567,000 contract to the Matrix Design Group. HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee said he expects the contract to be finalized in the “next several days” and work to begin thereafter. Once that happens, the consultant team will begin the roughly 12-month process of leading the board in devising a business plan and pro forma. The firm’s study will encompass everything from traffic, water and sewer, stormwater management and other factors analyzed in large…
Thursday, January 10, 2013
The Horsham Township Council introduced an ordinance for the third time to eliminate the Airport Crash and Noise Overlay District.
Calling it a "housekeeping item" following the closure of Willow Grove air base and its runway, the Horsham Township Council again put the wheels in motion to amend zoning in the area surrounding the shuttered military base. The governing body voted 4-0 Wednesday to introduce an ordinance to eliminate the so-called ACNOD, or Airport Crash and Noise Overlay District and to remove development restrictions currently in place. Councilwoman Deborah Tustin was absent Wednesday. The governing body had originally introduced the ordinance in April 2011, prior to the Horsham Land Reuse Authority’s denial last summer of an airport on the bulk of 862 acres eyed for redevelopment. Then, in August 2012, the council had again introduced the ordinance, …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority anticipates appointing a consultant in January to lead the next redevelopment phase for Willow Grove air base.
The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority expects choose a consultant in January to lead the next phase of acquiring - and over the next two or three decades - redeveloping the bulk of Willow Grove air base A consultant will likely be appointed from the two submissions received in October related to devising a business plan and pro forma. That process is expected to take about 10 months and is a necessary part of obtaining the land as part of an economic development conveyance. HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee explained it previously as a way to acquire the land on "layaway" of sorts. HLRA Chairman W. William Whiteside and Vice Chairwoman Joanna Furia have interviewed both of the professional firms, Matrix Design Group and Weston …
Joe
7:22 pm on Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Thanks, negitive Nancy. more ›