Travis residents gather information at Town Hall meeting

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Donald Osborn
  • 60th Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. --  Travis officials held a Town Hall meeting Jan. 16 to introduce Travis residents to the new owners of Travis' military housing.

Starting April 1, GMH Military Housing, a privatization company based in Pennsylvania, will own more than 1,700 homes currently occupying the base.

"One of the reasons for the Town Hall meeting was to provide GMH Military Housing the opportunity to demonstrate their professional grasp of the operation of the military housing community and put to rest many of the rumors circulating about the privatization process," said Bob Vunesky, Travis privatization project manager.

According to their Web site, GMH Military Housing has been selected by the Air Force to design, construct, renovate, maintain and manage Travis family housing for the next 50 years.

"We are really excited to be here today," said Barrett Larwin GMH Military Housing representative. "We're excited to be partnered with the Air Force, and thrilled to be partnered with Travis Air Force Base."

GMH Military Housing will take over the demolition of older homes and the construction of new homes. In addition to the demolition and construction of the homes, they will also renovate some of the homes not identified for demolition.

"We're looking forward to taking this beautiful base that you have and transforming it into something really special for you," said Mr. Larwin.

This transformation process, called the initial development period, is scheduled to take seven years. From the current 1,798 units conveyed to GMH Military Housing, they will demolish 1,022 units, build 358 new units, renovate 106 existing units and keep 670 units as-is. This will bring the total number of units to 1,134 after the initial development period.

The initial development period will start this summer with the following neighborhoods being affected: Onizuka Flats will receive 152 new units, 68 for junior noncommissioned officers and 84 for senior noncommissioned officer, McClellan Corridor will receive 59 new units for junior noncommissioned officers, Norton Heights will receive 105 new units for company and field grade officers, as well as senior and general officer quarters.

Starting in the winter of 2009, Moffett Court Yard West is scheduled to receive 42 new units for chief master sergeants and company grade officers.
"There is going to be a lot of construction going on at Travis very soon," said Mr. Larwin. "We will be going on an information campaign during this time to keep [Travis] informed, so we can make this transition as smooth as we possibly can for you."

After construction is complete, Travis will no longer have units in the Hamilton Court and Mather Manor neighborhoods on the west side of the base.

The only neighborhood on base that will not be affected by GMH Military Housing privatization is Georgetown, located at the north side of the base. The units in this neighborhood will continue to be managed by the Travis Housing office.

For Travis residents who have questions about lease signing, rent, pets, or other questions, can go to the GMH Military Housing Web site at www.gmhmilitaryhousing.com and click on their frequently asked questions, or call Bob Vunesky Travis Privatization Project Manager at 424-1472 or Elizabeth Kirby, GMH community manager at 437-4571.

Q: Should residents have any health concerns as the demolition of homes begin?

A: Any health threats such as Asbestos will be removed before demolition begins. The demolition might raise the dust level in the air. For safety concerns, we recommend residents stay away from homes that are being demolished as much as possible. 


Q: What will happen with the Georgetown homes when privatization begins?

A: Georgetown will not be affected by privatization because they are leased homes that are currently not owned by the government, however, Georgetown residents will be afforded the opportunity to relocate to privatized housing as qualified units become available. This relocation will not be a paid move.


Q: Will I be responsible to pay for utilities in my privatized home?

A: Initially the project will receive 100 percent of your BAH and will pay all utilities expenses until utility average consumption baselines are determined (approximately 12 to 18 months after GMH assumes management). At that time residents will be responsible to pay PG&E directly for gas and electric consumption. The BAH given to the project will be reduced by an amount equal to 110 percent of the established consumption baseline for their unit type and that amount will remain in the resident paycheck to pay for their utility usage.