It Will Be In Your Backyard, Too!

Goliad Airpark Coalition
It will be in your backyard, too!


Remember Goliad! - that was one of the battle cries of the Texas Revolution in 1836, in remembrance of the Texian soldiers lost at Presidio La Bahia, and symbolized by the “bloody arm” flag of Goliad.  Now, the citizens of Goliad County, and the serenity, tranquility and quality of life in Goliad County, are being challenged again, this time by the US Navy.

 

The Goliad Airpark Coalition is a group of concerned citizens and land owners who have banded together to oppose the re-acquisition of the Goliad Airpark property by the Navy.

The Goliad Airpark property, located near Berclair, was deeded to Goliad County in 2000, eight years after the airport was permanently closed and de-commissioned under authority of the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Act of 1991.  The US Department of Defense, on its website, clearly states that “The Department has not closed installations or excessed properties that might be required in the future…” and, furthermore, that the Department has “…confidence in believing that reclaiming former installation infrastructure will not be necessary.”  The Goliad Airpark Coalition agrees with the Department of Defense, and will pursue actions aimed at opposing the US Navy’s unconscionable pursuit of re-acquiring the Goliad Airpark property in violation of the official position of the Department of Defense.

To date, the Navy has provided no information to the citizens of Goliad County regarding their attempts to buy this property other than their Final Environmental Assessment, which goes to great lengths to eliminate any other alternative to the use of Goliad Airpark as the major site for “touch-and-go” flight training for new Navy pilots.

To the best of our knowledge, no Navy representative has contacted, or attempted to contact, any citizens or land owners in Goliad County regarding this potential action, other than our elected representatives on the Commissioners Court - which means that there is (to our knowledge) no reliable source of information regarding the potential adverse impact of the Navy’s use of Goliad Airpark.

What we do know, from the US Navy Final Environmental Assessment, is that the Navy anticipates:

             185,000 flight operations per year at Goliad Airpark

             There will be no permanent jobs created; only temporary, construction-related jobs

             There will be substantial increases in both noise and air pollution

The Goliad County Commissioners Court has established the Goliad County Advisory Board to assist them in making the best decision for the future use of the Goliad Airpark.   We urge all county residents to educate themselves on this issue and the potential adverse consequences to the entire county of the Navy re-acquiring this property.

 

US Navy Final Environmental Assessment

 

Misconceptions

 

Would Goliad County Become Corpus Christi’s Dumpsite?

 

Map of the Kingsville-4 Military Operating Area (MOA)

 

Department of Defense Frequently Asked Question (FAQ) on Re-acquisition of Military Assets Closed by BRAC

 

Endangered and Threatened Species in Goliad County:

 

             Attwater’s Prairie Chicken

 

             Jaguarundi and Ocelot

 

             Texas Horned Lizard

Read more about this issue:

 

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Courthouse Image by Larry D. Moore, used under a Creative Commons ShareAlike License
Text Box: 500 A DAY NO WAY!! Text Box: BREAKING NEWS In what is the first “official” announcement of the Navy’s sponsoring any type of meeting regarding their forced takeover of Goliad Airpark, a story in the November 7, 2011 edition of the Victoria Advocate announces an “Opening Ceremony for Goliad Airfield”, to be held November 8, 2011 at the Berclair Mansion in Berclair. This raises several interesting questions: (1) Why has the Navy waited until now to make any effort to reach out to Goliad County residents?; (2) Why is there only a 1-day notice of what should be an important outreach effort?; (3) Why did we have to read about this so-called ”Opening Ceremony” in a newspaper story?; (4) Does the Navy not have public relations people who are capable of sending out press releases well in advance of a scheduled activity?; (5) Is it true that the Defense Department has targeted Corpus Christi NAS and Kingsville NAS for major reductions or closures in the wake of the current budget negotiations in Congress? If you see this before 5:00 PM on November 8, please plan to attend this meeting in Berclair. The Advocate story announcing this meeting is available on the “NEWS” tab.