Commissioners briefed on Benning expansion

By: Ed Trainor | Eufaula Tribune
Published: July 17, 2009

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Officials with the Valley Partnership Joint Development Authority briefed Barbour County commissioners at Tuesday’s commission meeting.

Gary Jones, executive vice president of military affairs, presented an 18-page document featuring 36 slides with details of the regional growth that is anticipated.

Jones advised commissioners that growth in the region is under way and will explode once U.S. Army and civilian employees of the Department of Defense begin relocating from Fort Knox, Ky., in early 2010. According to Jones, the expansion of Fort Benning will create 11,403 new jobs and a capital investment of $3.2 billion.

Jones advised commissioners to be prepared for additional interest in the recreational opportunities on Lake Eufaula. He also argued that school enrollment in Barbour County could increase despite earlier projections of a significant decline in enrollment over the next 20 years.

Read more on this story in the weekend edition of The Tribune avaliable Friday, July 17.