DAYTON DAILY NEWS                   Copyright (c) 1993, Dayton Newspapers Inc.DATE: Monday, June 28, 1993                  TAG: 9306280118EDITION: CITY           SECTION: NEWS        PAGE: 1A SOURCE: By Tom Price  WASHINGTON BUREAU                             DESC MOVE APPROVED                   OHIO, KETTERING OFFICIALS CRITICIZE PLAN WASHINGTON    The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission on Sunday ignored the cost of an $89 million construction project and recommended movingthe Defense Electronics Supply Center from Kettering to suburban Columbus.    The decision angered Kettering Mayor Richard Hartmann, who said the recommendation - which also would close the Gentile Air Force Station, where DESC is located - demonstrates why the federal government is $4 trillion in debt.    "It doesn't make any economic sense at all," said Hartmann, who attended the commission's meeting in Washington along with Kettering City Manager Steven Husemann, Ronald Wine of the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Charles Metcalf.   "I don't understand the mentality that says we've got to close a base, no matter that it costs $100 million to the American taxpayer," the mayor said.   Hartmann, Husemann and Wine said defense officials told them it probably will take two to four years for the move to be completed.    U.S. Rep. Tony Hall, D-Dayton, also was critical of the decision. He said the commissioners "didn't let logic get in the way of their decision."    "All they wanted to do was close bases. They weren't interested in saving money," Hall said.   The recommendation, which is expected to be approved by President Clinton and Congress, affects more than 2,100 workers at DESC and another 700 at Gentile's other activities in Kettering.   A majority of the DESC workers probably will go to work in Columbus, Husemann said.   The Defense Department has not said what it plans to do with the other activities to be moved from Gentile.   The Defense Logistics Agency, DESC's parent, proposed a series of moves affecting what it calls "inventory control points" - offices that manage the acquisition and distribution of military supplies.    The agency wanted to consolidate DESC and two Michigan facilities in Columbus, and to move two operations from Philadelphia to New Cumberland, Pa.   The closing commission, which has been studying the plans for three months,rejected all but the DESC move.   In documents released at Sunday's meeting, the commission compared the costs of consolidating the Michigan and Ohio operations in Columbus and in Kettering.    Either consolidation would save about $256 million over 20 years, the documents say.    The documents show one-time costs of consolidation would be $34 million higher in Columbus - $146 million instead of $112 million.    But the one-time costs did not include $89 million appropriated for a facility that will be built to house Defense Construction Supply Center operations in Columbus.    Had that building been counted, the cost of consolidation in Columbus wouldbe $235 million - more than twice the cost of consolidating in Kettering.   The documents did not include costs for closing Gentile and relocating its other operations.   Several commissioners questioned their staff about the $89 million for the building.    But the commissioners seemed reluctant to make it an issue because Congresshas already appropriated the money - even though it has not been spent.   "That is not part of the (base closure commission) process," Commissioner Beverly Byron said during a break in the hearings. "It was appropriated by (Congress). Had Columbus been closed, there would have been no facility to go into that building. That is outside of our scope. We've closed bases, and our mandate by law is to close bases."    Bob Cook, the commission's chief aide for Defense Logistics Agency matters,said DLA put primary emphasis on "expandability."    Columbus has more than 100 acres upon which buildings could be constructed,while Gentile has 35 acres, Cook said.   Being able to close a base was another key, the commissioners indicated during the hearing.   Because there is a military supply depot that will remain open in Columbus,moving DESC to Gentile would not close a base, said Commissioner Robert Stuart, who visited both Ohio installations.   Ohio Gov. George Voinovich said he believes the decision was based on geography, not the quality of the facilities.   "I believe the decision was based . . . on a desire to give something to someplace else and not too much to Ohio," he said. "I think that we're being shortchanged.   "We felt that the quality being offered by Dayton was the most important. Idon't mind losing if you lose on the merits. I don't think that was the case here."    He pledged to help the Miami Valley offset the loss.   "We are going to work with the community to create more jobs," he said. "We're going to have to assess the situation and see what jobs can be relocated within Ohio and most importantly what can be done to replace those jobs in the Dayton area."    Local officials said the community's task now is to try to find new uses for the Gentile property.   The Clinton administration has said that converting defense facilities to civilian uses is a top priority. When Defense Secretary Les Aspin announced the base-closing plans in March, he pledged that the Defense Department would help by offering advice to communities and quickly freeing vacated facilities for new uses.   The commission finished its voting Sunday and must present its report to Clinton by Thursday.    Hall may vote against the recommendations in the House, his aide said, but Congress is not expected to overturn them. Congress established the process tomake closings harder to block.   Aspin's plan called for closing or changing 165 military installations. He said it would produce annual savings of $3.1 billion after 1999. The commission added another 73 to the list to consider for possible closure or change.   After the commission adjourned Sunday, Chairman Jim Courter said he had notadded up the panel's final changes in the Defense Department plan.   He said he thought the net savings would be about the same.   Another round of closings is expected in 1995.    Wine, vice president of public affairs for the Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce, said one silver lining in the current defense cuts is the relative stability of the work force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. But officials will have to be vigilant in the future, he said.   "It's probably a wake up call to all of us that we'll have to do a better job of looking after (Wright-Patterson), taking care of it, because it'll be faced with challenges just like the Mound and DESC," he said.*************************************************************************STAFF WRITERS Tim Miller and Tom Beyerlein contributed to this report.DEFENSE ELECTRONICS SUPPLY CENTER *    Location: Gentile Station, 1507 Wilmington Pike, Kettering  *   Description: Buys and manages more than 1 million electronic items for armed forces and other federal agencies. It also provides engineering support to help the military standardize electronic parts  *   Annual payroll: $85 million  *   Work force: More than 2,100 employees, mostly civilians  *   Workers: 50 percent female, 25 percent minority; 99 percent have high school diplomas, 21 percent have bachelor degrees, 3 percent advanced degrees *   Where workers live: Montgomery County, 73 percent; Greene, 17 percent; Clark, 4 percent; Warren, 2 percent; Miami, 2 percent; Butler, 1 percent *    Typical employee: 42 years old, 14 years of experience *   DESC profile:  Largest supplier of electronic spare parts in Defense Department  Focal pointfor Defense electronic component technology  Contracts with 4,000 firms  Salesactivity ($920 million) is equivalent to Fortune 500 company *************************************************************************                           GENTILE STATION **************************************************************************    Description: Defense Department installation supporting several organizations  *   Size: 165 acres  *   Work force: Nearly 2,900, including DESC employees and about 100 military personnel  *   Payroll: $116 million, including DESC  *   Organizations:Defense Electronics Supply Center Defense Finance and Accounting Service Defense Printing Service Joint Depot Maintenance Analysis Group  Defense Contract Audit Agency  Defense Contract Management Command International  Defense Data Support Center  Occupational Medicine Unit, USAF Hospital  Defense Contract Management Area Operations, Dayton  Defense Automatic Addressing System Office  Det. 1, 645th Communications-Computer Systems Group645th Defense Metropolitan Area Telephone Service 645th Electronic Support Division  83rd United States Army Reserve Command  Army and Air Force exchange service Defense Criminal Investigative Service  General Services Administration (GSA) Dayton Fleet Management Center  GSA Property Management Small Business Administration  Ohio National Guard Defense Information Technology Services Organization, financial Defense Electronics Supply Center LENGTH: Long  :  181 LINESKEYWORDS: CLOSING  ENHANCER: REF4================================================================================ 12 of 25, 2 Terms                                                    Pg 3 of 3 Transfer complete. Press [RETURN] to return to Menu: