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First Posted: 4/14/2014 TOBYHANNA &#8212; The campaign to keep the Tobyhanna Army Depot around could start with something as simple as a welcoming sign at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport.
Frank Zardecki, deputy commander at the depot, made a detailed presentation Monday at the meeting of the revitalized Blue Ribbon Task Force, telling how past attempts to get a sign at the airport were unsuccessful. Zardecki said the airport wanted to charge the depot &#8220;at least $50,000&#8221; to hang the sign.
Zardecki also told about 63 members of the Task Force that he has seen welcoming signs in other airports in cities with large military facilities.
&#8220;Tobyhanna is the largest employer in Northeastern Pennsylvania,&#8221; Zardecki said. &#8220;And the depot is critical to the economy of the region.&#8221;
Before Zardecki could finish his thought, two members of the Airport Board &#8212; Lackawanna County Commissioner Jim Wansacz and Luzerne County Manager Robert Lawton &#8212; assured him the sign issue would be brought up at their next meeting.
&#8220;We&#8217;re hearing about this for the first time today,&#8221; Wansacz said.
&#8220;I will bring it up at our next meeting,&#8221; Lawton said.
And there begins the marketing campaign to gain support for the depot as it faces yet another possible review &#8212; a Base Retention and Closure (BRAC) &#8212; rumored to be coming by 2017.
The depot is the largest industrial employer in Northeastern Pennsylvania with 3,550 employees; about a quarter of the staff live in Luzerne County. The depot has generated about 12,172 related jobs in the region with an estimated economic impact of $2.8 billion.
Zardecki said Tobyhanna personnel over the last three years alone have provided the airport with $6.6 million in revenue.
Zardecki said the depot has provided $3.1 million in tuition assistance to employees in the last five years and awarded $17.5 million in contracts to NEPA businesses in Fiscal Year 2013.
During his power point presentation, Zardecki highlighted the impact the depot has had on hotels, rentals, restaurants and businesses in the region.
Co-chairpersons Jeff Box, of the Northeast Pennsylvania Alliance, and Anna Cervenak, an original member of the Task Force since 1995, felt it was time to reconvene the group that last met in 2011. With rumors of another possible BRAC round on the horizon, the task force will meet more regularly and map out a plan aimed at garnering support from residents, businesses, elected officials and others.
Zardecki said reports are rampant that the U.S. Department of Defense is looking at unprecedented cuts in the coming years &#8212; as much as $487 billion over the next decade. He said a reduction of active-duty Army personnel from 570,000 to below 450,000 is expected.
Zardecki said another sequestration could happen and depot maintenance could be a prime target. He said that added to the mix is an increase in competition from the public and private sector.
&#8220;Everyone should be aware of future threats,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We here at Tobyhanna are confident we can not only withstand another BRAC, but that we can grow from it. We see a BRAC round as potential to expand our mission and create additional jobs.&#8221;
That bold, optimistic statement was met with nodding heads, smiles and applause from the committee members, all of which will be asked to play significant roles on committees and sub-committees as the process continues. Cervenak and Box said the task force will meet again in the fall at the depot.
 It was noted that a BRAC round has been used in the past to cut infrastructure costs by closing bases the committee identifies as unnecessary. Over the past 20 years, more than 350 installations have been closed based on BRAC recommendations.
The depot was spared during BRAC cuts in 1995 and 2005, though other regions weren&#8217;t so lucky. But their loss was Northeastern Pennsylvania&#8217;s gain as workers were transferred from other facilities such as California&#8217;s McClellan Air Force Base to Tobyhanna.
Ed Mickley, public affairs officer at the depot, said one-third of the depot staff, or about 1,700 employees, has been cut over the last two years through early-retirement incentives and canceled contracts.
State Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said Tobyhanna is a &#8220;world-class facility&#8221; that the entire region is proud of and it needs to be sustained.
&#8220;As this review process goes forward, we all have a vital role to stand together to grow and preserve this facility,&#8221; Baker said. 
State Sen. John Blake, D-Archbald, said it was important for the task force to reconvene in support of the region&#8217;s most important employer.
&#8220;Decisions are being made as we speak,&#8221; he said. 
Joseph Spielbauer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Military Community Protection Commission, said there are 213,000 Pennsylvanians working as a result of defense spending. He said the spending has generated $30 billion for the state&#8217;s economy and state contractors have received about $7.5 billion in business.
&#8220;That said, Pennsylvania has seen 18,913 jobs lost in the last five BRACs,&#8221; he said. Spielbauer said he expects the BRAC process to begin in 2015.
Box gave a report on the financial state of the task force, noting that a &#8220;nest egg&#8221; of about $157,000 remains in the treasury.
He said that in addition to forming committees, a website is being developed and marketing materials and a speakers bureau will be formed and rallies held.

Tobyhanna task force revived