ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - Ramon Rivero is faced with a life-changing decision -- whether to follow his job when his command relocates due to a 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission recommendation. But after attending an information session here Dec. 2 he feels that he has up-to-date information that will help him decide.
The 2005 BRAC Commission recommendation relocates all of TACOM Life Cycle Management Command Rock Island's 1,200 jobs, most to Detroit Arsenal in Warren, Mich., by September 2011. Early mission moves are scheduled for next year.
"I'm pretty impressed with the information I got today," said Rivero, a logistics system process specialist. "Hopefully if we decide to move to Warren we can use that information to decide on a residence and come up with plan of action," he said.
"The road show gives employees the opportunity to have personal, one-on-one discussions with representatives from real estate and school districts from Macomb, Wayne and Oakland Counties," said Luci Nickels, BRAC program manager at Rock Island.
Employee ambassadors from the three counties were also on hand to meet with Rock Island employees and talk about living in the area.
"I met with a former TACOM Rock Island employee who has lived up there for a year," said Cathy Boultinghouse, an item manager who stopped by to visit the ambassadors from Wayne County. "Since she was a TACOM Rock Island employee, it feels like one of our own has gone there, and she's very happy up there."
"It was helpful and the people are knowledgeable, said Lori Drown, financial management specialist. "The different topic areas allowed me to focus on what pertained to me. It was worth it and well done, and I'm glad the people took the time to come down and talk to us."
The visiting representatives from Southeast Michigan were eager to share with Rock Island employees.
"They're looking at everything from pre schools to graduation requirements to compare to Iowa and Illinois," said Rebecca Fannon, Grosse Point, Mich., Public School System community relations specialist. "The neat thing is that the representatives here are talking to families and helping them decide what is a good fit for them so they feel at home."
Both ambassadors from Macomb County noted the wide range of questions employees asked based on their life situations.
"Some people want a lot of land. They want to know the housing area and what it's like there. Some people want to be by the water. They're interested in shopping and things to do. Commute time is pretty big too," said Matt Tarasenko a life long resident of the Warren area who works in the Stryker office.
Kim Murphy of the Contracting Center has lived in the Warren area for 25 years after relocating from the Upper Peninsula.
"People have asked about medical facilities and quality of schools. People are latching on to something that gives them some sense of comfort, something that they can connect to. We tend to ask a lot of different questions," she said. "We ask, what are your interests' Do you need space, schools' People don't know where to begin or where to start."
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