Left to right: Naval Base Ventura County Facilities Engineering & Acquisition Division Director, Lt. Cmdr. Brian Christner; Public Works Officer, Cmdr. Andrew Olsen; Chief Staff Officer, Capt. Kirk Lagerquist; Installation Program Integrator, Jon Gathman; Commanding Officer, Capt. Jeff Chism. Ventura County Supervisor Kelly Long; VCPWA-RT Superintendent – Road Maintenance, District 3, Duane Foster; VCPWA-RT Engineering Manager III – Operations and Maintenance, Anitha Blana; Director of VCPWA-RT, David Fleisch.
An intergovernmental support agreement (IGSA) signed by Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) and the County of Ventura is expected to save government money, increase Navy operational efficiencies, and help ensure the long-term sustainability of the local Navy installation.
The IGSA is an on-going program with Ventura County Public Works Roads and Transportation (VCPWA-RT) to provide road maintenance services to the installation. The program will provide up to $1 million of reimbursable road maintenance services to NBVC annually, reducing costs and enhancing mission effectiveness.
“Today this one-million-dollar agreement for road and sign repairs will further strengthen our installation and partnerships going forward,” said Capt. Jeff Chism, Commanding Officer, Naval Base Ventura County.
The IGSA is designed to provide road maintenance and repairs at a reduced cost and faster response time for the Navy. The agreement will streamline the contracting process, allowing for low-cost rapid response.
“VCPWA-RT’s partnership will provide numerous services to NBVC which include paving, road repair, road maintenance, signage and other related services,” said David Fleisch, Director of VCPWA-RT. “We are looking forward to a long-lasting partnership that will serve the best interests of the County, NBVC and the community.”
IGSAs have become the trademark for all military services to enter into mutually beneficial relationships between installations, local governments and counties. Navy installations have the authority to enter into IGSAs with state and local governments to receive, provide or share support services already being provided, as per Section 331 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 2013, codified as 10 USC 2679.
“I am encouraged by the longstanding cooperative relationship between the County of Ventura and Naval base Ventura County. This new IGSA is yet another example of our ability to work together,” said Ventura County Supervisor Kelly Long. “It will provide up to $1 million of road maintenance services to the base and will help reduce costs and leverage valuable taxpayer dollars for both entities.”
The road maintenance ISGA is the second agreement between the Navy and Ventura County. In May 2018, the Navy and Ventura County entered into the first ever Navy IGSA for full-service maintenance and repairs for heavy equipment and vehicles.
“In 2018, I was proud to be a part of our first IGSA with the base to service its emergency vehicles. This turned out to be the first IGSA approved by the United States Navy in the nation,” said Long. “In addition, it’s with help from community based organizations like RDP-21, which serves as a helpful forum in developing alliances and synergy throughout the Ventura County that I look forward to pursuing additional opportunities to partner with our local base that results in increased efficiencies and mutual benefit”
The expectation behind entering into such agreements is to leverage the strengths of local governments that also provide cost-effective services, thus saving taxpayer dollars by using the County’s existing capabilities.
“The Navy has a long history in Ventura County and currently is the largest employer with more than a $2 billion impact on the local economy. This agreement further strengthens the cooperation between Ventura County and the Navy, leading to greater efficiencies and savings to taxpayers,” Chism added. “We will continue to explore future agreements and identify creative ways to manage, operate and sustain military missions.
