Photo By Scott Sturkol | Col. Sheyla Baez-Ramirez, Fort McCoy Garrison commander, speaks to residents of South...... read more read more
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Fort McCoy held a November privatized housing town hall meeting Nov. 13 at the installation in the community center in South Post Housing on post.
Dozens of residents participated along with members of the Fort McCoy Garrison leadership and installation housing staff as well as members of the housing partner agency Cadence Communities LLC.
The meeting first included comments by Fort McCoy Garrison Commander Col. Sheyla Baez. Baez mainly introduced the new housing manager from Candence — Isabella Larson.
“I think that … when somebody understands the process, it’s a lot better, and it’s a lot easier to try to help families because she’s been through this,” Baez said about Larson having been a military family member. “You know, she did this as a child. She did it as an adult, and as a spouse. So she understands what … our families go through every time that we PCS here. I think that she is a great asset to the organization. I think we are super happy to have (her) as part of the team.”
Larson also introduced herself.
“I have been in property management for 28 years,” Larson said. “I grew up military. My dad was a chaplain in the Army. And then I was married to the military for 22 years, where we were stationed over in Europe. So, I’m very excited to be back in the military family.
“So, anything you need, please come to my office at any point in time,” Larson said. “No appointments needed.”
Command Sgt. Maj. Thomas Calarco, garrison command sergeant major, also talked with the attendees, and Zachery (Zach) Hynes with the Fort McCoy Directorate of Public Works gave updates on housing subjects.
As a special briefing, Installation Safety Manager Ed De Leon held a winter safety presentation for meeting participants.
“We’ve already had one snowfall,” De Leon said. “We’ve been fortunate so far, but again just prepare yourselves.”
De Leon gave some examples on how to prepare your vehicle for winter.
“Let’s discuss your charging system,” De Leon said. “The cold really does dampen your vehicle. If you have one of those newer vehicles where you have that infotainment center, you have all these electronics, you have these high beam LED lights, all that will drain your battery and the cold will zap that up. Myself, about two years ago, I just changed out my battery, and I'm starting to feel that it's starting to slow down a little bit.
“Also check if oils and fluid levels are okay,” De Leon said. “I know some people will try to go to a thinner weight oil in the wintertime so that viscosity is a little bit thinner so it will be easier for startup. Also use winter windshield washer fluid. This I can't stress enough. That … winter washer fluid … it doesn't freeze up inside your system.”
Leaders and housing officials also answered questions from residents. Most were for specific items about the housing itself, which the residents were seemingly satisfied with the answers.
Hines also fielded a question about whether or not Trees for Troops was taking place on post in 2024. He said Fort McCoy was not selected this year to receive donated Christmas trees because the organization didn’t receive enough support to expand its outreach to send trees to McCoy.
Cadence Communities LLC became the Fort McCoy housing partner agency in 2023. In an announcement Aug. 1, 2023, the Army stated Cadence would be the new partner for Fort McCoy housing on South Post. In the article at https://www.army.mil/article/268784/army_to_begin_new_privatized_housing_project_in_miami_area, it states Cadence Communities LLC is providing housing to service members who live in the high-cost, congested areas in the vicinity of U.S. Southern Command, which is headquartered in Doral, Fla., near Miami, and they will also develop, operate and maintain existing military family housing at four other installations — including Fort McCoy, Rock Island Arsenal, Ill.; the Soldier Systems Center in Natick, Mass.; and Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif.
“Overall, 371 family housing units that are currently government-owned will be privatized,” the article states. “The total Cadence Communities MHPI project across the seven installations will include 481 family housing units and 60 unaccompanied housing units upon completion of the initial development. Cadence Communities LLC will bring private-sector resources and market-based incentives to provide quality, affordable residential communities that are sustainable over time.”
According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, in 1996, Congress provided the Department of Defense with authorities enabling it to obtain private-sector financing and management to repair, renovate, construct, and operate military housing. The DOD had since privatized about 99 percent of its domestic housing.
The housing in the South Post Housing area is relatively new, too. In the past two-plus decades, more than 150 new homes have been built in the area. Additionally, the residents have had some of the highest customer satisfaction ratings in the Army over the past several years.
Fort McCoy’s motto is to be the “Total Force Training Center.”
Located in the heart of the upper Midwest, Fort McCoy is the only U.S. Army installation in Wisconsin.
The installation has provided support and facilities for the field and classroom training of more than 100,000 military personnel from all services nearly every year since 1984.
Learn more about Fort McCoy online at https://home.army.mil/mccoy, on Facebook by searching “ftmccoy,” on Flickr at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortmccoywi, and on X (formerly Twitter) by searching “usagmccoy.”
Also try downloading the My Army Post app to your smartphone and set “Fort McCoy” or another installation as your preferred base. Fort McCoy is also part of Army’s Installation Management Command where “We Are The Army’s Home.”
| Date Taken: | 11.18.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 11.18.2024 17:57 |
| Story ID: | 485607 |
| Location: | FORT MCCOY, WISCONSIN, US |
| Web Views: | 955 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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