Closing Plant 42 Could Be Beneficial, Knight Says : Economy: The assemblyman says area could see job gains if the facility is used by private industry. Many disagree.
Adding fuel to the debate over what would happen if the Air Force shuts down a major testing and production facility here, Assemblyman William J. (Pete) Knight (R-Palmdale) said closing the operation, called Plant 42, could be a blessing in disguise.
Few Antelope Valley leaders, however, share Knight’s views. Many of them fear that shutting down the region’s second-largest employer would eliminate badly needed local jobs and scare away new investors.
“If that ever came about, it would be the death blow for this valley,” said Tom Mastin, owner of a Palmdale real estate business.
But Knight, a former Palmdale mayor and retired Air Force test pilot, said Friday that private industry could make better use of the 5,700-acre facility, providing new jobs not tied to the military.
As defense spending decreases, Knight said, there will be less military work at Plant 42 in the coming years.
“If there are no (defense) contracts, and there’s not going to be any, there’s no need for (Plant 42),” he said. “It’s an assembly facility. . . . If there’s no production, it’s essentially closed.”
His comments came after the Air Force confirmed that it has asked managers at Plant 42 and seven other government-owned, contractor-operated plants nationwide to assess the costs and other impacts associated with closures. The reports are due Oct. 29.
About 8,000 people work at Plant 42, an aircraft test and production site. The Air Force manages the property, but nearly all of the employees work for private firms with defense contracts.
In the past, local leaders have talked about encouraging companies, other than military contractors, to operate in vacant buildings at Plant 42. But the Air Force has not welcomed non-defense firms to its center.
If the Air Force pulls out of Plant 42, Knight said, “It may be easier to lease some of these facilities. The value is in utilization.”
Existing contractors, such as Lockheed and Northrop, would probably remain at the plant, Knight said, even if the Air Force left Plant 42.
“The facility is still there,” he said. “They don’t take it away.”
Some business people say an end to military work at Plant 42 would open the door to new economic opportunities.
Rick Norris, president of the Greater Antelope Valley Economic Development Corp., said the Air Force property could become the international airport that some local residents have sought for decades.
The Air Force has characterized its new review as merely a “what-if” study and said Plant 42 is in no immediate jeopardy.
Nevertheless, Maj. Peter Drinkwater, commander of Plant 42, said that since news of the study broke last week, he has fielded more than a dozen calls regarding the future of the facility.
The inquiries ranged from city leaders asking how they can help save the plant to developers wondering what price the Air Force will ask for its property, Drinkwater said.
Drinkwater said he had no answers to the two most commonly asked questions--on how the Air Force will evaluate Plant 42 and when the facility’s fate will be decided.
But he said he doubts that Plant 42 will be closed, thanks to its government-owned runway and its proximity to the testing facilities at Edwards Air Force Base.
“I would think it’s likely to remain viable as an Air Force operation,” Drinkwater said. “We can do things here that other places cannot do.”
But he also cautioned that by the end of the 1990s, the Air Force plans to have cut its operations by 40% of what they were in the late 1980s.
Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said he was very concerned about the possible closure of Plant 42. Knight might have a point, he said, but there was no way to be sure what the outcome of closing the plant would be.
“The uncertainty of the issue is what’s got people concerned,” he said. After hearing from worried local leaders, U. S. Rep. Howard (Buck) McKeon (R-Santa Clarita), who represents the Antelope Valley, fired off a letter to Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill A. McPeak.
The congressman wants to find out more about the purpose of the new study, his aide said.
“We are asking for an idea of what they are trying to do, whether this is merely a contingency plan or if they are preparing for a dramatic move,” said Armando Azarloza, McKeon’s spokesman.
Although the Antelope Valley’s economy boomed during the 1980s, aerospace cuts and a slowdown in home-building have taken a toll in recent years.
And some leaders in Palmdale and Lancaster believe that the headlines regarding the possible closure of Plant 42 may be enough to cause investors to have second thoughts about building new stores or factories in north Los Angeles County.
“It does have a trickle-down effect,” said Lancaster Mayor Arnie Rodio. “Any time you talk about anything negative in the community, there is an impact.”
Al McCord, Palmdale’s deputy city administrator, said the news reports about Plant 42 sparked numerous calls to his city. Most were from retailers who were concerned about how this might affect their plans to open stores in the area.
McCord said he assured the retailers that the city will fight to keep the plant open. “It has not killed any deals,” McCord said. “Not at all.”
Similarly, Rodio said he also has not “heard anything from anybody who says they’re going to cancel a project or pull out.”
Al Carlson, a Lancaster Chamber of Commerce board member, said he believes that the Air Force would be foolish to give up Plant 42. To rebuild such a facility somewhere else, he said, would be prohibitively expensive.
“By some standards,” he said, “it’s irreplaceable.”
Sneiderman is a Times staff writer. Moeser is a correspondent.
