lots of business expansion

[paxnewbie]

As a shopper, I am tickled to death about all of the new places coming to SOMD, but I'd like to know if there is something afoot that county commissioners and a few others know about that we don't?
A Harris Teeter, Hobby Lobby, another DD in the square and more.
We've got from zero-2 handmade chocolate shops in St. Mary's County, as well as a new ice cream place in the square.

Developments are going in a few different spots, too. Is there more work on the base? Is it contractors?

 

[ltown81]

I hope one of those stores has flame retardant clothes in it..because the old locals are about to unload on you.

I personally like the growth down here..and these business would not be coming of the majority did not want them.

 

[glhs837]

As a shopper, I am tickled to death about all of the new places coming to SOMD, but I'd like to know if there is something afoot that county commissioners and a few others know about that we don't?
A Harris Teeter, Hobby Lobby, another DD in the square and more.
We've got from zero-2 handmade chocolate shops in St. Mary's County, as well as a new ice cream place in the square.

Developments are going in a few different spots, too. Is there more work on the base? Is it contractors?

Well, there are two new hangars and those will need people to work in them. I heard recently that the Presidential Helicopter program will be expanding, and the Triton program is getting bigger.

 

[spr1975wshs]

Even though my wife's livelihood is tied to the base, I find it disturbing for the future of the county that Pax Rixer is the main engine of the economy here.

 

[Gilligan]

I've seen little evidence of significant expansion of jobs on, or supporting, the base. In fact, a lot of folks have seen pay cuts as contract re-competes become more and more cutthroat, and funding continues to dwindle overall.

All I really see are new retail centers and restaurants going up and older ones going vacant. Musical chairs.

 

[Gilligan]

..and these business would not be coming of the majority did not want them.

How does "majority wants" factor in to the decisions made by major investors to build large projects like shopping centers, chain restaurants or huge tracts of housing?

 

[Clem72]

All I really see are new retail centers and restaurants going up and older ones going vacant. Musical chairs.

Seems like we could support more commercial without more jobs.

Government person can afford to eat at the Tides, Tides employee can afford to eat at Sakura, Sakura employee can afford to eat at Golden Corral, Golden Corral employee can afford to eat at Mc'Ds.

Same with shopping...Belks->JCPenny's->Khols->Target->Walmart->Dollar General

 

[Gilligan]

Seems like we could support more commercial without more jobs.

I don't know. There has to be a limit to that out there somewhere. It wouldn't be the first time that development activity (both commercial and residential) eventually exceeded the economic capacity of a particular area. I remember years ago when that happened to large suburbs in Dallas and Houston-Ft.Worth areas. Took a very long time for the economic base to "catch up" to the over development that had occurred.. On the flip side, you sure could buy a really nice new SF home cheap for quite a few years. ;-)

 

[glhs837]

I've seen little evidence of significant expansion of jobs on, or supporting, the base. In fact, a lot of folks have seen pay cuts as contract re-competes become more and more cutthroat, and funding continues to dwindle overall.

All I really see are new retail centers and restaurants going up and older ones going vacant. Musical chairs.

Well, these are the things coming, not here yet.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/ne...r-replacement-program-achieves-milestone.html

https://defensesystems.com/articles/2016/09/28/navy-northrop-mq4c-triton-uas-contract.aspx

 

[Gilligan]

Well, these are the things coming, not here yet.

http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/ne...r-replacement-program-achieves-milestone.html

https://defensesystems.com/articles/2016/09/28/navy-northrop-mq4c-triton-uas-contract.aspx

Good..looks like a few hundred jobs anyway. Not exactly earth-shaking in scope though...either one.

If it weren't for some crumbs from SOCOM and some bits of unmanned surface vessel work here and there, we'd be completely out of the US defense market these days.

 

[ltown81]

I own a non defense related business, and hiring down here is pretty tough. I assume the base is sucking up a lot of workforce.

 

[MarieB]

I own a non defense related business, and hiring down here is pretty tough. I assume the base is sucking up a lot of workforce.

So is finding a decent job

 

[Gilligan]

I own a non defense related business, and hiring down here is pretty tough. I assume the base is sucking up a lot of workforce.

Technical employees have never been more available with all the cutbacks....is what I'm seeing.

 

[BernieP]

Well, there are two new hangars and those will need people to work in them. I heard recently that the Presidential Helicopter program will be expanding, and the Triton program is getting bigger.

I think those two new hangars are for programs who are here and need to replace temporary buildings that have reached their end of life.
I know one of the programs and there will be very few if any new jobs.
Same is probably true of the program you mentioned. It's pretty much a turnkey system.
NAWCAD is hiring, but I think to backfill existing billets. There is no expansion.

 

[popsicle]

Not sure where you are getting your information.... but if the Donald get elected he just might decided his S76 is more luxurious than anything that NAVAIR can build.

 

[Clem72]

I seem to remember something about presidential helo being cancelled back in 2010 or so? Did this not happen?

 

[glhs837]

Not sure where you are getting your information.... but if the Donald get elected he just might decided his S76 is more luxurious than anything that NAVAIR can build.

I seem to remember something about presidential helo being cancelled back in 2010 or so? Did this not happen?

More gaudy, perhaps, but having had a chance to get inside all the currently ones serving ones, gonna be hard to top the luxury of them. Gorgeous work, religiously maintained. Clem, the one they had planned was cancelled, mostly because they kept adding stuff until it was not executable, sort of the Homer of helicopters. So they basically started from scratch. But they have finally gotten a real deal, in something that's actually affordable and meets requirements, well, is supposed to, anyway.

 

[ltown81]

Technical employees have never been more available with all the cutbacks....is what I'm seeing.

That is part of the issue though. Most of the non defense jobs down here are service related. And service jobs don't pay $50K plus out the gate. Those people simply can't support their lifestyle with the non defense related job growth we are getting.

So is finding a decent job

Depends on your definition of "decent". When we advertise a job as "entry level" and it is clearly a service job. Reasonable entry level would be $10-15/hr depending on experience. We constantly get people come in and be shocked that entry level is not $20 an hour. We have had to start doing phone interviews before bringing people to explain the pay before bringing them in so we are not wasting peoples time.

I do chalk part of it up to the fact that you really can't make $10-15 an hour and live in St. Mary's county on your own because housing is expensive and you have to have a car to get anywhere. If you went out to the eastern shore, or western MD, you have no trouble finding quality people at 10-15/hr.

 

[Restitution]

Depends on your definition of "decent". When we advertise a job as "entry level" and it is clearly a service job. Reasonable entry level would be $10-15/hr depending on experience. We constantly get people come in and be shocked that entry level is not $20 an hour. We have had to start doing phone interviews before bringing people to explain the pay before bringing them in so we are not wasting peoples time.

On the flip side, there are a few around here (mostly for part time positions I will admit) that require TS-level clearance, years of experience, etc. and only want to start at $15/hour. High demands for such low starting pay.

 

[Gilligan]

That is part of the issue though. Most of the non defense jobs down here are service related. And service jobs don't pay $50K plus out the gate. Those people simply can't support their lifestyle with the non defense related job growth we are getting.

There is that. My company is one of probably very few in the immediate area that employs engineers and technicians but yet does almost zero business with the base or NAVAIR in general.
Nobody in any of the professional possessions in our company has ever made less than $25/hour. Some of the base contractor tech jobs are being pushed down to less than that recently, which makes it good for us.