MILITARY BASE CLOSINGS
& DEFENCE INDUSTRY DOWNSIZING

Conference of Mayors
Although originally founded in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1985, Capital Consultants moved to Washington, DC in 1990 and until quite recently was located at the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM), just two blocks from the White House. USCM is a non-profit membership association of mayors with populations of 30,000 or more. It is the premier bipartisan organization representing cities in the United States interacting with member mayors and city governments, the White House, and Congress. As a client, Capital Consultant's primary issue for the Conference of Mayors included economic development in the post-Cold War era (i.e., the closure of military bases and defense industries and its effects on cities). Its report on behalf of the nation's mayors to the President of the United States and the 104th Congress entitled, "A National Action Plan on Military Base Closings: Recommendations from the Mayors' Task Force on Military Base Closings and Economic Adjustments," led to several new pieces of legislation on Capitol Hill in 1995 and 1996, and continues to be one of the most important works on military base closure in America. Capital Consultants is not only familiar with the most recent government actions affecting cities in the United States, but also government actions in cities across the globe as people everywhere deal with the challenges of post-Cold War "conversion." Capital Consultants has collected numerous models or "Best Practices" of local economic development and private industry conversion success stories from companies and communities around the world.

Germany
Capital Consultants assisted the German States of North Rhine Westphalia and Rheinland-Pfalz in organizing international defense conversion conferences, beginning with the first such conference in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1996. Based on the overwhelming success of the initial conference, Mr. Kaiser led a second delegation of American mayors and local government leaders to a United Nation's sponsored conference in Kaiserslautern, Germany in 1997. Currently, Capital Consultants has been asked to organize a third international conference to take place in San Francisco, California.

Panama
At the recommendation of a Florida Senator, Capital Consultants was asked to assist Panamanians with the closure of American military bases in that country. More than 14 American military bases have closed in Panama since the transfer of the Panama Canal on December 31, 1999. The economic development challenges for Panamanians are enormous.

South Africa
Capital Consultants recently was asked by the South African government and the World Bank to assist South Africans with the closure of military bases in that country along with the economic restructuring caused by the downsizing of defense industries. Capital Consultants has been working with South African universities and NGO's to develop a national strategy for the closure and conversion of military bases in South Africa. Capital Consultants was also asked to serve as the World Bank's reader to review proposals to provide technical assistance to South African businesses, municipal governments and others affected by military base closings and defense industry downsizing in that country.

The U.S. State Department & the United Nations
In addition to providing numerous briefings on the issue of military base closure for the U.S. State Department and the United Nations among international visitors from countries such as Poland, China, Russia, Ukraine, Argentina, Panama, Japan, among others, Capital Consultants has been consulting with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for the last several years on its annual declaration of October 17th as "The Day for the Eradication of Poverty." Because of Mr. Kaiser's understanding of cities and his close personal relationships with grass-roots organizations and associations throughout the world, Capital Consultants has been assisting UNDP each year with obtaining hundreds of proclamations from mayors throughout the country and around the world for Poverty Day.

The U.S Department of Commerce
Capital Consultants has been a regular consultant to small companies working with defense conversion and military base closure, including Mendez England & Associates, an 8A-minority firm based in Washington, DC. Capital Consultants assisted Mendez England in organizing Defense Conversion and Entrepreneurial Development Seminars in eight American cities affected by military base closures and defense industry downsizing on behalf of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce. The cities included: San Antonio, Texas; San Diego, California; St. Louis, Missouri; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Jacksonville, Florida.

City Examples
In addition to representing non-profit associations, Capital Consultants also consults directly with individual mayors and city managers on specific management issues for cities. For example, Capital Consultants has assisted numerous cities with the challenges of military base closure. In the case of Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, Capital Consultants worked on the only overturned BRAC decision, which reversed a Congressional action to close parts of Fort Buchanan Army Base in Puerto Rico. In Richmond, California, Capital Consultants was successful in obtaining two OEA grants for the city to plan for the reuse of a former naval refueling depot within city limits. For the Joliet Arsenal Redevelopment Authority (JADA), Capital Consultants assisted in identifying federal funding and also provided technical assistance to help with the planning and redevelopment of a former Army arsenal, which was not included on the BRAC list. For Duluth, Minnesota, Mr. Kaiser wrote the necessary proposals to obtain state and federal funding to create the Natural Resource Research Institute (NRRI) on a closed Air Force base within the city in 1983, long before the BRAC Law even existed. The NRRI is designed to help create jobs and diversify the local economy through the creation of marketable products and services, which are indigenous to the region. For St. Cloud, Minnesota, Mr. Kaiser served as a consultant to the city and to the nearby St. Cloud State University to obtain state funding for an Advanced Manufacturing Center in what was a highly competitive statewide Request for Proposals to help displaced workers from the small manufacturing sector.

Sister Cities International
Capital Consultants has been a management consultant to Sister Cities International (SCI) since 1995. Like the U.S. Conference of Mayors, SCI is a membership association that includes more than 1,000 American cities partnered with over 2,000 foreign cities in 120 countries. SCI was founded in 1956 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower as a non-profit citizen diplomacy network to create and strengthen partnerships between U.S. cities and foreign countries in an effort to increase global understanding and cooperation at the municipal level. One of the largest volunteer organizations in the world, SCI's unique network matches citizens and key officials to promote cultural education and awareness and economic development in cities. Capital Consultants has assisted Sister Cities' national office on a variety of issues, including management consulting, strategic planning, public relations, fundraising, and other special projects, including military base closings. Capital Consultants initiated the Sister Cities' model for exchanging knowledge and information about military base closures worldwide. The President of the United States serves as Sister Cities' Honorary Chairman.