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JBSA News
NEWS | June 5, 2020

Feedback Fridays

By Brig. Gen. Laura L. Lenderman 502d Air Base Wing Commander

Feedback Fridays is a weekly forum that aims to connect the 502d Air Base Wing with members of the Joint Base San Antonio community. Questions are collected during commander’s calls, town hall meetings and throughout the week.

If you have a question or concern, please send an email to RandolphPublicAffairs@us.af.mil using the subject line “Feedback Fridays.” Questions will be further researched and published as information becomes available.

Installation & Facilities

Q. My husband (active duty sponsor) has been told by the Community Housing Office that he will be required to sign a lease and pay the prorated rent due BEFORE being allowed to step foot into a military family home.

As a spouse, it seems unreasonable, if not borderline illegal, to expect a family to sign a binding lease agreement with a landlord or agency before being allowed to see the condition of the property.

Any existing damages, issues impacting health and safety, and other such concerns have to be addressed in the lease before signing in order for the landlord to be legally accountable for the appropriate resolution. He has also been advised neither of us will be able to attend the inspection walkthrough.

I appreciate the abundance of concern due to the current Department of Defense directives; however, I have not found any directive that protects my family if any issues aren’t addressed that should have been notated and agreed upon prior to a legal agreement being signed. If such directives exist, I would appreciate a copy for personal records and possible future protection from unjust garnishment.

If contact with new tenants is so concerning that we cannot observe social distance guidelines while wearing masks in order to attend a walkthrough (three people maximum), then we should not be required to sign the lease inside the community center (unknown number of possible exposure risks).

The exclusion of provisions to protect the tenant (walk-through and inspection) cannot be matters of convenience while protection of the organization (lease agreement) is mandatory.

Please know, I have no desire to create any issues with the privatized housing agents within the Lackland Community Housing Center. I appreciate they are only stating policies provided by their organization. I look forward to your insight and guidance in protecting incoming families during these unprecedented times.

A. Thank you very much for your question and for bringing this to my attention. Our Civil Engineer team reached out to our JBSA-Lackland privatized housing partner, Belford Beatty Communities, or BBC, to obtain more information on this matter and help resolve to avoid future reoccurrences.

Bottom line, you are correct that no lease agreement should be signed nor deposit paid without first providing the prospective tenant with the opportunity to inspect the property, ask questions, highlight concerns and obtain resolution as necessary.

This is and has been BBC’s policy, although it appears to have been miscommunicated during your recent experience. BBC leadership met with their leasing team to review their policy, to include recent adjustments due to COVID-19, to ensure everyone’s awareness and avoid future reoccurrence.

Due to COVID-19 concerns, BBC did modify their move-in process to meet CDC guidelines, limiting physical interaction and putting six feet of distance between all parties in order to protect tenants and BBC employees.

This modification does not conflict with BBC’s policy to schedule appointments with the incoming member to conduct a tour and an inspection of the home once it has been matched to the prospective tenant.

BBC does provide lease documents and addendums via email prior to the tour appointment for review in preparation should the member decided to accept the home. On the day of the tour, BBC, along with the prospective tenant, will inspect the home, demonstrate how things work and answer any questions.

If the member elects to proceed with the move-in process, BBC will conduct the lease signing, obtain the move-in prorate amount and provide the new tenant with keys to their new home. Again, this appointment would not require the member to sign the lease and submit the prorated amount prior to the appointment.

I’m very sorry for the unfortunate experience you encountered, especially knowing how stressful moving homes can be; however, I am truly grateful for your feedback as it has provided us the opportunity to improve our processes and service to our customers.

For any further questions or issues on housing that you are not able to resolve directly with our privatized housing partners, please contact the Civil Engineer’s Military Housing Office at 210-671-1840 for assistance.

Q. When did the parking lot for building 393 (across the street from the Vehicle Maintenance Building on JBSA-Randolph) become free trailer parking?

There are a LOT of personal use trailers parked there and have been for a LONG time. I was under the impression that there isn’t any personal trailer parking on base, except for the RV parking that the FSS runs and that costs money.

A. Thank you for bringing your concern to my attention. You are correct, there is a designated RV parking area that is run by our FSS, and these designated areas are the only spots allowed for trailer parking. We have passed your observation to our Security Forces team, and they are policing the lot to ensure that all parked vehicles are in compliance with JBSA guidelines.

Q. Please have your T-38s stop flying anywhere near my house. They are far louder than advertised on the Compatible Use Study. They completely prevent normal activities such as talking to others, having meetings, studying, or sleeping.

Some of us sometimes get home at SUNRISE after a full night of being responsible for lives, and we have to sleep during the day. The T-38s can be limited to one takeoff and one straight in landing instead of doing closed patterns and VFR patterns.

By comparison, the T-1s are very friendly in terms of noise. Firstly, they are very quiet. Secondly, they don’t do patterns over my house every day. I hardly ever see T-1s here. The T-38s could be ordered not to do patterns here but they continue to do so even after many complaints. I don’t want T-38s anywhere near my house or even within 5 miles since they are so loud.

A. Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding the aircraft noise at JBSA-Randolph. We take each complaint seriously and give each its due process.

Each and every complaint is diligently researched and thoroughly analyzed. We evaluate and assess all conditions involved by reviewing aircraft data, pilot flight planning, flight routes, and when needed, review of aircraft on-board video recordings, nothing is left to chance.

JBSA flying training operations are critical to national defense, and the 12th Flying Training Wing is trusted with producing qualified pilots that protect and defend our nation and its allies.

We remain sensitive to our neighbors in the local community who work various shifts and are impacted by the aircraft noise; however, the flying training syllabus requires a certain number of takeoffs and landings in order to ensure the safety and proficiency of instructors and student pilots.

We appreciate your understanding as we safely train instructor pilots in the world’s greatest Air Force. For further questions, please contact 12th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs at 210-652-1272.

Q. My husband was at the shoppette recently and there was another patron in there without a mask. When my husband asked the cashier about the mask-wearing policy, the cashier informed my husband that they are unable to enforce mask wearing in the shoppette, and they will continue to serve them whether they have a mask or not. Is that accurate?

A. Thank you for your question. Under the Secretary of Defense’s direction, all individuals on DOD property, installations, and facilities are required to wear a cloth face covering when they cannot maintain six feet of physical distance in public areas or work centers. This includes Total Force Military Personnel, DOD civilian employees, family members, DOD contractors, and all other individuals on DOD property/installations/facilities.

Unfortunately, even under that mandate, the Exchange cannot refuse service to any authorized customers that do not follow the facial covering guidelines, and they are also not required to challenge any customers on their lack of facial covering prior to any Exchange facilities.

However, we ask that members of our JBSA community continue to follow DOD direction and CDC guidance to ensure the health and safety of our community.