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Home : News : News
JBSA News
NEWS | Sept. 20, 2019

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. During an active shooter exercise, I noticed that the shades in our cubicle are see through. What is the procedure to get safer (opaque) shades installed?

A. Thank you for your question. We definitely appreciate the feedback regarding the safety of our installation, and to know that our exercises are providing value and lessons learned!

Window blinds and coverings are a furnishing asset and, as such, are owned, maintained and replaced by the occupying organizations. Any requests regarding upgrading blinds can be presented to your facility manager or unit leadership for consideration as a unit investment. Your facility manager would then need to coordinate the effort with our Civil Engineers for final approval for installation.

Even with opaque shades installed, we still recommend that during these exercises, or in the case of a real-world event, that personnel move away from the windows, hide behind furniture, and get down on the floor for maximum protection. For more information, please reach out to your unit’s AT/FP representative for any specific guidance and training.

Q. On Aug. 29, I submitted an ICE complaint concerning handicap shower seats/benches being removed at the Medina Gym at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and not replaced. As of this date, no response from anyone. Can you please advise?

A. Thank you for your question. The fitness and well-being of all of our JBSA personnel is always important to me, especially in how JBSA can accommodate and support all of our members in their fitness goals.

We reached out to the Medina Fitness Center Facility Manager and learned that the previous showers’ seats/benches were permanently damaged and had to be removed as they were a safety hazard.

But there is good news! New benches were ordered and installed Sept. 11 and they are ready for use. Our apologies for the inconveniences the bench removals presented, but hopefully the new benches are an improvement and are able to accommodate everyone’s needs!

Q. My daily route onto JBSA-Fort Sam Houston is through the North New Braunfels Avenue gate every morning and then I drive down Stanley Road.

I noticed that the large overhead street lights are not working down Stanley Road all the way to the intersection at Stanley and Henry T. Allen Roads. The front of the Fort Sam Houston Theatre, the flagpole, the front of building 2263 and other areas down Stanley Road are very dark. There are personnel that park across the street and the dark areas make it difficult to see people crossing where there would normally be street lighting.

I contacted the customer service line and asked if anyone has been made aware of the lack of lighting situation on Stanley Road from North New Braunfels Avenue to Allen Road.

After further investigation from CE, I received a call back and was told that the lights are not functioning because the circuit that operates the affected lighting is directly tied to the ongoing construction of building 2263, and that the lighting will not be restored until the construction is completed or when permanent power has been restored to that building.

Is there a timeline when the contractor will have permanent power returned to the building and have the street lighting back to normal?

A. Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention! We recognize street and parking lot lighting are essential to pedestrian safety, and to the safety of all JBSA personnel as a whole.

You are correct that a portion of the light outage is associated with the Building 2263 renovation. Fortunately for us, the contractor was already aware of the situation and is working on a solution to tie in a new circuit to get the lighting back on! If a new circuit is not possible, however, CE will look into other alternatives to provide safer lighting in that area.

Another small section was also discovered as being down and CE plans to have that repaired and resolved by the end of September. Please continue to bring these concerns to our attention, as the safety and well-being of our personnel is one of my top priorities.

Q. When is the parking problem being addressed at the JBSA-Randolph BX Pharmacy? The temporary parking area provided once the base housing was cleared worked well to provide relief from crowded BX parking. With all the property at that location east of the BX, there is no (known) reason why a permanent parking area cannot be built.

A. Thank you for raising your concerns, as parking is a challenge throughout JBSA.

Right now, our base development planners are reaching out to pharmacy personnel to learn more about the situation their customers are experiencing. We are also talking with AAFES management about their actions planned for the area in question.

We know that AAFES went through a process to determine the required parking for a BX of this size, however, we need to know if the pharmacy-generated traffic was specifically addressed. There is a plan to construct a new Shoppette/Burger King in the area east to the current BX, but we will continue to look at the area to see how we can address this issue.

After we determine the pharmacy requirements and coordinate with AAFES, we will begin developing possible alternatives to address the issue. We are nearing completion of a fully revised base development plan for JBSA-Randolph, and have established a process to incorporate these types of actions into our plans. So be on the lookout for any new construction in your areas of work. Changes are coming!

Q. When will JBSA-Fort Sam Houston get a 24/7, 365 Service Call Center to better serve the base?

A. Great news! There is a plan in action to develop an Energy Management Control Center, or EMCS, which will double as the service call center for JBSA-Fort Sam Houston to allow for monitoring and controls of energy systems including water, power and HVAC services to allow full capacity to act as an after normal duty hours customer service center.

This plan, however, will require funding and manning adjustments for full capability. Right now, some systems on JBSA-Fort Sam Houston can be monitored for operation, but not full control. Currently, 24/7 coverage and customer service for JBSA-Fort Sam Houston is serviced by the 24/7 EMCS desk at JBSA-Randolph.

Miscellaneous

Q. Does the Gateway Club really need the club membership program? I believe it has caused a decline in club attendance and participation, and a lot of people don’t understand the real benefits of it. For our younger and older military members, families, and retirees, this is an especially amazing place to go to for a safe and secure environment on base to watch sports or hear a band play, etc.

A. Thank you for the opportunity to highlight the benefits of being a member of one of our amazing JBSA clubs!

There are many tangible benefits to becoming a member of the Gateway Club, to include: $10 lunch buffet or Thursday night dinner buffet birthday coupon, 2-month calendar mail outs with coupons, quarterly Customer Appreciation Nights, $1 off lunch program, Thursday night dinner buffet, Sunday breakfast buffet, $2 off special events, special occasion drawings members only eligible, 10 percent discount on all food & beverage on catered events, the ability to host events like retirements, promotion, wedding, anniversary, birthday, with no room fees, reciprocal privileges with other Air Force Clubs, free admission to special events throughout the year, a chance to win a $10,000 Bingo jackpot at the Kendrick Club (non-members receive only 50 percent), complimentary hors d’oeuvres during Friday afternoons social hours, and a free Birthday Meal at Randolph’s Parr Club.

Club memberships also allow us to uphold our storied Air Force heritage and traditions and provides the JBSA community with an opportunity to recharge, socialize and celebrate in a comfortable and elegant setting.

We’ve also funded significant capital improvements in all three clubs to give our members venues worthy of holding some of life’s most important and memorable events. I encourage everyone to become a Club member and take advantage of all of the great opportunities that we have to offer here at JBSA!

Q. I am concerned about the air pollution that our young children and older folks with asthma or lung conditions have to contend with.

As a retiree, I try to be a good role model, a good patriot, and a good citizen by going into fast food restaurants to place a to go order (rather than spend even more time with my engine running, sitting in a long drive-through line) and particularly by not sitting in the parking lot running my engine anywhere.

On a recent trip to the gym, I was walking outside for a cool down when I noticed an individual in a large pick-up truck parked with his engine running. I passed another parked truck, also with his engine running. I walked around the track for about five minutes, then came back to find both individuals were still sitting in their trucks running their engines.

While I seriously doubt they would actively want to harm anyone, this concerns me because these folks are polluting the air young children and our elderly have to breathe every day. It is inconsiderate to those with breathing disorders and the right thing to do is limit the amount of time you idle your engine.

I hope voicing my concerns will prompt commanders to encourage their folks to be mindful with regard to polluting the air which can adversely affect our young children and older people, particularly those with asthma, COPD, emphysema or other conditions which compromise breathing.

A. Thank you for voicing your concerns on this matter, as it has been an item of interest for JBSA and the San Antonio community as a whole.

With its increasing interest, we have to do our part as a JBSA community to help reduce pollution. One of our air quality efforts was actually accomplished this year!

In February, I signed a “JBSA Government Motor Vehicle (GMV) Idling Policy” to help tackle the exact issue you are highlighting. The policy applies to all Government Owned and GSA Vehicles, and states that operators are limited to standing idle times of five minutes or less, with exceptions for busses and emergency response vehicles. Personnel operating privately owned vehicles are also strongly encouraged to minimize standing idle times.

Additionally, our Civil Engineering Environmental Flight regularly publishes articles in our base newspaper to raise awareness on air quality and other important environmental programs.