The Retirement of Mike McGee, HLRA Executive Director
Horsham Township Council Members present Mike McGee with a Certificate of Appreciate upon his retirement.
Mike McGee, the HLRA’s longtime Executive Director retired at the end of 2022.
Mike was named Executive Director in January 2006 of the Horsham Township Authority for NAS-JRB Willow Grove. The Horsham Township Authority for NAS-JRB Willow Grove was formed in late 2005 when the base was listed for closure by the federal Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC) to develop a plan for the redevelopment of the base.
Mike was instrumental in getting the Horsham Township Authority for NAS-JRB WG named as the ‘local reuse authority’ (LRA) by the federal government as the sole entity to represent the community in redevelopment of the base. The Horsham Township Authority for NAS-JRB WG became known as the ‘Horsham LRA or HLRA’.
The BRAC process for NAS-JRB WG was delayed for three + years by efforts by former PA Governor Ed Rendall as the HLRA patiently waited for the political process to play out.
Mike led the HLRA in three separate redevelopment actions:
- Former Horsham Memorial U.S. Army Reserve Center, Horsham, PA
- Shenandoah Woods Family Housing Complex, Warminster, PA
- Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base, Willow Grove, PA
Mike guided the HLRA through the process of complying with the federal McKinney Act in each of the three closure actions; ensuring that the process of redevelopment balanced the community’s expressed needs for economic redevelopment with the expressed needs of the homeless individuals and families in the vicinity of the installation.
He led the planning process which resulted in approval of the Redevelopment Plan for NAS-JRB Willow Grove in 2012. This involved enlisting the local and regional communities to provide input to help the consultants produce the plan. ‘Charrettes’ were held in the Community Center and the Horsham Township Municipal Building with overflow crowds.
The Horsham Township Authority of NAS-JRB was sunset in September 2012 at the completion of the planning process. The Horsham Land Redevelopment Authority (HLRA) was formed to implement the Redevelopment Plan. Mike McGee continued to be the HRLA Executive Director.
Since 2014, with the discovery of per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS) contamination in the immediate vicinity of the base, McGee has tirelessly pushed the military and the environmental regulators to take responsibility for their actions and cleanup the contamination.
During 2018-2020, he worked with Horsham Township, U.S. Navy and National Park Service on a Public Benefit Conveyance (PBC) application for the former Horsham Elementary School property east of Easton Road. The property was transferred in 2020 and is now part of the Township’s park system.
Mike will be remembered for his steady leadership and an overriding desire to make Horsham Township the best place to live, work and play.
The HLRA and the entire community salutes his outstanding leadership and wishes him well in his retirement.
