BRUNSWICK (AP) – Two local panels will be formed to determine what the 3,220-acre Brunswick Naval Air Station should look like after it closes, officials said Thursday.

The formation of local redevelopment authorities in Brunswick and in Topsham is considered an important step forward in the longterm development of the facility.

“I’m excited about the possibilities and potential that can be done here with the resources we have,” Gov. John Baldacci told a news conference.

The federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission voted in August to shut down the Brunswick Naval Air Station, the last active duty military airfield in New England. Unless the commission’s recommendation is overturned by Congress, which is considered unlikely, the closure will take place in sequential steps and be completed in 2011.

Base officials don’t expect any job losses to occur until the base’s aircraft start moving to Jacksonville Naval Air Station in Florida. Brunswick now serves as a staging ground in the Northeast with its P-3 Orion aircraft for maritime surveillance patrols and overseas deployment.

The question now is how best to develop the sprawling site, which is located entirely in Brunswick except for 80 acres that are in Topsham.

The future could bring a wide range of uses from houses and offices to industry and recreational areas.

House Speaker John Richardson, D-Brunswick, said the facility could also be used for higher education or even as an Air Force or Navy reserve center.

“There are a lot of opportunities,” he said.

Some suggest that in time the site has the potential to become a regional economic engine.

The formation of local development authorities is one step that is needed to try to make that happen. The boards will take a close look at how the land should be used, and how it should be zoned to accommodate future uses.

The 13-member Brunswick board will be composed of two Brunswick town councilors, one Topsham selectman, two governor appointees, five Brunswick residents and three representatives from other towns in the region. The makeup of the Topsham board will be determined later.

A regional development authority is expected to be created through legislation and be based on the Loring Development Authority, the panel that has overseen development of the former Loring Air Force Base in northern Maine. A little more than a decade after it closed, the former base is filled with businesses that employ about 1,450 workers.