CFMNP's Steve Corneliussen added a few annotations to this news article, not to rebut the reporter's work, but to add important information and to convey CFMNP's viewpoint.

Options are 'wide open' for new state authority on Fort Monroe
Virginian-Pilot news report

Dave Forster

March 25, 2007

 

HAMPTON - A new state authority that will decide the fate of Fort Monroe could begin meeting as early as next month, a governor's assistant said Saturday.

The Army will vacate the historic waterfront fort in 2011. The options for its future use remain "wide open," but Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is committed to a solution that will provide a lot of public space, said Marc Follmer, deputy assistant for the Office of Commonwealth Preparedness.

"I can tell you there is no appetite to over develop," Follmer told the audience of about 40 during a town hall meeting at the West Hampton Community Center. [[WHILE WE BELIEVE THAT THIS IS NICE TO HEAR, THERE REMAIN UNANSWERED QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW MUCH DEVELOPMENT IS SIMPLY BEING PRESUMED IN ADVANCE OF THE PLANNING, BEFORE ANYONE REALLY KNOWS WHAT FORT MONROE'S SELF-SUFFICIENCY WILL ACTUALLY REQUIRE.]]

Kaine signed legislation Friday that created a new authority to study reuse options for the fort.

The board will be staffed by seven appointments from Hampton, four state legislators, five members of the governor's C abinet and two gubernatorial appointments. Any final decision will require a supermajority vote.[[THAT'S SEVEN PRIVATE CITIZENS FROM HAMPTON AND ZERO PRIVATE CITIZENS FROM ANYWHERE ELSE IN VIRGINIA. THE GOVERNOR DOES APPOINT AN EXPERT IN HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND AN EXPERT IN HERITAGE TOURISM.]]

The Army says it costs about $15 million a year to maintain the moated fort and its buildings. [[THIS FIGURE HAS NEVER BEEN DOCUMENTED, AND THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION HAS FORMALLY ASKED THAT THE FIGURE BE STUDIED AND ANALYZED IN DEPTH.]] So, although preservation is the key, Follmer said, "We have to find a way to make Fort Monroe self-sufficient."

Audience member Kelly Place, a fisherman who once ran a marina and seafood market in Hampton, said a good plan for Fort Monroe could help the city become the fourth leg to Colonial Virginia's Historic Triangle.

"I really think that this is just an unbelievable opportunity," he said.

Place joined a group of local activists who want the fort to be a national park. The legislation signed by Kaine also calls for a National Park Service study of that option.

Reach Dave Forster at (757) 222-5563 or dave.forster@pilotonline.com.

(Home)