Rift between city, state threatens Fort Monroe plans
Officials struggle over a pact about how Hampton and Virginia will work toward the future of post.
HAMPTON -- A rift between local and state officials is threatening to derail the planning process for the future of Fort Monroe.
It's unclear how broad the problem is, but officials on both sides are struggling to come up with a joint agreement governing how the region and the state will plan for life after the Army leaves the waterfront post in 2011.
The chairman of the federally recognized redevelopment committee in Hampton said that if a resolution doesn't surface, the planning for the 570-acre site could be split into two parts.
"They have been reluctant to sign the agreement," said Bob Harper, an executive with Northrop Grumman, who chairs the panel - officially known as the local redevelopment authority. "This would be a tremendous step backward."
Leadership in the Pentagon slated Monroe for closure during last year's round of base closings and realignments. Given the natural physical connection between the post and the city, Hampton officials quickly moved to the forefront of the planning process.
But Monroe is a unique case because about half of the property reverts immediately to the state when the Army leaves the post.
That leaves the city jostling for position with the governor, 140 state lawmakers and a recently formed grassroots group that is working to turn the military installation into a historical and environmental preserve. The problems threaten to further complicate an already complex process that takes years to plan and involves numerous levels of bureaucracy and red tape. The current dustup is over a memorandum of understanding between the city and the state, that would set the basic guidelines and goals of their relationship regarding Fort Monroe. Harper said that without a signed agreement the federal government would refuse to work with the local panel on the 300-acres that revert to the state. That land includes many of the most historic buildings on the post, including the stone fortress.
Mayor Ross A. Kearney and City Manager Jesse Wallace are heading to Richmond next week to meet with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine in the hope that they can iron out some sort of deal. Hampton lawyers said that the governor has the power to sign the agreement without an OK from state lawmakers.
The commonwealth absolutely considers itself a partner with the local panel and Hampton officials, according to Bob Crouch, the governor's assistant for commonwealth preparedness.
But "it would not be responsible to simply sign off on a MOU (memorandum of understanding) without getting it fully vetted by the attorney general and real estate experts," Crouch said. "Partners don't always agree on every detail, but I don't think there's any intent for the commonwealth to split off."
Crouch did concede that lawyers from the attorney general's office made numerous revisions to the original document drawn up by staffers in Hampton.
Assistant City Attorney Vanessa Valldejuli said the alterations were more than simple tweaks.
"They made some substantial changes that give us pause," Valldejuli said.
She and other city officials have been mum about the changes because lawyers are still working out the wording of the agreement.
Valldejuli said city officials have been surprised that it has taken so long to draft a suitable agreement especially because former Gov. Mark R. Warner initiated the idea late last year before he left office.
Officials on the local committee discussed the problem over the memorandum before in a closed meeting, but Hampton businessman and committee member Whiting Chisman spoke up.
"If we need to complain about something we need to do it in open session," Chisman said.
City Councilman Joe Spencer continued to stress the need for cooperation.
"The best thing that anybody can do if they have differences of opinion is sit around and talk about it," Spencer said. "You start to see you have a lot in common."
During the meeting, officials referred to Del. Tom Gear, R-Hampton, as the primary roadblock to Hampton aspirations in Richmond. Gear has explicitly told city officials that he would not support the city's bid to guide planning on Monroe and repeatedly and openly questioned its reputation for redevelopment. Gear holds sway in the House of Delegates where he is the only Republican lawmaker from Hampton in the GOP-controlled legislature.
"They have problems in Richmond with credibility developed over 20 to 30 years," Gear said. "I don't know how they overcome it."
The current problems are music to the ears of the grassroots organizers lobbying for a park.
"Virginia needs to take control of the situation," said Steve Corneliussen, the spokesman for Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park. "Hampton is not the proper steward."
Harper said that officials from Hampton need to keep stressing that they want to lead the redevelopment process to make sure the post doesn't sit idle, not because they city wants to own the property.
Hampton looks to state for help with Fort Monroe
By KATE WILTROUT, The Virginian-Pilot
October 10, 2006HAMPTON - City leaders are looking to Richmond for moral and financial support as they try to plot Fort Monroe's future, but whether they'll receive either depends on whom you ask.
On Monday, Hampton officials and members of a city-appointed board overseeing the Army base's transition fretted over mounting legal bills and questioned the state's role in the process.
Bob Crouch, assistant to Gov. Timothy M. Kaine for commonwealth preparedness, emphasized that the state intends to be fully involved in decisions regarding the closure and re-use of Fort Monroe, but would not rush the planning.
A year ago, the Department of Defense announced it would leave the historic post fronting the Chesapeake Bay. The Army's departure will cost the region an estimated $317 million in annual economic impact.
"There's nothing wrong with doing it very deliberately," Crouch said of the planning. "It's unfortunate if folks were frustrated, or misunderstand the commonwealth's intentions in taking that approach. Our perspective is absolutely one of partnership."
One issue is that the city, state and board - called a federal area development authority - have not yet hammered out a formal agreement defining their roles.
At least half the fort's 570 acres once belonged to the state and will revert to state ownership when the Army leaves. If the state doesn't agree with the city's vision for the waterfront property, the planning process could stall.
A four-page memorandum of agreement that Hampton drafted and submitted in March noted that the state, city and the Federal Area Development Authority shared similar goals for the "redevelopment of Fort Monroe."
But the state attorney general's office replied in July with an 11-page memorandum of understanding that said that the commonwealth had not decided what it might do with its property - or under what conditions it could be redeveloped.
Jesse T. Wallace Jr., Hampton's city manager, said he is concerned that nothing has been signed. "It's very important we have this agreement," Wallace said. If the parties can't reach a compromise, the fort's buildings could stand vacant when the Army leaves in 2011, he added.
Wallace said he and Mayor Ross Kearney II would meet next week with Kaine and that he would seek state assistance paying bills related to Fort Monroe planning.
According to figures presented Monday, of a $540,000 federal grant awarded last year, the Federal Area Development Authority has spent $248,000 on planning consultants and studies. The city has incurred an additional $200,000 on legal expenses.
Del. Tom Gear, R-Hampton, said Wallace requested money last month at a meeting he attended with House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Fredericksburg. Howell wasn't moved by the plea, Gear said, and neither was he.
"The city of Hampton has a credibility problem in Richmond," said Gear, a Republican who represents the city and previously served on its City Council.
Gear said he has reservations about the city's role in the re-use process, and thinks the state should take the lead. He plans to sponsor a bill next year for the state to conduct its own study on what to do with Fort Monroe.
Reach Kate Wiltrout at (757)446-2629 or kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com.