Fort Ward Observer, October 2009

Fort Ward Observer
Volume 1, Issue 2
October 2009
Prepared by J. Glenn Eugster

Introduction

Fort Ward Park was established by the City of Alexandria in 1964 through a collaborative effort which began in the early 1950’s between local homeowners, citizens, civic associations, City park and planning department managers and local elected officials. The purpose of this report is to provide community interests with information on what is being considered, proposed and undertaken in Fort Ward Park and its surrounding area. It is important to note that although I am sharing this information with a broad and diverse group of people, I do not have a mandate to speak for anyone. This information is offered so that you will be informed and, hopefully, engaged in your community, City, and this park. I speak only for myself and those who may think as I do.


Good Things are Happening at Fort Ward Park

A number of actions have been taken this past month to address ongoing problems, more effectively manage and assist visitors, and protect the history, culture and natural resources of Fort Ward Park. Specifically city and community leaders have taken the following actions:

a. Visitor Management and Assistance: Elected officials and the managers and staff of the Recreation Department have continued give priority attention to managing visitors to the park. Although the summer season has passed the Fort Ward Park “rangers” continue to provide direction and services to the steady stream of residents and visitors enjoying the area.

b. Fort Ward Gate: As government officials and friends groups enjoy the 45th anniversary of Fort Ward park users have taken notice that the Fort Ward Gate has been going though a restoration. Although there is some minor work that still needs to be completed, the gateway to the historic fort and park looks wonderful.

c. Respect for African American Graves Continues: City managers and staff continue their efforts to correct some of the bad-decisions of the past as a way to recognize the value of African Americans who lived in Fort Ward before the park. The city managers have recently removed all of the maintenance vehicles and equipment from on top of and nearby known, and likely, African American graves inside the maintenance yard and nursery area. The nursery area is where the graves of Clara and Robert Adams and others are. This part of the park is managed by the City Arborist and is now locked while the city prepares to conduct archaeology studies.

d. City Council to Allocate Funds for Archaeology Work: The Office of Historic Alexandria has prepared a draft scope of work for necessary historic research and archaeological surveys at Fort Ward Park, and has requested funding of $50,000 from funds already set aside by City Council in contingent reserve for this work. If approved by the Council the research phase could begin this year, and actual survey work would take place in Spring 2010.

e. Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery Improvements: City managers and their contractors recently completed repairs to the fence of the Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery. The fence was damaged in 2008 when several trees in the park fell across the fence onto church property. In addition, in response to concerns by church leaders, historians and nearby residents city leaders have arranged for staff from the City's Department of Transportation & Environmental Services to develop a topographical map to determine the origin of surface waters that have been flowing into the cemetery and damaging graves and headstones. According to city staff the map will be used to develop a plan for managing storm water within the park.

In response to requests by city leaders Oakland Baptist Church officials arranged for the removal of two large dead trees within the cemetery. In addition, local landowners that live adjacent to the cemetery have also have begun to take action on their property to redirect runoff from roofs and gutters to help prevent damage to the cemetery.

f. Park Plans and Burial Information Found: A group of community historians and researchers, using city information, have found the original overall plans for Fort Ward Park. Despite assertions by the City's Recreation Department that there is no overall plan for the park the local research team has located plans funded by the City Council which include the museum, park drive, parking lots, picnic areas, and the graves of the African American residents who lived on the land before the city purchased it for a park. In addition to the plans researchers have found a variety of information that describes the original intent of the park and indicates that city officials were aware of the family grave sites in the park as early as 1962.

g. African American Research Continues: Various citizens and government employees continue to conduct research on African American history and culture at Fort Ward. This month researchers made three presentations to share their work to date.

On September 22, 2009 historian Tom Fulton gave a 30-minute presentation, at the Friends of Fort Ward Fall Meeting, on the ongoing research he has been doing on the history of the African American community that lived on the land that is now Fort Ward Park during the 19th and 20th centuries. Tom's presentation was part of the work which attempts to bring together a variety of information that he and others, including researchers Dave Cavanaugh and Adrienne Washington, have collected to help tell the untold story of African Americans within the park area.

Alexandria Archaeology's Fran Bromberg participated in American University's 6th Annual Public Anthropology Conference, "Advancing Social Justice in Times of Crisis" on October 9 & 10, 2009. Her panel, "Unearthing Social Justice: Archaeology and Crisis" on Saturday, October 10 was entitled "Recognition and Remembrance: Freedmen's Cemetery and Fort Ward Park".

On Friday October 9, 2009, also at the American University Conference, local resident researchers Adrienne Washington, Dave Cavanaugh, Tom Fulton and Glenn Eugster participated in a panel discussion entitled “Views of the Same Scene: Protecting Archaeology and Heritage in Fort Ward Park”.


Unresolved Issues and Concerns

City and community leaders continue to discuss the following Fort Ward Park issues and concerns.

a. Continued Impact of Nursery and Maintenance Yard Activities on Fort Ward Park Graves and Adjacent Homes: The City's Recreation Department continues to store piles of mulch, materials and debris adjacent to neighborhood residences and in the area that is known to be the site of a African American school, church, residence, and additional graves. Although community leaders are delighted that maintenance vehicles no longer use the area the descendants of those buried in the yard and adjacent landowners continue to be concerned that about the condition and contents of yard.

b. Adjacent Homeowners Concerned About Water Runoff: Homeowners adjacent to Fort Ward continue to voice concerns about water runoff flowing from the park into the ravine between the park and Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery. The completion of a recent drainage project at the museum has increased storm water flows in this area. Construction and landscape debris dumped by the city, along with park trees that have fallen in front of the storm sewer, continues to cause runoff to pond adjacent to nearby homes and the children's playground. Residents believe that the pond is a breeding ground for mosquitoes. In addition, storm water flows have eroded some of the supports for the wooden pedestrian bridge which links the memorial for the city’s first arborist and the children’s playground.

c. Fort Ward Facility Study & Recommendations: The October 16, 2008 facility study and recommendations for Fort Ward Park was prepared and approved by the City Recreation Department and the Parks & Recreation Advisory Commission without public input or basic information about the natural, historic and cultural resources which the park was created to protect. Despite a year of public concern about the study, and the closed-process that was used to develop its recommendations, the Recreation Department continues to display the report, without revisions, on City’s website with the following note.

Fort Ward Park Facility Study and Recommendations Presentation
On October 16, 2008, the Park and Recreation Commission received a draft presentation from Park Planning staff which addressed the over use of Ft. Ward Park. Staff indicated this initial detailed look by Operations and Park Planning staff was designed to share neighborhood concerns related to the park's operation and potential solutions with the Commission. Department staff shared that they will be meeting with the Friends of Ft. Ward, local civic organizations, and neighborhoods in 2009 regarding these ideas. When community ideas have been solicited, staff will return and present comments and ideas to the Commission.

This proposal conflicts with the original intent and overall plan for Fort Ward Park, and the City of Alexandria Archaeological Protection Procedures and Ordinances. If implemented it would also have an adverse impact on the park including it's listing on the National Register of Historic Places, possible Native American archaeological values, and the family graves of the African Americans who lived in the area that was acquired by the city for the park. The continued display of the Facility Study and Recommendations on the Alexandria's website reinforces the direction that the Department and the Commission intends to pursue and the reluctance of these organizations to incorporate public input into their decisions.

d. Fort Ward Park Action Plan: Earlier this year the City agreed to hold public meetings and accept written comments to help develop an action plan for the management, protection, use and interpretation of Fort Ward Park. Comments made by the public during the City’s meetings in April and March 2009, and written comments that were submitted, have not been used by the city to complete the proposed Action Plan for Fort Ward Park. A draft action plan presented to the public in March 2009 was completed before the end of the comment period and did not include or address written comments from the public, various organizations, and city advisory commissions before it was submitted to the City Council. Moreover, written and verbal comments to City Council from the Director of the Recreation Department and the Chair of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission indicated that the community supported their recommendations which is incorrect and misleading.

e. Vacant City Land Eyed to Boost Cash-Flow:
Recently a story in the Alexandria Times described how elected officials are looking at how vacant properties in Alexandria could provide a cash-flow boost. The story describes how the city's Economic Sustainability Task Force has researched and assessed “pockets of real estate” owned by governments throughout the city that could be used--or used at all--more productively.

The story intersects with requests made by this community to Recreation Department staff in February 2008, and again in September. The requests asks for help to protect a parcel of land owned by the city between North Van Dorn Street and the homes at the end of Fort Ward Place and Ellicott Street.

The land is currently zoned R-8. According to the city's website "the R-8 zone is established to provide and maintain land areas for low density residential neighborhoods of single-family homes on 8,000 square foot lots. Nonresidential uses of a noncommercial nature which are related to, supportive of and customarily found in a residential neighborhood are also permitted".

The land is forested and appears to be part of Fort Ward but it is not part of the park. Long-time homeowners believe that the property was set aside for storm water management purposes when the Marlboro Estates subdivision was approved by the City. No documents have been found which describe that agreement.

The property seems to be a logical addition to Fort Ward Park and should remain in a protected status. Such action would add land to the city's open space goal, support the recently approved Urban Forestry Plan, as well as assure the adjacent homeowners that the use of this property will not change in the future.




Future Efforts of Note

a. Alexandria Archaeology Office to Test Radar Technology at Fort Ward: The Office of Historic Alexandria is currently exploring the use of radar technology to assist the effort to identify burial sites within the Fort Ward Park. Plans are tentatively scheduled to test this technology on October 15-16, 2009 to identify a “signature” of known and potential burial locations. If a potential burial site signature can be identified as similar to a known gravesite, that potential burial site would then be “ground-truth” by archaeologists to confirm the existence of a grave. This work is non-intrusive and will not have any negative effects on resources or human remains.

b. Fort Ward Park History Workgroup to Meet on October 17, 2009: The Fort Ward Park History Work Group will have its first meeting on Saturday, October 17 at 11:00 am at Fort Ward Park Museum. At that time the managers from Office of Historic Alexandria will be reviewing the work plan for historic research and archaeological surveys proposed for Fort Ward over the next few years. They will also be sharing information documented by their office over the past summer that has increased our understanding of the African American community that developed around the Civil War fortification after about 1870.

The intent of the History Workgroup is to develop information which will be shared with the proposed Fort Ward Park Ad Hoc Advisory Commission on an ongoing basis to further assist understanding of the park’s historic and cultural resources, and to identify areas of sensitivity.

c. Civil War Celebration Planning Meeting on October 24, 2009:
On behalf of the Historic Alexandria Resources Commission (HARC), the Office of Historic Alexandria and the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association will co-sponsor a second Civil War Sesquicentennial community planning meeting on Saturday, October 24, from 9 a.m. to noon. The meeting will be held at the George Washington Masonic National Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive, Alexandria, and free parking is available. This meeting is open to all, and public participation is most welcome.

The purpose of the meeting will be to gather public input and refine ideas developed at a meeting held on June 6 for Alexandria’s commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. This is part of a statewide effort of the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, to develop a greater understanding of the cause, impact and aftermath of the war based on the theme “Understanding Our Past, Embracing Our Future.” Activities associated with this initiative are planned to take place from 2011 through 2015.

As part of the October 24 program, HARC Chair Ellen Stanton will review suggestions and issues raised by the community at the earlier June meeting, and will announce a series of sub-committees that the public may participate in to advance programming and public understanding of the Civil War in this region. Then Richard Lewis, Public Relations Manager of the Virginia Tourism Corporation, will assist with developing a vision statement and SWOT analysis, a critical look at the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats associated with creating a common vision to commemorate of one of the most significant periods in the history of Alexandria.


Inside Alexandria

Conversations and correspondence with various City staff, local elected officials, Advisory Commission members, and citizens have revealed information about actions and activities being discussed for Fort Ward Park.

a. Fort Ward Park Ad Hoc Advisory Group Appointments: City and private leaders indicate that the Alexandria City Manager’s Office may announce the appointments to the proposed Fort Ward Park Ad Hoc Advisory Commission as early as October 20, 2009. On June 23, 2009 the City Council approved Resolution No. 2349 establishing an Ad Hoc Advisory Group for Fort Ward Park and Museum Area.

b. Money, Time and Services: Most government agencies complain about not having enough money to do their work. Alexandria agencies are no different than most in their views about funding. Recent budget cuts have reduced funds available to protect, restore, manage, maintain and interpret Fort Ward Park. Many of the funding problems which have come up at Fort Ward Park are often related to time and direction rather than only budget shortfalls.

Although local funds are available for park, recreation and historic preservation, restoration and interpretation work, most leaders and managers would agree that there is never enough money to do what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and the way it needs to be done.

Despite the expertise and experience of city employees many of the problems that have been encountered at Fort Ward have been due to a lack of direction. This lack of direction has cost the city time and money, hurt services to the public, and is the direct result of not having basic information about the park and planning documents to guide decisions. The lack of good information and a master plan for Fort Ward Park, as well as most other city parks, continues to result in bad decisions which require work to be stopped, redone or undone costing these departments and the citizens they serve time, money and services.

As the legendary baseball spokesman Yogi Berra has said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you are going because you might not get there“, and, “If you don't know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else". Perhaps it is time for some rethinking about the way the city manages Fort Ward and it’s other parks.

c. Civic Engagement and the City Council: Evidently on September 26, 2009 the City Council had a Strategy Plan Retreat. During the retreat the Council was scheduled to have a session on Community Engagement/ Representation. Hats-off to the Council for taking time to value and discuss strategic planning and community engagement!

There are many definitions of community engagement and it will be interesting to see what the Council decides to do to more effectively engage communities. Despite the many successful traditions of community engagement in Alexandria there are problems and some a getting in the ways of getting things done.

The Council would do well to look at how the City, including it’s government managers and employees, advisory commission and committee members, engage and interact with the public while carrying out their duties. Over the last two years in the Fort Ward area community input, interest and concern has often been strongly resisted, or ignored, by city managers and commissioners. A top-down approach has been used to as the city tries to carry out poorly conceived ideas for Fort Ward. As a result a “we-they” environment has developed between community interests city managers and advisory commissioners. Moreover, community interests who speak up and speak out are criticized by managers for being “activists”.

With the creation of the three advisory groups for the Civil War Celebration, Fort Ward Park History and Fort Ward Park the city has a chance to actually engage community interests rather than provide token opportunities to participate in decisions about our city. Hopefully the Council will look at ways to use community engagement to tape the expertise, experience, interest, and support of Alexandria’s residents. Such an approach will help the city reach better decisions, save time and money, and provide appropriate services. Most importantly it will help us help ourselves to protect our history and prosper.



Upcoming October Events

October 15, 2009

ALEXANDRIA PARK AND RECREATION COMMISSION
7:00 p.m., 435 Ferdinand Day Dr., Samuel Tucker Elementary School. Contact William Chesley, 703.746.5426

October 17, 2009

FORT WARD PARK HISTORY GROUP
11:00 a.m., Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site, 4301 W. Braddock Rd., Contact Susan Cumbey, 703.838.4848

ALEXANDRIA CITY COUNCIL – PUBLIC HEARING
9:30 a.m., 301 King St., Council Chambers, City Hall
Contact Jackie Henderson, 703.746.4550

October 19, 2009

ALEXANDRIA ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY COMMISSION –
OUTREACH SUB-COMMITTEE
6:00 p.m., 301 King St., Sister Cities Conference Rm1101, City Hall. Contact William Skrabak, 703.4076

ALEXANDRIA ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY COMMISSION
7:30 p.m., 301 King St., Sister Cities Conference Room 1101, City Hall. Contact Bill Skrabak, 703.746.4065

October 20, 2009

HISTORIC ALEXANDRIA RESOURCES COMMISSION
7:30 p.m., 220 North Washington St., Lloyd House
Contact Lance Mallamo, 703.838.4554

October 21, 2009

ALEXANDRIA ARCHAEOLOGICAL COMMISSION
7:00 p.m., 105 North Union St., Suite 327, Archaeology Museum
Contact Pamela Cressey, 703.838.4399

October 24, 2009

ALEXANDRIA 150TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION (Planning for the Sesqui-Centennial)9 a.m. to noon, George Washington Masonic National Memorial, 101 Callahan Dr. For more information call 703.838.4554



October 27, 2009

ALEXANDRIA CITY COUNCIL
7:00 p.m., 301 King St.. Council Chambers, City Hall
Contact Jackie Henderson, 703.746.4550

November 12, 2009

SEMINARY HILL ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING
Insert time, VA Theological place and contact


What can I do to help with Fort Ward?

1. Enjoy Fort Ward Museum and Park. Recreate, relax and learn about history, culture and nature. Take time to walk, jog, bicycle, exercise your dog, picnic with your family or friends, listen to a concert, participate in a historic Civil War tour or event, learn about African American history and culture, bird watch, view the arboretum, or simply relax and enjoy all that Fort Ward Park and Museum has to offer.

2. Join a group that supports the protection, management, maintenance, restoration, recreational use and interpretation of Fort Ward Museum and Park.
Since the 1950’s and the work of Dorothy Starr many individuals and community groups have taken and interest in and helped support Fort Ward. Four organizations that have been and are involved include:

Friends of Fort Ward, Bill Schreiner, President
The Friends of Fort Ward
4301 West Braddock Road
Alexandria, Virginia 22304
www.fortward.org

Oakland Baptist Church, Arnold Ambers, Board of Trustees & Community Liaison.
3408 King St.
Alexandria, VA 22302-3015
www.oaklandbaptistchurch.org

Seminary Civic Association, Frances Terrell, President
By e-mail write to: fterrell56@msn.com

Seminary Hill Association, Joanne Lepanto, President
www.seminaryhillassn.org


3. Help! Donate some of your time to this our group of community and neighborhood organizations and homeowners and help save Fort Ward.
A group of community leaders has created an informal partnership to help save Fort Ward Park. The group needs volunteers with passion, skill and experience in marketing/ communication, historic research, law, finding grants, fundraising, and other areas. If you have time and are interested in a being involved in a rewarding cause contact J. Glenn Eugster at 703-845-8947 or by e-mail at: glenn_eugster@comcast.net


For Further Information

Contact J. Glenn Eugster to:

receive more information on the Fort Ward Observer;
be added, or removed, from this mailing list;
request past editions of this newsletter, or,
make contributions to this report in the future.

Please write or call:

By e-mail: glenn_eugster@comcast.net
By telephone: (703)845-8947 (before 9:00 pm)
By mail: 4022 Ellicott Street, Alexandria, VA 22304