Your presentation to city council regarding Ft. Ward management plan

To: Chuck Ziegler

From: Adrienne Washington, Lena Rainey and Frances Terrell

RE: Your presentation to city council regarding Ft. Ward management plan

November 14, 2014

It is our request that you will include in your written notes and presentation to the City Council the dissent letter which was sent by the three groups who represent the descendants’ society, members of the Oakland Baptist Church and the residents of Seminary Civic Association, who all voted against forwarding the management plan to the city council because we did not feel it adequately addressed our three main issues.  Mainly, the draft plan of recommendations included no assurances that the remaining graves will be located, and that ground disturbance for development would not occur without proper procedure or notification. We did not feel that we were given adequate time to explore the alternative engineering solutions available to  reduce the park water runoff going into the cemetery; we believe it is faulty, as is the history report that is placed in the report as an appendix.  We have stated are concerns repeatedly both verbally and in writing over the course of this seven-year process, but to no avail, as we have again witnessed the lack of respect to us or to this process from the latest surprising archeological actions taken without our knowledge by the Office of Historic Alexandria.