Community Comments by Seminary Hill Association, Inc. March 15, 2009

SEMINARY HILL ASSOCIATION, INC.
4009 North Garland Street
Alexandria, VA 22304
March 15, 2009
VIA E-MAIL

Mr. Kirk Kincannon
Director, Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities
1108 Jefferson Street
Alexandria, VA 22314

Dear Mr. Kincannon:

I am writing to provide comments on behalf of the Seminary Hill Association, Inc. (Seminary Hill) regarding Fort Ward Park (the Park). While we will continue to press for better communications from the City regarding all meetings, policies, and planning efforts involving the Park, our most immediate concerns are as follows:

Management of park uses: Immediate steps must be taken to prevent the overuse and abuses of the Park that have occurred over recent years, most notably the excessive crowds, noise, trash, and alcohol consumption that occurred on Labor Day Weekend of 2007 and 2008. These situations must not be allowed to recur in the future, starting this Spring and Summer. Seminary Hill has been waiting since November 5, 2008 (when you, Pat Lidy and I met in your office to discuss Seminary Hill’s concerns regarding Fort Ward Park) to see a concrete crowd control plan to prevent such situations. I would like to set a meeting with you and Captain Hassan Aden of the Alexandria City Police Department sometime in April to discuss this.

Amplified sound: Seminary Hill supports establishing a policy prohibiting amplification of any sound—music, voice, etc.—in the Park, with the exception of City-sponsored activities in the Amphitheater.

Alcohol use: Seminary Hill supports establishing a policy prohibiting alcohol use in the Park, with the exception of City-sponsored events.
Protection of grave sites: The deterioration of grave sites in the Park is deplorable. Immediate action should be taken to provide at least some minimal protection of these sites, and the identification and protection of other possible unmarked grave sites must be a top priority.

Budget: With the exception of the protection requested above for the grave sites, all spending under the current CIP budget should cease and desist until the public has an opportunity to comment on the forthcoming draft action plan and a new, approved Park plan is in place.

Thank you for your consideration.



Sincerely,

Joanne Lepanto
President

cc: Jim Hartmann, City Manager

Laura Durham, Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities

Seminary Hill Association, Inc. Board of Directors

Captain Hassan Aden, ACPD

Susan Cumbey, Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site

Walton Owen, Fort Ward Museum & Historic Site

William Schreiner, Friends of Fort Ward Park

Adrienne T. Washington

Community Comments by Adrienne Terrell Washington March 2009

Adrienne T. Washington
3413 Woods Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22303
703-379-5253
(atwashin@aol.com)



March 10, 2009


Dear City Mayor, City Council Members, City Manager, City Staffers of the Alexandria Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities, and Fellow Alexandrians:

When you walk in the gated Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery on the grounds of Ft. Ward Park today there is a headstone to the left that marks the Randall family plot; to the right is a headstone that marks the Terrell family plot. These names represent who I am, a fifth-generation Alexandrian, a family historian and a noted journalist, who is attempting to restore and record this rich overlooked history of African-Americans who contributed, in no small part, their hard labor and land to develop Alexandria into the vibrant city it is today. My maternal and paternal heritage is linked to the countless, nameless African Americans who lived on or near Ft. Ward and the Virginia Theological Seminary and Episcopal High School campuses before and after the Civil War into the mid-1960s until their descendants were relocated to Woods Avenue, Woods Place and elsewhere.

Nothing would honor these valiant citizens more than permanent markers to commemorate their community contributions and endeavors which includes building schools, churches and businesses that sustained not only their own families, but also these historic institutions for which Alexandria is known. However, today a number of their graves are unmarked throughout the Ft. Ward Park, primarily buried under the city recreation and parks department’s maintenance yard and nursery. This dishonorable situation must be remedied as soon as possible.

That is why I, as a descendant of African Americans, who lived and worked in the Ft. Ward and Virginia Theological Seminary communities and who founded the Oakland Baptist Church more than a century ago, wish to thank the City of Alexandria Recreation, Park, and Cultural Activities Department for the opportunity to comment on the proper future uses and projects we hope will maintain and preserve the historic significance of Ft. Ward. Several of my family members and others have attended the recent public meetings held and contributed to the community process of determining what’s best for the 32-acre historic site as the city moves forward into this century to “balance” its uses.

I understand and concur with the current environmental concerns, including overcrowding, loud noise and alcohol abuse, expressed by the Friends of Ft. Ward and the neighboring communities, such as the Seminary Hill Civic Association and the Seminary Civic Association on Woods Avenue and Woods Place, where many of the descendant families still reside.

It is my premiere desire and request that the long overlooked and neglected history of the African Americans, who worked the land, owned the land, buried on the land, and summarily displaced from the land, be restored, preserved and commemorated in a formal fashion, especially as we come upon the Sesquicentennial of the Civil War. I have been voluntarily gathering oral histories from former residents, as well as old photographs and official documents (some already gathered by the city’s archeological department) to compile a more comprehensive written narrative.

My greatest fear is that the historic areas of the park, which contain marked and unmarked graves, including that of my great-great aunt, Clara Adams, and her husband, as well as my maternal grandparents, William and Bernie [McKnight] Terrell and my paternal relatives of the Randall family, will be further desecrated, and the valuable contributions of African-American slaves, contraband and freedman will be lost forever if overburdening recreational uses at Ft. Ward Park are expanded before mandatory archeological and historical studies are conducted and completed.

As discussed during the recreation department planning meetings this year, I encourage:

Immediate removal of trash, debris, equipment, etc., from around the gravesites of Clara Adams and her husband, that are currently located in the city’s park and recreation maintenance yard and nursery on the east side of Ft. Ward Park.

Eventual relocation of the maintenance yard and nursery which we are certain is the location of other unmarked graves, a former school, church and homes of African Americans dating back before, during and after the Civil War.

Immediate fencing or some other protective barrier around the marked graves outside of the Oakland Baptist Church Cemetery and near the maintenance lot.

Establishing a walking tour of the historic Ft. Ward African-American community after further historic and archeological study.

Inclusion of historic markers throughout the park that note significant points about the Ft. Ward African-American community.

Inclusion of an exhibit about the Ft. Ward/Seminary African-American community in the Ft. Ward Museum.

We offer our support and assistance in making improvement to Ft. Ward Park that “balance” it uses and that we believe will benefit all Alexandrians and future generations in knowing the full history of our great city.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Terrell Washington,
Ft. Ward/Seminary Descendent, Historian and Journalist

Community Comments on Fort Ward by Steven Doulis March 17, 2009

Steven C. Doulis, AIA, Architect
4007 Ellicott Street
Alexandria, Virginia 22304
703.671.7424
sdoulis@comcast.net
steve_doulis@nps.gov

March 17, 2009

Dear Mayor Euille, Vice Mayor Pepper, Councilmen Gaines, Krupicka, Lovain,
Smedberg and Wilson, City Manager, Staff of the Alexandria Recreation,
Parks, and Cultural Activities, and Fellow Alexandrians:

I appreciate this opportunity to provide public comment concerning the City's plans at Fort Ward Park. I echo many of the sentiments of people like me, and appreciate their research to document and highlight many of the historical aspects of the Park which have long been unrecognized.

Alexandria, rich in her history, is what attracted my wife, Sophia and I to move to Marlboro Estates in 1991, (re)establish roots and raise our children in this great City. Sophia, being a native Alexandrian and former President of the Alexandria Dental Society, has strong ties both personally and professionally to the many people and places that make this City so unique. Our catharsis with Fort Ward Park, its environs and our neighbors are thus equally strong as you might imagine.

I have had the opportunity to work with the National Park Service (NPS) over the past 26 years. The NPS mission to "preserve and protect our natural and cultural resources while providing facilities for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations" has a shared meaning in the context of our City and Regional Parks, particularly where planning remains to be done. Fort Ward is no exception as the challenge to balance protection of resources and provide facilities is a formidable one. Due process in my capacity with NPS has necessitated project presentations for park planning and development before the National Capital Planning Commission, the Washington Commission of Fine Arts, the Corps of Engineers, House and Senate subcommittees, as well as state and local agencies and Friends' groups. In that public service work, transparency and accountability throughout the planning and development process have been cornerstones of successful project implementation. It was disheartening to learn that these things were not happening all along for Fort Ward Park.

I am not writing in an official capacity but as a concerned citizen with something to offer in support of a proactive process to preserve and protect the Fort’s extant and yet undiscovered features.


March 17, 2009 - Doulis Letter

It is no secret that the Park Service and the City share many common interests. Each body has had a long history of cooperation with citizens and partners to extend the benefits of natural and cultural resource stewardship. Therefore, Ft. Ward Park, a National Register property, is "an opportunity in our own backyard" to demonstrate that type of cooperation through due process, and due diligence. Through development of the October 2008 plan without much-needed public input, cooperation is unfortunately something that has been exposed as lacking until recently. Fort Ward Park, and her sister Fort Circle Parks throughout the District, Virginia and Maryland, deserve nothing less.

We are fortunate that the overwhelming majority of the City's residents who have gone public on this issue have embraced the protection and preservation of the Park, with comments expressed in phone calls, emails, memoranda and throughout deliberations at public meetings. It should be clear to all by now that this is more than just about public permits, decibel levels of amplified music, property values, ignored gravesites, tramped archeological sites, trash, alcohol, drugs, and law enforcement. While all of these issues and others remain extremely important to all of us, a Master Plan for short- and long-term use of the Park is what is desperately needed.

Perhaps the process begins with a detailed survey of the Park, its boundaries, topography, salient features and a first-phase archeological study. While budget cuts are a reality, this is not about what the City cannot afford to do, but rather, what we cannot afford to let happen! The toll of unplanned development and uncontrolled "site improvements" would result not only in irreversible damage to the site and heritage resources, but also represent a disconnection with the community at-large.

We have placed our trust in you, our elected officials and park managers to do the right thing, which we trust you will. To that end, I thank you as a fellow public steward, in advance, for working closely with all stakeholders to effect a long-term solution for Ft. Ward Park. Ideally, this entails a solution that protects and celebrates the legacy of the Fort's place during the Civil War, of a culturally diverse community, and of affording future generations the opportunity to experience Fort Ward Park unimpaired.

Sincerely,
 
/s/

Steven C. Doulis, AIA  
Architect / Sr. Project Manager                                     
National Park Service
National Capital Region
Washington, DC

Community Comments on Fort Ward by Deborah Weatherly March 26, 2009

March 26, 2009
Dear Ms. Durham,

This is in response to the City’s presentation made on March 18, 2009 at TC Williams High School, regarding the protection, management and use of
Fort Ward Park, which has been nationally recognized for its significance to the Civil War. I appreciate the opportunity to address this issue once again.

As I mentioned in my previous comments, I have worked for the federal government for 31 years and I am all too familiar with the federal agencies at times making final decisions in advance of the official public comment period. Fortunately that practice occurs less often because of Congressional oversight. While the presentation on March18, 2009 by the Recreation, Parks and Cultural Department and the Office of Historic Alexandria finally set aside their plan for large events, which included additional paving of the historic site. The groups and individuals involved in these discussions over the last two years are concerned that the Recreation Department will merely set it aside their October 2008 plan only to bring it back at a later date. In fact, despite the promising words of mr. Kincannon and Mr. Mallamo funding for the 2008 plan's implementation is still contained in the City's budget.

I attended two of the three public meetings and I was impressed that more than 200 individuals participated in this opportunity for citizen input. After reviewing the meeting results it was clear that there was not one voice supporting the proposed plan that has been featured on the City’s website for six months.

The public coontinues to be mindful that the Parks Department was prepared to ram the project through regardless of the legitimate concerns expressed by many groups and individuals including adjacent homeowners, neighboring communities, Oakland Baptist Church members, Seminary Hil Association board members, the Alexandria Historic Society, the Alexandria Archeological Commission, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and others whose families lay buried on the site.

Only when the community interests joined together to fight this ill conceived plan did we get the City’s attention. For a relatively small town in the shadow of our Nation’s Capitol, this does not speak well of the City’s elected officials or city employees.

This historic park is not only about the African American graves but it is where slaves freed after the war lived, attended school, and worshiped. This situation reminds me of another instance where the history of people was being ignored. I remember vividly a letter sent to my subcommittee from Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. who was making an important but modest request. He asked for report language that instructed the U.S. National Park Service to include the entire story of the Civil War before, during and after in their visitor centers’ and interpretive displays as they needed to be replaced or upgraded. This is what is needed at Fort Ward Park – recognition that African Americans, freed by President Lincoln, lived, raised families and died free men and women within this historic area.

Despite Roger Blakely’s repeated statements about not being able to take action or cotinue services because of reductions to the City budget it seems contradictory that the City Manager does propose a future budget that will fund the additional paved parking areas, paved trails, new restrooms, and picnic pavilions. Rather tan fashion an action plan that helps to implement community supported actions, such as archeolgical studies and African American interpretive trails, the City continues to spend money on and push for the October 2008 plan.

I have spent most of my federal years working on budgets and I am aware that there are times when difficult decisions have to be made. However, the City has proposed to spend large sums of money on the 2008 plan. It would seem to be appropriate and justified to reallocate those funds to support the actions supported by the community.

Listed below are my recommendations for how to improve the Fort Ward Park Action Plan.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

Immediately remove all evidence of the Maintenance Yard including stones, fencing, and other materials.
(we acknowledge the City removed many of the vehicles immediately after the public meeting on the 18th)

Immediately remove the area used by the arborist. (residents of the area remember what was envisioned at thisnursery site and the early days where beautiful gardens flourished within the park. However, users of the park have watched the dramatic deterioration the last 15 years. It is a maintenance area with trash and broken pots strewn everywhere, maintenance vehicles, broken machinery, tools and large compost piles and landscape debris. The relatives of Clara Adams, and the others that are buried in the area, say that others are buried in the area, their grave markers have been destroyed, and the environment is disrespectful to those buried there. Even as a working area, it always unclean and unkept. The arborist area should be moved to another location.

After everything is removed, seed and, or, sod the area completely. The City should insure that adequate funds are made available for appropriate archeology /historical survey’s and studies as well as interpretive markers for the grave sites, the overall park area and the Museum.

All of the interested parties would like a public acknowledgement and commitment from the Mayor and City Council that Fort Ward Park will be adequately funded, starting within 2010. The park should be transfered from the Recreation and Parks Department and made the responsibility of the Office of Historic Alexandria. The mowing and landscape maintenance could easily be contracted as is the case with many, many other city responsibilities.

Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the action plan for Fot Ward Park. I look forward to hearing more about the City's plan for protecting and managing this special area.


Sincerely,

Deborah A. Weatherly