Fort Monroe boat owners have trouble finding new places to house vessels

By Shannon Sims

13NEWS / WVEC.com

Posted on March 1, 2011 at 6:28 PM

HAMPTON— Boat owners losing their slips with the upcoming closure of Fort Monroe in September are having trouble finding a new place to house their vessels.

Ken Reynolds and 149 other slip holders were put on notice over the weekend.

The Department of the Army told them to prepare to find a new slip by August 1 if the Army and state could not come to an agreement on the future of Fort Monroe.

“I think the biggest concern is that we would like to stay here. We have been associated with Fort Monroe for quite some time,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds has docked his boat at the Old Point Comfort Marina for more than a decade.

BRAC ordered the Army installation to be shut down six years ago.

Since then, the state has been in negotiations with the Army to take over the property.

Randy Blanchard is part of the Fort Monroe transition team.

“We are working diligently to get this thing done. I believe it is going to happen. I can’t swear to it. I am not sitting on the negotiation panel, so I am not sure it is going to happen, but I believe it will,” said Blanchard.

Even with six months notice, Curtis Morris says he will have to scramble to find a new spot before the summer boating season.

“The problem for many of us is that we can’t defer that decision until August 1. There will be no place to put your boat at that point. We need to have a decision on the transfer as quickly as possible,” said Morris.

Mark Brzozwski and others say this is not just about the dock, but the future of Fort Monroe.

“The community needs to pay attention and get involved. They need to see what is happening and who is going to get control and why,” said Brzozwski.

A town hall meeting will be held for slip holder at the Post Theater March 16.

The army is scheduled to turn the fort over to the state September 15.

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