Fort Monroe transition team gets a makeover

By Kate Wiltrout
The Virginian-Pilot
© June 25, 2010

FORT MONROE

The agency that will run Fort Monroe after the Army departs next year is getting a makeover - and some long-sought attention from the National Park Service.

As of Thursday, the organization overseeing the transition of the 565-acre waterfront fort to civilian control will have a new name and a smaller board of trustees.

A political subdivision of the state, similar to a city government, the Fort Monroe Authority will be led by an 11-member board comprising members of the General Assembly, state secretaries, and trustees appointed by the governor and the city of Hampton.

It replaces the 3-year-old Fort Monroe Federal Area Development Authority and its 18 board members.

Some things aren't changing. Bill Armbruster continues as the agency's executive director, and most of his staff is staying. The board of trustees will have four familiar faces: Del. Tom Gear; Sen. John Miller; Doug Domenech, secretary of Natural Resources; and James S. Cheng, secretary of Commerce and Trade.

Joining them will be Hampton Mayor Molly Ward and Councilman Ross Kearney II. The final five members are still a mystery: Gov. Bob McDonnell is expected to name them soon. The board's first meeting is July 22.

Some important visitors will be there.

Armbruster said the National Park Service notified him it would send a team of officials to Fort Monroe in July for a week's worth of research and meetings.

The visit comes in response to a letter signed by three congressmen and both Virginia U.S. senators, asking the park service to consider a role in the management and operation of the property.

Armbruster said he was amazed by the service's quick response to the May 26 letter from the elected officials. The visit is scheduled for July 19 to 23.

"This is a remarkable turnaround for any agency within the Beltway," Armbruster said.

He hopes the authority and park service can hammer out draft legislation establishing a unit of the park service at Fort Monroe for submission to Congress in the fall.

Cherilyn Widell, director of heritage asset management for the authority, said the visiting park service team has expertise in planning, interpretation, facilities management and historic architecture.

One thing already on the team's schedule, she said, was a meeting with Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, a grass roots group that for years has advocated park service involvement.

Widell credited the group for persevering even after a 2008 study concluded that the fort's preservation didn't require National Park Service involvement. Last year, the board voted to pursue a partnership with the park service and asked state and federal officials to help.

"Without the efforts of Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, we would not be in this position today," Widell said.

Kate Wiltrout, (757) 446-2629, kate.wiltrout@pilotonline.com