Hampton's Response to BRAC Announcement

For much of the past year, Councilman Charles Sapp has worked closely with Mayor Ross A. Kearney, II in doing what could be done to help save Fort Monroe. Following are highlights of his comments in response to the announcement last week that Fort Monroe is to remain on the BRAC closure list.

We are obviously disappointed over the decision of the BRAC Commission to keep Fort Monroe on the closure list.

Since the May 13 announcement by the DoD, Hampton has been intimately involved in a series of BRAC visits, communication exchanges, press conferences, and one-on-one visits with the Governor, the Offices of the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army, and the entire Virginia Congressional delegation. We have been in virtual daily contact with those directly involved in the final analysis and decision process.

We felt that we had made a compelling argument that the BRAC criteria - particularly cost considerations and the military value of the Fort - warranted its remaining as an active part of the DoD structure.

However, it appears that the BRAC Commission does not agree with our findings. We do not concur with their decision, but we respect the work they have put forth.

Now our goal is to move quickly to develop a conceptual land use plan for Fort Monroe. We hope to complete this phase of the project by early 2006. The conceptual plan will ultimately identify very broad land use options for various sections of the Fort.

There will be numerous opportunities for public participation and input. Those opportunities will be further outlined on September 8, when the final BRAC Commission report is forwarded to the President.

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