City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: SEPTEMBER 7, 2016
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, CITY MANAGER /s/
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Consideration of a Grant Application to the National Park Service Maritime Heritage Preservation Program to Support the Conservation of the Recently Excavated 18th Century Ship.
BODY
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ISSUE: Consideration of approval for the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA) to apply for a $75,000 grant and to accept these funds from the National Park Service Maritime Heritage Program for the conservation of the recently excavated ship from the Alexandria Waterfront.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council authorize the City Manager to:
1) Ratify the prior submission of the application to the National Park Service Maritime Heritage Preservation Program for a $75,000 grant;
2) Approve the acceptance of funds from the National Park Service Maritime Heritage Preservation Program for $75,000, if the grant is approved; and
3) Authorize the City Manager to execute the necessary documents that may be required.
BACKGROUND: Alexandria Archaeology (AA), a division of the Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA), seeks $75,000 from the National Maritime Heritage Preservation Grant Program to support the conservation of an 18th century ship’s hull, discovered during archaeological investigation at the Indigo Hotel development site on the city’s waterfront - a crucial step in the ultimate reconstruction and exhibition of this significant resource.
The goals of the overall project are to:
1) Record the ship using traditional and digital documentation;
2) Conserve and stabilize the hull timbers and fastenings using industry standard conservation
treatment procedures; and
3) Build a support and reassemble the ship for exhibition.
Funding from the National Maritime Heritage Preservation Grant Program will directly support the conservation of the historic ship.
DISCUSSION: In the late fall of 2015, archaeologists working at the Indigo Hotel site on the Alexandria Waterfront unearthed the remains of an 18th century ship, apparently buried as part of a landfill extension of S. Union Street. Staff of OHA's Alexandria Archaeology division and of the archaeology firm hired by the developers worked tirelessly through the December holidays and into January 2016 to record, dismantle and remove the ship from the construction site to temporary storage in a tank of water until conservation efforts could begin. Private fund-raising efforts by OHA began immediately and a new budget allocation for emergency archaeology issues in FY 2017 have together provided $75,000 for immediate conservation, estimated for year one at $150,000. In July 2016 OHA became aware of a National Park Service Maritime Heritage Preservation Grant program that may provide the necessary matching funds for the conservation of the ship timbers in the first year of what is expected to be a three year program. As City Council did not meet over the summer, OHA submitted the grant application, pending subsequent City Council ratification. If not ratified, the application will be withdrawn.
FISCAL IMPACT: This grant, if awarded, will provide $75,000 toward the $150,000 of conservation costs in year 1 for the historic ship. Applications to NPS will also be sought to continue the conservation program in future years. Necessary matching funds are already included in OHA's FY 2017 operation budget and no further City funding is necessary.
STAFF:
Emily A. Baker, Deputy City Manager
J. Lance Mallamo, Director, Office of Historic Alexandria
Gretchen Bulova, Deputy Director, Office of Historic Alexandria
Francine Bromberg, City Archaeologist