City of Alexandria, Virginia
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MEMORANDUM
DATE: JANUARY 14, 2015
TO: THE HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF CITY COUNCIL
FROM: MARK B. JINKS, ACTING CITY MANAGER
DOCKET TITLE:
TITLE
Public Hearing and Consideration of the Fort Ward Park and Museum Area Management Plan.
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ISSUE: City Council Public Hearing on and discussion of the Management Plan for the Fort Ward Park and Museum Area, a multi-year process advised by the Ad Hoc Fort Ward Park and Museum Area Stakeholder Advisory Group.
RECOMMENDATION: That City Council:
Hold public hearing on the Management Plan, and after the public hearing indicate to the City Manager that the Department of Recreation, Parks, and Cultural Activities (RPCA), Office of Historic Alexandria (OHA), and Department of Transportation and Environmental Services (T&ES) should proceed to implement the Fort Ward Park and Museum Area Management Plan as outlined in this memorandum within available, or to be made available, future capital and operating budgetary resources.
BACKGROUND: At its December Legislative meeting City Council requested that the Fort Ward Park and Museum Area Management Plan be re-docketed for the January 13 Legislative meeting, and that this Management Plan and staff recommendations be docketed for the January 24 public hearing.
Since its establishment in the 1960s, the Fort Ward Park and Museum Area site continues to be an important community and Citywide park and historic resource. In the fall of 2008, citizens expressed significant community concerns about the operations of the park and its historical resources including, but not limited to:
* The maintenance yard's harmful impacts to significant historic and cultural resources, especially those related to the African American families who previously lived at Fort Ward;
* Stormwater run-off and related erosion;
* Overuse of the park ...
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