Kaine says Fort Monroe 'will belong to the public'

HAMPTON

Gov. Timothy M. Kaine said Wednesday that Fort Monroe's 570 acres will belong to the public after the Army leaves in three years - but the fort's future does not depend on the National Park Service.

Kaine toured the post and signed a reuse plan for the base, which becomes state property in 2011. He extolled some of the fort's history - Robert E. Lee served here as a young officer; Confederate President Jefferson Davis was held here after his capture; a Union general here declared runaway slaves to be contraband of war, paving the way for the Emanci- pation Proclamation.

That history must be preserved, and the fort's historic buildings and housing units occupied to bring in money to help pay for the cost of upkeep, Kaine said. But the governor stopped short of endorsing the calls some people have made for the National Park Service to take ownership of some or all of the property.

"I don't have a particular position on who the park operating authority has to be, because I think the real issue is use and protection, rather than the agency that's got its name on the sign," Kaine said. "This plan really lays out the most important thing, which is, we need to protect this as a public resource and have as much of it in public space as we can."

At the request of U.S. Rep. Thelma Drake, R-2nd District, the park service completed a preliminary assessment of Fort Monroe this spring. The report emphasized preservation of the fort's historic assets, but deferred further consideration.

Mark Perreault, vice president of Citizens for a Fort Monroe National Park, attended Wednesday's ceremony. He said national park status isn't an end in itself - it would ensure that the fort would be protected for future generations. Status as a national park would attract tourism that would otherwise not be attracted, no matter how well-managed the fort is, Perreault said.

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