Norfolk, lawmakers embroiled in battle about Wisconsin's future

Some lawmakers are trying to prevent any alterations to the Wisconsin that would render it unfit for military use. Norfolk wants to open the ship’s interior to visitors. (the virginian-pilot file photo)

By DEBBIE MESSINA
The Virginian-Pilot

NORFOLK - As city officials plan to take ownership of the Wisconsin, the battleship has become snarled in a debate in Congress.

Some lawmakers are trying to prevent any alterations to the ship that would render it unfit for military use. Norfolk wants to open the ship's interior to visitors.

The deck of the Wisconsin, berthed next to Nauticus, has been open to the public since April 2001. It draws 500,000 visitors per year. The Navy has not allowed local officials to open it for full tours in case the military ever needed to bring the ship back into active service.

In December, Congress voted to decommission the Wisconsin and donate it to Norfolk.

Now, the House version of the defense budget says the Wisconsin and another decommissioned ship, the Iowa, "must not be altered in any way that would impair their military utility" and "must be preserved in their present condition."

Lisa Wright, a spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, R-Md., who supports the provisions, said the congressman wants to "retain the battleships on the naval registry" so that "if there was a national emergency, they would be maintained so they could be recalled."

Bartlett is chairman of the Armed Services Committee Projection Forces Subcommittee. Wright could not say whether Norfolk's plans would conform with the proposed restrictions.

The issue was aired by syndicated columnist Robert D. Novak earlier this week. Novak said that the Marines are behind the movement, advocating the maintenance of the warships as troop-support firing platforms, especially with the rise of Iran as a potential nuclear power.

City officials and the local Congressional delegation said they hope the legislation can be changed so it will not interfere with Norfolk's plans to operate the World War II-era battleship as a museum.

The House and Senate are meeting this week in conference to resolve differences within the defense authorization.

"Hopefully we'll get an agreement to allow Virginia to proceed forward as planned with its renovation of the ship," said John Ullyot, a spokesman for U.S. Sen. John Warner, R-Va.

Ronald H. Williams Jr., Norfolk's director of intergovernmental relations, said he's been told it's unlikely the restrictions will be in the final bill.

If the provisions remain, Williams said it's not clear what the effect would be on the city's plans. The city has until Sept. 30 to submit operating plans to the Navy. The Iowa will be donated to the state of California.

Richard Conti, executive director of Nauticus, said the city will have plans ready by the end of the month that address finances, maintenance, collections and other aspects of operating the Wisconsin.

The battleship would be run by the National Maritime Center board, which oversees Nauticus and the Wisconsin.

Estimates on how much private money is needed to prepare the ship to be a museum are as much as $10 million, city officials have said.