Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee
Gateway National Recreation Area
Meeting Summary
January 23-24, 2013
The Fort Hancock 21st Century Advisory Committee (Committee), chartered under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), held its first meeting, January 23-24 2013, at the Ocean Place Resort, Long Branch, New Jersey.
Summary of Decisions
- Consensus will be defined as two-thirds (2/3) vote of all members plus one present and voting; no proxies; withdraw from consensus if there is a material change in fact.
- An informal Working Group consisting of 4 committee members was established to plan the agenda for the 2nd meeting.
Welcome and Opening of Meeting
Linda Canzanelli, the Committee's designated federal officer (DFO), opened the meeting at 8:40 am and welcomed everyone. Committee members introduced themselves and the facilitators provided an overview of the plan for the day. The meeting adjourned at 9:05 am for Committee members to take a tour of Fort Hancock.
Linda Canzanelli re-opened the meeting at 1:15pm and welcomed everyone. Ms Canzanelli gave an overview of the effect of Hurricane Sandy on the structures at Fort Hancock:
- The structures at Fort Hancock were not inordinately damaged by the storm.
- The majority of structures at the Fort took on water in the basement with some damage to porches and steps.
- There was little "ponding" at the Fort - much of the water washed through.
- The infrastructure in the park - sewer, electric, and phone service - did sustain damage. The park is working on repairing this damage.
- A great deal of sand washed into the Sandy Hook parking lots.
- At best, the Sandy Hook might be able to operate at 50% capacity this summer.
- Whether and when the Sandy Hook might reopen is dependent on the park receiving congressional funding.
- The park is committed to rebuilding "smart" where possible, making the repair an improvement over what existed.
Ms. Canzanelli said the Committee was formed to provide the National Park Service (NPS) and the Secretary of the Department of Interior (DOI) with the expertise of a variety of interests and groups that were important to the discussion of the future of Fort Hancock.She's looking to the Committee for its ideas. As DFO, she will not be a member of the Committee. She and park staff will provide support to the Committee.
Ms. Canzanelli also noted that the Committee should use its best judgement as to what to recommend for the structures. Questions relating to how many structures are salvagable, how repair may be funded, are within the Committee's domain. It is unlikely that any reommendations made by the Committee would be inconsistent with the Draft General Management Plan (GMP) for the park. The GMP is an overarching plan that takes a "60,000 foot view" of Sandy Hook. Any recommendations made by the Committee regarding the structures would fall within the broad parameters of the alternatives proposed in the draft GMP. Ms Canzanelli also noted:
- NPS would retain fee simple ownership of property. The longest possible lease period is 60 years under current authorizations.
- The park will look at ways to get people into the park this summer other than by private vehicles, which would probably accomodate 2200 hundred cars per day, maximum, this summer - down from 4000 per day pre-storm.
- The traffic management plan for the summer will be put into place once the park receives funding.
- For-profit enterprises can be part of the Committee's recommendations for the structures.
- Private housing is not inconsistent with the GMP.
- The Committee is not charged with fundraising.
Due to Hurricane Sandy the Park suspended work on the GMP. The Park is reviewing the public comments and the goal is to issue the Record of Decision in September 2013.
FACA Committee Requirements and Ethics Training
Jennifer Heindle of the DOI Solicitors Office gave a presentation on the requirements of FACA relevant to members of a FACA Committee. Ms. Heindle noted the following about FACA:
- FACA is a procedural statute that provides general procedures for creating, running, and terminating advisory groups.
- Violations of FACA could result in litigation, which could negate Committee recommendations.
- Subcommittees report directly to the Committee, and do not make recommendations on their own to the Secretary of the Interior.
- FACA Committees must comply with notice requirements as it pertains to scheduling of meetings.
- FACA records are public documents.
The Committee also received and reviewed materials on the ethics requirements that pertain to FACA committees. Jeff Davies, Ethics Program Manager and Deputy Ethics Counselor with the NPS prepared the ethics training materials. He urged, among other things, that members call the NPS Ethics office if they have any questions about how ethics rules might impact them as Committee members. Committee members were asked to read through the entire training document.
Summary of Pre-Meeting Interviews
David Emmerson, co-facilitator with the DOI Office of Collaborative Action and Dispute Resolution, gave a brief overview of the pre-meeting interviews conducted by the facilitation team of Committee members. He noted the following:
- Members were very interested in the condition of building infrastructure, and the availability of funding.
- Members hoped to accomplih preservation of the buildings while also allowing for a resue that would allow funding to preserve the structures.
- Past efforts should inform Committee work but not bog it down.
Concerns raised by Committee members included:
- Availability of insurance to support private investment,
- Potental market demand for this type of space,
- How Fort Hancock compares to other NPS units.
Operating Procedures:
The Committee reviewed and discussed the draft Operating Procedures dated January 19, 2013. The Committee by unanimous agreement (1) defined consensus as two-thirds (2/3) plus one of those members present and voting, (2) decided not to use proxies, and (3) permitted withdrawal from the consensus if there is a material change in fact. In addition, the Committee made suggestions for a few other changes to the draft Operating Procedures that will be incorporated into the next draft.
Public Comment Highlights (January 23, 2013):
William Jackson: Former soldier at Fort Hancock. The Committee needs to make recommendations that will enable NPS to "polish the jewel" that is Fort Hancock.
Paul Kelko: Tour Guide for NIKE missile systems. The site is the only site with all coastal armament intact from beginning to end (1898-1974) and should be preserved.
Oliver Spellman, National Parks and Conservation Association: Transportation and access will be key. Consider water borne transportation to solve transporation and access issues and connecting sites together to solve flood insurance issues. Think big - nationally and regionally. Cavallo Point is a good example. NPCA will work to ensure creation and implementation of an implementable a plan for Fort Hancock.
James Krause: Chair of Atlantic Highlands Environmental Commission. The buildings should be saved. Access to insurance will be a big issue.
James Wassel: Formerly with Sandy Hook Partners. Sandy Hook Partners won the bid for redevelopment of Fort Hancock in 2000. Public-private partnerships are difficult to implement. To make something happen with the private sector the federal government needs to meet the private sector in the middle. He offered his experience to assist the Committee.
This meeting adjourned for the day early in the public interest.
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Operating Procedures:
The Committee had a brief discussion about the draft Operating Procedures and requested that members be permitted to participate in meetings and vote by phone. A revised version of the draft Operating Procedures will be considered at the next meeting.
The GMP Process and the Committee's Work
Linda Canzanelli gave a brief presentation on Gateway's GMP, a GMP is a high level view of the park. The only details you see in a GMP are the maps which show differences in what the visitor might experience on a high level in the park (e.g. serene or an area for walking, etc.) The next level of detail is a DCP which is the implementation plan of how to make the vision happen. The Park will be eliminating option D in the next version. The comment period has closed. Recommendation from the Committee would be able to "nest" under any of the alternatives being contemplated under the GMP.
Examples of Other Public-Private Partnerships:
The Committee identified and discussed the following NPS and other sites as being potentially comparable to Fort Hancock:
- The Presidio in San Francisco
- Cavallo Point in San Francisco
- Govenors Island in New York
- Fort Monroe in Virginia
Gerard Glaser gave a brief presentation on Cavallo Point. John Reynolds provided a brief overview of The Presidio and Fort Monroe. Arthur Imperatore, Jr. provided a brief overview of Govenors Island. The discussion included what has been done at the sites, sources of funding, development features, etc.
Selection of Co-Chairs
The Committee postponed selecting co-chairs at this juncture. Instead, they formed an informal working group to plan the agenda for the next meeting. The working group members are Arthur Imperatore Jr., Gerard Glaser, Guy Hembling, and John Reynolds.
Critical Issues and Committee Work Plan
The Committee identified the following topics for future discussion and information needed for those discussions. The Committee also identified agenda topics for the next meeting.
