Daily Progress editorial on McIntire Road Extended wrong on the facts.

The Charlottesville Daily Progress editorial on Nov. 17, 2010 cheered city council action to sign a Memorandum of Agreement concerning preservation of historic resources impacted by the McIntire Road Extended project that is proposed to run through McIntire Park. Below is my comment submitted to the online posting of this editorial.

I was surprised to discover that the editorial staff is unaware of some basic facts relating to the McIntire Road Extended project.

The draft Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) approved by city council on November 15, 2010 requires several other official signatures for the document to be finalized including the Corps of Engineers, the Virginia State Historic Preservation Officer, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Virginia Dept. of Transportation. Council's approval is necessary for this agreement to be finalized, but all of these agencies must agree before the document is finalized.

The first draft of the MOA was distributed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for comment on August 27, 2009. Stating that the MOA was approved in 2006 in the editorial is a gross error.

I am not sure what document was approved by a 3-2 vote of council in 2006. I recommend that the Daily Progress editorial staff review their primary materials and get their facts straight. I look forward to seeing another editorial on the subject of the McIntire Road Extended after they do a bit more homework on the process and what has or has not been approved to date.