Collaborative Agreement Between the National Park Service and Springfield Technical Community College

COLLABORATIVE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND SPRINGFIELD TECHNICAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE -- (Extensions of Remarks - November 18, 2005)

* Mr. NEAL of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing legislation today authorizing the National Park Service to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts on behalf of Springfield Technical Community College. Over 30 years ago, in 1974, my predecessor, Congressman Edward Boland, and Senator EDWARD KENNEDY were successful in creating the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. This legislation set in motion three decades of cooperation between the National Park Service, which manages the Armory Museum, and Springfield Technical Community College. The Park Service and the college are neighbors that together occupy the National Historic Site.

* Let me tell you a little bit about this site. The Springfield Armory was the first national armory in the United States. In fact, the armory was founded in 1777, when the site was selected as the location for laboratory specializing in the development, production and storage of guns and powder during the American Revolution.

* Following the American Revolutionary War, in 1794, Congress officially established the Springfield Armory. George Washington visited the site, which was also the site of Shay's Rebellion. Physically, the Armory abuts Springfield's historic State Street, the city's main east-west thoroughfare, which was Ben Franklin's famed mail route. For much of the 19th century, the Springfield Armory developed, manufactured and supplied most of the small arms used by the United States armed services. The Springfield Armory National Historic Site has a rich heritage that is an integral part of our nation's history.

* In 1968, the Armory was deactivated as a military installation and in 1974, Congress established the National Historic Site. The National Park Service has operated the Armory Museum on these grounds, and it houses the most outstanding and historically significant arms collection in the country.

* The future and fate of both the Armory Museum and Springfield Technical Community College are inextricably linked. Many of the historic buildings on the site are actually located on the college's property, not on National Park Service land, although a visitor to the campus would not be able to tell where NPS property ends and college property begins. This land outside the portion of the site administered by NPS is known as the ``Preservation Control Area.'' These college-owned buildings are subject to strict architectural and preservation rules. Many of these historic buildings owned by the college must be preserved and maintained pursuant to standards defined by the Secretary of the Interior. But these historic buildings are in a state of great disrepair and the college cannot easily move to maintain and preserve them absent the full participation of the Park Service. Not only does this deterioration of the facilities hurt the college, but also undermines the attractiveness of the National Park Service area, including the Armory Museum.

* My legislation seeks to recognize and update the partnership that has existed over these many years between the Park Service and the college by authorizing the Park Service to enter into a cooperative agreement with the Commonwealth. It allows for the National Park Service to provide financial assistance to the College for the purpose of maintaining, preserving, renovating and rehabilitating the many historic structures within the Springfield Armory National Historic Site. The Park Service frequently enters into such cooperative agreements where the object of the agreement is of direct benefit to the Park Service and its mission, or for other public purposes. If these great historic buildings on the site can be renovated with the assistance of the Park Service, it will bring forward a more vibrant and attractive Historic Site and Museum. The Park Service and the college will be able to partner on many joint educational ventures that utilize these revitalized historic facilities.

* The Springfield Armory National Historic Site is a treasure to the city of Springfield, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and to the Nation. The site is in desperate need of renovation, and enactment of this legislation is the first step towards ensuring the preservation of a site, which has played so vital a role in America's history.

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