DATE: Sunday, November 16, 1997             TAG: 9711160028

SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   92 lines

BATTLESHIP IDEA FLOATS WELL WITH COUNCIL COUNCIL WILL DISCUSS IT AT MEETING TUESDAY.

With visions of landing a huge cash cow that could reverse the fortunes of Nauticus, the City Council for the first time Tuesday will discuss the Navy's offer to park the battleship Wisconsin on the downtown waterfront.

A majority of council members said in interviews last week that the Navy's proposal - to tie up the historic battlewagon at Nauticus at no cost to the city - sounds like an offer they couldn't refuse.

Council members said they expect a windfall of benefits if the deal happens, from creating another magnet to draw tourist dollars downtown to boosting civic pride in a city that has the world's largest naval base.

``The council has always been in favor of something like this, but we never could reconcile the tremendous cost to prepare for a battleship and then to maintain it,'' Councilman G. Conoly Phillips said. ``But here we have a free gift, and, to me, personally, this is the greatest thing that could happen to our waterfront.''

Said Vice Mayor Herbert M. Collins Sr.: ``I've heard people say it would be very positive. I think it's a natural for Nauticus right now.''

Some said that anchoring the World War II-era ship beside Nauticus might even accomplish what has eluded officials since the city-owned facility opened in 1994: convert skeptical taxpayers who have derided it as a $52 million boondoggle.

Even if the ship didn't increase the number of paying visitors at Nauticus, they said, the maritime center should gain in stature. News of the Navy's idea has been met in the past week by an outpouring of public support regionwide.

``If the Wisconsin is added to it, even if it's sitting next door, it strikes a chord with the average citizen in Norfolk,'' Councilman W. Randy Wright, himself a Nauticus critic, said. ``I think they'd begin to feel better about Nauticus, and Nauticus could gain immeasurably by it.

``I'm tickled to death.''

Other council members said that having the ship on the waterfront would go beyond luring people to Nauticus, an attraction intended to celebrate the region's maritime heritage and generate tourism.

Councilman Mason C. Andrews said the Wisconsin would give people another reason to come downtown and should contribute to downtown's revival, along with the nearby MacArthur Center mall, Waterside and a facelift of the Granby Street corridor.

Economic spinoffs, Andrews said, include the ship's surefire appeal as a draw for military reunions and conventions, a growing business for the region, officials said.

``It's a signal that Norfolk is a Navy city and is an icon - that's the attraction,'' Andrews said. ``At the moment, all I know and see suggests that this ought to be beneficial to everybody.''

But the elation at the surprise offer is tempered with some caution as well, in part because most council members said they knew little more than what they'd gleaned from news reports.

``I'd have to look at it before we just pull something over there to prop up Nauticus,'' said Councilman Paul R. Riddick, who described himself as ``neutral'' to the proposal. ``I understand the Navy is supposed to do all the funding, but I've heard those stories before.''

The Navy, which would retain ownership of the ship, has estimated the cost of moving it and preparing a berth at Nauticus at between $3 million and $5 million. Annual maintenance would run $200,000. Navy officials say the service now is combing its budget to identify funding for the deal.

Council members acknowledge that the city couldn't afford to pay those bills. A shortage of money has stymied the city's nearly three-year quest for the battleship Iowa, the Wisconsin's sister ship, mothballed in a Navy yard in Philadelphia and available for adoption.

Collins said the Wisconsin would benefit Nauticus only if the two were linked by exhibits and a solid marketing plan. So far, the council has not participated in ongoing discussions about what the center's proper focus should be, talks that started when the city took over the center's operations in January.

The council may take a more active interest now, Collins said.

``The Wisconsin might be the answer to an ailing Nauticus,'' Collins said, ``but just setting it there isn't the answer. You can have a gold mine, but somebody's got to go in and get the gold out. It's not going to mine itself.''

Council members said they are sensitive to concerns voiced by some Harbour Place condominium residents, who say they don't want to live next door to a battleship.

``We don't want to destroy what we've got going on positively down there,'' Collins said.

Mayor Paul D. Fraim, the city's point person in talks with the Navy, said he plans to bring the council up to speed with the plans Tuesday.

The council is not expected to take a formal position Tuesday. But it's clear that they hope the Navy and the city can pull this off.

``I'd like to see it fly,'' Councilwoman Daun S. Hester said. ``It would be a benefit to us, and it would provide a service to the Navy. It would be a good partnership.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo

ASSOCIATED PRESS/file

The Wisconsin would be berthed at Nauticus, in Norfolk. City Council

will discuss the idea Tuesday.

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