Skip to content

Letters: Chapel Dome repairs must protect historic integrity; Annapolis property tax increase and more

The United States Naval Academy Chapel, backlit by the sun.
By Joshua McKerrow / Capital Gazette
The United States Naval Academy Chapel, backlit by the sun.
Author
PUBLISHED: | UPDATED:

Chapel Dome

Will the reported repairs to the Naval Academy’s Chapel dome involve repairs to the copper sheathing (The Capital, Dec. 9)? If so, past repairs on the Yard invite caution, if the past is prologue.

The existing dark stripes on the dome were not intended at the time they were applied as fixes years ago. The dome had been untreated copper that had aged to green, called verdigris. The dark stripes were treated copper. They look OK, as if by design, but are not evenly spaced.

Repair patches a few years ago to the Halsey Field House roof were made with fake colored patches that look awful. Similarly, the addition to the Sailing Center also used what looks like treated copper that would be a disaster if applied to the chapel dome.

I encourage The Capital to interview academy officials about the appropriateness of the new plans for the dome.

The academy is a National Register Historic District. But only local historic districts, like our downtown, have enforceable design guidelines for repairs.

Even so, federal law governing National Districts establishes what are essentially voluntary compliance guidelines.

The academy should be conforming to those guidelines to assure fixes are in keeping with the grandeur of the Chapel. Whether current Academy officials understand the importance of proper fixes according to the Secretary of the Interior’s guidelines is one question.

Even if they do, great care should be taken with contractors who, as seen in earlier fixes on the yard, may proceed with nonconforming materials.

WILLIAM E. SCHMICKLE

Editor’s Note: The writer is a former chair of the Annapolis Historic Preservation Commission and author of three books on local historic districts, the latest, “The Historic District Action Guide,” was published in 2018.

City taxes

When our property assessments go up, the government is supposed to lower the tax rate so there is a zero sum. Then if they need to raise monies they increase the new lower rate.

My taxes went up 40 percent. Other property owners experienced a 50 percent increase.

If the city intended to raise our property tax 8.7 percent, then Mayor Gavin Buckley and his staff seriously erred in their mathematical implementation.

I recommend The Capital investigate how such an irresponsible increase could occur. No consideration was given to senior citizens on a fixed income.

I wrote to the mayor and he decided not to respond.

JOSEPH FORD

Annapolis

Reexamining history

I no longer recognize the United States of America or, for that matter, the world. Net scum with nothing better to do with their lives spend their efforts on damning people for what they said and did 10, 20, 30 even 40 years ago and try to hold them up against today’s self-appointed standards.

Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving is racist. Rudolf’s father is misogynistic and there is a huge amount of bullying. Veggie Tails is racist because the villainous vegetables are dark in color. I suppose Frosty being white will be condemned too.

So … let’s go back into history to say 1 BC: God made Mary pregnant without her consent. He may have been the Bill Cosby of His day. Why isn’t His name stricken from all literature? Why say God Bless? Double standards? Why aren’t 2018 standards applied to Him?

Mary was apparently the first member of the “Me Too” movement. Where is the credit she deserves? Where is the condemnation? Where are the Net scum?

People change as they grow. One hopes for the better. This politically correct garbage is the ruination of this country. There is zero tolerance for anyone’s opinion any more.

I never thought we, as a country, would lose our collective minds but … we are certainly knocking on the door … maybe even entered into a place we can never leave.

BILL ZAMBIASI

Arnold