Once again, the public loses. The public hearing held April 20 from 3-5 p.m. at Fort Hancock was nothing more than a charade. The National Park Service continues to deny us a right to fairly participate in the process that affects us deeply — the development of Fort Hancock into the beginning of a "Fort Hancock City." What an outrage! We are the real owners of the land, and we have a right to a fair and open discussion about the development of Fort Hancock and its impact on Sandy Hook. Putting the environmental issues aside for a moment, although we shouldn’t have to do that, let us take a look at what took place at the public hearing April 20.
We attended the long overdue public hearing expecting a presentation by the National Park Service with an opportunity to ask questions. Instead, we were told when we arrived that anyone wishing to speak should sign up and they would be allowed three minutes to address the crowd. Information about the proposals and lease agreement was released just before the start of the meeting to a select few. The park service made another brief presentation presenting no new information, and the speakers began at 3:30 p.m.
The first five to speak were all pro development. They knew ahead of time they would speak and they came prepared. Most people — like myself — who spoke, did so without the opportunity to prepare because we had no prior notification of the change in the format. The majority of pro development speakers spoke before 5 p.m.
At 5 p.m., with more than half the speakers still left, the moderator announced to the crowd that we should not worry; we would all get our three minutes. They allowed the speakers to continue past the designated time but — to further add insult to injury — by the time people with concerns about the development had a chance to speak, the crowd had dwindled to just a few. That is not the proper way to treat people who give up their time on a Saturday to come out to express their interest in a proposed project that is so important to our county and area.
We also had no way of knowing if some of the speakers were involved with the development project itself. And, of the many preservationists who spoke, not one of them was the least bit concerned about how the development might negatively impact the traffic in a county already overrun with cars and people. We cannot afford to be so myopic. The buildings cannot be saved at the cost of building a city or mall on Sandy Hook. The real issue we need to be concerned with is excessive traffic and sprawl ruining this special place forever.
We finally left the meeting around 6 p.m., thinking there has to be a better way to do this. Public hearings and community involvement should not be new concepts, even for the National Park Service. We must demand another public hearing, and this time we need to have the information ahead of time. Independent experts should be present, and the public should be invited to ask questions. Until the park service demonstrates a real desire to play fair with us, we have to think the worst — that they have something to hide. We hope it’s not the "Mall at Sandy Hook."
Judith Stanley Coleman
President, Monmouth Conservation Foundation, Middletown