By sherry conohan
Staff Writer
The U.S. Army Communi-cations-Electronics Command headquartered at Fort Monmouth would like to become the national research and development center that is to be designated under the new Homeland Security Act.
Larry Fillian, acting deputy director of CECOM’s Research Development and Engineering Center, told the Two Rivers Council of Mayors on Saturday that CECOM has put a task force together to make a pitch for bringing the prestigious new facility to the base. He said research laboratories that would draw scientists and engineers could be built at the Camp Charles Wood portion of the Fort Monmouth military complex.
"Our intention is to become the national research and development center," he told the mayors. "We are talking about major research and development centers coming in here."
Fillian dropped names like Lockheed-Martin and Northrup and said others would include universities and Department of Defense laboratories.
"We would build research laboratories which would link with organizations throughout the country who are in our business," he said. "They would be partners with us.
"It would solidify Monmouth County as one of the premier counties in the country. To me, that’s big," he added.
"We are in the very early stages of this — only a couple of months into it," he cautioned. "We will keep you intimately involved as we come up with ideas."
Lt. Col. Anthony D. Reyes, the garrison commander, told the mayors gathered in the firehouse on the base for their monthly get-together, that they were being brought in on the ground floor.
"We want your support," he said. "We are right in the initial stage. We want a lot to happen, but there’s still a lot of work to do."
He added, "I think I can speak for Gen. (William H.) Russ (CECOM commander), if it’s not a win for you, it’s not a win for us."
The initial reaction of the mayors was positive, with several calling the proposal "exciting," but they also said it had to be studied. They expressed concerns about the impact such an influx of offices and people would have on already congested roadways and pointedly told the Army brass that if all they were to get out of it was an increase in residents, that would only cost their towns.
Eatontown Business Administrator Michael L. Trotta said that the borough didn’t want just the housing — it wants the commercial end to fill the empty space in Industrial Way.
If the designation should be forthcoming, Fillian said, that should not be a problem.
Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo asked if the move to get the R&D center would remove Fort Monmouth from the BRAC (Base Realignment and Closure) process.
Reyes quickly said there was to be no talk at the meeting about BRAC. He said he had prepared a statement to read in case the subject came up but, seeing reporters present, wouldn’t do that.
"We are just trying to improve Fort Monmouth, inside and outside," he said.
Fillian, in response to a question, said that, no, Fort Monmouth was not "close" to being designated the national R&D center. But, he said, with all its expertise it was well positioned.
He said he expected its principal competition to come from outside the military.
"To entice the DOD, I have the land," Fillian said. "To entice Lockheed-Martin, the land is free."
Fillian said he didn’t want to take businesses away from Industrial Way to move to Fort Monmouth for the tax break. Even though they are private companies, they would not have to pay property taxes if they relocated to property at Fort Monmouth, he noted.
Mayor William F. Larkin of Ocean Township asked if he could get help from these developers with traffic on West Park Avenue. Fillian suggested the state might be of some help, but Larkin said he doubted that. Fillian then said if Lockheed-Martin were to come into Fort Monmouth and build a major facility, and employees wanted to live in Ocean Township, he thought the company would make some kind of contribution toward resolving any traffic problems.
Tarantolo, whose municipality of Eatontown takes in the greatest portion of the base, called the Fort Monmouth proposal "revolutionary" and said it could benefit all of Monmouth County.
"They’re thinking out of the box, and that’s good," he said.
Shrewsbury Mayor Emilia Siciliano, whose borough borders on Fort Monmouth, welcomed the idea of the jobs that would spin off from a research and development center, but expressed concern about the traffic. She said she didn’t think the answers were available now.
"But it’s exciting," she said. "The concept is like being in outer space."
Mayor Ann Y. McNamara of Tinton Falls also called the plan "exciting." But, she warned, "Something like this would require tremendous involvement and support from the state of New Jersey." She added, however, "I’m very glad that Fort Monmouth is being so forward looking"
Red Bank Mayor Edward J. McKenna Jr. also used the term "exciting" to describe the Fort Monmouth Plan.
"But it’s going to need quite a bit of study," he said. "We have to look at the positives and the negatives."

