Eatontown officials were likely disappointed upon hearing that the Army decided to retain Howard Commons.
They shouldn’t be.
While the borough will miss out on some potential tax revenue from putting the property into private hands, and will have to find another way to fulfill its affordable housing obligation, having Fort Monmouth designated as the nation’s Homeland Security research and development facility would likely be a boon to both the borough and the county.
Much like the rest of the country, Monmouth County has been hard hit by the stagnant economy.
Most notably, thousands of science and engineering jobs have disappeared in recent years as telecommunications giants Lucent and AT&T reduced their work forces. And those companies weren’t alone in reducing the number of their employees.
So far the county seems to have weathered the storm of layoffs pretty well, but the loss of so many well-paying jobs eventually has to take a toll on the local economy.
The establishment of a large, new research facility could go a long way toward mitigating that problem.
Not only would such a facility provide a boost to the economy, but it would likely remove any near-term danger of the fort ending up on the top of a base-closing list.
It’s quite possible that Eatontown will benefit more from the new research facility being at the fort than from taking over the housing.
Borough leaders shouldn’t be disappointed. They shouldn’t even be ambivalent about the Army’s decision.
They should cheer it and be excited about the possibility of expansion at the fort, and county leaders should be right there with them.
Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantalo said the borough was "getting half a loaf" with the Army’s change in plans, but it might just be winding up with a lot more.