BY GLORIA STAVELLI
Staff Writer
A meeting Saturday intended to give members of the public a chance to air concerns about the redevelopment of Fort Hancock may actually have raised more questions than answers.
“We wanted to get answers to questions and I think we were successful. But in the end, we raised more questions. It certainly concerns me that they would be able to add more buildings,” said Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6) as he left the Post Theater at Fort Hancock after a well-attended public forum, which lasted more than four hours.
Most of the theater’s 300 seats were filled Saturday and some 40 people had signed up to speak at the weekend forum, which was convened by Pallone to give members of the public a chance to air concerns about the controversial National Park Service (NPS) plan to allow a private developer to rehabilitate and lease out historic buildings at Fort Hancock.
Pallone explained to the at-times-raucous audience that the forum was the first opportunity the public has had to ask questions following the signing of a 60-year historic lease by the NPS and Sandy Hook Partners, headed by Rumson resident James Wassel.
He also disclosed that he had brokered a meeting between the NPS, Save Sandy Hook, a grassroots group opposed to commercial development at The Hook, and county and state officials to try to find a way to keep the redevelopment in the nonprofit sector.
But that meeting was short-circuited, he said, by the lease signing by NPS Northeast Regional Director Marie Rust, which took place July 9 ahead of schedule.
Pallone’s concern that the NPS agreement with the developer would allow the park service to add to the 36 buildings included in the lease agreement stemmed from questions directed by Carole Balmer, Holmdel, to NPS officials.
In an exchange with Sandy Hook Acting Superintendent Richard Wells, Balmer said the NPS’ response to public comments identifies 263 structures as contributing to the landmark status of Fort Hancock and the Historic Proving Ground District. While 36 historic buildings are included in the lease, other documents refer to 100 buildings, she said.
“There is a provision in the lease that the NPS may add buildings to the lease without further competition,” Wells acknowledged. “We also can enter into lease agreements with nonprofits.
“The accusation has been there may be as many as 78 buildings leased. That implies the NPS will leave Sandy Hook.”
“There’s nothing to keep you if all the buildings are leased to a commercial developer,” Balmer shot back. “The FONSI [Finding of No Significant Impact] says 263 buildings. That means you could have a Monmouth Mall out here.”
“You could turn over additional buildings to Sandy Hook Partners?” said Pallone. “This is going to be a major issue.”
“The purpose of adding that clause is to enable the NPS to preserve buildings we could no longer care for without going through the competitive process,” Wells responded. “Since that time new leasing regulations allow us to enter into noncompetitive agreements with nonprofits whose mission is compatible with the park.”
“There may be another superintendent here five years from now,” Pallone retorted.
For the most part, the hearing Pallone moderated was much like previous hearings the NPS held to support its choice of Sandy Hook Partners’ $75 million redevelopment plan that proposes rehabilitating and adapting the historic buildings to new uses. The developer has been given five years to carry out the project in three phases.
The lease gives Wassel until Dec. 31, or longer at the discretion of the NPS, to show he has commercially viable financing.
As has been the case in the past, the audience broke down pretty clearly along the lines of those who support the NPS proposal — preservationists who want to see the buildings saved and supporters of the developer — and opponents of bringing commercial enterprise to Sandy Hook and those, like Balmer, affiliated with Save Sandy Hook.
In mid-October, a hearing on historic preservation issues relating to rehabilitation of the Fort Hancock buildings will be held at the fort. The meeting will be hosted by the NPS in conjunction with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, Washington, D.C., and the N.J. State Historic Preservation Office.