Oceanport needs your help. As you might have heard, there is a growing local interest in trying to keep Fort Monmouth here in Monmouth County and not have it moved to Aberdeen Md., as planned.
What you might not have heard is that since the 2005 decision to move the Fort, it has been determined that closing Fort Monmouth could cost the Department of Defense (DOD) an additional $16 to $25 million due to the fact that the DOD was forced to cancel a multimillion-dollar contract designed to drastically reduce the fort’s reliance on fossil fuels and save millions of dollars in energy costs. Also, although it has been two years since the state of Maryland has been aware of the planned relocation of the fort, Maryland state planners have only recently identified at least $16 billion in unfunded infrastructure improvements necessary to accommodate the massive job influx pending that area.
How can it be in the best interest of the taxpayers and the community to move a fort that will end up costing the taxpayers in both the community it is leaving and the one to which it is moving?
If Fort Monmouth closes on schedule in 2011, New Jersey will lose an estimated $3.3 billion that the fort contributes annually to the state economy. We cannot let this happen.
The United States Government Accountability Office has agreed to investigate the closure of Fort Monmouth after an investigation revealed the projected cost of closure has nearly doubled from $780 million to $1.5 billion in only two years.
Our local leaders have been active participants in the plans to close Fort Monmouth from the beginning. We can no longer “hope for the best” as stated in a recent article, or feel blessed to have 1,800 houses on our side of Fort Monmouth, putting a strain on our schools, roads and infrastructure.
We have to take action to keep Fort Monmouth in New Jersey.
Please act now and call your congressmen, assemblymen and women and encourage them to keep Fort Monmouth open. Your opinion matters and can make a difference in the financial future of your county, your town and your neighbors. Please call your elected officials today and let them know your thoughts.
Michael J. Mahon, Joseph A. Irace and Gerald R. Bertekap
Oceanport candidates for mayor and Borough Council