EATONTOWN – A consultant retained by the Fort Monmouth reuse authority will spend the next two months looking at how the fort’s three host towns could share emergency services.
The Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA) met at the Eatontown Borough Hall May 21 and heard an update on the outlook for shared services for the fort property following the planned 2011 closure.
Shared services are being explored in an attempt to minimize the impact on the towns of Oceanport, Eatontown and Tinton Falls following the closure of Fort Monmouth. Once the fort closes, the mutual aid provided by the fort’s emergency responders will no longer be available.
"We’re moving very rapidly in the area of emergency services," said Mayor Gerald Tarantolo. "We have selected a consultant that will work on behalf of the authority to put into perspective the concept of shared emergency services as it relates to the Fort Monmouth region and the impact on the three municipalities that are the stakeholders."
Diane Canterbury, FMERPA project manager, gave an update and explained that FMERPA had retained Jersey Professional Management to conduct a study on shared emergency services. The contract was officially awarded May 1.
She added that the award had been approved by the FMERPA board on April 16 after several meetings at which funding, guidelines and expectations had been discussed.
"Very important was the purpose of the feasibility study which was the stakeholders being well informed of the actual intent," Canterbury said. "FMERPA set a deliverable timeline, and the contract is short term."
The contract is effective from the May 1 official award date to July 17, after the final feasibility report is submitted.
"The final feasibility study recommendation is due on the 16th of July and will be presented to the FMERPA board on that same day," Canterbury said.
Tarantolo, who is involved with determining how the local towns would handle emergency response when they can no longer call on help from the fort, said last year that the estimated cost to the towns surrounding Fort Monmouth to replace these services and equipment was $10 million, which is "far beyond our means."
While Tarantolo has expressed enthusiasm for the idea of treating the Fort Monmouth property as a region after it closes, some Oceanport officials are cautious regarding possible repercussions for their borough.
Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon stated at FMERPA’S affordable housing meeting May 19 that of the three boroughs, Oceanport is the only one that actually would lose money in a revenue sharing arrangement with the other fort towns.
During the public portion of the meeting, advocates of affordable housing asked for an increase in the affordable housing component in the plans for the fort to meet the need in the area.
Rev. Susan P. Mamchak, of West Long Branch, said she and her fellow advocates were looking for solutions to the affordable housing deficiency in the area.
"Yes, we want as much as we can get, we would not be considering our constituents if we didn’t," she said. "But we are also looking for resolutions. Some resolutions we believe should be at Fort Monmouth, but we are also open as you look for the best ways to serve those towns."
A number of speakers addressed FMERPA at April’s regular meeting as well as the special affordable housing meeting and urged the panel to incorporate a greater number of affordable units into the redevelopment plan,which currently calls for a total of 1,500 units over the next 20 years, with 375 designated as low- to moderate-income housing.
The mayors of the three fort host towns responded that significantly increasing the number of residential units on the environmentally constrained property could adversely affect their boroughs.
In order to accommodate the amount of housing requested, Mahon said at the affordable housing meeting that the tax rate in Oceanport would double.