Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo (center) and Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon (r) speak about impacts the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth will have on their communities during a public forum at Gibbs Hall on April 24. NICOLE ANTONUCCI TINTON FALLS — The mayors of two of Fort Monmouth’s host towns told a room full of real estate professionals last week that their communities must deal with the economic impacts of the fort closing and try to capitalize on the redevelopment process going forward.
“The closing of Fort Monmouth was a major disaster for this area. I have always looked at the fort as a magnet, in that it attracted much ofwhatwe currently have or had in place prior to the BRAC decision [to close the base],” EatontownMayorGeraldTarantolo told a public forum on the redevelopment of the fort property held at Gibbs Hall April 24.
“The ripple effect has been astronomical for this area. That has really been the challenge that we are confronted with. How do we fill the void of Fort Monmouth closing?”
Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon, also in attendance, explained the significant impacts of the closing on each municipality that must be addressed in the future.
“Making [the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority] aware of our concerns up front is key to getting involved in their thinking early,” Mahon said.
“As they put their redevelopment plans in motion, they can address them up front and address our concerns as part of their concepts. It will ease their transition into the redevelopment process and it will be much easier for the municipality to give them the right answers along the way to expedite the process and move things forward.”
Tarantolo explained that the base provided approximately 5,500 high-tech jobs along with numerous other support jobs, totaling approximately 20,000 jobs that were lost, along with Fort Monmouth’s payroll, which was approximately $350 million in 2007.
He explained that previously billions in contracts for the base’s projects were awarded to companies in the immediate area.
More than 22,000 individuals who worked at the fort elected to retire and stay in the area, he said, but they now have to travel to access the benefits the fort formerly provided.
Mahon added that many of the local businesses that derived income from the fort have closed.
“These are immediate impacts. These are jobs in the community and conveniences for residents. These are conveniences that are lost to them and a downtown that is virtually decimated,” he said.
“In a small town such as ours, to have a loss such as 30 or 40 percent [of customers] located near the downtown is a direct impact.”
Moderator Bob Antonicello, executive director of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, asked if the development plans that are reviewed by the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) go before municipal planning boards.
“The CommVault plan was just reviewed bymy Planning Board and the Borough Council,” Tarantolo said. “That project appealed to both because potentially we are going to generate 2,500 to 3,000 jobs. We have to replace the jobs that were lost. To do that, we have to look for opportunities.”
He explained that there is a development plan that outlines the guidelines for each project. While every plan is subject to change, the goal is to merely amend what is already in place so redevelopment isn’t prolonged for 30 years, he said.
“I don’t think this area can afford that. We have to be in a position to react when an opportunity presents itself. We are looking at it with the point of view that we have to be flexible.”
Antonicello asked if affordable housing has been addressed in the plan.
Tarantolo explained that there has been a lot of dialogue with the state Council on Affordable Housing to determine what the affordable housing requirements would be for the fort property.
“The plan for affordable housing is reflected in the plan on the table with 20 percent set aside.”
However, Mahon said that number is flexible .
“If the state can revise COAH in such a way to reduce it, it is the goal of the municipality to meet that obligation,” Mahon said. “There is a burden felt within the community that has to be considered that these laws don’t envision.”
For example, he said, the Oceanport school systemis near capacity, which affordable housing could potentially impact.
“The offsetting impact would be that we would have to expand our school system… That is a burden that is going to be felt by the entire community,” Mahon said.
“Our goal all along has been any financial burden as a result of the closing … be contained within Fort Monmouth through the reuse and not be a burden placed on the taxpayer.”
Tarantolo explained that Eatontown has experienced a decline in the population of its school system as a result of the base closing.
“Eatontown had the responsibility to educate Fort Monmouth’s children,” he said. “There was a time when Fort Monmouth was going full tilt that the school system had approximately 2,800 kids in its elementary schools. With the closing we have somewhere around 1,100. So you can see the order of magnitude of the impact on the education.”
To compensate for the loss of mutual aid from the fort, the municipalities have entered into shared service and interlocal agreements.
Mahon pointed out that the most important interlocal agreement between Eatontown and Oceanport is to compensate for the loss of the Fort Monmouth Fire Department.
“That is probably the greatest loss, not only to the three [host] municipalities [Tinton Falls, Oceanport and Eatontown], but to this part of the county in general,” he said, adding that the fort fire department responded to hazmat incidents throughout the eastern region of the county.
“The loss of that fire department is the biggest loss as of right now and how we replace that in terms of fire safety,” Mahon said. “These buildings are still here. This building was previously serviced by the Fort Monmouth Fire Department; now it comes under the auspices of the Eatontown Fire Department.”
Antonicello asked what the municipalities are doing to encourage future development on the fort.
“In terms of smart growth, has this been part of the dialogue?” he asked.
Tarantolo explained that smart growth requires government flexibility.
Using the Route 35/36 interchange redesign as an example, Tarantolo explained that the borough changed the zoning in the area to reduce the impact on commercial properties.
Mahon said that there is a linear footprint that stretches across the three municipalities and that the fort property must be integrated into each individual municipality.
“Integration into the three municipalities separately is an easier transition than maintaining it as its own city,” he said.
“We are trying to integrate it within our community as a central component of our community as opposed to a center of a regional community surrounding it.”