The running track on Fort Monmouth is part of 10-acre parcel that Eatontown is seeking to acquire for use by residents and the public school district. COURTESY OF FMERA Eatontown officials and members of the Board of Education are moving forward with plans to acquire a 10- acre Fort Monmouth parcel after touring the site on March 14.
According to Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, the site contains two athletic fields, bleachers, a picnic pavilion, restrooms, an 8,000- square-foot building and a large open space area, which could be used for recreation and sports.
“It is an ideal location for our residents to go to and would be used by our recreation department and residents as a local park,” Tarantolo said in an interview on March 21.
The property is located behind the former Steelman School near the Nicodemus Avenue gate and is bordered by Husky Brook Lake.
According to Tarantolo, most of the facilities are in good condition. Though the building has a roof leak and interior damage, Tarantolo said the overall structure is in good condition and could be used by the recreation department or the school district for the preschool.
The pavilion area overlooks Husky Brook Lake and contains approximately 10 picnic tables and benches, along with nearby restrooms.
The bleacher section is located a short walk across the property with the football field and track, which he said are all in good condition.
“It has potential for not only football, but [also] soccer and lacrosse,” Tarantolo said. “The Board of Education would use it for the track and soccer teams.”
The property can be accessed via Nicodemus Avenue, which is a connector road on Broad Street leading to the fort’s Main Post and contains a parking lot for about 20 cars.
The Borough Council expressed interest in the property during its Feb. 13 meeting after Monmouth County withdrew plans to acquire several parcels on the fort to be used as open space. These included the football field and track. Councilman Dennis Connelly brought the matter to the council’s attention and said the athletic fields would provide an opportunity for the district to own its own fields.
“We don’t have a facility. This would be a great asset to have regulation-size fields. Many events could happen there,” Connelly said.
“It’s either to be our property or will go to an outside agency, and I don’t think neighbors would want that.”
He added that ownership of the property would have to be discussed between the borough and the Board of Education.
“I would be in favor if either the Board of Education or town got it,” Connelly said. “I think it would be reasonable for the borough to own it and enter into an agreement with the board of education to use it.”
Tarantolo said the borough had an interest in the parcel, and originally there was an agreement that if the county acquired the property, the fort’s three host municipalities — Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport — would be able to use the football field and track.
“When the county withdrew, that is when we took the initiative to move on it,” Tarantolo said. “We felt that it still had merit and submitted a letter of intent that said the borough would like to assume ownership.”
Tarantolo met with Superintendent Scott McCue and Bruce Steadman, executive director of Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA), to discuss the feasibility of acquiring the property.
The next step, he said, is to draft a letter to FMERA detailing how the borough and the board of education plan to utilize the property.