Oceanport to operate fort marina for summer

BY NICOLE ANTONUCCI
Staff Writer

 Oceanport is seeking a private operator for the marina at Fort Monmouth, which the borough has agreed to lease from FMERA for one year.  COURTESY OF FMERA Oceanport is seeking a private operator for the marina at Fort Monmouth, which the borough has agreed to lease from FMERA for one year. COURTESY OF FMERA OCEANPORT — Borough officials are actively seeking bids from private entities to operate the 71-slip marina located at Fort Monmouth during the summer season.

Oceanport entered into a one-year agreement with the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) to lease the marina at the authority’s May 15 board meeting.

“We basically volunteered and said we’d keep it open so it doesn’t fall into disrepair,” Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon said.

“We are seeking a private operator to operate it on behalf of the municipality during the term of this lease with an eye on the future as to what the marina was envisioned to become.”

According to Mahon, the borough leased the marina from FMERA for $1, and the minimum bid is set at $25,000.

He said the operation would remain revenue-neutral for borough taxpayers, and the lease money that the borough derives would pay for utilities and other incidental expenses that the borough may incur.

The 4.3-acre parcel is located at Oceanport and Riverside avenues in the 400 area of the fort in Oceanport and consists of the marina, a boat launch ramp on Oceanport Creek, a 2,600-square-foot boat house, two administrative buildings and associated off-street parking.

Bruce Steadman, executive director of FMERA, said the lease is temporary until the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has cleaned up a pesticide spill and completed an environmental assessment.

“We are not in a position to put that on to the market. We don’t have the money to fix them up,” Steadman said in an interview after the board meeting.

“We were prepared to lose the boating season, but Oceanport came forward and said that they would sublease it.”

He added that the one-story structure on the property sustained permanent damage during superstorm Sandy after 4 feet of water inundated the building.

The docks along the marina are also in need of repairs.

“The plan is to sell it as is, where is — and the new owner will have to fix it,” Steadman said.

In a previous interview, Steadman explained that FMERA doesn’t own the property and that the Army is precluded from doing that kind of work under its caregiver agreement.

According to the Fort Monmouth Redevelopment and Reuse Plan, the marina can accommodate commercial development, such as a waterfront restaurant.

The plan calls for the marina to be improved and expanded to provide better public access to the water.

Mahon said the long-term goal is to achieve that vision.

“We are trying to put those pieces together and try to see if we can move that in the right direction,” Mahon said. “Our goal is to have the marina open for this season.”

Mahon compared the condition of the marina to the Suneagles Golf Course located in the Eatontown section of the fort.

“The borough is excited. We’ve been disappointed over the last few years or so,” he said. “The Army did not maintain the marina in an open and useful condition, similar to the golf course.

“Just like with the golf course, we didn’t want that to fall into disrepair for a lack of use; we wanted [the marina] to be maintained.”