BY SUE MORGAN
Staff Writer
EATONTOWN – Nearly two months after he signed legislation that officially created the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority, Gov. Jon S. Corzine nominated four private-sector members to the 10-member panel.
One is an expert in building trades and a member of the New Jersey Army National Guard. Another is a real estate broker, and a third is an environmentalist and former school board member in Wall Township.
The fourth choice, announced by Corzine on Thursday, is Robert Lucky, of Fair Haven, a retired engineer experienced in telecommunications who holds three degrees, including a doctorate from Purdue University in Indiana.
Corzine’s selections are still awaiting the advice and consent of the state Legislature, according to a June 22 press release from the Governor’s Office.
Otherwise, only one more, nonvoting, member, who is to represent the 80-year-old fort itself, has yet to be named. That nomination lies with U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
Besides Lucky, the other nominees are Joseph A. Colfer, of Howell; Rosemarie D. Estephan, of Colts Neck; and Laurie Cannon, of Wall Township, according to information from Corzine’s office.
In selecting the four nominees for the committee, which will decide how to best use the fort’s land, building and infrastructure once the base is shuttered by the Pentagon in 2011, Corzine called on lawmakers and private citizens for recommendations, according to Brendan Gilfillian, a gubernatorial spokesman.
“The governor consulted all stakeholders, including local officials, legislators and others, in searching for the most qualified people to serve in this vital effort,” Gilfillian said in a press statement.
If approved by the state Legislature, the four nominees will join five other members previously named in the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority Act that Corzine signed into law April 28. The other five members are Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo, Tinton Falls Mayor Peter Maclearie, Oceanport Mayor Lucille Chaump, Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian Burry, and New Jersey Secretary of Commerce Virginia S. Bauer.
Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport host portions of the fort’s 1,126 acres.
Burry, of Colts Neck, represents the county freeholder board’s voice. Bauer, of Red Bank, is the state’s representative.
In accordance with the process established by the Defense Department’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA), the new authority has until this coming February to craft a feasible reuse plan for the fort property in order to receive federal assistance with transitioning the base from military to civilian uses.
With less than a year remaining before that federally imposed deadline, Tarantolo said he hopes the new authority members will convene for their first meeting soon.
“We have a lot of work to do,” Tarantolo said in an interview on Monday. “We have to get organized, go through the interview process, hire staff, and select consultants and legal representation.
“I would be very surprised if we have all
this in place by the end of the summer or by early autumn,” said Tarantolo, who with Bauer had co-chaired the now-disbanded Fort Monmouth Reuse Committee (FMRC), which disbanded in May.
The state-sanctioned authority supplants the FMRC, its predecessor, which met monthly beginning in late August.
The FMRC formed soon after the Pentagon announced that Fort Monmouth would be shut down as a cost-cutting measure under its Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process.
Under the Pentagon’s BRAC plan, more than 400 military personnel and 5,000-plus civilian workers will be transferred to the Aberdeen (Md.) Proving Ground after Fort Monmouth shuts down as scheduled in September 2011.
Lucky, a retired corporate vice president for Telecordia Technologies, holds a doctorate from Purdue and was also awarded honorary doctorates from the same university and from New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), according to his biography, as provided by the governor’s office.
A member of the National Academy of Engineering and a consulting editor for a series of books on communications, Lucky was formerly the executive director of the communications science research division at Bell Laboratories.
In addition, Lucky has served as the president of the Communications Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, and as the chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for the U.S. Air Force, his biography states.
A retired Bell Laboratories engineer himself, Tarantolo said, “He is a very intelligent person with lots of capability. He’s an excellent choice to serve on the revitalization authority.”
Both Frank Muzzi and S. Thomas Gagliano, who co-chair the Patriots Alliance – a coalition of Fort Monmouth military subcontractors working on post – also praised Lucky’s credentials.
With $3.5 million worth of military subcontractor jobs on the post at stake, the Patriots Alliance is collectively willing to assist the new authority as it moves forward, particularly in the area of creating new employment, Gagliano said on Tuesday.
“Our main interest is the employees. They are the ones who are going to have to deal with the transition,” Gagliano said in an interview.
A former state senator, Gagliano indicated that he had recommended Lucky to state officials who provided Corzine with suggestions for authority members.
“[Lucky] is extremely qualified with great capabilities,” Gagliano said.
Lucky has served on numerous defense science boards, said Muzzi who described the nominee as “eminently qualified.”
“I’ve spoken with him. He is committed to doing an excellent job for Fort Monmouth, its employees and the towns involved,” Muzzi said.
The biography released for Colfer shows that he is the current president of the Monmouth and Ocean counties Building and Trades Council. He is also a member for the executive board for the New Jersey State Building and Construction Trades Council, and the Legislative Committee for the New Jersey State Pipe Trades.
In addition, Colfer is a member of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipefitting Industry Local 696 in Newark, serving on its executive board, his biography states.
Estephan, now a manager at Weichert Realtors’ Holmdel office, is a licensed real estate broker since 2002, her biography states. She has held a real estate license since 1997 and is a member of the Monmouth County Board of Realtors.