By Kenny Walter
Staff Writer
OCEANPORT- In the coming months, the public will have the opportunity to weigh in on future sites for borough hall.
Mayor Jay Coffey said during the Feb. 4 Borough Council workshop meeting that he plans to hold several meetings seeking input on various sites suitable to rebuild Borough Hall.
“What I’m hoping to do is to have two town hall meetings and two regular council meetings to discuss the borough hall issue at length and to examine every alternative that is available,” Coffey said. “I think we need to have a cathartic moment with the town where everyone packs into a room and we examine them to the point where we are tired of talking about them.”
During the superstorm Sandy, an estimated four feet of water swept through the former borough hall meeting room, while up to 18 inches of water flooded the rest of the complex at 222 Monmouth Blvd., which was built in 1965. The council has been meeting at Maple Place Elementary School.
Prior to end of his term, the former mayor, Michael Mahon, narrowed the choices for borough hall down to four, but Coffey said he’d like to examine several more sites that may be suitable for a municipal complex.
“We want to look at the pros and cons of Wolf Hill School, Maple Place Middle School, Russel Hall, Building 918 down at the fort, building 901 at the fort, East Main Street, the piece by the track, Gatta Park, other commercial sites and rebuilding at the previous site,” he said. “We want to explore every single one of them, examine the pros and cons, the costs associated with each and every one of them, the social benefits and examine them ad nauseam.”
Coffey said some of the decisions the administration and council must make is whether to include a meeting room and court room and whether the Oceanport Police Department can remain at their current location on Fort Monmouth.
“We’ve had extensive conversations with the chief regarding the situation with the police station,” Coffey said.
While the future of borough hall is undetermined, the borough is moving quickly on finding the next borough administrator as current Administrator John O. Bennett III is planning on retiring.
Coffey said the administrator has narrowed 42 applicants into 15 candidates selected for interviews and he expects the talent pool to be narrowed even further by the end of the month.
The cost of the entire project is estimated at approximately $10 million, with $3.6 million expected to be reimbursed by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.