Clock ticking on Howard Commons
GSA giving borough less than two months to
deliver plan on housing
By sherry conohan
Staff Writer

In a surprise move, the federal General Services Administration has given the borough of Eatontown 50 days to come up with a plan for development of Howard Commons, the Fort Monmouth housing complex that’s being converted to civilian use.

Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo reported at the Jan. 30 Borough Council meeting that the GSA has reached the point where it wants to look for a developer for Howard Commons, which only has a few Army residents still living in it.

"They still made the commitment to us that they will use our plan as the basis for going out and making it available for developers to bid on," he said. "That’s the good news."

"The bad news," he continued, "is they have now established a very short schedule. We have been given 50 days to come up with the plan. That’s totally unrealistic since we still haven’t gotten the $50,000 Smart Growth planning grant from the DCA (state Department of Community Affairs)."

The borough was told late last year that it would be receiving the grant.

Tarantolo said he had been on the telephone the past few days before the council meeting trying to find out when — and whether — that money would be forthcoming.

The new administration of Gov. Jim McGreevey faces a $2.9 billion budget shortfall inherited from the former administration of acting Gov. Donald T. DiFrancesco.

Tarantolo said he was having a hard time getting any information about the status of the grant because when the McGreevey administration came into office, it removed a lot of the people who administer these grants.

"The question I’m asking is, is the money still there, and I’ve gotten some feel that, yes, the money is still there," Tarantolo said. "The question is when the right personnel will be in place to start the process in our favor."

The mayor promised the council he would pursue the issue diligently.

"We’re going to have to really start scrambling to meet the dates that they are projecting," Tarantolo said, adding that the borough might be able to get some breathing room. "The letter was phrased in a manner that indicated that, yes, we have 50 days, but they will make adjustments to accommodate us.

"Once I get definite information from the state that the money is forthcoming, and get a specific schedule when it will be here, we will go out with a request for quotes," he said.

Councilman John J. Collins said the issue was too important to wait and see whether the grant would be forthcoming. He suggested the borough move ahead on an appropriation to finance the planning, and offered to introduce such a resolution.

"The future of our community is going to be greatly impacted by whatever happens out there," he said.

"I concur with that," the mayor said. "That’s an option we should have in our hip pocket — that we take action and fund it ourselves."

However, he said, he didn’t want to do that just yet.

"As I said, I’m pushing some political buttons to get that resolved," he said.

Borough Attorney Gene Anthony advised the council it couldn’t take action at that meeting because the source of the money for the appropriation hadn’t been identified.

"I don’t have certification of where you’re getting the money from," he said.

Borough Business Administrator Michael L. Trotta said the council may have to do an emergency appropriation if that’s the way it wants to go.

Tarantolo said he was satisfied "we’re all reading from the same page."

"I think we all recognize the importance of the issue," he said.

"I feel confident that everything’s under control," he added. "It’s just that Trenton right now is in chaos. You’re dealing with subordinates. You’re not dealing with anyone who has authority. And that’s part of the problem."

When contacted on Monday, Tarantolo said he was still awaiting word.

"In the last discussion I had with the commissioner’s office, they indicated that we were on the priority list, and if anyone’s getting anything, we probably would get the grant," he said. "But it’s not official yet."