Kyrillos to introduce fort redevelopment bill
Nine-member committee would be set up by law
BY SUE MORGAN
Staff Writer

To ensure that New Jersey’s state government, not just the local and county jurisdictions, have a voice in what happens to Fort Monmouth’s land, state Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr. (R-13) has confirmed that he will introduce a bill to set up a legal multijurisdictional entity charged with overseeing future uses of the closing U.S. Army base.

The much-debated bill would essentially set the voting membership of the forthcoming Fort Monmouth Redevelop-ment Authority (FMRA) at nine members, including four to be appointed by Gov.-elect Jon S. Corzine after he is sworn in to his new office.

The bill, which Kyrillos expected to introduce to the newly seated state Legislature in Trenton on Tuesday afternoon, is necessary in order to legally establish an official redevelopment authority dedicated solely to finding new tenants and uses for the 1,126-acre base after it is shut down by the Pentagon in September 2011.

Although leaders of Fort Monmouth’s three host communities — Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport — have already joined forces with representatives of the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders and the office of acting Gov. Richard Codey to form the Fort Monmouth Reuse Committee (FMRC), Kyrillos believes it is best to have a law on the books recognizing such an entity.

Additionally, Kyrillos said on Monday that any multijurisdictional body set up to manage Fort Monmouth’s new uses should include greater statewide and regional representation similar to that present in the Pinelands Regional Authority.

In short, the economic factors associated with Fort Monmouth’s eventual closing impacts not only the three host communities and the county, but the region and the state as a whole, said Kyrillos, of Middletown.

“It’s much more critical than those three towns. It affects the county and the state,” Kyrillos said in a telephone interview.

While praising the work done so far by the five-month-old FMRC, which consists of seven voting members including state Commerce Secretary Virginia S. Bauer representing Codey’s office, Kyrillos expressed concern that the group’s focus might be “way too parochial” in its scope.

Although none of Fort Monmouth is physically located in his legislative district, Kyrillos says he stepped up to the plate because he sensed that no other lawmaker was going to draft a law to ensure that a redevelopment authority for the base was established by law with the state’s blessing and involvement.

“There was a vacuum there,” Kyrillos said. “No one else was really [proposing a law to set up a redevelopment authority].”

“It’s very important that the process be codified whenever multiple jurisdictions are involved,” he continued. “We should be looking to get them to focus on what will be a difficult reinvention of a very important part of the state economy.”

While his proposed law calls for nine voting members on the redevelopment authority, Kyrillos indicated that the number could decrease to seven or increase to 11, depending on the group’s needs.

Acknowledging that his proposed measure has aroused criticism by some of the local officials involved in the FMRC, most notably Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo, Oceanport Mayor Lucille Chaump and Tinton Falls Councilman Brendan Tobin. Kyrillos defended his initiative as necessary to prove to the federal government that the state supports the redevelopment efforts.

Tarantolo, who co-chairs the FMRC with Bauer, and Chaump have stated that allowing Corzine to appoint four representatives, two Democrats and two Republicans, to the authority, politicizes the process and puts the state, rather the municipalities, in control of Fort Monmouth’s future

“There’s been a lot of attention drawn to this bill in its draft form,” Kyrillos said. “But it’s a good proposal, a good framework for beginning discussion.”

Kyrillos’ bill also calls for the redevelopment authority to be composed of the mayors of Eatontown, Tinton Falls and Oceanport, and a representative from the county government.

The bill that initially goes before the state Legislature will probably undergo some changes before it is actually voted upon, he noted.

“It takes a long time to go through the process,” Kyrillos said. “There will be plenty of time for people to testify.”

As to the issue of an application submitted by the FMRC for $315,000 in federal funding to start up the group’s work by hiring consultants and personnel, Kyrillos stated that the law must be in place first before any funds from the Defense Department’s Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) can be released.

“The money question is separate,” he said. “In the long run we’ll need something that sets this up as the statutory framework.”

As of Monday, Kyrillos indicated that state Sen. Ellen Karcher (D-12), who had stated last month that she would cosponsor the bill, is still supporting the measure.

Karcher could not be reached at press time for comment.

State Sen. Joseph Palaia (R-11), also previously named by a Kyrillos spokesperson as another co-sponsor, has not returned telephone calls seeking comment.

Tarantolo, who traveled with Tobin to Kyrillos’ office last week to discuss the proposed bill, expressed optimism on Tuesday that the OEA funding will eventually be released once the jurisdiction issues can be worked out.

The Eatontown mayor has contacted OEA Director Patrick O’Brien in Arlington, Va., requesting release of the funding for the FMRC now that the state legislation is in the works.

The OEA had previously refused to release the funds until they had evidence that the state government supported the FMRC’s mission.

“What the federal government is saying to us is ‘Look New Jersey, get your act together and get the politics worked out,’ ” Tarantolo said.

The meeting with Kyrillos was productive despite some dissent on how much say the state should have in the reuse process, he said.

“We agreed to disagree,” Tarantolo said.

The state lawmaker has acted prematurely by introducing legislation relevant to creating a redevelopment authority when the FMRA is not at that point in the process yet, Tarantolo said.

While Kyrillos maintained that he will still introduce the legislation as he wrote it, Tarantolo believes the legislator now understands that the FMRA is a precursor to the redevelopment authority and in need of federal funding.

“He listened. He understands what has happened,” Tarantolo said in a telephone interview. “I think he understands that we lost 12 of the last 14 weeks because [federal] funding has been on hold.”

Tobin, who attended the meeting in place of Tinton Falls Mayor Peter Maclearie, stated that he came away from the meeting with Kyrillos feeling that the communication between the state lawmaker and the local communities is clearer.

“There is going to be legislation. There has to be legislation for us to be a legally recognized entity, so we can get the federal money,” Tobin said.

The meeting was the first between Kyrillos and anyone from the three host municipalities, according to Tobin, who also stated that he has had a positive working relationship with the state lawmaker.

The transition now under way in the legislature has been an obstacle for all involved, he added.

“A lack of information creates fear,” Tobin said.

“I’m very satisfied with the fact that Sen. Kyrillos is going to put this together now,” he continued. “At the very least, something has been put into writing.”

Besides Tarantolo, Chaump, Maclearie and Bauer, the FMRA’s current voting membership consists of county planner Robert Clark, and two private sector members.

Corzine, who, through a spokesperson, has said that the redevelopment authority should be sanctioned by the state legislature before the federal funds are released, will be sworn in to office next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Michael Panter (D-12) said last week that he expects to introduce a bill in the legislature’s lower house to set up an official redevelopment authority as well.

The three mayors of the host communities would be included in the makeup of that entity, said Panter, who expects to file the bill later this month or in February.

To date, the FMRA has proposed a mix of commercial, residential, office and recreational uses for the 88-year-old base, which will be shut down under the Pentagon’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process as a cost-cutting measure.