Fort panel slights mayors & residents

It seems as if the worst fears of some observers are being realized in the apparent disregard shown to local mayors by those who are steering the new Fort Monmouth Economic Revitaliza-tion Planning Authority.

In the first place, the mayors whose communities are the most directly affected by the removal of the gates of the fort - Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo of Eatontown, Mayor Peter Maclearie of Tinton Falls, and Mayor Lucille Chaump of Oceanport - lost local control over the process that would determine the future reuse of the fort's 1,126 acres when the state stepped in and insisted on controlling the redevelopment process.

That meant the mayors were effectively sidelined by the state's interests, while they would be the ones whose communities must deal directly with whatever or whoever takes over the federal land.

Now, at the initial organization meeting of FMERPA on Friday night, insult was added to that injury by the disregard shown to the mayors in naming the leadership of the panel and in setting the time of the next meeting of the body.

How petty it appears, and how poorly it bodes, that the mayors could not be shown the simple consideration of a time being set that is convenient to all parties for the next meeting. Indeed, the time slot chosen makes it impossible for two of the mayors to fully attend.

Add that to the fact that the rules don't allow for the mayors to appoint a designee to go in their place.

In showing such blatant disregard for the mayors who lead the local host communities, those in charge of the panel are also showing disrespect for the residents of those communities as well as for the fort's 5,000-plus civilian workers who would best be served by having the authority meet in the evening, as noted by Maclearie.

No one should need to be reminded that the communities the mayors lead stand to lose the most and have the greatest stake in this process.

Though state officials may claim that the fort closing will affect the entire region, the fact is that the adjacent communities will bear the brunt of the BRAC process and have been given the farthest seat at the table.