New committee focuses on fort infrastructure Maclearie: Info will support work of master planner BY LINDA DENICOLA Staff Writer A 12-member committee has begun the work of analyzing the infrastructure needs of the 1,126-acre Fort Monmouth property in Tinton Falls. The second meeting of the Infrastructure Advisory Committee of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA) was held at the Tinton Falls Municipal Building. Tinton Falls Mayor Peter Maclearie, who chairs the committee, said, "This group will be key in supporting the efforts of the master planner and keeping the process moving swiftly." He presented a written report on the minutes of the first meeting, held on April 2, at the last FMERPA meeting on April 18. Maclearie had to leave the FMERPA meeting early so the report was read by Frank Cosentino, FMERPA director. According to the report, the Infrastructure Committee meeting was attended by all of the members except Harvey Sloven, an Eatontown resident. The membership includes Maclearie; Cosentino; James Markey, JCP&L; Benjamin L. Daniel, N.J. American Water; Craig Swaylik, NJNG; Michael Gianforte, Two Rivers Water Reclamation Authority; Brian Young, Verizon; Joseph Ettore, Monmouth County engineer; Robert Melascaglia, Fort Monmouth; and Joseph Foster, an Oceanport resident. Maclearie provided an overview of the goals of the committee and outlined an agenda for the meetings which are also intended to extend the public outreach efforts of FMERPA. The general discussion among committee members included questions about their role and the ownership of the fort property. They also discussed who would coordinate data between the committee and FMERPA. Committee members discussed a report which was prepared about four years ago describing the condition of the water and waste water facilities on the fort and discussed the current fiber optic ring on the fort, as well as security concerns with the data. As for the question of who will pay for building new infrastructure and whether or not developers will have input in the process, the answer was the developers would pay for new infrastructure and, yes, they will have input in the process. Ettore indicated that the county may have GIS data and would investigate getting that for the group. Members discussed the limitations of current meters for water and electric and who currently have easements besides JCP&L, which has a blanket easement. Other items discussed were the need for smart building with high-efficiency standards, and whether any of the area will be designated as a transit center. Maclearie said on Friday, that the committee is part of the extended outreach efforts of FMERPA. "I'm hoping that the Infrastructure Committee with key members and representatives from the various organizations that provide the infrastructure to the surrounding communities can address issues and obstacles that may arise in the development of Fort Monmouth," he said. He explained that right now they are in the discussion phase. "We're still waiting for the official master planners to start. We're hoping that we will have information to help them out," Maclearie said. "Our intent is to understand the issues that currently exist." He added that at the May 7 meeting, he planned to show the committee some very good slides that he had taken on one of his tours of the fort property. "We will organize a tour for them as well," he said.