Critics call for independent inquiry into fort lease

Advocates for an unspoiled Sandy Hook want an independent investigation into a lease agreement between the National Park Service (NPS) and a developer, not one conducted by the federal government.

Members of Save Sandy Hook (SSH), a grassroots group formed to block commercial development at Fort Hancock, say they are skeptical of Monday's announcement that the inspector general (IG) of the U. S. Department of the Interior (DOI) would look into the lease agreement between the NPS and Sandy Hook Partners.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D- 6) announced Monday that the IG has agreed to investigate the lease agreement to redevelop Fort Hancock, a lease Save Sandy Hook is seeking to overturn in U.S. District Court.

"It should be an independent person looking at the lease, not the inspector general from the DOI," said SSH founder Judith Stanley Coleman. "What has happened here is that Pallone has commended the IG for agreeing to conduct an investigation. I wish he had taken our advice which was to have an independent inspector general look at it."

Pallone's announcement comes weeks after the he requested that the office of inspector general (OIG) investigate the matter.

In a July 2 letter to Earl Devaney, the inspector general at the Interior Department, Pallone voiced concern that the lease agreement between the NPS and Sandy Hook Partners (SHP) had once again been extended.

He wrote that from his vantage point, the "entire process had been a debacle," a press release from Pallone' s office said.

Pallone learned of the investigation in a response letter from Devaney, which stated: "In your letter, you questioned Sandy Hook Partners' ability to produce the funds necessary to move forward with the project. The OIG is opening an investigation into your concerns, and we will notify your office of the result," according to the press release.

"I commend the inspector general for agreeing to conduct an investigation into the Sandy Hook Partners' lease agreement with the National Park Service," Pallone said in the release. "For three years, I have voiced serious concerns about why this agreement was signed when SHP never demonstrated its ability to come up with the necessary funding.

"I hope this investigation will shed some light on why the agreement was signed in the first place, and how SHP now plans to come up with the financing to complete the plan," Pallone's statement continued. "I remain skeptical that it's even possible for SHP to move forward at this point, and hope that this investigation will either confirm those suspicions or show us exactly how SHP is planning to proceed."

While he applauded Pallone for securing a commitment to investigate the lease, SSH member Peter P. O'Such Jr. cautioned the congressman to remain vigilant.

"The DOI is already attempting to put on blinders, as evidenced by its attempt to narrow the scope of the investigation to just the "lack of funding," said O'Such, a retired federal procurement analyst who has been a vocal critic of the procurement process through which SHP was selected to redevelop the historic buildings.

"Though pivotal, funding is one of numerous pivotal shortcomings that need to be delved into and adjudicated," O'Such said. "Congressman Pallone needs to ensure that all pivotal areas of concern are checked out honestly and completely. To this end the involvement of the Government Accountability Office would be a tremendous assist."

Under the terms of the lease, SHP, which is owned by James Wassel of Rumson, agreed to renovate 36 of Fort Hancock's 100 buildings. The conceptual plans indicated that redevelopment would include the opening of private businesses such as bed and breakfasts and cafes in the renovated buildings. It was this "over-commercialization" of the fort that initially led Pallone to oppose the plan.

However, the release said Pallone also seriously questioned Wassel's ability to produce the necessary funds to move forward with the three-phase project. Those fears have been realized over the last three years as NPS has granted Wassel repeated lease extensions due to SHP's lack of financial resources.

Both the NPS and SHP have used a lawsuit filed by concerned citizens as an excuse for these continued delays, said Pallone, adding that he "seriously questions why this agreement remains in place if Wassel cannot meet any of the promises he made back in 2004."

James Coleman, retired judge and Stanley Coleman's husband, said in addition to the lease, he would like to see an inquiry into whether SHP has met what he said are the terms of the lease by placing the equivalent of one year's rent in escrow.

"I think the public has the right to know whether he [Wassel] did," he said.

- Gloria Stravelli