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Politics & Government

Burning Questions: How to Handle Ft. Monmouth Emergency Calls After September Close

FMERA assures mayors that policing and fire plans are in the works.

State board members of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) said Wednesday that they are actively working with the New Jerey State Police and Homeland Security to build a policing plan that maintains the fort's current level of security.

“We want to send a message to the bad guys, ‘If you cross those gates, there will be policing to deal with,” said Odis Jones, FMERA's director of real estate.

Eatontown Mayor Gerald Tarantolo expressed concern about the yet-to-be-finalized policing plan at a recent public meeting of Eatontown residents. On Wednesday, he questioned FMERA Director Bruce Steadman about whether the State Police commitment would be continuous with an acceptable response time, saying that State Police response time to a neighboring municipality has been 45 minutes to an hour, by which time the Eatontown police have already had to respond.

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“I can’t say exactly what that response time would be yet," Steadman said, "but I can say that it will be under five minutes.”

Steadman said he expected to have a policing report the first week of July and he assured Tarantolo that, “You and your counterparts will be very happy with the response time.”

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“Time is running out,” Tarantolo said, visibly frustrated. “We’ve got to come to some finality in the agreements.”

Oceanport Mayor Michael Mahon also questioned Steadman about getting a caretaker agreement on the books for the first three to five years and his concern about working around the state-mandated two-percent cap on municipal budget increases. FMERA is working with the municipalities so that the increase in municipal services will be paid for by the federal government and not the towns.

Following the meeting, Mahon said that Steadman had been "extremely proactive" in pursuing the security aspects of the caretaker plan, which is still taking shape. Mahon said that he expects the pieces to be in place in six to 12 months for Oceanport, Eatontown and Tinton Falls to take over direct policing of the areas of the fort which are within their municipalities.

"And that's where the tickle is," he said, alluding to mechanics of that plan that has yet to take shape even as the closing approaches the three-month mark. "We think the time is getting short."

The mayors of the towns involved are also still wondering how fort emergencies will impact their emergency services.

In the event of a fire at the closed fort, Mahon said, "Oceanport is obligated to respond and they will meet that obligation." The mayor told Steadman that in the meantime of the policing plan being finalized his police force would accompany Oceanport's fire company  on calls to the fort to safeguard the volunteers."

"We are still working diligently on fire and EMS plans," Steadman said, "and mutual aid is a big part of that." 

Tarantolo said he didn’t want to come down to the eleventh hour before the fort closes and then be asked to sign an agreement. “That’s an awkward situation,” he said

“We heard your comments loud and clear at our first December meeting and (FMERA staff) is working 50-65 hours a week and making good progress,” Steadman said, adding that in 30-45 days the mayors can expect to see significant progress. 

Mahon said that Steadman is planning to reconvene the Emergency Services Committee of the authority's predecesssor, the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority, within the next two weeks. That committee is made up of law enforcement and fire and emergency service personnel from all the municipalities involved.

"Bruce is on the same page," Mahon said of the FMERA Director on Thursday. "It's a matter of public safety. We're conceptually on the same page, but mechanically it's a matter of getting all those details."

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