Fort Monmouth's Suneagles Golf Club Lease Rescinded

By Christopher Sheldon

A challenge to the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority's (FMERA) bid award for Suneagles Golf Course has caused the the board to rescind the contract.

FMERA awarded a new contract to the current operator of the club, Atlantic Golf Management, on Feb. 20 for and 18-month, $250,000 contract.

The other management company, Meticulous Golf Management (MGM), challenged the bid on March 15 and stated that Atlantic Golf Management "failed to make the full 15 percent payment due under the original 2011-2012 contract for the amount revenues received in excess of $1 million."

FMERA Executive Director Bruce Steadman explained during the Aug. 21 meeting, that if the golf course management company's total revenue exceeds $1 million, it must pay 15 percent of that total to FMERA.

MGM said that the request for proposals (RFP) issued for the contract was "deficient" because the food and beverage revenues were not includes, and should have been because prospective bidders may have submitted higher bids.

FMERA's Hearing Officer, NJEDA Real Estate Development Division Director Donna T. Sullivan, determined that MGM's bid challenge had merit.

"(It) has merit based solely on the lack of financial data available to prospective bidders in the request for proposals related to the food and beverage operations."

The FMERA board unanimously voted to rescind the contract and draft a new RFP for the property based on Sullivan's report.

Suneagles is also up for sale. When the property transfers from the Army to a new owner, proceeds will be split between the Army and FMERA. FMERA by law is required to reinvest its profits back into the redevelopment of the fort.