Corzine says state ready to back fort reuse panel
Cites jobs, retraining & affordable housing as priorities
BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer

Jon Corzine

What was billed as an open public forum with Gov. Jon S. Corzine by Brookdale Community Col-lege March 14 turned into a Who's Who of state and local government, an address by the governor and a few questions.

The approximately 400 audience members included Monmouth County freeholders, state Assembly members, mayors and administrators, as well as representatives from the county park system and the area chamber of commerce as well as advocates for the environment and the homeless.

Corzine delivered his remarks and answered six pre-written questions from members of the audience.

Scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 10, the forum actually started at 9:10 a.m. and ended on time, but not before the president of the community college spoke, as well as N.J. Secretary of Commerce Virginia Bauer, who said that all of the state's economic revitalization fund will be made available to the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERPA) once the master plan is in place.

Corzine said there are three economic initiatives: one is to work together to establish what he called a Tech Preserve which would move defense contractors to the private sector.

"I intend to be very active in trying to push this idea forward," he said.

The second initiative is individualized job retraining, and the third is to tap into the tremendous research and applications potential for academic institutions, i.e., Brookdale Community College, Rutgers University and Monmouth University.

He said there are hundreds of millions of dollars available for sustainable growth.

"I'm excited about it," he said, adding, "Change is inevitable."

He also said it is important to market New Jersey and to bring international interests to the state.

One of the questions posed concerned the closing of Patterson Army Hospital and the veterans clinic on the fort's grounds in Eatontown.

Corzine, a former U.S. senator, said it is hard to tell the federal government what to do, but said there is a high probability the veterans clinic will remain.

"I'm not as sure about Patterson," he said, adding, "We are going to do everything in our power to keep them open."

The last questioner addressed the issue of affordable housing on the fort. Corzine said affordable housing is a big issue statewide.

"I have to tell you this is a headache," he said. "I'm hoping to get 100,000 units (of affordable housing) in my time as governor."

He said he is working on the issue and that extra funding has been included in the last two budgets. He said what is needed is "a revolution in affordable housing."

As for the redevelopment of Fort Monmouth, the governor said he is taking a personal interest in the issues.

Assemblyman Mike Panter (D-12), who authored the legislation to create FMERPA in 2006, issued a press release after the forum.

"I am encouraged by the Governor's remarks on the future of Fort Monmouth. The continued vitality of the site, and the people affected by the change, requires the cooperation and focus of all groups and individuals charting the course for a new direction," Panter said.

The assemblyman said he "remains committed to ensuring that the unfortunate departure of Fort Monmouth as a military installation leads to an economic, environmental and quality-of-life renaissance for the entire region."