The Army plans to winnow down its housing stock to 375 units by 2005 and concentrate it all at Camp Charles Wood and on the main base within fenced perimeters, mayors from the area were told.

Jim Ott, director of public works for the U.S. Army Garrison/Fort Monmouth, also told the Two Rivers Council of Mayors on Jan. 11 of a swap-type of arrangement that the base is eyeing for disposing of Howard Commons, the 486-unit military housing complex that has been declared surplus.

Eatontown Mayor Gerald J. Tarantolo expressed concern that the fort’s plan would be at cross purposes with the planning his town has undertaken to smooth the way for the complex to come into the private sector without an adverse impact.

Ott said the Army will allow the General Services Administration (GSA) to dispose of the first 270 units of Howard Commons, in the northern end, as planned, since that was pretty far down that road, but that it will invoke a law that allows the selling of property for an in-kind trade rather than for cash. He said the in-kind contribution it wants is for a developer to construct new buildings on the base.

The first new buildings wanted are 192 units of new housing to be part of the reduced stock of 375. The Howard Commons units that the GSA is handling are now empty.

The remaining 216 units of Howard Commons will probably go out in a Residential Communities Initiative (RCI) package in February with property of three other military installations in the region, according to Ott.

The RCI process is expected to take about two years, and these units of Howard Commons will continue to be occupied while the 192 units of new housing are built, under the Army plan. Then the Howard Commons residents will be moved into the new housing, and the remainder of the Howard Commons complex will be disposed of.

Ott explained that the Army wanted in-kind contributions of construction of other buildings on the base rather than cash for selling Howard Commons because in accepting cash, the expenditure of that money has to be approved by Congress, which can take a year or more and slow a project.

Tarantolo told Ott that "one very missing part" of that scenario is the municipality.

"I have a problem with this," he said. "Nowhere have I heard Eatontown mentioned. We’ve been involved for a year with a planner."

What happens at Howard Commons is critical to Eatontown, he added.

"Jim, you know what we’re doing," the mayor said. "I’m surprised that you didn’t contact us."

Ott said he couldn’t be bothered with details.

"I’m only interested in getting rid of it," he told Tarantolo.

However, he said, whoever takes Howard Commons has to comply with the local zoning. He also said a planning group that will include community representation will be formed this summer as part of the RCI process.

Tarantolo said with 486 units, Howard Commons could produce 750 children for the borough’s schools.

"That’s why we brought in a planner," he said, and explained that the borough envisions a mix of commercial, market-value condominiums, age-restricted housing and low-income housing being developed there.

"All those components are integrated in the plan," he said.

The borough has been exploring purchasing Howard Commons in concert and partnership with a developer.

Ott told Tarantolo that what the borough’s been working on regarding the northern portion of Howard Commons under the aegis of the GSA would continue.

Tarantolo said in light of this disclosure, the borough may have to rethink its plan.

"At the end of this month we are going to formally accept the plan from our planner," he said.

Lt. Col. Anthony D. Reyes, the garrison commander, said what’s planned shouldn’t interfere with anything the borough is doing.

"That’s the bottom line," he said, and invited Tarantolo to meet with him to discuss it. The mayor accepted the invitation.

"I understand what you are concerned about, but I don’t think it will be an issue," Reyes added.

Ott said the Army already had decreased its housing stock from 893 units a year ago to 775 now, with the demolition of 118 units. Still more units remain to be razed.

To reach the targeted 375 units, the Army will build 192 new units and keep 183 existing units.

"Everything else will be sold off, torn down," he said. "In the next two years it won’t exist. We will have all modern housing."

Getting rid of the excess housing will open up land for development of the research center Fort Monmouth hopes to have, Ott said.

The U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command at Fort Monmouth hopes to become the national research and development center that is to be designated under the new Homeland Security Act.

Ott said with in-kind contributions of constructing other buildings that the Army receives for the housing, it can build laboratories and other facilities on the base for the proposed research center.

He said an expansion of Gibbs Hall, the officers club, also is envisioned. He said Gibbs Hall can accommodate 500 people now, and that the base is looking to double the size of the ballrooms to accommodate anticipated large technical conferences and conventions. He said they want to keep the convention center at Gibbs Hall since it already has a large kitchen.

The process, he added, will involve reconfiguring the golf course and moving one tee.

"We hope to have shovels in the ground next year," he said.