Proposal would give Earle housing to vets

Proposal would give Earle housing to vets
Plan will be presented to public April 18
BY KENNY WALTER Staff Writer

TINTON FALLS — A proposal to designate 300 units at Naval Weapons Station Earle for use by senior and disabled veterans will be presented to the public on April 18.

The concept for the housing units slated to be privatized at the Naval base was well received by members of the Tinton Falls Borough Council and Mayor Peter Maclearie at the April 7 meeting.

Paul Caverly, with the Neptune Township Public Housing, James Manning, of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and Carl Accettola, Colts Neck, gave a brief presentation outlining their ideas for the controversial plan to open the units located in Colts Neck to members of the public.

Under the proposal, the developers would be eligible for tax credits to prepare the housing for the veterans.

"These units, through New Jersey tax credits, can be reconfigured, rehabilitated at basically no cost to the developers and made into one-bedroom units which will comply with handicap accessibility requirements," Accettola said.

Accettola said that if the housing is designated for veterans it would not result in additional students for the Tinton Falls or the Colts Neck school systems, nor raise security concerns, which have been main points of controversy for the proposed privatization of housing units at Earle.

The discussion was met with praise from some members of the Borough Council.

"Sounds like a good plan," Councilman Andrew Mayer said. "I think it's great for the veterans."

"Real-time solution for real-time problems," Councilman Duane Morrill said. "I just think this is a great idea."

The U.S. Navy has plans to open 300 private military homes on Earle to the public in 2010. The residential units known as the Laurelwood housing are located within the borders of Colts Neck.

The plan has drawn opposition from a group calling itself Neighbors Opposed to Privatization at Earle (NOPE), which claims it would compromise national.

Privatization of the units has become an issue for Tinton Falls, which, for the past 20 years, has educated the children of Naval personnel stationed at Earle under an agreement with the Navy.

The Tinton Falls Board of Education filed a lawsuit last year that maintains that the district's agreement is to educate the children of Navy personnel, not civilian children living on the military base.

The group that presented their proposal for the veterans' housing admitted that Colts Neck did not necessarily support this proposal, which led to some concerns from the council.

"I'm concerned that Colts Neck is not buying into this," Councilman Paul Ford said. "They have the [most] to lose here. Those kids are going to go to Colts Neck [schools].

"That's my personal opinion — that if you take it to federal court, I guarantee those kids are going to Colts Neck," he added.

Manning said the plan is feasible.

"I believe Colts Neck wishes the Navy buys the 300 homes and rips them down," he said. "I mean in today's economy with what President Obama has stated in the last two weeks about housing veterans, I don't see the economy allowing 300 houses to be ripped down and destroyed."

A more in-depth discussion and presentation will be given at the Tinton Falls Municipal Building on Saturday April 18, at 9 a.m. That meeting will be open to the public.

"The proposal is fantastic. What a great thing. It's obvious it's a slam dunk, but I've seen slam dunks before," Ford added.

Contact Kenny Walter at

kwalter@gmnews.com