FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 4, 2009

Freeholder Burry picked for FMERPA vice chair
Says Monmouth County remains committed to Fort Monmouth

FREEHOLD – Monmouth County Freeholder Lillian G. Burry has been selected to serve as vice chairwoman of the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority. She has served as the county’s freeholder representative on the authority since it was founded in 2006.

“The county plays a very important role as we move closer toward the revitalization of Fort Monmouth,” Burry said. “The fort is slated to close in 2011 and, together with a retooled Department of Economic Development and Tourism, the county and FMERPA are well positioned to bring jobs into the county for the workers who will be displaced by the fort’s move to Aberdeen, Md.”

Burry replaces former state Commerce Secretary Virginia Bauer, who resigned from the board in February. 

The Fort Monmouth Reuse and Redevelopment Plan was submitted last September to the U.S. Defense Department and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The fort, which employs more than 5,000 people, supports an estimated 22,000 more jobs and generates about $3.3 billion for the state’s economy, is to be closed in 2011 as a result of the 2005 federal Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) round. The bulk of its functions are to be transferred to Maryland’s Aberdeen Proving Ground.

The authority’s draft plan for the reuse of the fort calls for $1 billion in construction and renovation, including two hotels, a medical facility, office space and 1,500 residences spread across the three host towns. The plan also calls for the creation of about 400 units of affordable housing, the reuse of recreation facilities and preservation of open space.

“The redevelopment of Fort Monmouth continues to be a priority for the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders,” Burry said.

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