WALL – Monmouth County officials are petitioning for a second opportunity to assess the Monmouth Executive Airport after being limited to just two hours.
“After a difficult and delayed effort to inspect Monmouth Executive Airport, the County’s experts were limited to just two hours to inspect more than three miles of runway and taxiway, in the middle of the night,” county officials said.
International aviation consulting firm, Merchant Aviation, LLC, were commissioned by the County to conduct an analysis of the airport, examining its conditions and amenities to determine if it is as safe.
After the recent analysis, Merchant Aviation determined more time is needed to investigate potentially concerning conditions at the airport.
Back in September, county officials stated that the airport has been declining for years. Improvement to its infrastructure or facilities had been very minimal.
According to Commissioner Director Thomas A. Arnone, county representatives had heard “disturbing reports from a variety of sources about the condition of the airport and its supporting facilities.” Arnone also stated that he had recently toured the airport and had his own concerns about its safety and financial viability.
The airport was originally built in 1938 by Ed Brown who was a self-taught aviator and Navy pilot. Over time, the airport offered private plane chartering along with skydiving and other services.
Ed Brown passed in 2006, and in 2013 a consortium known as Wall Aviation was able to purchase the airport from the Brown family, according to Monmouth Jet Center’s website.
Alan Antaki, who is president of the Wall Herald Corp. – which owns the 340-acre airport and the 400 surrounding acres – stated that he was forced to shut down the facility for the assessment.
“Even a short closing of the airport will inconvenience the pilots and people who use our airport, but the County is giving me no choice,” Antaki said.
The inspection was conducted during off-peak hours, between 1 and 3 a.m. The County states the inspection presented “clear challenges” to Merchant Aviation. According to officials, they could not continue to visually inspect the runway and taxiways beyond that two-hour window, nor separate into smaller groups. Nearly two miles of runway and taxiway, as well as dozens of on-site buildings, could not be examined, county officials said.
“As commissioners, the safety and security of our residents, visitors, and business owners are our top priority. Upon receiving a number of reports concerning the airport’s safety, it became our duty to ensure it is in top shape for all who use it,” Arnone said.
“We hoped to have unrestricted access on-site in order to give a fair and complete evaluation of the conditions of Monmouth Executive Airport for Monmouth County residents,” said Edmond J. Harrison, Director, Commercial Development and Revenue Management of Merchant Aviation. “We hope that with a second visit, our analysis will be more forthcoming.”
According to Antaki, the property has been targeted for an eminent domain taking by the county commissioners. The County requested preliminary entry to the property and cited the Eminent Domain Act for a second time within the last six months. The County’s first visit was in May and was attended by several county officials. Antaki said during the first visit, Arnone focused more on the industrial buildings that are not part of the airport operations.
Antaki also alleges that the County is secretly spending taxpayer money on the airport seizure.
“The commissioners are spending a large amount of taxpayer money without telling the public what they are doing or why,’ said Antaki.
According to the Protect Property Rights In Monmouth website (pprmonmouth.com), a petition has been created to stop the seizure.
“I want to be crystal clear; no decisions have been made related to the county’s disposition towards the airport,” Arnone previously said. “This is another step in the process of collecting information and assessing our options as it relates to an important and valuable county asset.”
A future inspection date has not been set or announced at this time.
“If the property owner has nothing to hide, our experts would have been granted the time needed to properly assess the property,” Arnone said. “Our team complied with all of the property owner’s requirements, and we hope next time, he’ll comply with ours.”
