By Stephen Appezzato
WALL – The Monmouth County government showed increasing interest in acquiring the Monmouth Executive Airport, greenlighting the first phase of a feasibility analysis last week.
At its Sept. 12 meeting, the Monmouth County Board of County Commissioners signed off on a $180,000 contract with Summit-based international aviation consulting firm Merchant Aviation to begin the study, which will assess the airport’s conditions, safety and finances.
“The ultimate goal: Keep it a viable resource here in Monmouth County, making Wall Township completely whole as the host community of the airport and to see and explore the information,” said Commissioner Director Tom Arnone at the meeting.
The agreement with Merchant Aviation, which has worked on over 50 airports around the world, allows the county to pay up to $180,000 for the first of three study phases. The county has the option not to proceed with inquiries after Phase One is completed and to seek grant funding for some of the cost.
“I think that’s important to be able to show to the public that we are taking it one step at a time. Who knows if it leads to a second step,” Arnone said.
The first phase of the study is intended to produce a better understanding of the airport in general, including its financials, infrastructure conditions and costs associated with repairs.
The commissioners first set their sights on the airport last November after passing a resolution allowing preliminary assessments of the property to explore “possible alternatives to preserve the airport.” In May, an envoy of county officials toured the airport and the commissioners issued a request for professional qualifications for the study shortly after.
According to a county release published shortly after the commissioners’ Sept. 12 meeting, the Monmouth Executive Airport’s conditions have “languished for years,” with little being done to improve its infrastructure or facilities.
However, according to Matt Dolan, attorney for Alan Antaki, the airport’s owner, this is far from the case.
“We are not sure what Commissioner Arnone thought he was looking at during his visit to the airport in May, but we are certain that he did not review any financial records; nor did he go into and inspect any buildings at the property,” Dolan told The Two River Times in a statement.
According to Dolan, airport operations encompass only about 340 acres, a little under half of the entire property. Outside of the airport’s safety perimeter are 400 acres containing industrial buildings that “have nothing to do with running the airport itself.”
“Some of the buildings that Mr. Arnone suggests are in disrepair are scheduled to be razed. But the commissioner never bothered to ask us about them,” Dolan said.
The airport was originally built in 1938 by Ed Brown, a self-taught aviator and Navy pilot, and offered private plane chartering, air taxis, skydiving and other services. In 2013 the business was purchased from Brown’s estate by Wall Herald Corp, led by Antaki, an aviation enthusiast, and revamped to become a jetport open for public use.
“I bought it knowing it was in disrepair and that it would take years and millions of dollars to make the improvements it needed,” Antaki said. “I am still working my way through that process – with no help from the government. In fact, the opposite is true, the government has been adversarial to me.”
According to Dolan, Antaki purchased the airport when no one else wanted it, including the county, and in his 11 years of ownership has made considerable repairs and improvements to runways, taxiways, a safety perimeter, lighting and more.
“If I had not purchased the airport when I did it would have been sold off to a developer and now crowded with thousands of condos or acres of warehouses,” Antaki said.
Currently, the airport pays about $900,000 in property tax each year to Wall Township. If the county moved to acquire the space, it is unknown if the township would be reimbursed by the county with tax dollars. Similarly, if the county were to purchase Antaki’s approximately 850 acres through condemnation, the value of the land and business is not yet clear.
At the recent meeting, commissioner Nick DiRocco, a former Wall Township mayor, said it was “very important” to him that the study is done comprehensively. “At the end of the day, as the director indicated, the future of the airport is important for the quality of life for the residents of Wall Township and the surrounding communities,” DiRocco said. In the county’s statement, Arnone also said “no decisions have been made related to the County’s disposition towards the airport.”
Still, Antaki and his team question why the county wants to “save” the airport, including the 400 acres outside of its operation.
“What will the County do with all this property? Is there some secret development deal in the works?” Dolan asked.
According to Merchant Aviation’s project proposal, the first phase of the study will be completed by Dec. 31. If the county moves forward with phases two and three of the analysis, Merchant Aviation will develop a funding and financing strategy for the airport acquisition, operation, maintenance and upgrades, and eventually submit a master feasibility plan to the county for revision and approval.
The article originally appeared in the September 19 – September 25, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
