Holmdel Now Owns Crawford Hill, With Historic Horn Antenna

HOLMDEL, NJ — Crawford Hill and its historic Horn antenna are now owned by - and under the stewardship of - the township and its residents, Mayor Rocco Impreveduto announced at the Township Committee meeting Tuesday night.

The township filed a a declaration of taking Tuesday in Superior Court, he said.

And it is now ensured that the Horn antenna, located at the top of the hill that is the highest point in Monmouth County, will exist in a setting so that "future generations will be able to marvel" at the antenna so integral to the world's acceptance of the Big Bang Theory of the creation of the universe.

In addition, Impreveduto said the site will be developed into a park and educational center and will be named in honor of Dr. Robert Wilson, a Holmdel resident and one of the two Bell Labs scientists who in 1978 received a Nobel Prize in physics for their role in using the antenna to discover the cosmic background radiation of the Big Bang of 14 billion years ago.

And in a poignant coincidence of timing, the death of Wilson's fellow honoree, Dr. Arno Penzias, was addressed at the meeting by the mayor. Penzias was 90 and died Jan. 22 in San Francisco, according to his New York Times obituary.

Impreveduto said the excitement of the night was tempered by the news and he expressed the township's condolences to Penzias' family and "those touched" by his work.

Wilson attended the meeting last night, and he recounted a story that he said shows the global impact of the antenna that has quietly rested on Crawford Hill for decades.

A student in rural Brazil, Wilson said, contacted him and came to the U.S. one summer to study in Massachusetts. She made a pilgrimage to Holmdel, she said, because she had learned about the Horn antenna in school and wanted to see it for herself. And, thanks to a local police officer, she found the out-of-the-way spot and was able to gain access to its steep rise with his help.

Wilson happily accepted the plan to name the future park in his honor, one that will be the setting for the antenna. And appreciation was voiced by one speaker after the other at the meeting, praising the purchase of the 35-acre site from local developer Rakesh Antala.

And Antala also was in the audience and received thanks from Impreveduto and the Township Committee for his "partnership" in the project. The township's purchase of the site from him ended plans for a housing development there.

Environmental advocates such as Ralph Blumenthal, Kin Gee and others praised the committee for the action. The work of former Mayor DJ Luccarelli on the project was also acknowledged, as was that of Township Attorney Michael L. Collins.

Grant hearing and plans for the future

Part of the meeting was devoted to a hearing on a $700,000 Green Acres application the township will make to begin the first phase of work on the property it now owns.

The town will also apply for a $140,000 loan from the state, Township Administrator Jay Delaney said. The township would then match the monies for a total $1,680,000 project for this first phase.

Under the terms of the agreement, the net sale price of the property is $4.75 million. The purchase price of $5.5 has the seller donating $750,000 back to the township for improvements to Crawford Hill, according to the township. That would provide the opportunity to match the grant, if the grant is approved.

Impreveduto and Delaney emphasized how the grant will address some basic needs there: security for the antenna and overall safety of the site and a chance to assess the services available there such as water and wastewater. Certain trees near the antenna will have to be cleared, also.

Broader plans for the site will the topic of discussions for at least the rest of this year.

Residents urged that an ad hoc committee be established to bring in the variety of public input expressed last night and in emails to Delaney. Impreveduto recommended setting up a dedicated email address to collect the ideas.

An educational center was a big focus of discussion, and the proposed 2,000-square-foot space was described by many as too modest. But it became clear that the Green Acres hearing would need to address a more limited scope at this first stage of work there.

Groups such as Citizens for Informed Land Use and others have already prepared concepts for the site and have advocated for public input. You can read more on that here.

But the suggestions were inspiring: One speaker said the educational center should be interactive and the scientific nature of the center would lend itself to an immersive experience.

Fred Carl of Ocean Grove, who has addressed the committee previously, is a founder of the InfoAge Museum in Wall that focuses on computer and communications history and technology.

He said a visitors center development team has many local and international resources available to develop the center. The Association of Science and Technology Center (ASTC.org) "has available great resources for the team," he said in a statement.

And he lauded the news of the purchase:

"One has to admire the citizens of Holmdel for grasping the educational potential of the site for its schools and families," Carl said.