Following Monday's public forum, it's obvious that this week's "hot topic" is definitely the new beachfront redevelopment agreement approved by the Asbury Park city council. While there's not enough room to address everything in the agreement, I'd like to tackle some of the main concerns I heard on Monday evening.

First off, if you have not read the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), it is available free on asburypark.net or you can read it at the Asbury Park Public Library. You can also purchase a copy from the city clerk's office.

The MOU is a preliminary beachfront redevelopment agreement between the City of Asbury Park, M.D. Sass (the company that is buying the tax liens on many of our beachfront properties), and Ocean Front Acquisitions (Sass's redevelopment arm). It modifies the 1986 and 1991 redevelopment agreements that the city signed with former beachfront developer Joseph Carabetta.

Why didn't we start off with a totally new agreement? As you may know, Carabetta has long maintained (with support from a Connecticut bankruptcy judge) that his 1986 and 1991 beachfront redevelopment rights were still valid. The city disputed that position. Fighting it out in court, including the appeals process, could have halted beachfront redevelopment for several more years.

By allowing Carabetta to strike a deal directly with representatives of M.D. Sass, we hopefully avoided a long and extremely costly legal battle.

Of course, the redevelopment rights and plans that M.D. Sass "inherited" from Carabetta need a major update, and the MOU we signed last week is merely the first step in revising those old agreements.

Am I satisfied with the new MOU? Overall, I definitely am. A few people have worried aloud that we rushed the agreement to meet an August 14 deadline imposed by the Connecticut bankruptcy judge. Others speculated that a state mandate to balance our budget caused us to act in haste. But, believe me, that's not the kind of short-term "heroes" we want to be.

Having lived through 13 years as hostages to the Carabetta deal, we were very aware that we were making some of the most critical decisions of our lives (and yours), and we spent many hours working -- and reworking -- the agreement. (Let me add that, if I ever transact another used car deal, I hope that City Manager Terry Weldon isn't sitting across the negotiating table from me.)

If we were not satisfied that the MOU was a positive first step, we would never have voted for it, no matter what the judge ordered or the state threatened. After all, we plan to live here for a long time, and we have our families and friends to face.

And this is just the start of Asbury Park's beachfront negotiations.

By December 28, we hope to work out a much more detailed redeveloper agreement and construction schedule (called the "Second Modification" in the MOU), and we have 180 days to develop a detailed plan for the beachfront. Both the city and Ocean Front Acquisitions will select their own planners, and the joint planning process will include well-defined times for public input and information-sharing in the months ahead.

Our first, informal forum occurred Monday night, and it was obvious that Convention Hall was a major concern. Essentially, the MOU gives M.D. Sass a first right to buy Convention Hall for $3 million. Included in the proposed purchase agreement, however, would be a list of restrictions to ensure that the building would be historically restored and preserved, that it would remain a public convention and concert venue, and that the city would have free use of the facility for a certain number of days each year.

Still, many people told us this week that they don't want to lose city ownership of this central piece of Asbury Park history.

Why did we even consider the sale option requested by M.D. Sass? Basically, we were trying to help ensure Convention Hall's survival.

The hard facts about Convention Hall are these: The city is taking a financial beating on the building, where utilities alone cost $150,000 a year. Like most facilities of its type, it was built to attract out-of-town visitors who would then support neighboring businesses and hotels. It was never intended to be a money maker, and it is now considered too small for many modern conventions and events.

Unfortunately, this unique and historic treasure is rapidly falling into disrepair. Obvious problems include a cracked foundation, deteriorating structural steel, a corroded heating system, inadequate electrical service and air conditioning, missing arcade skylights, deteriorated doors and copper windows, and chipped or missing terra cotta ornamentation. Local developer Henry Vaccaro estimated on Monday evening that restoration of these items alone could run more than $18 million. (That sound of screeching tires you just heard was probably our redevelopment partners heading for the state border!)

When the council recently awarded a $1.6 million contract (part of it funded by grant money) just to repair the decorative water tower, I received numerous complaints from budget-conscious residents.

Given our precarious budget, the city is ill-equipped to give Convention Hall the attention it deserves. If public sentiment is strongly against private ownership (even with the "preservation clauses" attached), however, we will take that back to the negotiating table in the coming months and keep you informed of our progress.

State and federal aid is one possibility we will explore, although it often comes with its own strings attached. Still, the state has poured millions of dollars into projects such as the Camden aquarium and Atlantic City's convention hall, and it is an angle well worth pursuing.

Other funding sources may also be available, but each will come with a price, and restoration costs will be steep.

Still, our aim is to ensure that Convention Hall, the Casino, and Asbury Park's other distinctive features are preserved for future generations, and we will need public support (and doubtless some public sacrifices) to accomplish that. (To Be Continued.)