^ Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 10 July '85

Thornton Attacks Paper CUT RT HOUSE - Freeholder Director Gerald M Thornton called a "press conference" last Friday to issue an eight paragraph news release attacking the Cape May Coqnty Herald as "consistently erroneous and editorially inadequate ..." Thornton cited no specifics and apparently neither of the two newspapers invited to the press conference asked for any the Herald was not in vitcd Present were the Atlantic City Press, which covers county government, and the Gazette-Leader of North Wildwood. which * din's not The Press reported that Thornton, asked why the Herald was excluded, rephw that "the only way to overcome the inaccurate and biased reporting of one newspaper is to use the other media THORNTON apparently was reacting to this newspaper's July 3 story which reported the freeholders have met in sessions excniding the public 24 times in the first six months of the year But his news release refuted nothing in that story Bather, it included two lawyers' responses to this newspaper's Dec. 2t» editorial charging the freeholders had violated the Open Public Meetings Act A Dec 27 eight -page opinion by then-county Counsel Albert M. Ash. and a March 25 six-page opi nion by Vineland attorney Cosimo Giovinazzi. who is with the law firm of Gruccio Pepper, the county's labor counsel BOTH SAID they found the freeholders in compliance with the law Ash concluded his opinion with the comment. "If there is any question whether or not a meeting should bo public or private

WILLIAM E. STURM JR. Take If the action should be resolved by making it public However, the board should not hestiate to hold private sessions where the same are desirable and permitted under the law Giovinazzi concluded that " it is possible that some technical violations of the Open Public Meetings Act may have occurred but found that the board "...has not consciously taken any step to avoid or subvert its requirements." Giovinazzi responded to an editorial complaint that minutes of 1984 secret meetings were not available promptly by commenting that they were "rarely requested by the public" and therefore did not receive "top priority" in the office of former county clerk administrator Kathryn Willis. This newspaper's storylast week, reported that minutes of 12 of this year's 24 closed meetings have not been released, and the last were made available on April 19. Thornton did not dispute those figures Blood Drive SOMERS POINT - Shore Memorial Hospital is sponsoring a Red Cross Blood Drive 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday. Aug. 7. at the hospital's fourtn Stainton Wing classroom. For further information call Sophie Miller. R.N.. at 653-3668. i

j Sturm Gives Up Public i Works — 3 Weeks Ago

| Here's how closed meetings and county board of freeholder procedures, though legal, can sometimes make it difficult for the public to know about controversial county government issues. The board met privately on Tuesday. June 11, "to discuss personnel matters." Presumably, although it can not be stated for certain since the board has not released the minutes to that meeting, the freeholders discussed who to appoint county road supervisor to replace Leroy Reeves, who resigned under fire June 6. A MAJORITY of the freeholders reportedly refused to support Edward Ayers, the choice of Freeholder William E ^turm Jr. who heads public works. Instead, a majority opted for Cape May City

Councilman Harry A. Gilbert. It is most unusual for the An Analysis board to disregard a freeholder in his choice of department heads, and Sturm responded, he told this newspaper, by telling the freeholders. "You may as well take the department, too." They did. They did it at a special meeting of the freeholders on June 20. But, although the appointment of Gilbert as road supervisor and Ayers as superintendent of bridges was on Lie fouritem posted agenda of that meeting, the replacement of Sturm as director of public works by Freeholder James S. Kilpatrick Jr. was not. That resolution, although not on the posted agenda.

was approved unanimously June 20: a. "Resolution Amending Resolution 4-85, Assigning Departments." Since that resolution did not appear on the posted agenda for June 20, it had to be "reconfirmed" in a resolution adopted at the regular meeting of June 25. The reconfirming resolution merely identifies by number previous resolutions "not posted pursuant to the provisions of said Sunshine Law ..." The justification for not putting the replacement of Sturm by Kilpatrick on the posted June 20 agenda was that "... the board could not reasonably foresee the need for adding said item to the agenda at a time when adequate notice could have been provided ..." But the "need" to put the Sturm replacement on the agenda arose at the same time as the need to appoint

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JAMES S. KILPATRICK JR. He Took It Gilbert and Ayers. And they were listed on the agenda. Public Works includes the county engineer, roads and bridges. It is a 120-member department with a payroll of more than $1.5 million. And the public learned of a change in the freeholder in charge only after a "leak" to news media from a county employe. Vandalism On Beaches Under Fire SEA ISLE CITY - "If youVsge vandalism taking place, please report it to the police." That's the word Beach Patrol Captain Stu Bakley. "Each year there is a certain amount of vandalism on our beaches, where unthinking individuals destroy beach patrol property, ' Bakley said. "Lifeguard stands seem to be the biggest victims. "This is city property and must be replaced at taxpayer expense. Much of this needless destruction can be avoided if citizens are alert, and, seeing such damage taking place, call the police," said Bakley. "Such co-operation with our residents will help curtail such incidents," Bakley concluded.

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