•3 \ Herald - Lantern - Dispatch 25 December '85

8 Lower Dems Quit, Beat Purge By E.J. DUFFY VILLAS — Facing expulsion. Patricia Calfina and seven other Democratic committee members resigned last week from the Lower Township Democrat Club. Two of the eight also quit their county committee seats: township MUA member Linda Merrill and her sister. Susan Kenney, a Lower recreation commissioner. "They're going to excommunicate us from the Democratic social club...becuase we supported Tom Clydesdale," Kenney said before the club meeting last week that she and the others were advised to attend and answer charges that they violated club bylaws. "Charges were based upon the fact that they supported an avowed Republican candidate (Clysdale) against an avowed Democratic candidate (Peggie Bieberbach) in the Nov. 5 election." a Democratic committeewoman and club member, explained. Bieberbach won the three-way race for deputy mayor against independent Republican Clydesdale and regular GOP candidate John M. Moran. "YES. I AM VERY guilty of supporting Mr. Clydesdale," Calfina wrote in her resignation letter to club president and former Mayor Robert B. Park, Bieberbach's campaign treasurer. "I would not do you the disservice of denying it." "One more time, I will state that this (was) a non-partisan election," stressed Calfina who resigned as local party chairman last month and was replced by deputy leader Eugene J. O'Brien, Bieberbach's campaign manager. "At the last monthly meeting. .. it was decided to let bygones be bygones," she recalled in the letter. "Apparently, somebody in that club... is going to stomp their foot until they get what they want," she said Thursday, declining elaboration. "If we had gone to the meeting and banged heads Tuesday night, I get the feeling nothing would have happened." Calfina reflected. (Page 26 Please) Laws to Open New Business In Atlantic By JOE ZELNIK ERMA — Robert Laws, a member of the county's Economic Development Commission for more than a dozen years, will open a new industry that will employ almost 50 people. It will be in the Hammonton Industrial Park in Atlantic County. Laws announced his new enterprise while telling last week's commission meeting that he will be unable to accept reappointment because of the press of the new business. IN AN INTERVIEW with this * newspaper. Laws said the county's own airport industrial park had been "our first consideration. I did present the opportunity to the freeholders. I would rather have been down here. It's a touchy situation and that's as far as I'd like to go." Freeholder-Director Gerald M. Thornton said he didn't remember the Laws proposal, but former economic development director A.H. (Rick) Childs said Laws did bring the project to freeholders at a closed meeting in 1984. Laws was accompanied by attorney Peter Koury of Court House. v Childs said. "There was a presentation made to the board on putting up a building," said Childs, "but whenever I followed up, I was told he was not ready to make a decision." THE NEW FIRM, Casino Playing Card Corp., will occupy a 78,000-square-foot building now under construction and due for completion in June. It will be the nation's second largest playing card manufacturer, Laws said. Laws said U.S. casinos use 84 million (Page 26 Please)

UNFORGETABLE PRESENT — They arrived eight days before Christmas, on Dec. IT. but rest assured Judy and Harry Mitchell of Hi Id wood Crest consider twin sons Christopher John and Jeffrey Evan an unforgetable Yule gift. They're held by Dr. Lawrence Macatee. chief of the obstetrics department at Rurdette Tomlin Memorial Hospital, and clothed in the traditional holiday stockings and elf hats made by the Twigs unit of the hospital auxiliary.

Victory for Victoriana State Will Ease Retrofit Rules

By JACK SMYTH OCEAN CITY - Changes to the retrofit requirements of the proposed state fire code that will be less restrictive and less expensive for property owners to implement were announced at a special meeting here last week. Officials of the state Department of Community Affairs said special provision for historic buildings will be included in a revised draft of the code, and that a special category will be created for bed and breakfast inns. One of the chief criticisms of the proposed code has been that it is too broad, lumping small guest houses with large motels, and failing to distinguish between the risk of fire in different kinds of structures. DESPITE CLAIMS the revisions will cost less, a number of property owners urged that some form of low-interest loans be made available when the code is adopted to lessen the burden of structural alterations. Retrofit refers to structural changes required by the code to improve the fire safety of buildings. As the code stands, they will apply to all buildings erected before 1977 with the exception of single family residences. William M. Connolly, director of the Division of Housing and Development of the state Department of Community Affairs, said the code is designed to give people time to be rescued from burning buildings by retarding the spread of fire. TO ACCOMPLISH THIS. Connolly said the code calls for more fire-resistant doors and closing halls and passageways through which flames spread. Connolly said code modifications requested by the state Fire Safety Commission include reducing the thickness of doors from 1 3/4 inches to 1 3/8 inches. While the code suggests panel doors be replaced with solid core doors, Connolly said panel doors will be permitted provided they are filled with fire-retardant material, or covered with sheet metal, and the building has a sprinkler system. Another modification, he said, is that self-closing doors at exits and entrances will be required, but not in corridors. OLD BUILDINGS with heavy wooden doors such as are found in many Victorianera houses will be permitted under the code, Connolly said. "They are quite good in preventing the spread of fire, and we are contemplating a

provision to allow these doors to stay in place," Connolly said. Another code change concerns stairways which originally were required to be enclosed, alarming a number of property owners who feared for the cost and the effect it would have on the architectural features of pre-20th Century houses. Now, Connolly said, the code permits erection of a small partition or wall with a fire-resistant door across the hall at the top of the stairs.

AN EXCEPTION to this requirement, Connolly said, will be two and three-story buildings with fire escapes and windows large enough on the second floor for people to jump out. Requirements for bed and breakfast houses will be set forth in a new, special category that will be incorporated in a revised draft of the code that will be published in about two weeks, Connolly f Page 26 Please)

2 Middle Boards Okay Courthouse Expansion

By GREGG LAWSON COURT HOUSE - Just in time for Christmas, the Middle Township Sewage Commission and Planning Board both approved the county's planned courthouse expansion project. The sewage commission voted 5-0 Dec 17 to allow a sewage hook-up, with three conditions on approval. The planned MUA Seven Mile BeachMiddle Region treatment plant must go online before the court facility opens, the county is responsible for maintaining all I manholes, mains and structures on its pro- • perty and must seek final DEP approval, i The planning Board voted 7-1 to approve an amended site plan, and approved height and parking variances. PARKING was the main topic at the Dec. f 17 meeting, and the board addressed many neighbors' concerns that the county will buy s properties to build parking lots. ' "The present board ( of Freeholders ) has no intention of acquiring any more propert ty in the Cape May Court House area," said 1 Vincent L. Lamanna, Jr., an attorney for the county. t No solution has been reached for the park ; ing problem many expect when the expansions of the courts building and the township i municipal building are completed. The planning board approved the site plan i and parking variance after hearing testimony that the county and township are e "aggressively seeking a solution to the parka ing problem."

"WE HAVE IIAI) many discussions about parking with the township." Freeholder William E. Sturm. Jr. said. "We realize there will be growth agonies with the building " "That's correct," said Mayor Michael J. Voll. "We have good rapport and communication Each body will take an ag gressive approach to relieve the < parking ) problem." County Planner Elwood Jarmer said the county has already come up with some alternative solutions. Among them are. • PUT 100 SPACES at the old New Jersey Department of Transportation railroad station on Reading Avenue. • "Market" Fare Free Transportation and carpooling so fewer employes would drive to work. • Enter a joint use agreement with Our Lady of the Angels Roman Catholic Church at 106 Mechanic St.. just west of the Parkway. • Using a gate to limit access to the county lot by county employes. "If the application moves ahead, parking plans will move ahead," Jarmer said. "We will find parking relief." THE BOARD ALSO approved a height variance, satisfied that the extra height is needed to house the facility as planned and necessary to save parking spaces. Michael Plitnick. Michael Vistenzo, John Herr, George Harris, Nathan Doughty, Bernice Branson and Donald Dodson voted in favor of the site plan. Alternate Bonnie (Page 26 Please)