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Vol. 22 No. 9 •" 1986 Seawave Corp. All rights reserved

February 26, 1986

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' — nTil Who Caved In? COURT HOUSE - In a surprising move that Freeholder Gerald M Thornton blamed on "political intimidation" from Ocean City Republicans, freeholders yesterday by a 3-1 vote passed over MUA alternate member Robert Manifold of Cape May and appointed Daniel Riley of Ocean City to the board. Riley won the votes of James S. Kilpatrick Jr. of Ocean City, his advocate all along; William E Sturm Jr.. on the fence all along; and Herbert Frederick, who in a caucus last week backed Manifold. Thornton voted "no" and Ralph Evans was fortunately vacationing in Florida. A second seat went unanimously to alternate George Betts of Upper Township, who was replaced by George Gadsby of Avalon. Too Weak to Resist? SWAINTON - William F. X. Band, who said he intended to give up the position, was re-elected last Wednesday as county MUA chairman while bedridden with the flu. Band was elected chairman in 1984 and commissioners informally agreed then that the job would rotate. The MUA also selected Herbert Vandepol, former Stone Harbor councilman. as its new vice chairman. Strung Out? COURT HOUSE - Could the county's racket busters move to a racquet club for a couple years? Owners of Jersey Cape Racquet Club in Crest Haven, which went out of the racquet club business last July, asked the freeholders last week to consider moving the courts there while the courthouse is closed for renovation. "Not likely," Freeholder James S Kilpatrick Jr. told this newspaper, since plans are completed for a move to the airport industrial park. Erma. But there is always the county prosecutor's staff, said Kilpatrick, since that building is a recent addition to the project. (Page 22 Pleaset

Ripped Off? Tell It To Consumer Affairs

By GREGG LAWSON COURT HOUSE - In Cape May Point, an elderly woman paid $600 for home improvement work. The work was never done. In Villas, a retiree gave $2,000 cash to a door-to-door siding salesman. The salesman left the state. More than 70 countians paid $15 a ticket for a country and western show that was never held. The organizer skipped town These are claims investigated by the county Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA), an office that handles cases ranging from: • A MAN WHOCLAIMED he was over charged $5 for a car repair to: • The purchaser of a "new" $325,000 yacht, who claimed the boat was used. Originally a one-man operation with a $17,722 budget in 1980, the department now has a $62,354 budget and plans to hire a fourth employe this year. Since 1983, consumer claims have doubled. inside... THE OCEAN is coming, the ocean is coming Page 3. ONE MONTH away, and counting Outdoors with Lou Rodia, page 33. BOTTLE collecting; South letsey is the place to start. Antitpes, page 43. IRAs and money markets; what are they payingt Page 18.'

The DCA is authorized to investigate and enforce the state Consumer Fraud Act. which defines fraud, tells how to prevent it and provides penalties for violations. Its office also deals with similar legislation, such as the state Automobile Warranty Act. better known as the "Lemon Law." "OUR MAIN JOB here is to enforce the Consumer Fraud Act. but we're also a professional information source." said Director Mark Diederich. "We give people direction in landlord-tenant matters, information on where to get low-interest home improvement Joans, things like that . " Diederich said his department's work is mainly investigative, sometimes Consumer Affairs is located in Room 212 of the county courthouse. Phone number is 465-7111. Ext. 206. mediative. Consumer complaints come directly from the public, from the state DCA, from the attorney general, and almost any state agency, he said. Cases also come up as a result of "action without complaint." Diederich goes through newspaper advertisements: sometimes, he said, they don't meet the standards of the fraud law. "We are authorized to "pursue an investigation if a person is violating, has violated, or will violate the Consumer Fraud Act," Diederich said. "We can initiate an investigation with just a phone call, or sometimes a written letter is needed," he added. "Then we keep bugging (the investigation's target) until they respond. If they don't respond, we have ways of forcing them in." (Page 41 Please)

Farmers: Development a Threat

acres 6o,ooo— S0.00040,00D~ 30.00°— i 20,000— 10.000— Ugi iSli82§|ggS'SS 1 aoaoSc <x ch &> a> <r. er. o cr. & 5j t •Varrr; t I fa. f«aMt lUmmne I . In 14, , lMM, UnM

Farmland: A Steady Decline

Except for three largely historical interruptions, Cape May County farmland has been on a steady decline since it peaked at $4,000 acres in 1860, according to the county Planning Department. For purposes of this discussion, and as ihown in the graph above, "farmland" in

eludes cropland, pastureland. woodland, ponds and marshland, the definition used by the U.S. Bureau of the Census The coming of the railroad in 11)60 was a plus for many, in Cape May County, but had broad negative implications for farming. Grain for livestock could be imported

more cheaply than raising it. The same held true for many foodstuffs. ANI) THE RAILROAD brought a boom in summer visitors that attracted some farmers to tourism. How ya gonna keep em down on the farm, after they've seen (Page 22 Please)

Land Needed To Replenish Water Supply By JOE ZE^NIK COURT HOUSE - Seven advocates of farmland preservation last week warned that continued development is a threat to the county's water needs. Candidates for a new county Agriculture Development. Board, all also told the freeholders that overdevelopment threatens the way of life that most of them were born into. The freeholdersf'will appoint four farmers and three nonfarmers to the board which will administer state funds for soil and water conservation and for "development easements" that would keep land in agriculture and out of developers' hands RICHARD II. STARTARE of Court House, a sales associate with Schick Realty of North Cape May. suggested that duplexes and triplexes soon will obliterate one's view of the sunset "I'm not happy with what I've seen." he said. "I just returned from Florida." agreed Freeholder James S. Kilpatrick Jr.. "where we saw condo after condo. My wife said. "Aren't they beautiful7' But I said, the dunes are gone, the view is gone." "I grew up on a farm." said David L. Bohm, manager with his father of Bohm's Sod F'arm in Eldora "I appreciate what juu i ai iii ill c«iuui <i I ap|jii-iTiill' w licit

open land can do for you and the part water plays in our lives. If we lose too much, there will be no replenishment ot the aquifer and we'll end up with salt water intrusion problems "I'VE SEEN DEVELOPMENT slowed. (Page 41 Please)

msWHAT THEY'RE SA YING.. jmmmmmmmmm I feel you have to hit 'em with a two-by-four so there's no question they understand. — County Planning Board chairman John N. MacLeod regarding municipalities reaching their WW^ 1 waste water treatment plant capacities. BY A I do have difficulty believing the entire community of rr"'\ m Ocean City is behind (Dan) Riley (for an MUA appoint- ? - M ment). That's not the opinion I'm getting. M — Freeholder Gerry Thornton - Four or Ave years ago 1 said this to the chamber and it brought a tumult of heckling. I was in tears and said . 'I'm going home! I'm back to tell you the sea jjn level is rising and it will |^/r affect everybody on the f \ \ml barrier islands. MacLeod — Yvonne S. Ballanger, chairman oj the Avalon Environmental Commission to the Avalon Chamber of Commerce This is a very sensitive county. There's not much water and not much good, buildable land, and it's been overdeveloped. I'm not happy with what I've seen: duplexes and triplexes, but what about the sunset or deer or fox? What will be left for my children? — Realtor Richard H. Stdrtare of Court House being Interviewed by freeholders for a position on a new Agriculture Development Board Changes in police, trash and statuatory expenses mare than offset the budgetary accomodations attributable to the sanitary collection system. Hand ~ Stone Harbor Mayor Arden W. Hand in his 19M budget message ■"■■■■"^■■■"They're Saying What?*