CREST HAVEN – The county commissioners shut down discussion at their April 22 meeting about talking to the Delaware River and Bay Authority about Cape May Airport, claiming such discussion was more appropriate for a closed session.
Commissioner Will Morey said at the meeting that he – not representing the Board of Commissioners – had some communication with the DRBA over the impasse between the authority and the county regarding plans for the airport.
Commission Director Leonard Desiderio suggested during the middle of Morey’s talk that the topic was better suited for a closed-session discussion due to the nature of the topic. Generally, personnel matters, labor contracts, purchase or lease of real estate and specific pending litigation are exempt from the Open Public Meetings Act, meaning they are normally not discussed in public.
Morey said his questions were more in line with general policy rather than exempt matters.
He said it was his observation that the county and the DRBA were at an impasse regarding the authority’s lease of the airport. He said there was a difficult time leading up to the deadline last year for not automatically renewing the lease for another 30 years.
Cape May County owns the airport, and the DRBA entered into a 30-year lease for the property, which expires in 2029, for a dollar per year. The lease would automatically renew for another 30 years unless the county gave notice, five years in advance, of its intention to not automatically renew.
To get in under the five-year requirement, the county had to call a special meeting in June 2024 to issue a resolution stating its intention to not automatically renew the lease.
Since then, the county government and DRBA have been at odds and not communicating over the matter, with the county wishing to exercise its rights to control the property and the DRBA saying it did not wish to simply be the airport operator.
Morey said he reached out to the DRBA, copying Desiderio on the email, and raised the issue of the communication impasse. He referred to statements made at past commissioner meetings where officials said the county was willing to talk to the DRBA, and where Morey said the DRBA said it was generally open to discussion.
Terminating the lease with the DRBA would require the county to reimburse the authority for more than $30 million in capital improvements to the airport.
“I am very concerned we spend the taxpayers’ money wisely,” Morey said.
He said the county has an interest in the airport, including using a portion of its 1,000 acres for housing, which he said would ultimately be an FAA decision.
“I feel like we let an FAA decision become an impasse,” he said.
After Desiderio suggested the matter was better suited for closed session and Morey said it was a larger policy issue, Morey said he thought coming to an agreement might be advantageous for both the county and the DRBA. He said the DRBA’s legal counsel, Phil Norcross, was going to reach out to Desiderio and that the DRBA considered this at a board meeting last week.
Morey was interrupted by Commissioner Bobby Barr, who said, “I think we are getting a little close (to a closed session discussion).”
“I agree,” said Vice Director Andy Bulakowski. “This is a closed-session matter.”
Morey said he understood the concern but felt this was a public policy issue.
“My sense is, if we are willing to, they are willing to, because I think they recognize this is an FAA decision, not their decision,” he said.
County Counsel Jeff Lindsay was not at the meeting. The commissioners did not go into closed session afterward.
Contact the reporter, Christopher South, at csouth@cmcherald.com or call 609-886-8600, ext. 128.
