Hereford ‘Friends’ Fear Ousting Bodes Ill for Lighthouse

NORTH WILDWOOD – The North Wildwood mayor and City Council announced a plan that would replace an independent group that manages the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse with a municipal commission by Dec. 31. 
Mayor Patrick Rosenello said the decision was a result of “management issues” from the Friends of the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse, a nonprofit corporation that was approved as caretakers and managers of the historic lighthouse in 2011.
“No one is questioning their passion and their commitment to historic preservation,” Rosenello said. “The issue is that has to be coupled with sound public management skills.”
Steve Murray, chairman of the Friends, who has been involved with the lighthouse for 32 years, fears the local landmark is being used as a “political football,” and believes it should be separate from the city government.
State Owned
The Hereford Inlet Lighthouse is owned by the State of New Jersey and leased to the city.
“There’s no other lighthouse that’s like that (leased to a city and not a nonprofit),” Murray said. “It should have been changed a long time ago.”
The lighthouse was managed by the municipally-appointed Lighthouse Commission from 1982 to 2011.
“The Friends were an outside support group that did special events, helped with some of the historical displays and things of that nature,” Rosenello said.
Henfey’s Intent
Late Mayor William Hefney created the management agreement with the Friends during his tenure. He planned that the lease would eventually be turned over to the Friends, Murray said.
Grant’s Paper Trail
Rosenello’s plan to terminate their agreement stems from an incident with a historic preservation grant awarded by the state Department of Transportation (DOT), he said.
In 2011, the DOT awarded the Friends a $17,000 grant towards the lighthouse’s restorations, which were completed that year. The city had put the money out towards the restorations, and the grant was to reimburse the city.
In spring 2016, the DOT contacted the city because the grant “had not been closed out properly,” Rosenello said.
“The city started looking into this,” he said. “We ended up getting our professional staff involved and it sort of started to unravel, the paper trail for that grant was not properly kept.”
Murray recalled giving DOT officials a tour of the renovated lighthouse in 2011 and was shocked by the revelation five years after the fact. He said when he contacted the DOT, they couldn’t find “what was missing.”
By the time the city found what was missing, too much time had passed, and the grant was revoked, and the city didn’t get reimbursed.
“It was actually one of the first things that the Friends, as the manager of the lighthouse, were actually charged with doing,” Rosenello said. “You get graded on how you manage these grants, and it has a direct impact on the future eligibility of the city to get these grants.”
Intent Made Public
The plan to terminate the management agreement became public Nov. 15, when the Friends posted on the lighthouse Facebook page a call for followers to express disapproval to the city and state.
Rosenello released a statement the next day outlining the incidents that he said led him to terminate the agreement.
Reasons for Move
Those reasons included “improper communications on behalf of the city,” “unilateral action regarding city event,” “failure to respond to a city request for a meeting,” and “inconsistent public access provided to lighthouse grounds.”
The “improper communications” situation was an incident wherein a neighboring property owner allegedly cut a mature pine tree on the lighthouse’s side. The Friends called the police, the owner admitted to cutting the tree and got off with a warning, Murray said.
Murray said the same person cut another tree a few years later.
“The police were not called this time, but out of frustration, a letter was sent to the property owner that the next time this occurred, which would be the third, the police and legal action would follow,” Murray wrote in his response to Rosenello’s statement.
Rosenello wrote in his statement it was “unacceptable to threaten” the resident because legal action would have to be taken by the city, not the Friends.
Canceled Tree Lighting
The “city event” cited in his statement was the 2016 Christmas tree lighting at the lighthouse. The Friends canceled that because Murray said the city had hired a landscaping consultant to evaluate the gardens. That landscaper’s report “recommends cutting down all trees and replacing all plants” which “trashes the whole place,” Murray said.
Murray said he canceled the tree lighting; an event he said was begun by lighthouse commission chairman Al Mouklas and run by Murray for 25 years because he feared “at any time guys with chainsaws and bulldozers” would “show up.”
Summer Praises
“We just got through a summer with all these thousands of people that have just praised us, coming up crying and thanking me for all the gardens,” Murray said, “(People told me) ‘I got married here,’ ‘I got through a death here.’
“And then all the awards,” he continued. “There’s a wall at home with all these (landscaping) awards, and (the landscaping consultant is) telling me that this has to be leveled.”
Trees, View Factors?
Murray wondered if the plan to remove the trees and plants had to do with pleasing residents nearby.
“Every landscaper in the business knows it’s about blocking the views of certain people with these big McMansions,” Murray said.
Rosenello said the tree issue was related to a Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Community Forestry Management Certification that municipalities can seek.
Participation in the certification involves creating a plan for handling native and invasive species, which the Friends declined to do, Rosenello said.
“This has nothing to do with cutting down trees for views; this has to do with a comprehensive environmental plan that the city has,” Rosenello said.
Rosenello said his lighthouse management plan brings back the “relationship that had existed from 1983 until 2011,” which he said “had worked very well.”
That plan includes:
* Having the city Buildings and Grounds Department care for the property.
* House the tourism and information center in the lighthouse. They were previously housed on the boardwalk until the development of Seaport Pier started.
* Staff the lighthouse with Recreation Department personnel.
* Create a volunteer North Wildwood Historical Commission under the chairmanship of volunteer city historian and City Clerk Scott Jett.
“None of these are going to cost the city any extra money,” Rosenello said. “These are existing departments with existing staff.”
“No matter what, it’s going to cost (taxpayers) more money,” Murray said.
“Rosenello has had, I think, his eyes on the lighthouse for a long time,” Murray said. “I think everybody sees this as a power grab, that he’d like to … have a feather in his cap for it, even though everything’s been done.”
Rosenello said he doesn’t plan to kick the Friends out of the lighthouse.
“The door is open to the Friends to continue to be a support organization to the lighthouse,” Rosenello said. “They are welcomed and encouraged to hold special events, do historical displays.”
Cumberland Co. View
Nancy Patterson, president of the East Point Lighthouse in Cumberland County, thinks the plan is “self-serving on the mayor’s part.” 
When the Cumberland County lighthouse was in need of restoration, in February 1971, the Maurice River Historical Society was founded with the goal of its restoration.
“Steve and the Friends should be rewarded, not replaced,” she said. “Caring for a place like this has to come from the heart. I see no heart in replacing those who have devoted themselves and done so well.
“This reckless decision and a probably vindictive decision will most likely have a very negative impact on the beautiful lighthouse and ever so special gardens,” she continued. “It is my hope that the state steps in and removes the lease from the city, and gives it directly to the Friends.”
Lauds Department
Rosenello thinks the gardens will be fine in the hands of the Buildings and Grounds Department.
“Look at Central Avenue… look at the Veterans Park… look at City Hall. Our Buildings and Grounds Department does an absolutely outstanding job of maintaining the natural areas,” he said. “I challenge anyone to tell me that our Buildings and Grounds Department is not the best in South Jersey.”
State Is Aware
The state Historic Preservation Office is “aware” of the conflict and “hope for an amicable resolution that ensures the continued maintenance, preservation, and operations of the Hereford Inlet Lighthouse,” stated DEP Press Director Robert Geist.
“It must be noted that in any case, any changes which may affect the lighthouse or its grounds must be reviewed and approved by the Department of Environmental Protection given the lighthouse is listed on the New Jersey Register of Historic Places,” Geist stated.
To contact Taylor Henry, email thenry@cmcherald.com.