League Installs Officers, Hears Van Drew’s Update

SEA ISLE CITY – Wildwood Crest Commissioner Joyce Gould was installed as president of the Cape May County League of Municipalities Jan. 28 by Stone Harbor Mayor Suzanne Walters, president, New Jersey League of Municipalities.
The ceremony took place at Lobster Loft. Other officers who took oaths of office along with Gould were Cape May Councilman William Murray, first vice president, Avalon Councilman John McCorristin, second vice president, Sea Isle City Councilman William Kehner, treasurer, and Middle Township Administrator Connie Mahon, secretary.
Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st) gave an overview of a number of bills signed into law by Gov. Chris Christie on the final day of the last Legislative session. Some of those “good bills”, Van Drew said, originated in South Jersey.
Of the rejected South Jersey Gas pipeline to B.L. England generation plant in Beesley’s Point by the Pinelands Commission, Van Drew said, “I think it’s awful what happened. I am an environmentalist. I live in a township and I do want it to stay that way, but that was wrong.” He cited the need for public safety, to have redundancy in natural gas supply. “Because it hasn’t happened in the past doesn’t mean it won’t happen,” he said.
“It was wrong for our economy. Here was an opportunity to keep the utility plant open with jobs there. There were construction jobs for guys to build the pipeline. The issue was going through the pinelands. I would understand if they were devastating thousands of acres, but it would have been a two-foot-wide pipe. It was so dumb; I have a hard time talking about it. My hope is it isn’t a dead issue,” Van Drew said.
He will meet with officials from South Jersey Gas. “Some folks said the process wasn’t right. The process itself is not god. End result that counts, it was wrong what happened there,” Van Drew concluded.
Van Drew spoke of efforts on behalf of military veterans that he and Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak (D-1st) are working to establish a pilot program to issue veterans cards that would enable them to use community hospitals for treatment, negating the need for trips to Wilmington, Del. or Philadelphia where Veterans Administration medical facilities are located.
“It would save the federal government money. It would be better for veterans to have local access to health care, and it would spawn economic development because there would be more work in hospitals,” said Van Drew.
“We have to push hard on it, because it’s not going to be easy,” he continued. “The bureaucracy at VA is opposed to it. They want to protect themselves. But we will keep pushing on it,” he continued.
The duo has enlisted the support of U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo (R-2nd) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who recently visited the Coast Guard Training Center in Cape May.
“Can I promise it will happen? Absolutely not, but we will work our butts off to make it happen,” he said.
Van Drew cited the “Veterans’ Beach Bill” that passed both houses, and was signed into law. It permits, but does not mandate, municipalities that sell beach tags to not charge veterans and those on active military duty to use beaches.
He spoke of still another bill of which he is a primary sponsor with Sen. Christopher Connors (R-9th) that would assist indigent veterans in getting a proper burial, regardless in which wars, or undeclared actions.
“A veteran is a veteran,” said Van Drew.
To the growing heroin epidemic in Cape May County and elsewhere, Van Drew said he and Connors were joining forces to form a legislative task force to face the problem. Part of the issue, he said, is that often heroin dealers face lesser penalties than those selling cocaine.
Van Drew said that task force’s members would not “sit on their butts.” Instead, they will be focused on the problem of addiction, the lack of treatment and detoxification centers, especially in Cape May County. “I hope we get some help, because we are sending them (addicts) north (for treatment,” he said.
“We can make more happen here,” said Van Drew of Cape May County’s unemployment rate. He cited “recent numbers and they are abysmal. Cape May County was eighth worst in unemployment in the United States. We can do better than that. We need an honest conversation in our district, and I welcome everybody’s input,” he continued.
A member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, Van Drew rhetorically asked, “Why do I do it? Because it’s important. I am the only senator from deep South Jersey from either party on it.” Because of increased pension and debt service, he noted the state budget is up $1 billion. “It is a serious issue and we are going to have a tough year and a tight budget, but we will do our best and do the best by South Jersey.”
“Dredging. We can do better on this,” said the senator. “Suzanne (Walters) is tired of it.” Van Drew said bureaucracy in the Army Corps of Engineers and state Department of Environmental Protection stymie advancement of places to remove dredge material. “In my mind, it’s bureaucratic stupidity, they don’t protect the environment.” He continued that when back bays and lagoons are not properly dredged, it places the region behind competing areas which seek to draw fishermen.
“It is not going to happen in a week or a month,” he noted.
Of the state’s “No Call List,” Van Drew agreed there are an increasing number of unwanted calls received by everyone. “Every year it’s getting a little worse,” he noted.
In particular, Van Drew noted calls from those purportedly from the Policeman’s Benevolent Association, which does not make telephone solicitations. “Some of these are breaking the law, and not only are they breaking the law, they are not reputable. The reality is, some organizations, 75 percent of the revenue goes to their salaries,” he said. He urged potential donors to learn more about their charities before giving, since some sound valid, but give marginal aid to their groups.
“The law is good, but we need the law to be enforced,” Van Drew said.
Mahon asked Van Drew about the tax imposed on landline and cellular telephones to fund 9-1-1 centers. Having just attended the freeholders’ meeting, she told Van Drew the board learned that instead of funding places like a centralized dispatch center in Cape May County, the state places that tax into the general revenue fund.
“I am going to try,” Van Drew replied, but noted the billion in new debt along with a desire not to increase taxes, he was doubtful a change would be made soon, if at all. “They are raiding these funds,” he said.
Assemblyman Samuel Fiocchi (R-1st) and Assemblyman Robert Andrzejczak (D-1st) attended the meeting and spoke of their committee assignments.
Andrzejczak chairs the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee, and is a member of the Military and Veterans’ Affairs Committee.
Fiocchi is a member of Human Services, Regulatory Oversight, and Telecommunications and Utilities committees.