Preserved Farms Don’t Sell Their Business Rights: Thornton to COCA

CREST HAVEN – When Freeholder Director Gerald Thornton addressed the Coalition of Civic Associations of Cape May County April 2, he touched on several issues that affect many, among them: wineries that want to expand their scope, the homeless situation and future economic hopes.
Welcome was extended to the head of the five-member all-Republican Board of Chosen Freeholders by COCA President Larry Kratzer in the Intermediate Meeting Room of the William E. Sturm Jr. Administration Building.
Winery Rights
One question asked by a member was the freeholders’ stance toward the ongoing matter in West Cape May where a winery wants to be able to expand its wedding reception business, but is encountering municipal opposition, partly because Willow Creek Farm is on preserved farmland.
Thornton replied “We have been stuck in the middle because of our Open Space and agriculture fund. I continue to make the point when people preserve the land; they are preserving it from development. They are not giving away their business rights.” He added that the county’s Agricultural Development Board has considered the matter. A similar board on the state level is confronting the issue elsewhere. “They have a lawsuit similar in North Jersey,” he added.
“Looking at some of those deeds, they are not deed restricted, right now, it’s a legal battle,” said Thornton.
“It’s very critical,” added COCA member Thomas Henry.
Thornton, a retired wine salesman after 36 years with a national producer, continued, “We are not going to develop the wine industry unless they have those functions and raise business funds. They should be able to hold them. If you’re familiar with California wineries, they do a super job. There are a lot of weddings and functions. Some of those wineries have big restaurants. If you’ve been to Sonoma and Napa Valley, you’ll know.”
Bridges
Thornton cited the recently passed county budget of $142 million, up about $3 million from the previous year. The increased will translate into a $15 tax increase for county services to the owner of a home assessed at $300,000, he said.
That budget paled in comparison to a request by the Sea Isle City Taxpayers Association that the county spend $500 million to replace all bridges that are often closed for repairs, as is Townsend’s Inlet Bridge until May. “I’m not sure that will sell very well. That’s a hell of an impact. I don’t have an answer,” he continued.
Thornton pointed to 27 county-owned bridges, most built in the 1930s. “All we are doing is scraping by maintaining them, it’s so costly.” Asked why the county cannot replace the often-stuck open Middle Thorofare Bridge, which connects Five Mile Beach and Lower Township, he said a projected cost would be “over $200 million,” and that excludes the years it would take to acquire permits from the state and federal governments.
The last Ocean Drive bridge, Ocean City-Longport, was opened in 2002. It was built at a cost of $67 million, he said, all but $3 million of that sum was federally funded, he said.
He also cited a recently approved $200,000 emergency appropriation to patch winter-created potholes that plague virtually every county road. The total cost to fix them all, he noted will be $2 million.
Part-time: 28 Hours
Thornton cited the Affordable Care Act as having affected the county’s hiring of part-time personnel. In the past, part-time employees worked 35 hours a week and got health benefits. Now, due to the law which mandates benefits for workers with 30 or more hours, the county’s part-time workers are limited to 28 hours weekly with no health benefits. “That is in accordance with Obamacare,” said Thornton.
Fewer Students
As Thornton had in several previous addresses, he underscored the loss of some 2,400 students in county schools as proof that fewer young families are locating into the county, and that many are departing. The chief reason, he noted, is lack of solid, year-round jobs that pay wages adequate to support a family and pay the tax load.
While the trend is downward for students, Thornton pointed to a significant uptick in Realty Transfer Fees, which fund a substantial portion of the county budget. In 2007, that source generated $5.7 million but dwindled to $3.9 million in 2011, and remained flat for the past several years. Last year, it rose to $4.3 million, “another good sign, Thornton said.
However, it’s not all to the good, Thornton noted. He said “We should be concerned about that. We could continue this way and become a retirement and tourism community. That’s not a good mix. We need those young families in the county.”
Wineries, Oysters
Thornton also projected that in the next decade or two, the six wineries would blossom into a “major industry” for the county. “It’s a great business,” he said. “We’ve got something we are right on the edge of, and county government is supporting those wineries.”
He added that wineries could grow throughout the state’s eight southern counties to unite in a brand that would rival the wines produced in California and in Europe.
Similarly, the county is anxious for the fledgling oyster industry to grow into a large-scale economic engine, he said.
Citing Cape May Salts, a brand of local oyster grown in Delaware Bay and other nearby waters, “have taken off,” he said.
Kratzer told Thornton he “Knows several who are farming oysters, and state and federal regulations are a real pain the neck.”
“We are supporting them for that reason,” said Thornton.
While the Department of Environmental Protection has been cited by many for halting such projects, Thornton said, “They are getting somewhat better. They are starting to be responsive. That response is coming because of (Commissioner) Bob Martin.”
“We have challenged them several times,” Thornton said. Often, he noted, the bureaucracy interprets laws separate from the law intended. “Sometimes you have to challenge that,” he noted.
Drones and Airport
No discussion by Thornton would be complete without mentioning the county’s support of unmanned aircraft systems, commonly referred to as drones.
“That is a multi-billion industry in the world. We are working very hard trying to get one of those companies to locate at the airport,” he said. “We made an investment with New Jersey Institute of Technology that took the lead on this space at airport through a $10,000 grant. We would like to see that business come here. It is really important. It could provide significant high-paying jobs with Testing and manufacturing,” he said.
Such industry, while providing good jobs, would also be a non-polluting industry. Another thing, it complements our community college. About a year ago, it started an aviation program piloting drones. Also they are teaching air traffic control.”
Homeless Situation
Thornton admitted the county “Gets a lot of heat about the homeless situation. We try to address that in every way possible. From my heart, I don’t want to see anyone in the county cold or hungry. When we provide those services, we require them to show up, go to Social Services for what they are entitled. If you don’t show up, we can’t help you. If you don’t show up, then you get censored.”
If people are eligible, they can get benefits, but they don’t show up in 95 percent of the cases, he said.
“A lot don’t realize, that if you make yourself homeless you are not entitled to benefits,” Thornton said.
“We got a call last week from a family from New York. They were fine in New York, but decided to come here. They said, ‘We are homeless.’ We said, ‘You weren’t homeless in New York, you wanted to come here.’ Law is very specific if through your own volition you make yourself homeless, you are not eligible. There are a lot of things happening here that the county gets criticized for,” he said.
The numbers in Social Services are up 24 percent,” he added. That demand is driven by requests for food stamps and temporary aid for needy families; those numbers are up with demand because of the economy.
“The Affordable Care Act, the federal government was supposed to take care of regional center, it never happened. Now we have these people coming in to Social Services to sign up. That takes a significant amount of time that the federal government dumped on the counties,” Thornton said.