Refuge Name Protest

Lower resident protests Villas name on wildlife refuge

By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6711
Published: Thursday, September 7, 2006
Press of Atlantic City

LOWER TOWNSHIP: Town Bank resident Steve Sheftz calls his community the “birthplace of South Jersey.” He wonders how the upstart in the neighborhood, the 80-year-old Villas section, won the naming rights for the new state wildlife preserve off Bayshore Road.

Sheftz said his community has been around for 371 years. Town Bank was home to whalers as far back as 1635, he said, and famous Quaker and Pennsylvania founder William Penn is credited with giving Town Bank its name. Sheftz also points out that Town Bank is 141 years older than the United States of America, 163 years older than Lower Township, and 234 years older than Cape May.

Sheftz compiled his arguments in a letter to Lee Widjeskog of the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, the agency that is turning the former Ponderlodge Golf Club into the wildlife preserve that Widjeskog announced recently would be named the Villas Wildlife Management Area. Sheftz claims the new name does not have support from Township Council or the people of Town Bank.

“I am sure that many of the people, especially descendents, would be greatly offended by the name you mentioned,” Sheftz wrote to Widjeskog.

He described the Villas as an area with less than 80 years of history with “primarily a short real estate business and supportive services background.”

Councilman Mike Beck, who represents the Villas' ward and offered the idea to use the name for the new preserve, claims Sheftz is striking back at him because Beck was the first to support the bird sanctuary instead of the public golf course Sheftz wanted. Beck said that once council agreed to the bird sanctuary, it took away the main campaign issue Sheftz had in the November election. Sheftz, a Republican, is running in the 2nd Ward race against incumbent Democrat Wayne Mazurek, and one of his platforms was to push for a golf course.

Part of the debate centers on which community can geographically claim the 253-acre tract. Neither the Villas nor Town Bank is an incorporated town — they are both communities with no clear boundaries.

Sheftz claims the Villas ends at Wildwood Avenue. Beck counters that the U.S. Census places the Ponderlodge property in the Villas and it has a Villas post office address. Beck offered a reference to the movie Miracle on 34th Street, in which a post office address proved there was a Santa Claus, to bolster his argument.

“Miracle on 34th Street was decided on a post office address. He (Santa Claus) got his mail at the North Pole and therefore he did exist. Their mail goes to the Villas. Game, set and match,” Beck said.

The three other members on council are split over the naming issue. Beck said Councilman Stig Blomkvest agrees with him.

Mazurek, who originally wondered if it should be named after the Fishing Creek section or the historic Cox Hall Creek on the property, leans towards the Villas. Due to coastal erosion, Mazurek noted that the original Town Bank whaling village is out in the Delaware Bay.

“It's not Town Bank. In reality, the real Town Bank is three miles offshore in the bay,” Mazurek said.

The Villas is also much easier to find on a map, Mazurek said, which may be important to visitors coming from all over to tour the new preserve.

Beck also has argued the Villas needs the good recognition it would get from a world-class bird sanctuary, and Mazurek agrees.

“Mike feels it gives a boost to an area that's not had a great reputation. His thoughts are well taken on that,” Mazurek said.

Lower Township Mayor Walt Craig has asked Cape May County Engineer Dale Foster to do some research on where Villas ends and Town Bank begins.

“I can't see it being named for a place it's not in. Personally, I think it should just be the Lower Township Wildlife Management Area,” Craig said.

The mayor said he is more concerned about the property being turned into a quality refuge and public recreation facility. He also noted the name issue must be decided because the site opens to the public Saturday.

“The first 100 get a free T-shirt, and I don't know what it's going to say,” Craig said.

To e-mail Richard Degener at The Press: RDegener@pressofac.com