News Briefs 3/22/24

Rehoboth BoA meeting March 25

The Rehoboth Beach Board of Adjustment will hold a hearing at 1:30 p.m., Monday, March 25, in the city hall commissioners room, 229 Rehoboth Ave. The agenda includes a variance request for Coast Rehoboth Beach, 123 Second St. The hotel would like to add 10 rooms, but a variance is needed to increase its floor-to-area ratio from 2.24 to 2.89. City code calls for a FAR of 2.

A full agenda, meeting materials and a livestream are accessible at cityofrehoboth.civicweb.net. Only in-person attendees may make comments. For more information, contact the city at 302-227-6181 or information@cityofrehoboth.com.

Rehoboth shade tree meeting canceled

The Rehoboth Beach Parks and Shade Tree Commission meeting scheduled for Monday, March 25, has been canceled due to lack of agenda items, according to a city notice. For more information, contact the city at 302-227-6181 or information@cityofrehoboth.com.

Special Rehoboth meeting set March 25

Rehoboth Beach commissioners will hold a special meeting at 9 a.m., Monday, March 25, in the city hall commissioners room, 229 Rehoboth Ave. The agenda calls for an executive session to discuss the qualifications of individual candidates for employment as city manager. Commissioners are looking to find a replacement for former City Manager Christian Laurence, who left in November after roughly 10 months on the job.

The agenda also calls for ratifying next year’s budget again for the limited purpose of correcting an inadvertent error. There’s roughly an $80,000 discrepancy between the approved budget and the actual budget, related to not calculating the $100,000 removed from the administrative contingency and not accounting for the surplus from property taxes being raised.

A full agenda, meeting materials and a livestream are accessible at cityofrehoboth.civicweb.net. Only in-person attendees may make comments. For more information, contact the city at 302-227-6181 or information@cityofrehoboth.com.

Sussex council off next two weeks

Sussex County Council will not meet Tuesday, March 26, or Tuesday, April 2, during its spring break. The next regularly scheduled meeting is at 10 a.m., Tuesday, April 9, in the county administration building, 2 The Circle, Georgetown. County offices will be closed Friday, March 29.

Lewes bike group to meet March 26

The Lewes Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee will meet at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 26, at city hall.

The agenda includes discussion and possible action on the bike corral project.

See the full agenda and meeting link at lewes.civicweb.net.

State Forest Road closed thru March 25

The Delaware Department of Transportation has closed State Forest Road between Route 404 and Wilson Hill Road near Georgetown through Monday, March 25, for replacement of a crossroad pipe.

Detours - Traffic on eastbound Route 24 wanting to travel north on State Forest Road will turn left on Wilson Hill Road, returning to State Forest Road.

Traffic on westbound Wilson Hill Road wanting to travel south on State Forest Road will turn left on Route 24, returning to State Forest Road.

Traffic on southbound State Forest Road will turn right on Wilson Hill Road, then left on Route 404 to State Forest Road.

Traffic on westbound Route 404 wanting to travel north on State Forest Road will turn right on Wilson Road, returning to State Forest Road.

Lewes environmental group to meet 

The Lewes Planning Commission’s Environmental Subcommittee will meet at 1 p.m., Monday, March 25, at city hall.

The agenda includes discussion and possible recommendation regarding amending the wetland buffer ordinance.

See the full agenda and meeting link at lewes.civicweb.net.

Lewes housing panel to meet March 26

The Lewes Planning Commission’s Housing Subcommittee will meet at 4 p.m., Tuesday, March 26, at city hall.

The agenda includes discussion of potential housing strategies.

See the full agenda and meeting link at lewes.civicweb.net.

Lewes defers vote on proposed budget

With an April 1 deadline looming, Lewes Mayor and City Council deferred a vote on the proposed fiscal year 2025 budget at its March 18 special meeting.

The panel discussed possible revenue sources for unbudgeted requests for funding from the Lewes Fire Department, Open Space Alliance and Lewes Public Library.

Mayor and council scheduled another special meeting for 9 a.m., Monday, March 25, at city hall, where they will likely take action on the proposed budget.

See the full agenda and meeting link at lewes.civicweb.net.

Dewey approves additional banks

Dewey Beach commissioners voted unanimously March 15 to approve the addition of Community Bank and WSFS Bank as institutions the town may use for banking needs. Banks were approved based on their proximity to Dewey Beach, interest income rates and fees, officials said. 

Dewey street paving schedule update

Street paving in Dewey Beach will begin Monday, April 8, starting with milling at Chicago, Bayard and Chesapeake streets, said Town Manager Bill Zolper, noting Delaware Department of Transportation’s current plan is to complete Chicago, Bayard, Chesapeake, Cullen, Carolina, Jersey, St. Louis and West streets, and the section of Houston Street that connects to King Charles Avenue, by Wednesday, May 1. 

The remaining streets will be paved in the fall, he said.

Dewey committee members named

Dewey Beach commissioners voted unanimously March 15 to reappoint Julie Johnson and David Shuey to three-year terms on the board of adjustment, and to appoint Eric Nelson to the investment committee.

VVA ceremony to honor Vietnam veterans March 29

Vietnam Veterans of America Chapter 1105 of Sussex County will conduct a ceremony at 2 p.m., Friday, March 29, at The Village of College Park by DRB Homes in Georgetown to celebrate National Vietnam War Veterans Day. The public is welcome.

This national holiday honors Vietnam War veterans and their families for their service and sacrifice. American Legion Post 28 will assist with the presentation of colors and reading of the names of Sussex County’s fallen heroes engraved on the Vietnam War monument.

Chapter 1105 will also describe its outreach activities to help veterans be aware of their benefits. Refreshments will be served. 

For more information, contact George Stone, stonege14@gmail.com, or Patrick Moonan, paxmoonan67@gmail.com.

Hiring of Rehoboth Beach solicitor formally ratified

During a meeting March 15, Rehoboth Beach commissioners formally ratified the hiring of attorney Alex Burns as city solicitor. Burns has been the acting city solicitor since November, but citizen Jan Konesey filed a Freedom of Information Act complaint arguing the selection of a new city solicitor was not sufficiently noticed on the agenda for a commissioner workshop Nov. 6. The state Attorney General’s Office issued a ruling in February that agreed with Konesey. The AG recommended the mayor and commissioners discuss their reasons and ratify the vote related to the city solicitor in open session at a future meeting. Commissioners did that twice – during a workshop March 4 and then again March 15.