Dewey council approves $50,000 for planning grant
By a unanimous 5-0 vote, Dewey Beach town council approved the town’s $50,000 portion of a $104,000 Surface Water Matching Planning Grant during a May 14 meeting.
The town was awarded the 1-to-1 matching grant April 20 by the Delaware Water Infrastructure Advisory Council.
According to the council’s website, the grant was created to improve water quality in the state’s impaired watersheds by supporting the planning, preliminary engineering and feasibility analysis of surface water improvement projects and activities.
Commissioner Mike Dunmyer said as of right now, there is no plan for reducing nutrient runoff or flooding issues. He said the grant should benefit both problems equally, and it makes sense to leverage the state’s money to create a coordinated plan.
“Rather than jump in and just do things, this will allow us to set it all on the table,” he said.
The town worked with Emily Seldomridge, Delaware Center for the Inland Bays watershed coordinator, on the grant proposal. She said Dewey alone could not create the much-needed plan, let alone carry it out. The grant also helps lay the groundwork for grant opportunities when it comes to the implementation stage, she said.
Commissioner Gary Mauler said when he first heard of the grant he had a lot of questions, but after speaking with Seldomridge for more than an hour the night before the council meeting, he felt comfortable voting in favor of the town’s portion of the grant.
Mauler said the people who voted for him want to fix flooding now, and the town won’t be able to fix the problem by itself. This will help give us direction, he said.
Jim Tyler, chair of the recently created infrastructure committee, said the committee fully supports the town moving forward on the planning process.
Parking ticket fees restructured
Town commissioners approved restructuring the town’s parking ticket fees to make them less harsh for visitors.
The new fine schedule is a $5 penalty after seven days, a $15 penalty after the first notice, a $35 penalty after the second notice and a $70 penalty when the ticket is sent to a collection agency.
The previous schedule jumped to $20 after 10 days, $40 after 20 days and $85 after 30 days.
During an April 9 meeting, council lowered the original parking fine from $35 to $30.
$100 weddings in Dewey
Town commissioners approved an ordinance requiring a $100 permit to hold a wedding on any of the town’s beaches. Property owners and their immediate family are exempt from the fee.
