Sen. Russ Huxtable, during two years in office, has become the principal champion for Cape Henlopen State Park in the Delaware General Assembly. When members of the Preserve Our Park Coalition reached out to him shortly after his election in November 2022, he listened carefully to the concerns of the public related to Cape Henlopen State Park, dedicated his time and effort to identify legislative solutions and then worked to get them passed in the General Assembly without a single no vote being cast in either chamber.
In his second year in office, Huxtable consulted closely with members of the Preserve Our Park Coalition to identify park needs and work with the state government’s Capital Improvement Committee to find ways to fund major improvements at Cape Henlopen State Park. As a result of his efforts, the General Assembly approved two major budget allocations. One is for $250,000 that will fund a study of the fishing pier, a popular attraction for decades that keeps shrinking as sections are closed because of wear and tear. Even more importantly, the committee approved $1 million to design and then start work on improvements at the coastal beach bathhouse, the core attraction for the 1 million Cape Henlopen State Park visitors each year.
The Preserve Our Park Coalition thanks Sen. Huxtable for his leadership, his unfailing responsiveness and his success in locating extra governmental funding to maintain the high quality of Sussex County’s very popular Cape Henlopen State Park. Other legislators have helped as well, both those on the Bond Bill Committee and all those representing Sussex County in the General Assembly – Democrats and Republicans alike. This year, it was primarily Sen. Huxtable who worked within the government to find $1,250,000 in additional funds to further examine the fishing pier and upgrade the beach bathhouse in Sussex County’s Cape Henlopen State Park.