No Lewes municipal, public works elections in ‘24

There will be no city council or Board of Public Works elections in Lewes this year.

There were no challengers to the council or BPW candidates who had filed to run for open seats before the April 4 deadline.

That means Deputy Mayor Khalil Saliba and Amy Marasco were successful in their council bids.

Incumbents Tom Panetta and Richard Nichols will serve new three-year terms on the BPW. Bob Heffernan will be sworn in for his first BPW term.

Incumbent Earl Webb dropped his re-election bid before the deadline.

Saliba will begin his second three-year term.

Marsaco will fill the seat vacated by Councilwoman Carolyn Jones, who is retiring.

“We have accomplished a lot and have much more to do. I’m grateful to be able to have the chance to continue to focus on the issues ahead,” Saliba said.

He said those issues include finding sustainable revenue sources, affordable housing and funding for future beach replenishment.

Marasco said she is ready to hit the ground running.

“I am planning to continue the meet and greets around the city, so that I can learn more about the ideas, wishes, concerns and suggestions from citizens – more now as a listening tour to capture their voices as I prepare to join the council,” Marasco said.

Marasco has been a member of the Lewes Planning Commission and chair of its Environmental Subcommittee.

She said she would like to change the subcommittee into a joint panel with council and LPC.

The Lewes Board of Elections unanimously voted at its April 5 meeting not to hold a municipal election.

On the BPW side, Panetta, Nichols and Heffernan all singled out the future of the wastewater treatment plant as the biggest project facing the board.

The board favors a partnership with Sussex County to operate an existing outfall, rather than upgrade the current plant or build a new one.

“[The county] has the experience and manpower to operate the plant. The fallback would be we invest in new technology. but that keeps us in the wastewater business. It’s too specialized and too small for BPW,” Nichols said.

Panetta, who has been serving as BPW president, said officials are working with Delmarva Power to get a redundant electrical line into town to avoid a repeat of the problems that cropped up last October during a planned outage.

He also said BPW is applying for federal funding to install advanced metering infrastructure.

“AMI is critical to converting our electric system to handle the increasing number of electric vehicles and solar panels,” Panetta said.

Panetta said AMI could ultimately mean lower bills for ratepayers.

Panetta also singled out BPW General Manager Austin Calaman for hiring and organizing the right people.

“This is one of the highest-performing staffs I’ve ever worked with. They all help each other and are focused on helping our customers,” Panetta said.

Heffernan said he will use his experience on two BPW committees to help move the organization forward.

“I have been on the BPW Mitigation Committee for a year and a half, and the Wastewater Treatment Facility Contingency Committee for the past few months. I have learned a lot about the challenges that BPW faces,” he said.

Heffernan said he expects to remain on the Lewes Planning Commission.