Rehoboth awards $4.9 million contract for beach patrol base

It came with multiple conditions related to continued public engagement, but Rehoboth Beach commissioners awarded a $4.9 million contract for a new beach patrol/restroom facility to Delmarva Veteran Builders during an Aug. 18 meeting.

Rehoboth Beach has been discussing the need for a new facility at the Boardwalk end of Baltimore Avenue for years now. Currently, the one-level structure serves two purposes –  it’s the Rehoboth Beach Patrol headquarters, and it also has public restrooms.

The approved design keeps the same function for the new building, but turns it into a two-story structure, with public restrooms and family changing stations on the first level, and the beach patrol on the second. The city has budgeted about $4.5 million for the project – half during the current fiscal year and half next year.

The city received three bids on the project – $4.9 million from Delmarva Veteran Builders, $5.5 million from Bancroft Construction Company and $5.7 million from Keller Brothers Inc.

Commissioners asked Public Works Director Kevin Williams why the bid from Delmarva Veteran Builders was so much less than the other two. Williams didn’t have a clear answer, but he said the city went back to Delmarva Veteran Builders after the sealed bids were opened to make sure they understood the entire scope of the project, and he said the city was told yes.

The contract may have been awarded, but it took a couple hours of discussion to get there.

Pointing to city hall and the canal dock, Commissioner Toni Sharp said she wasn’t sure the city had done a good enough job raising the level of awareness it should have that it was about to award a contract of this size on the project. These are two recent projects that taxpayers are still talking about as being unnecessary and over budget, she said.

She said the information related to the proposed project wasn’t posted to the online agenda before Thursday, which she didn’t think gave property owners enough time to evaluate the information. Every single person she’s talked to about the project has had questions about the cost, she said.

The new beach patrol facility would be in addition to the two hotels that are already in the planning stages for the ocean block of Baltimore Avenue.

Commissioner Patrick Gossett said he would have liked to see the city do a better job working with the local businesses to see if they’re willing to participate in and share the costs of streetscape improvements along the ocean block of Baltimore Avenue.

It’s incumbent on the city to create a vision, said Gossett. 

Williams said there had been some discussion about coordinating the projects with the hotel builders. However, he continued, those projects aren’t far enough along right now, and he didn’t want to hold up the city’s project.

Commissioner Jay Lagree reminded everyone that the beach and boardwalk committee was against the proposed design because it would affect the viewshed at the end of Baltimore Avenue. The project is a great thing, but there are a lot of questions, he said.

Four members of the public spoke on the subject – three in favor and a fourth who was in favor of the project, but not happy with the bidding process or level of public engagement.

Resident and property owner Frances Kelleher said residents and others interested in the project have had ample time to learn about the project, and the city should uncouple the streetscape design from the project. She added that she has an adult family member with a disability who requires assistance when going to the bathroom, but that’s not an option right now at the current facility.

A few years ago, when there was a discussion about the county taking over the city’s wastewater facility, this room was full, said Kelleher. People have ways to find out information, and the fact that no one was in the room to voice their concerns speaks for itself, she said.

Resident Carolyn Diefenderfer said it wasn’t up to the city to spoon-feed all the information to every resident. Residents and property owners have an obligation to keep themselves informed, she said.

Anyone who has ever gone in that building knows something needs to be done, said Diefenderfer. Start making improvements at the head of the street and go from there, she suggested.

Former Sen. Ernie Lopez was in attendance and spoke in favor of the project. He said other beach patrols and other communities were watching Rehoboth’s plans. There are a lot of projects people are against, but this is not one of them, he said.

Former City Councilman Walter Brittingham said the project was needed, but he didn’t agree with the method the city was using to get to the end product. He questioned Mayor Stan Mills and City Manager Laurence Christian for pushing the bid process through without a proper vetting of city residents.

It’s like the citizens don’t matter, he said.

There was talk about delaying the vote, but city staff raised concerns about how long the bid would be good for, and if the delay was too long, it could push the project out another year. Ultimately, commissioners awarded the contract to Delmarva Veteran Builders, with conditions related to continued public engagement that satisfied some of the concerns raised during the discussion.

Williams said the timeline right now was to demolish the building soon after Sept. 18, with the goal of having the public restrooms constructed in time for Memorial Day next summer.

There was no discussion on where the beach patrol will be located next year.