Rehoboth sends Deauville Beach contract back to DNREC

Rehoboth Beach commissioners continued their review of a proposed lease for Deauville Beach with the state Jan. 8. And after voicing their displeasure with the document, they put it back in the hands of city staff to begin negotiations over.

Mayor Stan Mills said it was a terrible proposal. The city has done an excellent job as caretakers of the land, he said.

“I just think DNREC is just being very greedy,” Mills said.

The city has been leasing Deauville Beach, about 10 acres, from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control since 1975. The previous contract, which expired in March, called for a $2,500 administrative fee due at the beginning of the lease, with an annual fee of $1.

During a meeting in December, Interim City Manager Evan Miller said city staff had been in negotiations with DNREC staff for months and that he was bringing it forward because he didn’t feel comfortable going any further without commissioner input.

Under the current proposal, the annual lease fee will be 10% of all daily parking and annual pass revenue received at Deauville Beach. Miller estimated that would be $10,000 to $12,000 annually, and those terms were negotiated down from the original proposal of 15% of all revenue from Deauville Beach, which would also have included tennis court fees and food stand sales.

It’s not just the increase in money that Mills finds unnecessary. As proposed, the city would also have to provide an audited report of annual gross receipts, submit an annual capital improvement plan for the upcoming year and submit a report for the previous calendar year detailing improvements and investment amounts.

Mills said it’s too bureaucratic and designed for for-profit businesses conducting business with DNREC, which the city is not. The increase hurts the city and takes money away from the maintenance of Deauville Beach, he said.

During the Jan. 8 meeting, Miller said throughout negotiations, DNREC has been pretty firm about the increase. Between lifeguards, parking enforcement, tennis court maintenance, rental of porta potties and other items, the city spends $150,000 per year at Deauville Beach, he said, adding that number doesn’t include labor for police or staff from the public works department.

When it’s all said and done, the city probably loses $25,000 to operate and maintain Deauville Beach, he said.

Commissioner Francis “Bunky” Markert described the proposed lease as a kick to the teeth and a little irritating, to say the least.

Mills suggested, in jest, that Rehoboth should offer free parking at Deauville Beach to send a message. They’d probably close it down if that happened, he said.

At the end of the discussion, commissioners reached a unanimous decision to have Miller take the proposed lease back to DNREC and start negotiations over.

Following the meeting, Michael Globetti, DNREC spokesman, declined to address any of the comments made by commissioners or if DNREC would close the area to the public if the city does not sign the lease.

“DNREC and the City of Rehoboth Beach continue to negotiate an agreement for management of Deauville Beach, and the department will provide updates as progress is made toward a new contract,” said Globetti in an email Jan. 10.