News Briefs 03/17/20

Carney postpones GEAR public meetings
Gov. John Carney announced  that the State of Delaware Government Efficiency & Accountability Review public meetings planned in each county over the coming weeks will be postponed until further notice. The town halls were originally scheduled for March 19, 24 and 30.  Delawareans with questions about COVID-19 or their exposure risk can call the Division of Public Health’s Coronavirus Call Center at 1-866-408-1899, or 711 for individuals who are hearing impaired, from 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, or emailDPHCall@delaware.gov.   

Lewes, BPW cancel meetings thru April 10
Lewes Mayor and City Council voted unanimously March 13 to cancel all meetings, except for the board of health, through Friday, April 10. The cancellation includes mayor and city council’s regular meeting set Monday, March 16. It is anticipated the Wednesday, March 25 board of health meeting will be closed to the public, but available through livestream at lewes.civicweb.net. Council also voted to adopt the governor’s plan to limit public gatherings, and discourage Lewes residents and organizations from participating in large events.

City hall will remain open, but residents are asked to only visit if business must be done in person. Officials also adopted a liberal leave policy, allowing employees to stay home for up to 14 days with pay if they have symptoms of coronavirus or are caring for someone believed to have contracted the virus. For more information, call city hall at 302-645-7777.

Mirroring a decision by Lewes City Council March 13, the Lewes Board of Public Works adopted a similar policy on employee sick leave regarding coronavirus COVID-19. BPW also canceled all meetings until April 10, including a meeting scheduled March 13, concerning the wastewater treatment plant. BPW President Preston Lee said the wastewater treatment plant meeting will be rescheduled at a time to be determined. Lee said the only exception is a budget meeting scheduled for Wednesday, March 25, that will be held. That meeting will be available via livestream at www.lewesbpw.delaware.gov. The board unanimously adopted sick leave policy for its 14 employees that gives them up to 14 days of paid sick leave beyond their accrued sick leave and vacation time if they become sick with COVID-19 or have to care for a dependent sick with the disease.

Dewey town hall, police closed to public
Dewey Beach has closed Town Hall, Town Hall Annex and the police department to the public until further notice. Anyone who needs to conduct business with town personnel is asked to call Town Hall at 302-227-6363, Town Hall Annex at 302-227-6170 and police at 302-227-1110. Building permit applications will be considered by appointment only.

All public commissioner and committee meetings are suspended until further notice. The Saturday, March 14 public hearing and commissioners meeting will be tentatively held at 9 a.m., Saturday, March 28. Mayor TJ Redefer said every effort will be made to have this and all meetings open to the public and available for public comment, but the town reserves the right under the governor’s order to use livestream or other teleconference technology tools allowable under Delaware FOIA to hold the meeting without the public in attendance if needed. All town-permitted special events are canceled through Tuesday, March 31.

Rehoboth suspends meetings, events
Rehoboth Beach has suspended all public commission and committee meetings until further notice. Rehoboth also announced all permitted special events are canceled through April.

Commissioners will hold a meeting at 3 p.m., Friday, March 20, with a condensed agenda to vote on the FY2020-21 budget. This meeting will not be open to the public but is available to livestream at cityofrehoboth.civicweb.net/Portal/. For more information, contact the Communications Department at 302-227-6181 Ext. 522 or communications@cityofrehoboth.com.