Rehoboth discussing committee appointee qualifications

For the second fall in a row, Rehoboth Beach commissioners are trying to figure out who should be allowed to serve as voting members of the city’s committees and commissions.

The discussion began last year, when Mayor Paul Kuhns nominated longtime business owner and former Commissioner Mark Hunker to the planning commission. Commissioner Susan Gay questioned the nomination because Hunker was not a resident or property owner.

Ultimately, Hunker was appointed to the one-year term. However, months later, commissioners changed the wording requirements for potential planning commission members to say they need to be residents, property owners, registered voters or persons eligible to register to vote.

Now, a year later, much of the same discussion is taking place again. During a commissioner meeting Oct. 16, Commissioner Richard Byrne said he thinks city committees should continue to have out-of-town voters. Rehoboth Beach is their city and they are stakeholders, he said.

Byrne is a member of the city’s Environment Committee, which has out-of-town voting members. He said the commissioners need to be careful who serves, but he thinks the out-of-town committee voters offer skills that don’t only exist in city residents.

Similar to last year, Gay said no other local coastal community allows nonresidents or non-property owners on city committees. She said there are roughly 110 residents or property owners who had applied to be on city committees or commissioners.

It’s beyond sad when the city’s own taxpayers were prohibited from being on a committee, with preference given to someone outside the city, said Gay. If the city had to beg for members, it would be one thing, but even then it may not be the right thing to do, she said.

Sworn into office in September, Commissioner Jay Lagree didn’t participate in last year’s discussion, but he said he agrees with Gay.

“I’ve spent some hours going through every application,” said Lagree. “I am astounded at the quality of people who want to serve on our committees.”

In an email Oct. 21, Mills said the city has a committee handbook with committee policies, and he wants the commissioners to consider new or amended policy.

Mills said he wasn’t aware of the current makeup of all the committees. However, he said, he does know the city has received negative feedback from residents and property owners when committees allow nonresident/non-property owner members to serve in a voting capacity.

The comments cite displeasure with the displacement of capable in-town members, said Mills.

Commissioners are slated to resume their discussion on committee appointee qualifications during a workshop Monday, Nov. 9.

Sussex Public House permit of compliance delayed

Prior to the committee and commission appointees discussion, there was a public hearing on a permit of compliance for a new restaurant at 234 Rehoboth Ave.

Property owner Bobby Gulab would like to change the restaurant in the building from G to Sussex Public House, which he said is more in tune with what people coming to Rehoboth Beach are looking for.

As proposed, other than the name and menu, the most significant change is the use of the entertainment space. Gulab said in an effort to maximize space, he would like to have 16 seats and removable dining tables in the entertainment space. Everything else will remain the same, he said.

The problem with the request came during an examination of the calculation of square footage of dining space versus bar space. In a report prepared for the commission, city building inspectors double-counted the entertainment area’s 410 square feet toward dining and bar space. City code says dance floors and entertainment areas should only be counted toward bar space. In the case of the Sussex Public House, if the square footage is only applied to bar space, the ratio is exceeded. City code allows for the bar area to occupy no more than 25 percent of the square footage of the permanent seated dining area.

When the error was pointed out, Gulab said he was hesitant to eliminate the removable dining from the plans or to call the entertainment space dining space, because it’s one of the few dance floors remaining in the city and he was afraid to lose that grandfathered right.

Earlier in the hearing, in an effort to work with the city, Gulab said he was willing to screen trash bins as a condition of approval.

Ultimately, commissioners tasked the city’s building officials with looking over the documents again and finalizing the numbers appropriately. The group had set a special voting meeting for Monday, Nov. 9, but it appears not all the questions had answers because no meeting was formally scheduled.

In an email Nov. 4, Mills said Gulab was reconsidering his restaurant seating layout and did not give the city an OK to proceed. The POC is on hold until the restaurant owner is ready to continue, he said.