Milton looks to upgrade waterfront area

Milton officials are aiming to turn the town into an ecotourism destination. 

Ideas include a waterfront walking trail and improvements to the town’s marina. The first step is to replace or better maintain the rip rap surrounding Memorial Park. 

The town’s parks committee has begun researching grant funding for a potential project, with plans to work with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. 

Councilwoman Randi Meredith, chair of the committee, said the rip rap has been tumbling into the water and needs to be replaced or maintained. In some places, the rip rap is completely gone, exposing the black fabric underneath. The plan would be to replace the rip rap from the docks on Chandler Street to the docks on Front Street. 

“All the rocks have tumbled off that fabric,” Meredith said. “It’s not doing what it’s supposed to be doing.”

Public Works Director Greg Wingo told the committee Nov. 29 that the rip rap was put in around 2008, and its deterioration is due to a number of factors including tides, flooding and people throwing the rocks into the water. He said if the committee wants to take on the project, it should look at various alternatives, including rip rap encased in wire. 

“You’re going to constantly have sinking, that’s not going to stop,” Wingo said. “What you want to do is stop it from eating away at the sides. That’s what it's starting to do now.”

Wingo said the committee should also look to state representatives to help with both funding and to get DNREC on board with the project. 

The committee views the project as the first step in making the waterfront an attractive ecotourism destination. The plan is to add a walking trail along the Broadkill River once the wastewater treatment plant on Front Street is demolished and the land is given back to the town. Officials have also discussed plans to dredge the river near the town’s boat slips on Chandler Street, part of a revamping of the marina area that would include expanding the number of boat slips. However, that project is likely years from fruition. 

The committee members elected to table discussion of the rip rap project to research funding and lining up state agencies for help.