Cape Gazette – Oct. 7, 2011

DEWEY BEACH — Legal costs in Dewey Beach are a high-dollar budget item, prompting town officials to take steps to get legal fees under control.

Dewey Beach faces a series of developer lawsuits that have not been dismissed as well as property owner and ethics complaints. Regular legal fees and lawsuit-related legal fees have increased nearly $25,000 from this time last year.

At an Oct. 1 town council meeting, commissioners voted to streamline communication with the town attorney and began assessing the town’s legal services. Read More »

Cape Gazette – Oct. 19, 2011
DEWEY BEACH — Dewey Beach officials are implementing an official process to review the town’s comprehensive plan. At an Oct. 15 Planning Commission meeting, officials reviewed the plan to determine which goals have yet to be reached and which goals have been accomplished since the plan was adopted June 29, 2007.

The plan was approved by the Office of State Planning Coordination one month after it was adopted by town council. According to state law, municipalities are required to submit an annual report on progress toward achieving the comprehensive plan to the Office of State Planning Coordination. No changes would be made to the plan during the review, officials said. Read More »

The following is an article from Delmarva Now:

DEWEY BEACH — This month’s heavy rains have provided a test run for the recently completed Bayard Avenue flood remediation project, and the new water drainage system has stood up to the task so far.
“We can honestly say it works better than we expected,” said Richard Judge, chairman of Dewey Beach’s Infrastructure Committee.

Judge said there aren’t even puddles in the low-lying area that have been plagued with rising waters during heavy rains since the founding of Dewey Beach. He called the project a complete fix, as opposed to “just a Band-Aid.”

June Bush has seen a considerable improvement since the project’s completion, she said. She lives on nearby Salisbury Street, and grew up in the area.

“The street looks beautiful,” she said.

The flood remediation work was the largest infrastructure project the town has taken on since its founding. Contractor Mumford and Miller and engineer Mike Cotton completed the work earlier this summer.

A piece of road spanning about 1,800 feet was raised four to seven inches to enable the installation of new, larger storm drains on the road’s shoulders.

The old ones were allowing stormwater to infiltrate the system instead of sending it into the bay. Sometimes, the road would flood during high tide.

“It’s so low there that in the past, during heavy rains, there would be a double flood threat during high tide,” Judge said.

Two large velocity pumps were installed in the area and are activated if the water exceeds drainage capabilities and needs to be pumped back into the bay.

The project cost about $920,000, $7,000 under its estimated cost, according to Judge. The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control approved a low-interest loan to fund the project, but the town ended up paying for about half the project, Judge said.

Mayor Diane Hanson said the Infrastructure Committee did an excellent job with the flood remediation work, and she thinks the town is at a time in its history when it needs to take a look at more infrastructure-related strategic planning.

“We need to see what needs to get done and where our priorities are,” Hanson said.

Source: (Reuters) – Mandatory evacuation and travel restrictions were lifted in Delaware on Sunday as the coastal state dodged the worst of Hurricane Irene.
Businesses began to reopen and residents emerged to survey what the storm, which hit early on Sunday, left behind.
“Not even a broken window,” said Wendy Carr, 52, owner of the Two Seas restaurant in Dewey Beach.
Carr said she was exhausted after a day of filling sandbags and a sleepless night on flood watch. She said she had exchanged dozens of text messages with local residents, seeking damage reports.
Read More »