News Briefs 02-28-17

P&Z recommends Dollar General approval
The Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended at its Feb. 23 meeting that county council approve a rezoning application from AR-1, agricultural-residential, to CR-1, commercial-residential, for a Dollar General store on a 3-acre parcel near the intersection of Route 9 and Fisher Road between Lewes and Milton. County council's public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 14, in the county administration building, 2 The Circle, Georgetown.

Stockley Materials gets second P&Z nod
At its Feb. 23 meeting, Sussex County Planning and Zoning Commission recommended that county council approve a conditional-use application filed by Stockley Materials LLC for a commercial landscaping material sales and storage facility on the south side of Route 9 on a 1.7-acre parcel in Belltown. The company would move from its present location not far from the proposed location.

The application was previously approved by county council last September, but when the final title search was done, there was a minor property line issue. Mark Davidson, principal land planner with Pennoni Associates in Milton, said .12 of an acre was not included on the final site plan as approved by county officials. "We need to bring in that small portion of land and will meet all conditions from planning and zoning and county council," he said.

County council's public hearing is scheduled for 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 11, in the county administration building, 2 The Circle, Georgetown.

Hansen wins special election for district 10
Democrat Stephanie Hansen defeated Republican John Marino and Libertarian Joseph Lanzendorfer in a Feb. 25 special election for Senatorial District 10, which represents western New Castle County from Middletown north to just south of Newark. According to the Department of Elections, Hansen won with a little more than 58 percent of the vote. Marino received nearly 41 percent, while Lanzendorfer mustered a tick above 1 percent. The seat has been vacant since Democrat Bethany Hall-Long defeated Republican La Mar Gunn in November's lieutenant governor race. With the win, Democrats remain in control of the Senate and the House.

Lopez, Smyk host governor March 2
Sen. Ernie Lopez, R-Lewes, and Rep. Steve Smyk, R-Milton, will welcome Gov. John Carney to meet with Cape-area residents Thursday, March 2, at 7 p.m., at Lewes Fire Department's Station 2 in Nassau. The topic of this meeting will be the Delaware budget. Delaware law requires the state to present and pass a balanced budget every year. The governor's Budget Reset Community Conversations, which are being held statewide, are designed to gather as many ideas as possible from the public for addressing budget challenges.

"It's time to solve Delaware's budget challenges - we need to stop kicking the can down the road," said Carney. "My team will work with Democrats and Republicans in the General Assembly on a long-term budget solution. But we must also listen to members of the public, and gather ideas from Delawareans who balance budgets every day at home and in their businesses. I look forward to the conversations and encourage all Delawareans to contribute their ideas." People who cannot attend the meeting can still contribute their ideas online at www.governor.delaware.gov/budgetreset. For more information on the coffee, contact Lopez's office at 302-744-4256 or Smyk's office at 302-744-4171.​

Sussex official selected for state post
The president of Sussex County Council is segueing his leadership to the state level for the next year. Council President Michael Vincent of Seaford has been appointed by the Delaware Association of Counties to serve as the group's president for 2017. Vincent, as president, will represent the county governments' association, working closely with fellow county officials, as well as state and federal officials, to represent local governments' interest in matters in Legislative Hall in Dover and Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.

The appointment, Vincent's first as the president of the association, is voluntary and for a term of one year. Members of the Delaware Association of Counties made their selection at the annual meeting in January. Vincent has served on Sussex County Council since 2009, and has been elected president by his fellow members for the past seven years. He will continue in his elected duties as a county council member and as council president.

"I am humbled to have the confidence of my counterparts in New Castle, Kent and Sussex counties," Vincent said. "I look forward to working with them. and our state and federal partners to represent the interests for all our constituents." Like the National Association of Counties, the Delaware Association of Counties is an organization that allows county leaders to network and share ideas, and be a voice for county governments on state and federal legislation that filters down to the local level.

Cape school start times stay unchanged
Start times for Cape Henlopen elementaries for the 2017-18 school year will stay the same after a review to start them earlier. "I couldn't shave any time off," said Transportation Supervisor Lenny Richardson at a Feb. 23 school board meeting.

In October, the school board approved starting the high school and two middle schools at 7:40 a.m. and the elementaries at 8:55 a.m. for the 2017-18 school year. At the time of the vote, board Vice President Alison Myers also made a motion to move elementary start times earlier than 8:55 a.m., if time could be saved on middle and high school bus routes.

Richardson said he reviewed bus routes, many that have changed because of the addition of the new Love Creek Elementary on Route 24, and he could not find a way to get students to elementary schools for an earlier start time.