News Briefs 04/20/18

Wolfe Runne residents vote for Sussex sewer
Residents of Wolfe Runne off Gills Neck Road, Lewes, have voted to vacate their on-site septic systems and connect to Sussex County's central sewer system. County engineer Hans Medlarz said the community is an island surrounded by other communities served by the county, including adjacent Wolfe Pointe. He said 81 percent of the 80 households voted in favor of the proposal. He said the engineering department will now seek funding through the state revolving fund for the project.

Rehoboth board to meet April 20
The Rehoboth Beach commissioners will meet at 7 p.m., Friday, April 20, in the city commissioners' room to discuss possible action on settlement agreements on two legal cases related to the city's 2015 pool ordinance. The commissioners are considering settlements in the cases of E&R Enterprises and DePasquale vs the city of Rehoboth. The cases are related to the city not allowing the two entities to build pools even though they had submitted plans prior to the pool ordinance going into effect. This agenda topic may include an executive session. Richard Perry, one of the principals in the E&R case, said he could not comment on the potential settlement.

The commissioners will hold a permit of compliance hearing for Cuvée Ray, 236 Rehoboth Ave., to operate a new restaurant with a patio. The permit has been requested by Ray Kurz, owner of the restaurant. In new business, the commissioners will consider the appointments of Stephen Sheffer and Lisa Schlosser to the Bandstand/Convention Hall/Special Events Committee and Cheryl Crowe to the Animal Issues Committee. The commissioners will discuss and possibly vote on placing rental licenses online, as well as hold discussion on feeding wild animals.

Rehoboth advisory committee to meet
The Rehoboth Beach Mayor's Advisory Committee on Trees will meet at 9 a.m., Friday, April 20, in the city commissioners room. The committee will discuss its mission statement, a commemorative tree program and Arbor Day.

Rehoboth board to hold special meetings
The Rehoboth Beach commissioners will hold two special meetings Friday, April 20, in the city commissioners' room. The first meeting will be held at 2 p.m. and will include legal discussion of the ongoing appeal suit involving the BeachWalk development project. This meeting will likely include an executive session. At 6:30 p.m., the commissioners will hold a special meeting to discuss evaluation of the city manager's performance for the fiscal year 2017-18. This meeting also may include an executive session.

Rehoboth board to meet April 23
The Rehoboth Beach Board of Adjustment will meet at 7 p.m., Monday, April 23, in the city commissioners' room, to continue a variance hearing and hold an appeal hearing. First, the board will continue a special exception and variance request for 104 Norfolk St. Owner John Plummer is seeking to increase the vertical and horizontal direction of the structural area of an existing nonconforming porte cochere and patio paving area and to exceed structural coverage by 489 square feet. Second, the board will hear an appeal of a building inspector's decision to deny a building permit to construct a pool at 217 Philadelphia St. for failing to comply with the city's pool ordinance. The appeal has been requested by attorney Vince Robertson on behalf of owner Anthony Zacchei.

Briggs King organizing Georgetown cleanup
State Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, is sponsoring a Community Cleanup Saturday, April 21, in Georgetown in coordination with DelDOT with a group of volunteers to help pick up trash along a portion of Savannah Road. Volunteers of all ages are asked to meet at 9 a.m. at Primeros Pasos Early Childhood Learning Center, 20648 Savannah Road, Georgetown. DelDOT is providing volunteers with safety vests, gloves, and trash bags, and law enforcement will be on hand to provide traffic control. For more information contact 302-744-4251.

Milton Sustainability Committee to meet April 24
Milton Sustainability Committee monthly meeting will be held Tuesday, April 24, at 5:30 p.m. in Milton Public Library. Agenda topics include upcoming guest speakers, composting update and discussion of native plant seed project. Contact: M. Coffaro, email asunta10@comcast.net. The public is welcome to attend.

Contractor chosen for Dewey dune crossings
During its April 214 meeting, Dewey town council voted in favor of vendor AccessRec to provide dune crossing mats for 17 streets in Dewey. The New Jersey-based company, who installed the mat at the life saving station's dune crossing last summer, came in with a low bid of $98,350. The town has about half the project funded – $35,000 from the town and $20,000 in donations. As part of the approval, commissioners agreed no money would be spent until all funding was secure.

Commissioners also tasked Town Manager Scott Koenig with trying to explore grant opportunities. The town is still accepting donations from businesses or individuals. For more information on donating go to www.townofdeweybeach.com or call town hall at 302-227-6363.

Sussex Dems Spring Dinner set April 28
The Sussex Democrat Committee Spring Dinner will be held at 6 p.m., Saturday, April 28, at the CHEER Center in Georgetown. Author Sarah McBride is the keynote speaker. Wilmington native McBride has been involved in politics and progressive advocacy for more than a decade. She co-founded a statewide high school young Democrats organization and worked for the campaigns of Gov. Jack Markell and Attorney General Beau Biden. During her sophomore year of college, McBride was elected student body president at American University. She also interned for President Barack Obama. Tickets, $60, are available at www.eventbrite.com; search for Sussex County Democratic Committee Annual Spring Dinner. Each RD chair also has tickets available, or send a check to: Sussex County Democratic Committee, P.O. Box 944, Georgetown, DE 19947. For details email vhayes_deldem@aol.com or call 302-727-0359.

Two Lewes-area projects under review
Two projects in the Cape Region are included on the April Office of State Planning Coordination Preliminary Land Use Service agenda. Route 24 CJ LLC Property has submitted plans for an 82,300-square-foot hotel on a 3.6-acre parcel on the northwest side of Route 24 across from the Beebe Healthcare complex. Owner of the property is Christian Hudson.

Showfield Lewes has submitted plans for a subdivision with 129 single-family lots on an 81-acre parcel on the southeast side of Freeman Highway and the south side of Gills Neck Road in Lewes city limits. The conceptual site plan for the proposed project shows connection to the phase of Showfield housing already under construction. The plan includes two sections of development split in half by a pond. The east section along Gills Neck Road would contain 43 lots, and the west section bordering Freeman Highway would contain 86 lots. The parcel is zoned R-2, residential low density. The owner is Showfield LLC.