No separation agreement reached in Dewey
After an executive session that lasted more than 90 minutes, Dewey Beach commissioners agreed Oct. 7 to allow the town’s attorney to work toward a separation agreement with Town Manager Marc Appelbaum.
Dewey Beach Mayor TJ Redefer said the town is near a resolution, and it’s time to take the discussion to the next level. He said a letter from Appelbaum’s attorney sparked the discussion.
Prior to adjourning for the executive session, Redefer said he expected the executive session to last half an hour. After the meeting, Redefer said the executive session took so long because the conversation went in many different directions and took much longer than expected. He declined to comment on those directions.
Dewey town council has its regularly scheduled meeting set for 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 14, in the Dewey Beach Life Saving Station. Redefer said he was optimistic a separation agreement would be in place to discuss and vote on during the meeting.
The meeting marked the first time Dewey commissioners had a chance to comment publicly on the 112-page investigative report done by attorney Max Walton.
In his first meeting as mayor, Redefer said the report is woefully incomplete, and it takes liberties the town didn’t ask Walton to take. He declined to comment on specifics.
Commissioner Gary Persinger said he was concerned a thorough discussion about the report has not taken place. The town is on track now to enter into the agreement with the town manager, but, he said, there also has to be a discussion about the content of the report.
Commissioner Courtney Riordan said he understood the investigator was given an almost impossible task, but he said there were a lot of issues raised about witnesses not pursued and the report not getting past the he-said, she-said nature of the complaints.
Attorney William Pepper, who didn’t say anything during the open portion of the meeting, will be representing the town during the negotiations with Appelbaum. He is taking the place of Noel Primos, a former attorney for the town who in April was appointed as a Delaware Superior Court judge in Kent County by Gov. John Carney. Pepper is a partner at Dover-based Schmittinger & Rodriguez.
