At 2 p.m., Jan. 12, the parking situation in downtown Bethany Beach resembled a typical summer day, except folks were clad in winter coats instead of shorts and T-shirts. It was exciting to see so many citizens parking and converging on the entrance of the Bethany Beach Town Hall, with one mission in mind: to learn more about the 20-year deal the mayor and town council are contemplating with foreign-owned US Wind. Once inside, the energy was palpable with a feeling of deep concern and camaraderie. Citizens were very polite and respectful as many entered, looking for seating or a place to stand. This meeting was packed with only standing room available in the back, with easily more than 100 people there.
Mayor Hardiman opened the meeting with a statement that bringing offshore wind turbines off the coast of Delaware was a done deal and that there would be no discussion of the merits or cons of offshore wind turbines and that the meeting was only to discuss the proposed contract between US Wind and the towns of Bethany Beach, South Bethany, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach and Henlopen Acres, as these were the towns whose names were written on the contract, to accept $100,000 per year in exchange for their silence over US Wind offshore wind turbines. To put this amount of money into perspective, as per the Bethany Beach treasurer, $100,000 is less than 1% of the town’s annual budget, so a pretty small amount. In contrast, many homes in Bethany Beach are projected to lose $100,000 each in property value if wind turbines are built offshore! And in exchange for paving the ocean floor in concrete, as each wind turbine tower requires an acre of concrete at its base on the ocean floor, Delaware residents can expect to save $9 per year ... $9 per year!
When council was directly asked as to how it was leaning, the mayor refused to answer the question, saying only they were not voting on the issue that day. But if I had to judge by the softball questions the council members inquired of their featured speaker from US Wind, you would have your answer about which way they are leaning.
If you would like to learn more about the 20-year contract that US Wind is proposing to make with Bethany Beach, then I suggest you research it yourself, and plan to be at the next Bethany Beach town hall before they vote on this very important issue that will affect Bethany Beach for no less than 20 years, and more if offshore wind turbines are allowed off the coast of Delaware!
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