Buzz on Bradley house, meters, tunnels, drought and heat
The infamous Bradley property on Savannah Road in Lewes, former home of convicted pedophile and former pediatrician Earl Bradley, continues to deteriorate. The property went to sheriff’s sale last month with no takers. Not many people were interested in bidding on a property the foreclosing bank wouldn’t open for inspection. So, the bank held on.
In recent storms, the heavens dropped several branches into the driveway of the house and onto the roof of its front porch. The driveway branches covered the black VW convertible that lives at the house, and there it sits now buried in the debris. There was a time when the vehicle looked almost brand new. Now it’s neglected like the rest of the property.
Meanwhile, while some vegetation is raining down on the property, other vegetation is climbing the walls of the house, beginning to haul it down as is nature’s usual course when it goes unchecked.
Based on the age of other houses along the street, the house is about a century old. If it goes another year as it is going now, the only option that will be left will be to raze the building as was done with the Bradley offices on Route 1.
Rehoboth meter revenues up
The boomer season that Rehoboth Beach City Manager Greg Ferrese predicted before Memorial Day is under way. “As of July 7 in 2011, we had brought in $922,566 in meter revenues. This year, as of the same date, we’ve brought in $930,691. That means we’re ahead of last year by $8,000, and this is when things really start picking up. We budgeted $2.6 million in meter revenues for this fiscal year and I feel confident we’ll hit it. I think we bring in more meter revenue than Ocean City, Md., or Virginia Beach. Check it out, but I think we have more meters.”
The ParkMobile system also seems to be working well. “Credit card revenues last year were at $138,644. This year we’ve replaced them with the phone app credit card system and that number is up to $146,895,” said Ferrese. “And it’s really starting to pick up. Last year those machines were producing about $2,500 per day. Now it’s up around $4,500 to $5,000 per day.”
Tunnels and holes on the beach
People digging deep tunnels on the beach are an obvious problem when those tunnels come crashing down. A man almost lost his life last week in Rehoboth when the tunnel he was digging collapsed. “Thank the Lord our responders acted quickly,” said Ferrese. “They saved that guy’s life.”
But holes on the beach can also cause other problems. “Our lifeguards have been instructed for years to tell people who dig holes on the beach to fill them back up again before they leave. Our beach cleaners drive out on the beach at three and four in the morning, and we don’t want them hitting holes. When people don’t fill those holes back in, it makes it very difficult for the beach cleaners,” said Ferrese.
Heat and drought
The summer continues to be hot and dry. According to statistics from the Cape Gazette’s weather page, Sussex County continues to be way behind on normal rainfall for the year. As of July 8, Georgetown measurements show 11 inches of rainfall this year compared to the 23.47 average amount as of this time of the year. Also, in the week of July 8, we had a high temperature of 103 and a low of 66. The average high temperature for this time of the year is 86.
In Lewes, the high temperature reached was even higher. Resident Dennis Davison monitored his weather station and watched the digits climb to a record high 106.2. I took a photo of his station readout. “I hope we never see that again,” wrote Davison.
