I want to thank Sen. Ernie Lopez for organizing a meeting Saturday, March 2, on Ruddertowne. He is bringing county and state agencies to Dewey Beach to brief citizens on the roles of their agencies in overseeing one of the most important projects ever to be built in Dewey Beach. I hope all interested citizens can attend.

The Ruddertowne project has been the subject of much controversy and many citizens are still unhappy with the settlement agreement reached by the town and DBE two town councils ago. As a citizen I spoke out against the project. 
As a commissioner now, and with litigation still pending, I can't comment as I might like to on that agreement or what that council did. But I take seriously the obligation of this council to make sure that the terms of the agreement are met and all applicable building and zoning codes are met.

I think we have a duty to do our job as transparently as possible so that citizens are reassured that we are protecting the town. The town manager asked to be the point person on this project independent of council direction. I can only urge that he makes every effort to share as much information as possible so that citizens can be reassured their interests are protected.

The building is being built. I believe that at this point a quality project at Ruddertowne is in everyone's interest and I encourage people to attend the meeting and get their questions answered.

Joy Howell, MBA, MPA
managing partner, Cambridge Strategic Partners, Washington, D.C.
commissioner, Dewey Beach