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On the heels of the appointment May 9 of a new member of the Dewey Beach Planning & Zoning Commission, town Commissioner Claire Walsh wants to discuss establishing requirements that town council members be provided with information regarding proposed committee and commission members well in advance of their nominations.
“We are placing the future of Dewey Beach in the hands of the people who serve on its committees. The council must be provided with information regarding nominees before they have to make a decision,” Walsh said.
It was nearly four hours into the May 9 council meeting when Mayor Dell Tush nominated Gary Mauler of Jessup, Md., to fill the planning commission seat being vacated by Carolann Dryer, whose term was to end May 15. Dryer said she would comply with whatever the mayor decided regarding whether she should retain or vacate her seat.
Walsh said she had not been informed before the meeting that a new member was going to be nominated and asked Tush how Mauler became aware of the opening on the commission. Walsh expressed incredulity when the mayor said it was her understanding he learned the seat was open by seeing the town council meeting agenda on the internet.
No one said they knew the nominee, except Tush, who presented an email from him that she had received the night before.
Resident disappointed
Lifelong Dewey resident George Metz had requested reappointment to the board, but at the Feb. 9 meeting, Tush instead nominated Chuck McKinney, a Salisbury resident whose family has owned the Pier Point Marina for decades.
McKinney’s appointment was confirmed after town commissioners agreed to consider adding two seats to the planning and zoning commission to permit Metz and another local resident, T.J. Redefer, to become members. That option was rejected at the March town council meeting.
“I was hoping George Metz would be put back on the commission,” said planning and zoning Chairman Harry Wilson upon hearing of Mauler’s appointment. “What can I say? It’s the mayor’s choice.”
Metz, a lifetime member of the Dewey Beach community, said he is disappointed but not surprised about the mayor’s action.
“I knew it wasn’t going to happen,” Metz said. “The decision was allowed under the Dewey Beach charter and code. It is what it is. But if people disagree with this process it might be a good point for referendum.”
“As the commission continues to face the difficult task of creating a comprehensive zoning code, I thought the town would want members to be people who actually live and work in Dewey,” Metz said. “As far as I know Mauler does neither.”
But Tush said she was very impressed with Mauler’s qualifications. “It often helps to bring in new blood,” she told attendees at the May 9 meeting.
“It is hard seeing the town you know and love being taken over by people who recently moved here,” Metz said.
Cooke abstains
Issues regarding the appointment process have also come to a head for Commissioner Dale Cooke. “We shouldn’t be doing it this way,” Cooke said when the mayor offered Mauler as her nominee. “You just said you don’t know him.”
“But I can read,” Tush responded, referring to Mauler’s email. Cooke asked that Tush delay the nomination, but his plea was refused. Commissioner Diane Hanson moved for Mauler’s appointment, saying it sounded like he had good qualifications. Rich Hanewinckel seconded, saying Dryer needed a break. Tush gave the third vote, awarding Mauler the seat.
Walsh voted against the appointment and Cooke abstained, saying he refused to vote for or against someone he know nothing about.
Not a new problem
Cooke said the refusal of mayors to give town commissioners sufficient information to permit them to make an informed choice regarding proposed committee and planning and zoning members is a longstanding problem spanning through the terms of Dewey’s last two mayors.
But Tush said town council is normally given time to review the qualifications of nominees.
“The charter says the mayor nominates,” Tush said. “The information (about Mauler) came in late the night before. There was no opportunity to present it to the commissioners earlier.”
The charter also says the mayor’s appointment is subject to the confirmation by a majority of the town commissioners.
“The commissioners need to know the backgrounds of people being considered as nominees well in advance of the vote so we can truly consider the candidates,” Cooke said. “The commissioners are not given sufficient time to consider the qualifications of prospective nominees.”
Walsh said she does not challenge the mayor’s power to make the nomination and would have no problem with the process if it did not require her to vote to confirm that nomination. “It is incumbent upon the mayor and others to make sure the people who are expected to vote on any issue are fully informed before the vote is taken,” Walsh said.
The next meeting of the town council is set for 6 p.m. Friday, June 13. The next meeting of the planning and zoning commission is set for 6 p.m., Friday, June 6. Both will be held at the Dewey Beach Lifesaving Station at 1 Dagsworthy St.
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