The following letter was sent to Rehoboth Beach mayor and commissioners with a copy provided to the Cape Gazette for publication.
Thank you for the white bench inscribed with my name in honor of my 100th birthday. It was a nice gesture to honor me as one of the oldest residents in Rehoboth Beach. The bench is behind my house overlooking Lake Gerar in Cranberry Park. Now that I am about to be 102, I would like to request that the overgrown buffer around Lake Gerar be removed so I can have the same view of the lake and wildlife I have enjoyed my entire life. As it is now, this buffer encourages snakes, foxes and ticks carrying disease to encroach on my home. My grandson was bitten by a fox and needed medical attention. Foxes have been in my front and backyards. This buffer was created by Envirotech with the support of commissioners and SOLA3. Since the development of the buffer in 2013, I have been unable to enjoy the lake, which I have done since 1937 when my family moved here.
Problems have been occurring on Lake Gerar since the buffer was developed such as vegetation growing into the lake and green algae floating in the west end. I understand the buffer is located on city property and we do not have riparian rights as is the case on both Silver Lake and Lake Comegys that the state owns. The city adopted a 10-foot buffer on Lake Gerar and Silver Lake, but Silver Lake does not have a 10-foot vegetative buffer as was adopted. Lake Gerar is the only lake of the three in Rehoboth that does. In the past, the vice president of SOLA3 wrote to the city asking it to take out the Silver Lake aerators and fountains, which the city did. Please remove the aerators and buffer in and around Lake Gerar for us. In the past, Lake Gerar was healthy because of the wildlife that visited. There was no need for aerators then because the lake water was constantly churned by the geese, ducks and other wildlife. As the lake is now, the west end is an eyesore because of the overgrowth and the abundance of unhealthy algae. Most of the lake is not visible from the street on the second block of Olive Avenue and parts of First Street.
I have written letters and attended meetings for the past 12 years to no avail. I was hoping for help from commissioners and the city manager. We are paying thousands of tax dollars to Envirotech, for what?
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