Dewey Beach attorney Glenn Mandalas resigns

The search for a new town attorney has begun in Dewey Beach.  In a Nov. 10 letter to commissioners, former Town Attorney Glenn Mandalas resigned from the position.

Mandalas said in an email he was having difficulty serving Dewey Beach along with his other municipal clients. Mandalas, who is a partner of Dover law firm Baird Mandalas LLC, is also town solicitor for Rehoboth Beach and city solicitor for Lewes.

“Since Dewey Beach is examining its entire legal services structure anyway, this seemed like the logical time to resign,” he said.

At an Oct. 1 town council meeting, Commissioner Joy Howell was appointed to evaluate the town’s legal services and the cost associated with the service.  At the meeting, Mandalas said he would not participate in an effort to issue a request for quotation for legal services.  “I take that as a clear showing that you’re dissatisfied with what you have,” he said.

At a Nov. 12 town council meeting, Mayor Diane Hanson announced Mandalas’ resignation.  “His schedule is just so busy that he feels he’s just overextended,” Hanson said.  Commissioner Joy Howell said she intends to begin the search for a new municipal attorney immediately.

Mandalas was not present at the Nov. 12 town council meeting.  In his resignation letter, he agreed to continue serving as town attorney in Dewey Beach until the town hires a replacement.

Howell said interviews would probably begin in the coming weeks.  She said all interviews would be held during open town council meetings, in accordance with Freedom of Information laws.

Howell said town council should hire a law firm in place of Mandalas to cover only municipal issues.  It is too demanding to expect one attorney to represent the town in every situation, she said.

“We need to look at some different ways to approach this,” she said. Dewey Beach would be better protected from lawsuits and the town would operate more efficiently if it were represented by a number of specialized law firms, Howell said.

If the town employed different attorneys that specialized in areas such as ethics law, land use law and municipal law, legal fees would decrease because attorneys would spend fewer hours on research, Howell said.  Dewey Beach is more than $50,000 over budget for its legal fees so far this year.

“It’s better to work with someone who knows the latest interpretation of the law,” Howell said.  “I’d like to save us costs, but also make the town safer.”

The town recently hired an employment attorney to negotiate a settlement with former Town Manager Diana Smith.  Howell said the settlement totaled around $50,000.

Smith sent an Aug. 22 letter to commissioners, requesting termination from her employment because, she said, certain council members micromanaged her official duties.

Mandalas’ split appears less contentious. “I am grateful for the opportunity to have served the Town as its solicitor and wish the town great success and prosperity,” he said.

Howell said, “We wish him well, and we thank him for all his efforts in Dewey Beach.”