Garden poles spark call for ethics review in Lewes

Decorative garden story poles that Art in Bloom wants to place in Lewes in Bloom gardens in city parks are at the center of a call for a ruling by the Lewes Board of Ethics.

Art in Bloom first presented the poles to the Lewes Parks and Recreation Commission in April. The story poles are 4-inches-by-4-inches and range from 3 to 6 feet in height.

Art in Bloom is asking to place them in the children’s garden and pollinator garden in Stango Park. 

The poles would be painted by artists and be interpretive of the park they are being placed in. They would have QR codes to scan for more information about the history of the park, according to Ed Zygmonski, co-chair of Lewes in Bloom and Art in Bloom.

The Lewes Parks and Recreation Commission was expected to discuss and possibly take action on the poles at its July 21 meeting, but interim Chair Kay Carnahan asked that the issue be tabled, pending a possible review by the ethics board.

She said she wants the board to decide if three commissioners with ties to Lewes in Bloom and Art in Bloom should be allowed to discuss and vote on the issue or whether they should recuse.

Carnahan said nobody on the commission has done anything wrong.

“This might seem like the wrong thing to go to the wall with, but it’s not. I think it’s the perfect thing,” Carnahan said. “I want members of the commission who have associations with Art in Bloom and Lewes in Bloom to request a confidential opinion of the board of ethics about their voting on the issue. I want to make sure that everyone who is involved in the discussion and voting, that it’s appropriate for them to do so.”

Commissioner Bill Adelman, who is also a Lewes in Bloom volunteer, said he would not vote on the issue if the commission continued with it at the meeting. But, he stopped short of saying he would recuse himself.

Councilman Tim Ritzert, who serves as the ex officio on the commission, said if Adelman were to recuse himself, he would have to leave the room and not be part of the discussion or vote. 

Commissioner Barry Dunkin asked why the story poles did not first go through the city’s public art committee.

Zygmonski said they were told that, because the poles are considered to be garden art, they did not have to go through that panel. He expressed his frustration at the city’s process.

“It’s extremely confusing in this town to try and figure out what to do and where to do it with respect to art,” Zygmonski said. “It’s extremely odd to me that the public art committee can come to this body, want something in a park, and it gets passed in 30 minutes. We’ve been waiting 90 days, and now we’re going to wait another 30, if not longer. What are you so afraid of about art in this town?”

Art in Bloom placed prototypes of the story poles outside the Delaware Community Foundation at 302 Savannah Road, which is private property, and in the Lewes Community Garden on Park Road, which is on land leased from the city, during the Lewes Garden Tour June 21. Zygmonski said poles will soon be placed in three more private locations.

Sue Sandmeyer, co-chair of Art in Bloom, described the garden story poles as “whimsical, fun things that enhance a garden.”

“At some point we have to have a discussion about what is garden art and what is aesthetic or interpretive types of art,” Sandmeyer said.

According to the city’s website, the board of ethics meets as necessary. Any person can submit a complaint of an alleged violation. In this case, the panel would conduct a preliminary inquiry. If it determines there is no reason for an investigation, then it will terminate the inquiry. 

If the board finds an investigation is needed, it will notify the subject of the investigation and then proceed.

The board of ethics last convened March 25 for an undisclosed matter. It did not proceed with an investigation.

At the July 23 mayor and city council workshop, Mayor Amy Marasco said she and Ritzert are leading a governance committee, which will look at the implications of a commissioner also being a member of a nonprofit and when they should recuse themselves.

She said she has asked City Solicitor Alex Burns and Stephanie Tsantes, chair of the board of ethics, to look at the issue so their committee can provide guidance.

The parks and recreation commission’s next meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m., Monday, Aug. 18, at the Rollins Center.