New Dewey town hall work showing good results

The construction of the new Dewey Beach Town Hall is moving along, with Phase 1 expected to be completed this September.

“The contractors and Costello have been very good with what they’re doing so far,” said Town Manager Bill Zolper during a tour of the facility Jan. 14. “They’re doing a good job.”

The facility, located at 1505 Coastal Hwy., will be a Risk Category IV structure, which is the highest category structure under the International Building Code. It has been designed to sustain catastrophic conditions and winds up to 127 mph, with walls and a foundation made of cement and steel.

It will feature controlled-access doors, bulletproof glass windows, and other state-of-the-art safety and security measures.

Much of the first floor will house the police department. There are multiple cinder block holding cells that will each contain a toilet, sink and drain, as opposed to the current facility, which has only one holding cell where multiple detainees may be handcuffed to the same bench.

There will also be a shower near the cells, in case any detainees need to be decontaminated.

Juvenile detainees will be brought to a different area of the building, as the law requires them to be kept separate from adults in custody.

The police will also have a locker room and storage area, which Zolper said will be especially useful in the summer, when the seasonal police officers are there.

On the second floor, there will be upgraded meeting and office spaces for town officials and administration, including the alderman court and other town staff. This includes a large room that will be used for town council and committee meetings, replacing the current meeting space at the town lifesaving station.

There is also a second-floor balcony connected to the meeting room.

The third floor will be used for storage.

Overall, the building is very spacious compared to the current one, which is cramped and outdated.

Costello Construction, the town’s contractor for the project, broke ground on Phase 1 in late April. This phase, which is estimated to take 430 days, includes constructing the town hall and police department portions of the new facility.

Phase 2, estimated to take 170 days, includes moving operations to the new building, demolishing the existing town hall and constructing an emergency medical services quarters. It will commence upon completion of Phase 1.

Funding for the project comes from various sources, including state and county grants, town capital improvement and unassigned funds, a loan and donations.