Over the past several years, Mayor Sam Cooper has led continuing efforts to ensure the livability of Rehoboth Beach, with its legendary character and human scale. This is important in light of other seaside communities up and down the East Coast that have struggled with or lost control of development, including the introduction of high-rise structures along the beach.
Mayor Cooper has also given us the spectacular streetscape renewal of Rehoboth Avenue, a new Lake Gerar bridge, a new Boardwalk, a restored Grove Park, and a badly needed new municipal complex, among other worthy projects. Mayor Cooper has accomplished all of this with a conservative fiscal approach, leaving us property owners with a great sense of direction and stability as well as ridiculously low property taxes.
On the other hand, Paul Kuhns, in his role as a city commissioner, is perhaps best known for his outlandish proposal for a new City Hall together with a new and expanded convention center and expensive parking garage, all right around the time of the national economic downturn. Fortunately, the commissioners heard the concerns of the citizens of Rehoboth Beach in their public meetings.
Citizens emphasized that a parking garage would only bring more cars into an already congested downtown, and that the city should not try to compete with Ocean City for convention business, which would also bring many more cars and huge trucks in and out of the city. The commissioners listened to the public input and wisely decided not to proceed with Commissioner Kuhns' plan.
Had his plan gone into effect, it would have drowned the city in debt far into the future, perhaps jeopardizing or eliminating the possibility of some of the great projects Mayor Cooper has been able to complete.
We must stay the course. Vote for Mayor Sam Cooper Aug. 12.
Douglas Popham
Rehoboth Beach