Fenwick Island
Delaware

Message From the Mayor

MESSAGE FROM THE MAYOR JULY 2024

 “Life is like a maze of doors

And they all open from the side you are on

Just keep pushing hard…

You are going to wind up where you started from.”

Lyrics from “Sitting” by Cat Stevens

Summer has arrived and here we are on the eve of the 4^th of July!   Happy birthday USA!  

Do not forget to attend our great family events to celebrate the summer season, including the Annual Fenwick Island Town Bonfire to support the Fenwick Island Beach Patrol on July 6^th at Bayard Street beginning at 7 p.m.  Come and put your bid on silent auction items to support our guards who keep us all safe. 

COMING EVENTS HOSTED BY THE BEACH COMMITTEE: 

FENWICK FLICKS PRESENTS “THE LITTLE MERMAID (2023 VERSION)” ON JULY 19^TH 8 PM AT BAYARD STREET

FENWICK FLICKS PRESENTS “FINDING NEMO” ON AUGUST 16^TH 8 PM AT BAYARD STREET

Figure 1-Fenwick Flicks from June showing of “Luca”

DREDGING COMMITTEE REPORT:  

We have some exciting news on the dredging front.   The Dredging Committee, chaired by Bill Rymer, completed two rounds of a public bidding/RFP process to select an independent contractor to perform the hydraulic dredging work.  In the initial RFP process, the town received six bids; however, all the bids significantly exceeded the project costs estimated by our engineering consultants.  The committee made some design changes to the project specifications and kicked off a second round of bidding in the hopes of reducing costs. Three bids were received during this second round and all these reflected reduced pricing. 

While the RFP/bidding process was occurring, the committee also searched for additional external funding options to help offset these increased costs.   Chair Bill Rymer made two presentations to the Sussex County Council and we are extremely grateful to the entire Sussex County Council for voting unanimously to provide Fenwick Island $800,000 in new grant funds.

In total, the town has now raised $1.8 million ($1 million from the state of Delaware and $800,000 from Sussex County) to help offset the costs of the dredging project.  In addition, it appears that the Town has been awarded a separate grant of funding for the placement of navigational aids in the channels that we will be dredging.   The funding received was because of the direct support from Representative Ron Gray, Senator Gerald Hocker and the entire Sussex County Council and the Town is eternally grateful to all for helping make our project financially achievable. 

Based on the revised bids and significant external funding obtained, the Town Council unanimously approved the selection of an independent contractor (winning bidder) and will dredge to the originally engineered depth.  In addition, the Town has entered into a Land Access Agreement to allow the placement of the dredge materials. 

What does this mean?   The answer is that we hope to be able to kick off the site prep work and begin dredging after September 3rd with the goal of completing all dredging activities by December 31.

TREASURER’S REPORT:

Through the ten months ending April 30, 2024, the town reported revenues that exceeded the full year’s budget ($2.5 million) by $123,000 and overall expenses have been consistent with expectations.  RTT (Realty Transfer Tax) revenues total $590,000 for that same ten-month period as compared to the annual budget of only $225,000.  We expect both operating and RTT revenues will continue to grow and exceed the annual budgets by even larger amounts while expenses are anticipated to remain in line or slightly below the annual budget.  The town remains in an extremely strong financial position with overall cash on-hand totaling $4.9 million as of May 31, 2024. 

BUDGET AND FINANCE COMMITTEE REPORT: 

The Town Council recently approved the FY25 Budget.  There are no property tax increases in the FY25 Budget. Consistent with recent annual budgets, the town continues to project the need to utilize cash reserves to offset the fact that forecasted expenses exceed projected revenues.  These cash reserves come from the significant RTT funds that have accumulated over the last few years due to the strong real estate market.

The FY25 Budget projects having $2.35 million of general cash reserves on-hand as of July 31, 2025, which is approximately $1 million more than the town’s goal of maintaining six months of operating expenses available at all times.  In addition, the FY25 budget reflects an overall improvement in operating results (lower projected operating loss) when compared to the FY24 budget.  This is the result of the increased projected revenues ($2.63 million) more than offsetting increases in operating expenses. 

Total operating expenses are now projected to be $2.75 million for the next fiscal year.  It is important to understand that more than 72% of overall expenses directly relate to payroll and benefits (including a 28% increase in health care costs charged by the State system).  The cost of maintaining fully staffed police and lifeguard departments makes up more than 50% of the town’s total operating budget.  Both of those areas have experienced significant market pressure on salaries and wages; however, it is critical to the overall safety of our homeowners, residents and visitors that the town maintains well trained and experienced police officers and lifeguards. 

The largest single usage of cash ($2.1 million) included in the FY25 Budget relates to the upcoming dredging project.  Most of these funds will come from the $1.8 million dollars of external grants that the town has been awarded to support this project. 

Overall, the Town Council voted unanimously to accept the FY25 Budget as proposed by the Budget and Finance Committee.

UPDATE ON US WIND PROJECT: 

BOEM continues to move forward with the permitting process.  If the permit is granted, the view from the beach at 84^th Street in OC at dawn will be as set forth below (from BOEM’s site):

DNREC is hosting a Joint Permitting Hearing on July 9, 2024, at 6:00 p.m. and is accepting public comments through September 9, 2024.   This hearing is about allowing the cables to land on 3R’s beach and to travel over wetland.  To comment verbally at the July 9^th hearing, you must be registered.   For more information on how to do so, please go to:  dnrec.delaware.gov/events/dnrec-joint-permitting-hearing-us-wind-project/

Connection Information:  For audio-only, please dial-in at 1-312-626-6799 and use Meeting ID 852 8022 4539 and Passcode 606091.

Written comments will be accepted through September 9^th via email:   DNRECHearingComments@delaware.gov   

We encourage everyone to participate in the DNREC hearing and make formal written comments. 

Fenwick has aligned with Ocean City, Maryland and requesting complete and unbiased answers to three major categories of concern:

1. What will these wind farms truly do to our marine environment?
2. What is the true economic cost/loss in tourism and property values projected? 
3. How will these wind farms impact our military coastline security when the platforms are owned by foreign entities just 20 miles off our coast and impede radar and sonar capabilities? 

If you wish further information, please attend the Environmental Committee meetings and find out ways you can get involved. 

SYMPOSIUM ON DARK SKY INITIATIVES AND GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE on JULY 25^TH FROM 8:30-11:30 at Town Hall:

Come spend the morning with us, grab a bagel and a cup of coffee while taking the opportunity to learn about Dark Sky initiatives and green infrastructure.    Hosted by the Residential Concerns Committee.   

ROUTE 54 BRIDGE REPLACEMENT PROJECT UPDATES: DelDOT announced plans regarding the design of the Route 54 bridge replacement.  Construction will be staged over a two-year period and was supposed to begin in the fall of 2025; however, construction has been delayed until the fall of 2026.  The bridge is expected to remain open throughout construction. For more detailed information, please go to:  https://deldot.gov/projects/index.shtml?dc=details&projectNumber=T202007303

FENWICK ISLAND BEACH PATROL UPDATES:  The Fenwick Island Beach Patrol offers a Junior Lifeguard program, including an Advanced Lifeguard program.  If interested, please find information about eligibility, dates and registration at https://fenwickisland.delaware.gov/junior-lifeguards/ 

The Fenwick Island Beach Patrol provides access to the beach with a vehicle used to transport people with disabilities, injuries, the elderly and other special circumstances. This service is provided between 10:30 AM – 3:00 PM and to utilize this service, you may call the beach patrol phone at 302-462-6942.  In addition, the Beach Patrol has 3 beach wheelchairs available and you may call the beach patrol number or Town Hall at 302-539-3011 to reserve. 

INFRASTRUCTURE UPDATE: 

Re-paving and striping have been completed on Dagsboro and Schulz Streets in keeping with our ten-year fully funded street repairs schedule.        

FLOODING/SEA LEVEL RISE

Our Infrastructure Committee, chaired by Richard Benn, received great news about the FEMA BRIC grant request we filed this winter.   FEMA has indicated that our request passed all the final checks and review processes by FEMA and we have been told that this designation is a “soft approval.” We will wait for definitive approval; however, if FEMA awards the grant as is now expected, we will be able to move forward with securing engineering recommendations for upgrades and infrastructure improvements to further respond to the sea level rise/flooding that we have been experiencing.  The projected cost of this design project is between $250,000 and $500,000 and the FEMA grant would pay for most of the cost (Town would be responsible for 20%).  

We hope the design project will answer the following questions:  Will we need to begin to raise bulkheads; if so, how high and over what period of time?  Will we need to discontinue boat ramps; if so, over what period of time?  Will we need to create berms; if so, where, how high and what material?  If we create a higher uniform sea wall throughout town with bulkheads and berms, how will we disburse trapped water during storm events?  Will we need pumps; if so, where and what type?  Can we create a resiliency plan that will comply with DNREC rules and regulations given our storm water runs into the bay?   How much will the work that is necessary cost?   How should we phase the projects?   What code changes may we need to effectuate a plan that provides resiliency against the tidal surges and storm events that we are experiencing? This project would give us the blueprint for what to do and the timeline for how we can best combat the flooding we are experiencing now and in the future. 

The Town has also hired Straughan Environmental to begin the Resiliency Planning Prep project.   This project will compile and create an accurate mapping and collection of GIS data relating to our stormwater management and flood protection infrastructure.  These materials will be needed for our engineer design project and we hope to have this material completed by September 2024.

We have our work cut out for us as we address the resiliency issues in Town; however, our community is not alone in having to address these concerns.  The good news is that we appear to be first in line and working hard to secure grant funding.   A big thank you to Susan Brennan, Chair of the Planning Commission and member of the Infrastructure Committee, who worked hard to connect Fenwick to the University of Delaware grant writing team and the other members of the Infrastructure Committee (Richard Benn (Chair), Tim Bergin, Ed Bishop, Larry Bortner, Tim Leahy, Jon Miller, Jay Ryan, Nuvan Seneviratne, Geri Verlaque, and Jack Armstrong) who worked almost around the clock to secure the Request for Bids from the engineering companies to file for the grant.

Pencil in August 30^th on your calendar and plan to attend a presentation about our resiliency plans presented by the Infrastructure Committee.  More details will be coming!       

PLANNING COMMISSION: It’s official!   Our 2024 Comprehensive Plan was signed by the Governor and now is in effect.   The Planning Commission is monitoring implementation of the identified goals and recently reported that almost 70% of the identifiable goals for the Town are being addressed by the Town’s committees.  Thank you to Chair Susan Brennan and the Planning Commission members who participated in completing this multi-year project.  The State was impressed with the product, particularly the implementation matrix that we put into effect so that the plan remains a compass for the Town for the next ten years. 

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY UPDATE:   The Town completed the median beautification project as envisioned by the 2024 Comprehensive Plan.  The medians were re-worked to create a clean and organized plan for median plantings and Chief Morrissey undertook a complete signage assessment and had additional signage placed as we were permitted by DelDOT.  In keeping with the national trend of “Complete Streets,” the planting of flowering trees and well-managed medians has the effect of providing a visual reminder to drivers to slow down and watch for others as they travel through Fenwick. Thank you to Lisa Ryan who jumpstarted the project by working with East Coast Nursery to create the plans.

The Fenwick Island Police Department are emphasizing pedestrian and bicycle safety.  Bicycle patrols have begun and will supplement the officers who are actively on the road enforcing speed and other safety laws.  

In addition, our bicycle parking officer has started working to enforce parking rules.

Please drive safely, stop for pedestrians who are in the crosswalks and be extra vigilant for pedestrians and bicyclists who share our streets.  Let’s all be leaders in making sure everyone gets home safely! 

IT COMMITTEE UPDATES:    The Town’s new website is now up and running.  Our website was last updated in 2012 and we hope the fresh look makes the website easier to utilize.   We are also working on creating a document management system which will store our records electronically and make it easier for everyone to work with the Town’s records as well as integrate with our website.  More to come.

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMITTEE UPDATE: The new Monarch Pollinator Garden is in full bloom (please check it out at the north end of Bunting).  Also, the Environmental Committee is taking the lead on keeping up with the latest on the windfarms.   Check out the Town’s websites for the latest news.   

NATURAL MOSQUITO REPELLENT PLANTS: Thank you to Deb Cowell who is our resident green infrastructure advocate who provided us with a list of plants that can help repel mosquitos.  

2024 TOWN COUNCIL ELECTION:

The election will be held on August 3, 2024 between 1-5 p.m. at Town Hall.  

If your property is held in title by an artificial entity please update your Power of Special Attorney.  Also, contact Town Hall if you are in need of an Absentee Ballot. 

Four candidates have filed for three open positions.  

The candidates are:

Richard Benn

Susan Brennan

William Rymer

James Simpson

Have a great July!  

Please feel free to reach out to any Town Council member if you have any questions or concerns. 

Regards,

Natalie Magdeburger

Mayor/President of Fenwick Island Town Council

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