Agenda

Upcoming news and events for our area towns

Bethany Beach

• The Bethany Beach boardwalk and bandstand will host the 25th annual Bethany Beach Jazz Funeral on Monday, Sept. 6, starting at the north end of the boardwalk about 5 p.m. The event includes a mock funeral process of mourners for the Summer of 2010 and music from a combined group of Dixieland jazz bands. A silent auction is scheduled to take place on Friday, Sept. 3, from 3 to 5 p.m. at Bethany Blues restaurant, with proceeds to benefit local Audubon Society chapters and their efforts to help with wildlife impacts of the BP Gulf Coast oil spill.

• The Bethany Beach Town Council will hold a special meeting/workshop on Monday, Sept. 13, at 10 a.m. at the town hall. The agenda for the meeting includes: a review of the sample homeowner’s manual recommended by the Communications Committee; a discussion regarding town council meeting dates; a review of the sidewalk concepts for Atlantic Avenue; a review of lighting options for Garfield Parkway; a review of committee guidelines; and a discussion of the traffic in the east/west alleys on the east side of Route 1.

• The September Bethany Beach Town Council meeting will be held on Monday, Sept. 20, at 10:30 a.m., after a scheduled 9 a.m. public hearing and 10 a.m. council reorganizational meeting. The meeting was rescheduled from Friday, Sept. 17.

• The Bethany Beach Town Council will hold a public hearing at 9 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 20, at town hall. The purpose of the hearing is to receive comments pertaining to a new and consolidated sign ordinance for the town. The ordinance, which would amend Chapter 425, Article XVII, Board of Adjustments, is aimed to clarify record-keeping for Board of Adjustments hearings and to clarify the responsibilities of variance and special-exception applicants.

• There will be no town council elections in Bethany Beach this year. There were four seats up for election this year, each with a two-year term, and four final candidates, including incumbent Mayor Tony McClenny, incumbent Councilmen Lew Killmer and Jack Gordon and incumbent Councilwoman Margaret Young. The council will hold a meeting at 10 a.m. on Monday, Sept. 20, at town hall, at which council leadership positions, such as mayor, secretary/treasurer and vice-mayor will be voted upon.

• The Town of Bethany Beach recently sent a survey to all Bethany Beach residents regarding flooding and drainage issues in Bethany Beach. The purpose of the survey is to document damages associated with flooding and drainage issues so relative costs and benefits of a proposed flood mitigation project in Bethany Beach can be fairly evaluated by the United States Army Corps of Engineers.

The town is asking all residents of Bethany Beach to fill out the survey. For any questions regarding the questionnaire, contact Gina Tonn at Duffield Associates Inc., at (302) 239-6634. The survey is available online at www.townofbethanybeach.com/forms.aspx?fid=56&admin=1.

• U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman and Rep. Mike Castle recently announced that a little more than $8 million had been made available to help repair Bethany’s and South Bethany’s storm-ravaged beaches. The beach replenishment, which might occur before the start of the new year, will help restore sand and depth to the beaches.

Officials noted that the replenishment will not be a restoration of the previously built dunes (a project that was significantly more expensive) but rather a restoration and replenishment of the beachfront. The town’s Web site at www.townofbethanybeach.com will contain updates on the progress of the project as it moves forward.

• The Bethany Beach Bandstand concert scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 4, has had a change in the performers. The U.S. Army Volunteers will not be performing. Instead, the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors will be featured. The show time is 7:30 p.m. This is the final show of the 2010 concert series.

• “Come Meet the Nature Center,” a 45-minute program introducing the Bethany Beach Nature Center, located on Route 26, features walks through the nature center facilities and its trails and an explanation of its purpose, and will continue throughout the summer, every Monday at 10:15 a.m. The Nature Center is now open seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Youth programs will continue through the summer months, every Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to noon. For volunteer opportunities, questions or information, call the Nature Center at (302) 537-7680.

• The Board of Adjustments of the Town of Bethany Beach will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Sept. 30, at 10 a.m. in the town hall, to consider the application for a variance filed by Earline and R. Franklin Jones, for Block 26, Lot 19, at 608 Sussex Ct., in the R-1 Zoning District, seeking a variance from Section 425 Attachment 3, Appendix 3, Table of Dimensional Requirements for the required minimum 15-foot rear-yard setback for a recently constructed stair, landing and outside shower that encroaches 6 inches into the required yard. The board will also consider modifications to its rules of procedure.

• The Georgetown Shelter – Delaware SPCA is holding a special “Bethany Beach Getaway” raffle to raise money for the shelter and its homeless pets. The package, valued at more than $950, includes a two-night stay at the Addy Sea Bed & Breakfast; gift certificates to Studio 26 Salon & Spa, DiFebo’s restaurant, Bethany Blues restaurant, Harpoon Hanna’s restaurant, The Cafe on 26 Bistro and The Pottery Place; two prints from Carolina Street; and an ocean kayaking adventure. Tickets for the raffle cost $10 each, and the drawing will take place on Oct. 10. For more information, or to purchase raffle tickets, call (302) 541-4478.

• The Bethany Beach Cultural and Historic Affairs Committee is requesting photos of the early years, 1960 or earlier, of Bethany Beach. Those who have photos that can be copied and returned are being asked to contact Gloria Farrar at (302) 539-8011.

• Smoking is banned year-round in Bethany Beach’s town parks, playgrounds and boardwalk bandstand plaza area. Verbal warnings are being issued to violators before written citations are issued. The ban on smoking on the beach and extended boardwalk returned to implementation on May 15 and will end Sept. 15, 2010. Smoking is only permitted in designated areas along the beach. Parking meters and permit parking requirements returned to implementation on May 15 and will end on Sept. 15. Restrictions on dogs on the beach and boardwalk will began again on May 15 and will end Sept. 30.

• The Town of Bethany Beach is looking for interested residents to volunteer at its Conservation and Nature Center. Volunteers can participate at many levels, from organizing and administering the docents, to organizing and arranging presentations or simply being a guide/docent for the center. Interested residents are being encouraged to contact the Town Hall at (302) 537-3771 or via e-mail at admin@townofbethanybeach.com.

• The Town of Bethany Beach is offering a voluntary curbside recycling program. Participants in the program will receive a 65-gallon wheeled container, which will act as a common container for the recyclables. As of July 1, the town is collecting recyclables directly, on Wednesdays, instead of employing an outside contractor.

Modifications have been made to existing trash trucks, and public works employees will collect the recyclables at the curb, as well as regular trash. Citizens may participate in the recycling effort by filling out an application and returning it to the town hall or mailing it to the address on the application. The application is also available on the town’s Web site at www.townofbethanybeach.com. The town is also considering trying out the same lift system for trash carts, in place of trash cans.

• The Bethany Beach Volunteer Fire Company’s ambulance service assessment is levied with the yearly tax/sanitation/sinking fund billing each May. It is estimated to be approximately $30 for the 2011 fiscal year (June 1, 2010, to May 31, 2011, for the ambulance service), with the annual assessment changing based on costs and cost estimates. Business owners will be assessed at the time they renew their yearly business license. The assessment does not fund firefighting service.

South Bethany

• South Bethany Town Hall will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day.

• The South Bethany Town Council will hold its regular monthly meeting on Friday, Sept. 10, at 7 p.m. at the town hall.

• The South Bethany Town Council will hold its September workshop/special meeting on Thursday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m. at the town hall.

• The Town of South Bethany has a Mobi Mat demonstration walkway in place at South 3rd Street. The mat is on loan and will be in place for three to four weeks. The town is asking for feedback on the walkway, by using the Contact Us link on the town Web site at www.southbethany.org or via e-mail to townhall@southbethany.org. A series of Mobi Mats was installed in Bethany Beach earlier this summer, and state officials are coordinating a test project with the City of Rehoboth Beach using the mats.

• U.S. Sens. Tom Carper and Ted Kaufman and Rep. Mike Castle recently announced that a little more than $8 million had been made available to help repair Bethany’s and South Bethany’s storm-ravaged beaches. The beach replenishment, which might occur before the start of the new year, will help restore sand and depth to the beaches.

Bethany officials noted that the replenishment will not be a restoration of the previously built dunes (a project that was significantly more expensive) but rather a restoration and replenishment of the beachfront.

• South Bethany Town Council members on June 11 approved the appointment of former town council member Bob Cestone to complete the final year of the term won in 2009 by former councilman Jay Headman, who resigned that seat to become mayor of the town. The council seat will be up for election again next May, for a full two-year term. Cestone was sworn in on June 11 and immediately joined the council.

• Those who still have a DSWA recycling cart (the cart with the yellow lid) or who have not received a new Allied Waste recycling cart (the cart with the gray lid) should contact Town Hall at (302) 539-3653, Ext. 218, or e-mail townhall@southbethany.org. The Town will contact Allied Waste, and they will exchange the recycling carts.

Those who are not currently participating in the recycling program may sign up for recycling on the Recycling Sign Up page of the town Web site. Allied Waste will not, however, be offering the 35-gallon container to new applicants. Contact Town Hall with any questions.

• Honorary/memorial bricks for the area located around the flagpole at South Bethany town hall can now be ordered. For details, refer to the town’s Web site and its forms page and click on the honorary/memorial brick order form link.

• Any citizen of South Bethany who would like to receive the Zephyr newsletter via e-mail instead of through the U.S. Postal service is being asked to complete and submit the Homeowner Contact Information Sheet online at: www.southbethany.org, on the Homeowner Contact Information Sheet/Email Registration page.

Fenwick Island

• Fenwick Island Town Hall will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day.

• The Fenwick Island Town Council election scheduled for Aug. 7 was canceled. Only one person filed for the three open seats – incumbent Councilman Gardner Bunting. Both Diane Tingle and Bill Weistling Jr., whose seats were also up for re-election, declined to re-file; but since there were no other interested parties, they will continue to hold their positions until formally resigning, if they so choose. At that time, the sitting council would make a special appointment to fill any vacant seat.

• Parking passes for the 2010 season are available at town hall.

• The Fenwick Island town Web site is located at ww.fenwickisland.delaware.gov.

Ocean View

• Ocean View Town Hall will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day.

• In the 2010-2011 council year, the Ocean View Town Council will hold regular town council meetings on Sept. 14, Oct. 12, Nov. 9 and Dec. 14, and Jan. 11, Feb. 8, March 8 and April 12, 2011. Meetings are held at 7 p.m. at 32 West Avenue in Ocean View. A workshop will be held Tuesday, Aug. 31, at 3 p.m.

• The Town of Ocean View plans to spray for mosquito control between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m. from May through October. Residents who do not wish the area in front of their homes to be sprayed are being asked to go to the second floor of the Wallace A. Melson Municipal Building on Central Avenue, and the town will provide them with the appropriate markers.

• The Ocean View town Web site is located at www.oceanviewde.com.

Millville

• Millville Town Hall will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day.

• Millville town taxes were due July 31, 2010.

• The Millville Planning and Zoning meeting set for Aug. 9 was canceled.

• The Millville Historic Preservation Commission is asking anyone with old photographs, stories or historical information about Millville to share their memories for documentation and preservation purposes.

• The Millville town Web site is located at www.millvillede.us.

Frankford

The Frankford Town Council will hold its September meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 7, at 7 p.m. due to the Labor Day holiday. Town hall will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day.

Selbyville

Selbyville Town Hall will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day.

Sussex County

• County offices will be closed on Monday, Sept. 6, for Labor Day.

• The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission will meet on Thursday, Sept. 9, at 6 p.m. in the County Council Chambers, County Administrative Office Building, on The Circle in Georgetown.

• The Sussex County Board of Adjustments will meet next on Monday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m. in the County Council Chambers, County Administrative Office Building, on The Circle in Georgetown.

• The Sussex County Council will meet next on Tuesday, Sept. 14, at 10 a.m. in the County Council Chambers, County Administrative Office Building, on The Circle in Georgetown. The council will not meet Aug. 31 or Sept. 7.

• Sussex County has published a list of its top 100 delinquent taxpayers. The list is available online.

• All dogs 6 months or older on or before March 1 must be licensed within the county in which they reside. Licenses are valid for the calendar year in which they are purchased and must be obtained by March 1. License fees for calendar year 2010 are $10 for spayed/neutered dogs, $15 for unsterilized dogs. Seeing-eye, lead or guide dogs or dogs that have previously served in a branch of the United States armed forces must be licensed but are exempt from the licensing fee.

Current rabies vaccinations are required for licensing. The expiration date for the rabies vaccination must occur after March 1 of the year for which the dog license is valid. One-, two- or three-year licenses may be purchased, dependent upon the expiration date of the rabies vaccination. If a dog license is not obtained on or before March 1, a fine of $50 is possible. Subsequent offenses within 12 months of a prior offense could result in fines of $100. Lost tags require purchase of a new license. For questions regarding licensing, call (302) 855-7380.