The Bethany Beach Landowner’s Association met on Saturday, May 24, at town hall. While the Memorial Day weekend meeting is traditionally the group’s official annual meeting, BBLA President John Himmelberg was quick to point out that this meeting would not be designated as such because, according to their bylaws, 30 days notice had to be given, and because of technical glitches, that didn’t happen this year.
Nevertheless, those in attendance did receive a treasurer’s report, have a communications report, appoint a new communications committee; appoint a committee to work on the upcoming candidate’s night for the town’s 2008 elections, approve a $1,000 donation for the July 4 parade and approve a conflict-of-interest policy.
In addition to that housekeeping work, members also heard from Tony Pratt of DNREC on the current status of beach renourishment in light of the recent nor’easter.
Pratt noted that the last time he had spoken to the association was two years ago, prior to the start of beach reconstruction, and that they were now on the other side of the re-nourishment project, which was almost completed prior to the recent nor’easter.
“After Monday’s storm, we had a success story. Bethany Beach was as dry as it can stay,” Pratt emphasized. He noted, laughing, that he has nothing to do with “that side of the town,” referring to the inevitable flooding of Pennsylvania Avenue during such storms, which the town has been working to improve for decades.
He added that, despite some sand and fence loss, DNREC scores the completed beach reconstruction project high and is happy with it. He also mentioned that, for the mid-Delaware Bay, the water level during this spring’s nor’easter was the highest ever recorded — even higher than in the infamous 1962 storm that devastated the town and entire Delaware coast.
“It was a pretty good storm. And Bethany Beach was ground zero for dune loss. But, it is generally 90 to 95 percent intact,” he said.
Pratt said reconstruction officials will bring bulldozers in to push sand to restore the dune, using the big “mega-bulldozers” from Week’s Marine, the contractor on the reconstruction project. Those bulldozers are currently in South Bethany, as that project has neared its own final stage of completion.
“They have to be unloaded, dismantled and put back together,” he noted of the equipment. “Tuesday or Wednesday, we’ll start the dozers fixing the dune and, within five days, they’ll complete the dune pushing and put the fence back up. Hopefully, for the next 50 years, that’s what we’ll do: Restore the dune. Put the fence back up.”
He said replenishment work goes on an approximately three-year cycle. Rehoboth and Dewey Beaches had their reconstruction done in 2005 and will have their first re-nourishment this year. Bethany Beach and South Bethany can anticipate 2011 as their first official re-nourishment. “At some point we might combine the projects,” said Pratt.
He went on to say that whenever reconstruction takes a small beach and makes it much wider, as with Bethany Beach, there will be “hot spots” that need extra attention shortly thereafter.
“It’s a process. There’s over 3 million cubic yards of sand over the beaches. Once we go through one or two of the three-year cycles, we’ll then get the system fully operational,” he said. “It’s a growing thing. We are not alarmed. We are very happy. South Bethany faired very well. It was a successful project. The town was high and dry, the boardwalk is intact, and there are ways to get down to Bethany Beach.”
BBLA members were then able to ask questions of Pratt regarding the replenishment, including the possible need for special funding appropriations should there be a “100-year storm.”
“Historically, if deficiencies arose, we’d ask, ‘Why did we have the failure?’” he noted. “[In a storm like that], if we saw massive damage — much more than the storm last week — we’d have to assume that, regionally, there would be a massive amount of federal funding. In all likelihood, it would free up emergency revenue, and the response would not be a normal process.”
Pratt acknowledged that in November and December of 2007, the beach was wider and now it isn’t. But he said that was “by circumstance and not design,” noting that they were “figuring it out.”
This time last year, he said, there was 50 feet of space on the beach and now there is 100 feet. And that amount of space is only likely to grow.
“Two things will happen,” he explained. “The cross-shore sand goes onshore, then offshore, which is happening now, and the south winds from South Bethany and Sea Colony will work their way here. Each week, you’ll be comforted by the sight of sand, and by July 4 it’ll be wider again.”
Pratt noted that he defines “beach” as the dune, the dry portion of sand and the sand out to about a depth of 20 feet, where much of the “missing” sand has now gone. The three areas work as a system that protects the town.
“It’s a shock absorber. The dune, the berm, the sandbar, it fluctuates — it can’t be rigid,” he said. “The whole objective in a storm is to reduce damage. The plan is for all the energy to be played out before it hits manual structures, like the boardwalk, homes, etc.”
Pratt received many questions about the possibility of placing benches on top of the dunes. He explained that, historically, DNREC doesn’t advise that, as by their particular nature the benches could become ammunition should the water’s force throw them against the boardwalk or other structures.
He did acknowledge, however, that neighboring Fenwick Island had expressed interest in just such an idea in 2005 and had worked with DNREC for a permit to put in a bump-out for benches atop their dune, for seasonal purposes.
“It’s a community’s choice,” explained Pratt. “We’ll work with them, as long as they understand the risks involved. There would have to be an automatic seasonal cutoff where they have to be removed [such as September to May 1],” which he noted would not have helped for this past storm, since that time period would have allowed the benches to be placed atop the dunes and potentially cause harm during the May 12 nor’easter.
Resident Margaret Young emphasized the possibilities of dune-top benches in Bethany by asking for clarification that part of the permit condition would be that the benches would have to be moved if notice of an impending storm or storm conditions existed.
Pratt said it would, but he stressed the fact that the May 2008 storm was unexpected.
“People went to bed Sunday morning, and no one knew this was going to happen,” he said.
BBLA members also asked about existing handicapped access to the beach, which is provided at two Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant access ramps, one on either end of the town. Pratt said the decision to offer two ramps involved a cost factor. He said the town could include more if they want but that the town would have to fund them.
“That has less to do with protection and more to do with aesthetics,” explained Pratt of the allocation of state and federal funding. The partly federally funded nature of the project requires some ADA-compliant access, which led to a single ADA-compliant ramp in both Fenwick Island and South Bethany. The Bethany Beach segment was designed with two such ramps.
In closing the meeting, BBLA members noted that the group’s bylaws state that the 30-day minimum notice for an annual meeting can be waived, thus allowing the meeting on Saturday to possibly count as their “official” annual meeting, but attorney Michael Loftus advised against it, and those in attendance agreed.
The official annual meeting, where the association plans to elect directors and officers, and approve the minutes and actions of officers and directors for the previous year, is now scheduled for June 28 at 11 a.m. at town hall. The BBLA was in the process this week of notifying all members by e-mail and postal mail, so they would be in full compliance with the 30-day minimum required notice.