Bethany moves from meters to stations

Visitors to Rehoboth Beach and Ocean City, Md., are likely already familiar with parking pay stations, which allow motorists to avoid feeding the meter by instead popping paper money or their credit cards into a machine near where they park. Those visiting Bethany Beach this summer will get the same kind of experience, with the town council having voted 6-0 on April 16 to begin a phased trial of parking pay stations in time for the 2010 summer season.

The town has been investigating pay station systems since at least 2009, when problems with the wireless phone signals the stations use to process payments and by which they are monitored put the potential program on delay. Those problems have since been resolved, Town Manager Cliff Graviet noted this week, on the heels of council members taking in a presentation on the pay stations last month.

The phased trial of the pay stations will see 18 pay stations installed on beach-end streets in downtown Bethany. Atlantic and Pennsylvania avenues, as well as the central Garfield Parkway area, will retain their meters for now, as will handicapped parking spaces. The new machines were due to arrive in the town this week, to be installed in the next week or two, with a goal of being operational by the traditional May 15 date upon which parking meter requirements go into place for the summer season.

The program will have no out-of-pocket expense for the town until the 2012 fiscal year, thanks to an arrangement with the manufacturer, which Graviet said was eager to get a foothold for their system in the U.S. after more extensive use in Australia, among other countries. The company is also supplying enough parts for town employees to drop in and repair the pay stations should any of them fail, as well as visiting the town for on-site training of town personnel and observation of the first week of operation.

If the trial of the new system is successful, the town would be looking at expanding to 35 pay stations for 2011.

Graviet said the main driver for the change to pay stations was because the use of coin-fed meters had become problematic due to the sheer volume of quarters staff were dealing with in the summer. The meters’ acceptance of dollar bills and credit cards also makes them easier for visitors to use, he said.

The pay stations come with a two-year warranty, but they have a life expectancy of at least 10 years. Graviet said the pay stations will also be stored in a climate-controlled storage area during the off-season, to prolong that lifespan.

Also a plus for the town in moving to the system is an estimated $932,000 in additional revenue that the pay stations are estimated to bring in for the town, which already sees a significant portion of its annual revenue from parking-related fees.

The pay stations are a pay-and-display variety, similar to that used in Ocean City, rather than the park-and-pay system of designated spaces used in Rehoboth Beach. Motorists go to a pay station near their parking place, pay for as much time as they desire and receive a ticket stating the time by which they must move the vehicle or pay for additional time. The ticket is then to be displayed on the vehicle’s dashboard or in a receptacle on the windshield.

The benefit of the system to the motorist, Graviet noted, is that they can move their car during the time they have paid for parking – to go get lunch, for example – and then park in another pay station-controlled space when they return, up until the time their paid parking expires.

The town newsletter, which was heading off to be printed this week, will include a full-page diagram of the machine and a good explanation of how to use, Graviet promised.

Utility relocation work to begin after Labor Day

The council also voted on April 16 to approve a number of contracts in preparation for the first phase of its Streetscape project, involving removal of utility lines and poles from Garfield Parkway between Route 1 and the bandstand.

The council approved a $74,000 contract with JMT Engineering to consult on the lighting design and implementation once the utility poles are removed and the existing street lights with them. The consultants will complete the lighting design, meet with DelDOT officials on highway safety requirements, which require significant review and work by the design company, Graviet said, work with the utility companies and have on-site visits to present to the council the options for lighting types.

The council also approved a $381,000 contract with Verizon for relocation of its utility lines for the Streetscape project. The company will be moving its lines to the rear of buildings on Garfield Parkway, with 14 businesses needing their telephone connections relocated, which will be done at their expense.

That is a bone of contention with commercial property owners Jack and John Burbage. An attorney representing them spoke at the April 16 council meeting, saying they had no objection to the program but that they did object that the cost incurred was not voluntary but the result of a municipal program impacting on them.

“They’re concerned they don’t know what that cost is going to be,” he said, objecting to the fact that the cost was not being absorbed as part of the overall municipal expenditure but rather, as he put it, as a surcharge on the businesses. “The impact on us is just unfair, in our view,” he said, suggesting the cost of relocation for individual businesses should be take on by the town and passed along to its taxpayers as a whole.

Graviet pointed out that 13 of 19 properties are already serviced with electricity from the rear of the buildings, and that only one of the Burbage properties still needs to have it moved, at an estimated cost of $2,000 to $3,000. He also noted that citizens had asked why the town was bearing the expense at all when their perceived benefit was to the commercial properties and had suggested a direct surtax on the businesses to pay for the larger project. “The town council dismissed that out of hand,” he emphasized.

Vice-Mayor Carol Olmstead, presiding over the meeting in the absence of Mayor Tony McClenny, said the council would take the comments under consideration.

The contract for utility relocation by Delmarva Power, at a cost of $322,800, was also approved by the council last Friday.

Graviet said the goal is to begin the project after Labor Day. Councilwoman Margaret Young said she had received some “angry e-mails” from people wanting to know why the town was planning to “tear up Garfield Parkway in the middle of the season.” She asked Graviet to clarify the timetable once again, to dispel that rumor. He did, again saying that the project would begin after Labor Day.

He also noted that the resulting need for sidewalk patching to close the holes formerly inhabited by utility poles would also be the town’s responsibility. A contract for utility relocation by Mediacom is expected to be presented to the town in the near future, with a cost of around $50,000. All of the related funds for the utility relocation have already been put in the town’s 2011-fiscal-year budget.

Also on April 16:

• The council voted 6-0 to approve a revised investment policy for the town.

• The council voted 6-0 to approve the purchase of $69,000 worth of Kebony lumber to restore the area of the boardwalk in front of the bandstand, with a slight overlap to the north and south. Kebony is a new product in U.S., Graviet explained, but it has been used in Europe for some time. It is wood that has had its chemical makeup altered, treated so that is very enduring, with a longevity similar to rainforest hardwoods. It has a rating for a 50-year possible lifespan and a warranty for 25 years. The town currently gets about seven years of life out of the wood it uses in the boardwalk. Graviet said it is less likely to crack, peel and splinter, and is much harder.

Again, the company offering the product cut the town a deal to help get a foothold in the U.S., cutting the $106,000 retail price of the materials down to $63,000. That cost is $13,000 more than the cost of the salt-treated wood the town has used in the past, but the material is expected to long outlast the salt-treated alternative. Graviet said the town will be looking to redo the rest of the boardwalk with Kebony in coming years, probably moving to the north next year. He said heat is not a problem, as with some wood alternatives, because it is wood.

Those curious to know what the product looks like can see it in place in about a half-dozen boards in front of the Boardwalk Fries store on the north side of the bandstand in Bethany. When installed, it is much darker brown than salt-treated lumber, but Graviet said it weathers to a similar color, just with no cracking and peeling. The material is also installed with stainless steel screws instead of nails, which cause maintenance headaches as they pop up.

The council also voted 6-0 last Friday to approve a contract for $29,500 to replace the boardwalk decking with the Kebony. The same company that has done the boardwalk maintenance the last several years will install the Kebony.

• The council approved the awarding of a boardwalk yoga concession for the 2010 season.

• The council also approved a contract for water line replacement in an alley between South Atlantic and South Pennsylvania avenues, at $64,000. A.P. Croll will install the new water main in the alley on the south side of Garfield Parkway, replacing a water line Graviet said has been problematic for a number of years, as it includes multiple materials and couplings that are difficult to maintain. “Heavy use of the alley has prevented its replacement so far,” he said. “The utilities want it done before the service is relocated so it doesn’t disturb things once the utilities are moved.”

•Young reported on ongoing bicycle safety efforts by the town, noting that the town had received funding from the federal government for lights, helmets and education that is planned to target foreign students and vacationers through real estate rental packets and bike shops. A large sign reminding cyclists of cycling laws and two bike officers patrolling the heaviest traffic areas will also be part of the effort.

• The town’s financial report for the final month of its 2010 fiscal year, ending on March 31, showed the town having collected 107.3 percent of its budgeted revenue, compared to 108.8 percent in 2009. Its expenditures came in at 93.5 percent of the budgeted figure, compared to 92.2 percent in 2009. The town’s revenue for the 2010 fiscal year exceeded its budgeted figure by $500,000, while its expenses were $300,000 below budget, pending late adjustments.

• Graviet reported that town would be moving ahead with its plans to install a new well, No. 6, to replace wells Nos. 3 and 2 in the water system. The new well will offer 1,000 gallons per minute of water vs. the 700 gallons per minute for the older two wells combined. The original estimated cost for the project was $240,000, but Graviet said a lengthy DNREC permitting process had delayed things, resulting in a revised cost estimate today of $460,000. That funding is already available in the budget under the water department’s capital expenditures.

• Graviet reported on the renewal of the contract with the Bethany Beach Christian Church for use of the park land on the church property on Garfield Parkway. It is again a two-year contract.

• The council heard a first reading of a new ordinance regulating solar energy systems. The second reading of the ordinance – which resulted from a roundtable discussion with members of the industry and which was approved by various interested parties – will be scheduled for May.