South Bethany News

For the price of a single meal at some local restaurants, area residents and visitors will be able to sample a wide variety of food and drinks and listen to jazz music on Sunday, at an event that is becoming an early-summer staple in the Bethany Beach area.

There is no question: in 2006 a new councilman will join the South Bethany Town Council. Councilman Bob Cestone opted not to run for re-election this year, leaving his seat open for challengers to vie over this Saturday, May 27.

Full-time residents in South Bethany are on the increase and its police department is on the job, helping to keep them safe.

But the town is now home to one resident that police are paying particular attention to, for safety’s sake.

After months of revisions, South Bethany’s new parking ordinance was voted into place May 12, on a 6-0 vote of the council (Councilwoman Marge Gassinger absent).

It’s been more than a year since South Bethany officials first heard a controversial proposal from Winergy Power LLC to place power-generating wind turbines off the coast of Southern Delaware.

Ocean View town officials will likely introduce an ordinance at their June council meeting that would require landlords who rent property for commercial or residential uses in town to pay a tax to the town.

The South Bethany Planning Commission made quick work of two partitioning requests at their April 24 meeting, before plunging into comments from state agencies on the town’s draft comprehensive development plan (CDP).

South Bethany Town Council members adopted the town’s budget for the 2007 fiscal year at their April 13 meeting (held a day earlier than usual, due to the Good Friday holiday). The $3.325 million budget – on both the revenue and expenditure sides – was settled at the council’s final budget meeting earlier this month and saw no changes before its adoption.

There will be an election in South Bethany this year. Council seat and mayoral action has been quiet in neighboring Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island, with no elections there during the last election period, as no new candidates filed for the contested seats. Instead, incumbents retained their previously-won posts.

South Bethany has tallied its figures and added red ink to black, finalizing the town’s draft budget for the 2007 fiscal year at a March 23 special meeting and budget workshop.

The final totals: $3.326 million in both revenue and expenditures for the fiscal year beginning May 1 — a balanced budget.

Town Council members held a first reading for their revised parking ordinance changes at a March 10 council meeting, reviewing a series of changes suggested by Town Solicitor Dennis Schraeder and answering a few questions and concerns from the town’s citizens.

At the second of their planned budget meetings for the 2007 fiscal year, South Bethany Town Council members heard from Maintenance Mechanic Don Chrobot as to anticipated needs from the town’s Public Works department.

South Bethany officials want residents to know that they did not overlook an incident of construction without a permit reported at 10 North Sixth Street. The work to be done actually had a permit — just at 10 South Sixth Street.

South Bethany Town Council members are squaring up the books in preparation for the 2007 fiscal year, and gathered for the first of three special meetings/budget workshops on Feb 9.

After going back and forth on proposed parking ordinance changes in recent months, South Bethany Town Council members finally reached a consensus on the draft document at a workshop held Feb. 22.

South Bethany Town Council members continued to wrestle with planned updates to the town’s parking ordinances at their Feb. 10 meeting.

South Bethany officials are set to take on an ordinance change regarding the town’s limited parking this week, with a first reading to potentially amend Chapter 92 of the town code set for the town council’s Feb. 10 meeting.

According to the synopsis of the changes to the ordinance, it would amend “Chapter 94 to:

Center for the Inland Bays (CIB) staff members have wrapped up study of add-on pollution filters for a stormwater management system in South Bethany – and word is they just don’t work in the field.

South Bethany Town Council members voted to renew their share of a contract with beach replenishment lobbyists Marlowe & Company at the Dec. 9 council meeting, entering their second year with extra-governmental support for local replenishment projects.

South Bethany has a 99.44-percent approved comprehensive development plan (CDP), as of a special meeting/workshop on Nov. 17. Town council members voted 6-0 at that meeting (Mayor Gary Jayne absent) to forward an updated CDP to the state for final check-off and review, en route plan certification.
“It’s on its way to Dover,” noted Council Member John Fields.

Sharp Energy’s Eric Mays and Ron Patrick attended this month’s South Bethany Town Council meeting, Nov. 10, to answer questions about propane service.

(1) More changes at the Fresh Pond part of the Delaware Seashore State Park, as transportation engineers prepare to mitigate wetland impacts associated with the Indian River Inlet Bridge.
(2) More support for a tidal pump to clean up South Bethany’s lagoons.

Residents of South Bethany expressed an interest in central gas utility a couple years back, but time has passed, and Sharp Energy hasn’t run any new lines recently. And along some streets, they never did run any lines.

The results are in, and residents of South Bethany overwhelmingly supported council’s request for permission to spend up to $970,000 for a new police station and town hall. Turnout was light — much lighter than what the town typically sees for general elections, but Town Clerk Dee Burbage said they had mailed out 186 absentee ballots, and 173 came back.

South Bethany Police Chief Joe Deloach outlined a hurricane evacuation route for the town and immediate vicinity, at the Sept. 9 council meeting. It follows narrow roads, through several twists and turns, but may be highly effective in one regard — South Bethany’s route steers clear of Route 26, which may become rather congested in an emergency evacuation.