South Bethany

A beautiful summer Saturday afternoon might have seemed like an odd time to focus on stormy weather, but the Bethany Beach Police Department’s Capt. Ralph Mitchell said he’d planned the three-hour seminar on emergency preparedness to coincide with the height of the hurricane season, from August to October each year.

He may have lost his bid for a seat on the South Bethany town council this year, but Chris White succeeded in raising his profile in the town to the point where he became an appointee to one of the town’s other high offices.

South Bethany residents seeking convenient recycling options may want to go ahead and sign up for the Delaware Solid Waste Authority’s new statewide curbside recycling program.

Code enforcement issues topped concerns from citizens at the South Bethany Town Council meeting on July 14.

Kicking off the property-owners’ participation segment of the meeting, Resident Frank Fay inquired as to exactly how and when the town is enforcing grass-height regulations.

South Bethany officials moved one step closer to passing two ordinances, with second readings at a record-settingly brief 45-minute June 9 town council meeting.

South Bethany Mayor Gary Jayne revealed a little-known fact at the town council’s reorganizational meeting on June 3: the town had gone without any mayor at all for two days.

It’s déjà vu all over again for officials in Bethany Beach and South Bethany, as far as the battle for federal beach replenishment dollars goes.

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.

Absentee ballots made the difference in South Bethany’s May 27 town council election, with incumbent John Fields narrowly retaining his council seat by beating out challenger Chris White, with an 11-vote margin.

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.

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.

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).

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).

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 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.

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 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 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 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.