"t-
CAPE GAZETrE, Friday, May 2 - May 8, 2003 - 15
Fresh faces D egin task of learning Lewes BPW issues
By Andrew Keegan from the Lewes-Rehoboth Canal.
It was the dawning of a new age City and state officials have been
for Lewes BPW as two freshman going back and forth for years at-
board members began the process tempting to find a viable altema-
of learning the ins and ou's of how five.
.:y.operates Ap n Lee wh 0 i
: "-"?'mtise on Lewes oeacn, se
:,re the board addressed the :board shouMsidea
quickly moved :to: nominate acq,nire this proe:alifor-
Gary S tabley tO :(€ as the,:, ! La : told t Nard:' e idea
boards nexf presldrtt. He Ms0o 1 :tL'use? vaste at n homeown-
nominated himself vice-presi-
dent, newly elected Jim Con-
naughton as treasurer, first time
board member Jon Woodyard as
secretary and Howard Seymour as
assistant treasurer. The nomina-
tions were unanimously approved.
Stabley, who has one year of
BPW service under his belt,
thanked fellow board members for
the post of BPW president. "I look
at this as a challenge and a team
effort with board members, coun-
cil and the customers we serve,"
said Stabley. "We won't always
see eye to eye but the board will
speak through the actions we
take."
The only issue which elicited
any lengthy discussion focused on
the ongoing issue of what to do
with the city's wastewater. Sever-
al years ago the state informed the
city it must remove its effluent
ers' property is new hut something
that should be explored." Lee,
who is an engineer, said by his
calculations an average home-
owner uses approximately 32
inches of water a year to irrigate
lawns. He pointed out that Pilot-
town Village residents utilize
more than 600 gallons of water a
day for irrigation - more than
three times the average usage. Lee
said he does not propose installing
pipes all over Lewes, rather, new
subdivision like Wolfe Pointe and
Wolfe Run could be outfitted with
pipes to supply effluent irrigation.
"I know there are a lot of hurdles
to overcome but it is doable," said
Lee. "As the demand for water
goes up new techniques to reuse
water will become more com-
mon."
Seymour, who oversees sewer
plant operations, said while he
Vineyards
Continued from page 14
residences each in the Big House
design. This design has been used
nationwide in areas that are op-
posed to traditional multifamily
home design. In addition, 39
townhouses with four residences
each will be built as well as l I
three-story midrise apartment
buildings, also in the Big House
design by Humphreys and Part-
ners. There will be more than I0
residential units and sizes, from a
one-bedroom 750 square foot
apartment to a 2,000 square foot
villa. Pricing is expected to range
from the low $100,000s to upper
$300,000s.
Vineyard Communities, LLC.,
designed the community around
Gov. Minner's Livable Delaware"
smart growth principles. While
the community is clustered and
dense, it will be one-third open
space. A subterranean parking
garage is one way this is accom-
plished. Another principle of Liv-
able Delaware the developer kept
firmly in mind was to "foster dis-
tinctive, attractive, communities
with a strong sense of place." The
community will play off adjacent
Nassau Valley Vineyards in theme,
activities and architecture. The
site plan calls for extensive grape
arbors in two different locations
and a covered bridge. The devel-
oper hopes activities such as old-
fashioned wine-stomping, wine-
tastings and assisting the vineyard
with harvesting will bring the
community together. "We are ex-
cited about the future of The V'me-
yards at Nassau Valley and be-
lieve the concept offers residents a
truly unique living experience
while preserving and enhancing
the vitality of Delaware's only
working vineyard," said Gene
Lankford, one Of the principals of
Vineyard Communities. Other
amenities include seven swim-
ming pools with bathhouses, two
community buildings and a 10
acre pond, complete with paddle-
boats.
In order to avoid travel to Rt. 1,
the first floors of two of the
midrises will be retail space, up to
6,000 square feet. As the land is
currently zoned commercial, no
EXCLUSIVE PROPERTIES
DESERVE EXCLUSIVE LOANS
Licensed Mortgage
Broker in DE and UD
Andrew Keegan photo
Gary Stabley, newly elected BPW president, is already making changes on how the board
operates. Previously, when statements where made by citizens, board members or General
Manager Ruth Anne Ritter had the opportunity to respond. We will no longer enter into a de-
bate nor defend our position, said Stabley. "This is the citizens' opportunity to speak and we
will listen." Shown are (l-r) Ruth Anne Ritter, Wendell Alfred, Howard Seymour, Gary Stabley,
Jon Woodyard, Jim Connaughton, Glenn Barlow, the boards auditor and Deputy Mayor Jim
Ford.
whole-heatedly supports the con-
cept of reusing wastewater, he
doubts this procedure would work
for Lewes. "When we build the
new wastewater treatment plant
the city will be discharging 400
million gallons of effluent yearly,"
said Seymour. "By my calcula-
tions only 72 million gallons
would be used for homeowner ir-
rigation under Preston's idea. That
means we would have to build a
holding pond of at least 12 acres
and land is not cheap. Homeown-
ers really only irrigate heavily
zoning changes are needed. The
developer hopes to attract conven-
ient neighborhood businesses
such as a drycleaner, deli and
small market.
Several years ago a shopping
center anchored by a Wal-Mart
was proposed for this site. Raley
believed the center would detract
from the vineyard. "The view
from my office for the past thirty
years has been of a beautiful piece
of ground and I want that to con-
tinue, "Raley said.
"I think our proposed communi-
ty has been designed in such a
way that when I look out my pic-
ture window I can be proud of
what we have done."
FOR UNBELIEVABLE
JUMBO PROGRAMS
AND EXCLUSIVE SERVICE,
call
0000lison Wor00nan
(302) 337-0840 Direct
(302) 645-9181, ext. 109 office
four months out of the year, so
what do we do with the effluent
the other eight months? While I'm
all for the idea it's just not feasible
for Lewes."
Seymour indicated an April 17
meeting with officials from the
Department of Natural Resounes
and Environmental Control
(DNREC) yielded a more promis-
ing solution. DNREC is exploring
a form of nutrient trading for
Lewes. Under the proposal, the
BPW would take in four subdivi-
sions that currently have no sewer
system. Highland Acres, Zwaa-
nendael'Acres and Donovan's
trailer park are three of the four
properties mentioned. The state
would allow the city to continue
emptying its treated wastewater
into the canal in exchange for the
removal of hundreds of septic
tanks from the watershed.
According to the Environmen-
tal Protection Agency, excessive
nutrient loading is the third lead-
ing cause of water-quality impair-
ment in the country. Formerly
linked to sewage treatment plants,
nitrogen and phosphorus loading
Continued on page 17
Let flowers play
their part in making your
W E D D I N G extraordinary.
And become an inseparable piece
of the moment's magic.
f /
charle
...... ...... e t-a l.
weddings . " ....
pa. rt,es
occasions
Call to schedule an appointment.
1002 Kings Highway, Lewes DE 19958 302.644.8979
