CAPE GAZETrE, Friday, June 7 - June 13, 1996 - 13
Sussex OKs takeover of Dewey building inspection
Town still seeks
replacement
for Ulrich
By Michael Short
Sussex County Council has
agreed to take over building in-
spection in Dewey Beach.
That decision, made at the June
4 County Council meeting, comes
shortly after the resignation of for-
mer Dewey Beach Building In-
spector Karen Ulrich.
But Dewey Beach will continue
to advertise for a building official,
according to Mayor Bob Freder-
ick. Frederick said the distinction
is that the county will enforce the
standard Southern Building Code,
which is in effect in many areas of
the county. That standard building
code requires no special familiari-
ty with Dewey Beach and its par-
ticular problems, he said.
A building official, as opposed
to a building inspector, however,
can concentrate on occupancy,
parking and other issues which are
Dewey Beach ordinances, Freder-
ick said.
Frederick said this is similar to
the system Dewey Beach used
from 1981 to 1986 when Sussex
County enforced the building
code, but Dewey Beach dealt with
town ordinances such as signage.
"We're not reinventing the wheel
here," he said.
"Hurricane Della" bearing down on
By Michael Short
Hurricane Della is bearing
down on the Delaware coast and
may strike the Cape region with
115 mph winds early next week.
Hurricane Della, fortunately, is
only an exercise being conducted
next week at the Sussex County
Airport. The National Guard, hos-
pitals, Delaware Emergency Man-
agement Agency, Sussex County
and other state and local agencies
will come together for a week of
learning and preparation during
the simulated hurricane.
The week will include establish-
ment of a "tent city" in which offi-
cials or members of the public
may spend the night, a day-long
workshop with officials, some of
whom dealt with Hurricanes Hugo
and Andrew and a day long public
Cape Region
open house to demonstrate emer-
gency technology and raise disas-
ter awareness. "It's to educate the
public and have a good time," said
Bill Butler, Delaware Emergency
Management Agency training of-
ricer, of the open house.
All of this against the backdrop
of Della, a Class Three Hurricane
capable of walloping Delaware
with massive wind gusts capable
of overturning mobile homes,
tearing away roofs and creating
havoc. Betty Collins, the acting
director of the Sussex County
Emergency Operations Center,
said that the agencies hope they
never have to use the lessons they
learn, but that it's better to be pre-
pared. "Basically it is to bring the
agencies together," she said. "Bet-
ter coordination will make these
agencies aware of what they
might expect." Equipment will be
set up this weekend and the Emer-
gency Operations Center will be
activated on Tuesday. On
Wednesday, the day long confer-
ence will feature speakers like Lt.
Colonel Jerry Vaughn of the
Florida National Guard and Clay
Stamp, the director of emergency
management in Ocean City, Md.
On Wednesday, the tent city
will be established and officials
may spend the night. Thursday is
considered a recovery day and
Friday will be a day of critiquing
the exercise to see what went well
and what needs to be done better.
On Saturday, June 15 the public
is encouraged to attend the open
house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
County Council approved the
request with no objections from
council members. Administrator
Bob Stickels said that the more
county towns that use the same
code and same enforcement, the
easier it will be for builders.
Frederick echoed that sentiment
that this system will create "a
more unified picture."
Ulrich left following a dispute
over what the job entails. Dewey
Beach officials had asked her to
do late night inspections of bars
and restaurants to enforce occu-
pancy codes. Ulrich said that was
the responsibility of the police or
the fire marshal's office.
Frederick, however, said that
that was part of the job of a build-
ing inspector and said the occu-
pancy issue involves more than
just inspecting bars and restau-
rants. Use of county inspectors is
expected to be a cost savings for
towns. The cost of inspection is
paid by the businesses or home
owners being inspected. Freder-
ick, however, expects the cost to
basically even out for Dewey
Beach because the town still in-
tends to hire a building official. "I
think it will be a wash," Frederick
said.
County enforcement is common
in Sussex and the county believes
it has enough manpower to add
Dewey to that list. The county en-
forces the commercial and multi-
family building codes in Bethel,
Bridgeville, Ellendale, George-
town, Slaughter Beach, Ocean
View, Greenwood, Fenwick Is-
land and Frankford.
The single family code is en-
forced in Blades, Ellendale, Fen-
wick Island, Frankford, George-
town, Greenwood, Henlopen
Acres, Ocean View and Slaughter
Beach.
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George
Continued from page 12
world's largest corporations -
General Motors - held its annual
corporate meeting in Delaware.
The night before the meeting I
met with the company's top man-
agement. I asked them what we
could do in Delaware to help in-
sure their success. Their answer
to me was to make sure that we
have a work force that can enable
GM to succeed in the world. Two
weeks ago I met with manage-
ment officials at First Omni Bank
in Millsboro. They employ about
800. I asked them the same ques-
tion. They said the best thing
Delaware could do for them was
to provide the best educated, most
productive workforee possible.
Del Tech's helping to meet those
needs and Delaware's a far better
place because of Del Tech," said
Carper.
In his inaugural speech, George
said he wants to ensure that Del
Tech fulfills its mission "to help
our student body achieve success
and to provide the trained and ed-
ucated workforce that our local
businesses, agencies, and govern-
ment need in order for them to
carry out their mission."
He said he feels it's very impor-
tant that Del Tech continue to be
very accessible and affordable for
all the people of Delaware. "And
while we want to be as high tech
as possible, we want to also be a
high touch institution so that our
students feel strong support for
whatever programs they're in, and
so they develop the self-confi-
dence needed to be successful."
Seeking full time faculty
After the ceremony, George, in
a brief press conference, said he
feels Del Tech's greatest weak-
ness lies in the fact that "success
has outpaced our ability to keep
full time faculty in the classroom.
Del Tech personalizes the educa-
tional experience and part time
faculty members can't give as
much to that experience as full
timers."
He said his first priority is to get
funding for and hire more full
time faculty members who can in-
teract with students inside and
outside the classroom. We want
to reduce from 50 percent to under
30 percent the number of students
being taught by part timers. We
will look at our faculty situation
by campus and by department. In
some departments the percentage
of part time faculty members is
way too high - some departments
are well over 50 percent part
timers."
George said he understands that
Gov. Carper has recommended a
significant increase - in his pro-
posed budget - for full time facul-
ty members at Del Tech. "I think
the Joint Finance Committee fa-
vors the proposal, and we're look-
ing for 39 more full time faculty
members over the next two
years."
George is the first former facul-
ty member to become president of
Del Tech.
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