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6 - GAPEGAZE'TTE, Friday, June ®,-dne:,t5¢IN)00
VIEWPOINTS
Editorial
Keep open space purchases rolling
"The longest possible view is the best possible view."
Delaware's legislature is in the home stretch now toward passing
legislation for the session which ends June 30. One of the most
important pieces of legislation will be the bond bill where funding
for a wide variety of projects will be approved.
The bond bill will be very important this year because Delaware
continues to be enjoying times of great prosperity. There are many
opportunities available to the state to secure open space lands that
will create an awesome legacy for the state, its citizens and visitors
for the 21 st century. During the 20th century, one of the most last-
ing initiatives undertaken by Delaware was the securing for the pub-
lic of the majority of the ocean coast lands..Public ownership of
those lands has been the centerpiece of the state's thriving tourist
industry. If managed well, those lands will only grow in importance
in the decades ahead. Most importantly, they are there for all of us
to enjoy.
As the rapid pace of development continues - as it has for the past
50 years and will for the next 50 years - we as a citizenry must insist
that our state use its prosperous times to acquire more of the sensi-
tive coastal land for all the natural and cultural and economic bene-
fits that will accrue. That's not to say the state is not doing well. It
is. But now is not the time to stop. This year should be the most
aggressive year of all, because of the money, and because there are
many waterfront and marshfront farms on the market due to shifts in
farming practices. In terms of land acquisition, the expression 'strike
while the iron is hot' has never been more apt.
We applaud the good sense the state has shown in acquiring lands
along Lewes-Rehoboth Canal that will serve as a buffer for Cape
Henlopen State Park and which will also provide many recreational
opportunities. Now is the time to add more and improve.
Letters
Red light cameras could bring relief
One of the most chronic problems plaguing Delaware's Cape
Region is the number of people who run red lights on Route 1 and
the accidents that result. It's all a function of impatience, a crowded
highway and the mixture of local people trying to get where they're
going and visitors looking this way and that at the many sights along
the way. The problem, of course, is that people suffer injuries, cars
get bashed and banged and traffic gets jammed. The accident list we
publish each week grows longer and longer as the summer season
intensifies and it transforms what should be a pleasant experience
into a dangerous experience. Now a partial solution has surfaced.
Delaware's Department of Transportation is considering installing
cameras at intersections to capture photographs of violators. The
images would then be used to levy fines. The intent is to reduce the
number of red light violations and, consequently, the number of
accidents. The technology appears to be reliable and affordable. The
powers that be should waste as little time as possible in getting some
of these cameras installed and moving forward with the system.
Route 1 would be an excellent place to begin.
The Weather Picture
Hi Lo Pre
June 1 84 64 None
June 2 93 69 None
June 3 93 67 .22
June 4 73 53 None
June 5 65 58 None
June 6 62 59 .92
June 7 73 55 None
!As reported by the Lewes
Board of Public Works
Power Plant, an official
I.S. Weather Station.
Dennis Fomey photo
John DiGhtcoma stands in his garden in Bay Breeze Estates
outside Lewes. Beside him is a fig tree that bears abundant-
ly and behind are strawberry and asparagus plants that have
also been enjoying the wet spring.
We need to get relief
from sewer bills
Now is the time for families ser-
viced by the West Rehoboth Sewer
District to write, phone or e-mail,
specifically our senator, William
• Roth, requesting a $15 million grant
toward reduction of sewer rates.
Please note our county administrator,
Robert Stickels, has also written and
made personal contact with the same
request. Why? The Association of
State and Interstate Water Pollution
Control Administration has listed 141
federal grants nationwide for water
and wastewater improvements and
construction. Why are we left out?
Fifty million dollars for Mexican
Border Projects; ie., El Paso-Las
Cruces and Brownsville; $30 million
for Alaska Native Villages; $18.5 mil-
lion for clean water improvements in
Onondaga Lake, N.Y.; $5 million for
the City of Welch, W.Va. for water
and sewer improvements. I believe
about $10 million of the Long Neck
Sewer District came from a federal
grant, plus many others.
This is an election year and Sen.
Roth is looking toward re-election.
This could be another plus for him
among his other achievements for the
people in our area. The construction
cost of the West Rehoboth Sewer
System is about $88 million. Based
on EPA funding for affordability of 1
to 1.5 percent of the median house-
hold income, the rate for a typical
home with 89-front footage should be
about $517 annually. The current rate
is $675, about 30 percent higher than
affordable EPA rate funding assis-
tance. The $15,000,000 grant should
allow a reduction in rate for the above
example to $554.
If the $15 million in new money is
not possible, then Sen. Roth should
request forgiveness of the $ ! 5 million
from the $27 million borrowed by the
county from the State Revolving
Fund Program. I am told 80 percent of
this money was awarded to the state
from the EPA in the form of a grant.
LegislatiOn may have to be intro-
duced that would allow for the for-
giveness of $15 million through the
EPA. Eighty percent of $27 million is
$21.6 million, which is more than the
$15 million requested forgiveness and
will have the same effect as securing
new grant funding.
It is also important to communicate
with Sen. Biden and Rep. Castle. This
area will continue to develop, more
than anyone may think. The state and
local chambers of commerce aggres-
sively advertise the beach and tax-
free shopping outlets outside the state
which will continue to impact our
area. In 10 years or less, the current
sewer system will require important
improvements at an additional cost.
The residents of cities of
Lewes/Rehoboth should not feel
excluded from the need for water and
wastewater improvements and will
also in time be affected. Therefore, in
a way, the West Rehoboth Sewer
District is also a concern for these
neighborhoods cities.
Legislators will be in session about
20 days in June, 15 days in July, 19
days in September and about five
days in October before election so the
pressure has to be put on now. Please
take the time to communicate on this
issue today.
If successful, the county should be
able to reduce an average single home
sewer rate by about $50 per month. In
addition, County Council will hold a
public hearing at 10:30 a.m., Tuesday,
June 20 on a proposed budget which
will reduce the current front footage
rate from $5.31 to about $4.99 per
foot. Further, if the $1.5 million relief
is obtained and as a result the above-
mentioned reduction in the EPA
affordability ratio is achieved, Mr.
Stickels may then be able to renegoti-
ate outstanding loans with the state
down to 1.5 percent interest rate, fur-
ther reducing the sewer rates.
All former members of Citizens for
Affordable Sewers should begin letter
writing and ask your neighbor and
Continued on page 7
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words or less. Write to Cape
Gazette, PO Box 213, Lewes,
Delaware 19958 or fax to 645-1664.
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