WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's ChoiceUPDATE: Fenwick Beach Replenishment Controversy

UPDATE: Fenwick Beach Replenishment Controversy

FENWICK ISLAND, Del. - Controversy continues in Fenwick Island, all over a dredging and beach replenishment project, at the height of tourist season.

But the town manager of Fenwick Island, Win Abbott, finally responded to WMDT's phone calls with a statement, saying the city doesn't have control over the shoreline. He says the replenishment is a US Army Corp of Engineers project, which will be complete by August 22nd.

According to Abbott, only 3 blocks of beach will be closed at a time, which was a point of contention for several beach front renters who complained on the second day of dredging, when over 6 blocks were closed.

Realtor, John Kleinstuber, says renters have every right to be upset. He says ocean front properties can run anywhere from 16 hundred dollars to 8 thousand dollars a week.

Although beach closures are temporary, reopening as the project progresses southward, there was nothing in the statement about the huge pipe which is laying across the beach from the north-end of Fenwick to the state line.

Some renters we spoke to are so upset, they vowed never to rent in Fenwick Island again. "We were certainly blindsided by the quickness of it happening," says Kleinstuber. "I can tell you one thing," says Conover, "I won't put my deposit down in November like I always do." "If I were a first time renter," admits renter, Cheryl Aaron, "I would never come back."

WMDT called the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to find out why a major project like this would take place in the middle of the busy tourist season and without prior notice, but we have yet to get a call back. "We rely on these people coming here," Kleinstuber says. "And in my opinion this is a public relations nightmare."