Dewey Beach Town Hall controversy
There is no doubt that Town Hall in Dewey Beach is a small, overcrowded space with no elevator. It is also shared spot with the Dewey Beach Police department with limited parking. Changes are being made towards a new Town Hall, but much faster than the city could have ever imagined.
Apparently Mayor Dianne Hanson signed a contingency contract to purchase 10,000 square feet of land right next to the government building for a total of $875,000, without the approval from town commissioners. This whole arrangement happened in less than two months.
The location of the land and the timing worked in the favor for the expansion which was why Mayor Diane Hanson jumped on the opportunity. Mayor Hanson said “Having exposure on Route 1 for town hall is very important for a tourist town…. Because people need to go there[Town Hall] for parking passes, dog licenses, paying fines, court and business licenses… so there’s a lot of activity.”
She also stated “The town is growing and its time for Town Hall to grow with it.”
Dewey Beach has a population of around 350 people with over 100 of them being snow birds during the winter. The summer time draws in 30,000 – 60,000 visitors and vacationers bringing the small town back to life.
Some City Leaders are at odds with the hasty decision that was made. Commissioner Anna Legates voiced that she does not dispute that improvements towards Town Hall are needed. Commissioner Legates emphasized that purchasing Real Estate is not on the authorized investments list and that she “would have loved to have had a little of that study ahead of time before we entered into any contract for any property in the town of Dewey Beach.”
Some even argue that it was a violation of Town Charter and that complaints had been filed with the Delaware Attorney General. Mayor Hanson says she consulted town counsel on the matter and she would not have made any movements without the guidance of her lawyer.
Mayor Hanson believes “it’s a wonderful opportunity for Dewey beach to move forward. I often say we’re kind of in our adolescence. We’re the youngest town in the state of Delaware.” She also commented that “You just can’t ask a property owner that wants to sell their property to wait 6 months until the town figures out what they want to do.. And so we moved forward with it as it was.”
As for moving forward, Mayor Hanson also told 47 ABC, now that the contingency contract has been signed, she says the next step is to reach out to residents in the area to start a task force to collect ideas on what should be done with these new properties.
