Why Should Delaware Care?
For years, Delaware lawmakers have wanted more parking in Dover. But the state’s decision to move forward with a pricey parking garage construction during a tight fiscal year has drawn pushback from good government advocates.
A delayed project to build a $33 million Legislative Hall parking garage for lawmakers and the broader public is set to move forward, pending an environmental permit that state officials expect to secure soon, according to testimony from a meeting of the state’s Legislative Building Committee on Monday.
But, controversial plans to build an underground tunnel between the new garage and Legislative Hall next door will not be part of the project, committee members said.
The committee – which is made up of lawmakers and legislative staffers – voted at the Monday meeting to formally pause plans for a parallel, $96 million renovation at Legislative Hall, which would have included the construction of a tunnel.
In recent months, those plans attracted substantial pushback from opponents who said a tunnel was too expensive and would allow lawmakers to avoid interactions with the public.
John Flaherty, a member of the Delaware Coalition for Open Government Delaware transparency group, said an underground tunnel would “shield our legislators from a prying public.”
Monday’s meeting occurred just as Delaware’s legislature is set to make tough decisions on its budget for the next fiscal year. The fiscal outlook has been particularly tough in recent months with unpredictable funding cuts from the federal government, as well as concerns that the state’s lucrative corporate franchise could bring in fewer dollars than in the past.
Last month, Democratic senators and representatives released a joint statement announcing they had redirected $50 million earmarked for the renovations to combat a $38 million cut to federal funds going to Delaware public health services.
According to the statement, the renovations to Legislative Hall would have stemmed overcrowding of staff offices, increased public safety and allowed for better public participation in meetings.
“In the coming months, lawmakers will be faced with tough decisions about how to balance our annual budget. We are committed to funding critical programs that benefit our students, our seniors, our veterans, and every day families,” the statement said. “We hope to revisit the expansion project soon.”
At Monday’s Legislative Building Committee meeting, Mark Cutrona, the director of Division of Legislative Services, said he agreed with legislators who said renovations to Legislative Hall would have increased public safety in the building and enhanced public participation.
“For anyone out there who thinks that this was a type of vanity project that was meant to demonstrate some vanity on behalf of legislators or others, that’s never been the intent of what this project has been here to do,” Cutrona said.
During the public comment period on Monday, Flaherty said the funding being used for the 345-space parking garage could be directed at improving public transportation for staff.
“I think that in all the capital needs in the state this has to mark as one of the near the bottom, if not the bottom, of critical needs following in the state,” Flaherty said.
