Why Should Delaware Care?
Government works best when its citizens are knowledgeable and engaged. Delaware’s government has scores of commissions, working groups, agencies and legislative committees. All must hold meetings that are open to the public. Below we highlight a few of those meetings that are happening this week.
Below are some of the more important or interesting public meetings happening around the state this week.
- State taskforce to discuss small nuclear reactors (Statewide)
- Delaware’s healthcare spending benchmark (Statewide)
- Land use review of new community to be annexed into Milton (Sussex)
- New Castle County Council review of proposed Middletown subdivision (New Castle)
- E-bikes vs. mopeds (Statewide)
- How does Delaware pay for schools? (Statewide)
- Money for Downtown Dover (Dover)
Nuclear power in Delaware?
While Delaware government has been criticized for an overreliance on taskforces, the public will have the opportunity this week to hear from one whose recommendations could have substantial impacts on the state’s energy crunch.
Earlier this year, lawmakers passed a resolution to create the Delaware Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force to study the feasibility of installing small nuclear reactors in the state. Lobbying in favor of the resolution was Delmarva Power and PSEG, an energy company that owns the nuclear power plants in Salem, New Jersey.
After nominating members to the task force in September, Gov. Matt Meyer said in a statement that “Delawareans are feeling the impact of rising energy prices, and we have a responsibility to explore every option to bring those costs down.”
A year ago, Spotlight Delaware reported that recent regional energy auctions had produced historically high prices for electricity.
Asked last month about his views of the nuclear power industry, Meyer said he is encouraging the taskforce to act quickly, saying “we need to find sustainable energy sources.”
📍 The Delaware Nuclear Energy Feasibility Task Force will meet at 9 a.m. Monday at Legislative Hall in Dover. For information about virtual attendance, click here.
Health care in Delaware
Last summer, a Delaware hospital representative reported to a state committee that her industry expects health care costs to surge next year by nearly 9 percent – far outpacing the rate of expected inflation.
During the same meeting, members of a Delaware committee charged with setting a healthcare spending benchmark opted to postpone setting new levels for next year.
The benchmark – which is designed to pressure hospitals to constrain their spending – may now be set this week.
📍 The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council Health Care Spending Benchmark Subcommittee will meet at 9 a.m. Monday at the Herman Holloway Campus – DHSS Chapel, located at 1901 North DuPont Highway in New Castle. For information about virtual attendance, click here.
A new Milton neighborhood
Sussex County’s building boom is turning toward Milton with plans for a 385-home development on nearly 200 acres that local officials want to annex into the town.
State planners will review the proposal during a meeting this week in which transportation and environmental regulators also have a say.
📍 The Delaware Preliminary Land Use Service committee will meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Haslet Armory, located at 122 MLK Jr. Blvd. in Dover. For information about virtual attendance, click here.
More Middletown homes
Not all of Delaware’s growth is in Sussex County. On Tuesday, the New Castle County Council will discuss a zoning change for land west of Middletown to accommodate a 540-home development that would include houses, townhomes and apartments.
📍 The New Castle County Council’s land use committee will meet at 3 p.m. Tuesday at the Louis L. Redding City County Building, located at 800 North French Street in Wilmington. For more information, including about virtual attendance, click here.
E-bikes vs. Mopeds
A transportation committee dedicated to studying bicycle infrastructure will meet Wednesday to discuss, among other topics, placing signs on bike trails that prohibit mopeds.
As electric bikes have grown in popularity in recent years, so have higher-powered electric cycles that do not fit into the legal definition of an e-bike.
And the use of those bigger bikes on trails has sparked a backlash.
📍 The Delaware Bicycle Council will meet at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the DelDOT headquarters located at 800 South Bay Road in Dover. For information about virtual attendance, click here.
How will Delaware fund its schools?
A group designing Delaware’s new formula for funding schools will hold two forums this week to present its work to the public
The Public Education Funding Commission advertises the forums as ones in which members of the public can “ask questions and provide feedback to help shape the future of school funding in Delaware.”
Delaware’s public education funding currently follows what officials call a unit count system, which distributes money to districts based on the number of students enrolled.
The Public Education Funding Commission has proposed a formula that would supplement the unit count system with new categories that direct additional dollars to schools with large numbers of low-income students or those who don’t speak English as a first language.
📍 The Public Education Funding Commission forums will occur from 5:30 to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday. The Wednesday forum will take place at Cape Henlopen High School, located at 1250 Kings Highway in Lewes. The Thursday forum will take place at the Polytech Adult Education school, located at 823 Walnut Shade Road, south of Dover. There is no virtual option for the forums.
The future of downtown Dover
For years, proposals to remake the face of downtown Dover have attracted discussions and public dollars from state and local governments.
This week, a board that oversees much of that activity will meet to discuss several of its past and future grants. Included in the discussions will be an audit that examined the use of money from Delaware’s Covid-19 relief fund.
📍 The Downtown Dover Partnership board of directors will meet at 7:30 a.m. Wednesday at Dover City Hall, located at 15 5 Loockerman Plaza. There is no virtual option for this meeting.
