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 most important or interesting public meetings happening around the state this week.
- Middletown Municipal Election (Middletown)
- Project Washington data center hearings (New Castle County)
- Joint Finance Hearings (Statewide)
- Redding Consortium meeting (Wilmington)
- Newark Comprehensive Plan discussions (Newark)
- Solar array project vote (Sussex County)
Middletown to elect council
Residents of the town of Middletown will head to the polls Monday to select three new council members, or half of the legislative body.
Candidates this year include three incumbents Bruce Orr, Craig Sherman and David W. Thomas as well as challenger Michelle Williams. The top three vote-getters will earn a two-year term on the council.
You must be at least 18, resident in town limits, and be eligible to vote under state statute to vote in the municipal election.
Residents must offer proof of residency with a form of identification such as a driver’s license or State of Delaware ID card; a uniformed service ID card; another current photo identification ID card issued by the State of Delaware; the U.S. government; the voter’s employer; high school or higher education; a current utility bill; bank statement; credit card statement; a paycheck or pay advice; or another type of bill or statement.
📍 Voters can cast ballots from noon to 8 p.m. Monday, March 2, at Town Hall, located at 19 W. Green St. in Middletown.
Data center developer to undergo reviews
Update: The New Castle County Board of Adjustments hearing for Thursday has been cancelled.
The controversial Delaware City-area data center project known as Project Washington will have two hearings next week.
Starwood Digital Ventures filed a request with New Castle County’s Board of Adjustments for a special use permit to allow it to build an electric switch station for the project. The board will consider the request during a hearing on Thursday.
Starwood’s plan is also continuing to move through the state’s land-use review process – in which representatives from multiple state agencies offer comments about how the data center plan may be impacted by their respective regulations.
Among the agencies that typically participate in the process is the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, which has ruled that the plan violates the state’s Coastal Zone Act. Starwood recently appealed that decision.
The land use process is conducted by the Delaware Preliminary Land Use Service board, which does not have the power to make final decisions. Still, its recommendations can influence the ultimate decisions that local governments make. The public is allowed to listen and comment on those deliberations, but they cannot ask questions.
📍 The New Castle County Board of Adjustments will meet at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 5, at 67 Reads Way in New Castle. Members of the public can also attend the meeting over Zoom. The Preliminary Land Use Service will meet from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 4.
Health, Education departments discuss budgets
State lawmakers will complete their budget hearings next week, by hearing testimony from two of the state’s largest departments: the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Education.
The Joint Finance Committee’s budget review for DHSS will span the entirety of Monday’s hearings, as the department oversees a swath of large-scale programs used by many Delawareans, including Medicaid and SNAP benefits. It was originally set to present last week, but the hearings were postponed following the latest snowstorm.
Legislators will hear from Department of Education leaders as well as leaders from the Redding Consortium and Wilmington Learning Collaborative (WLC), two appointed work groups that are working on improving educational achievement in the city of Wilmington, on Tuesday.
Notably, the Redding Consortium is behind a controversial proposal to merge the four school districts that serve the city of Wilmington: Brandywine, Christina, Colonial and Red Clay. It has published a preview of its presentation to be found here.
The Redding and WLC leaders will present between 10:30 a.m. and noon Tuesday, while Education Secretary Cindy Marten will lead a department discussion from 12:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Those hearings were likewise postponed from earlier in February.
📍 The Joint Finance Committee will meet from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, March 2, and 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at Legislative Hall, located at 411 Legislative Ave. in Dover. For information about virtual attendance for the Monday meeting, click here. For the Tuesday meeting, click here.
Redding to finalize redistricting process
After presenting to state lawmakers earlier in the day, the members of the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity will convene in Wilmington for their first meeting in a month.
According to their agenda, the work at their Tuesday, March 3, meeting will again be light and largely procedural, with just an hour scheduled.
They will be finalizing the process for how to recommend combining four school districts and forming, by far, the largest single school district in Delaware. The draft version of that plan can be found here.
📍 The Redding Consortium for Educational Equity will meet publicly at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Delaware Tech-George Campus, located at 300 N. Orange St. in Wilmington. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
Newark to discuss Comp Plan
After weeks of soliciting information for its once-in-a-decade update to the land-use plan, known as its Comprehensive Plan, Newark city and planning officials will begin deliberations Tuesday on what to include.
Comp Plans have enormous impacts on future building projects, transportation investments and natural resource protections.
Officials will review the results of public surveys and listening sessions as they begin crafting the final plans over coming months.
📍 The Newark Planning Commission and City Council Joint Meeting will meet publicly at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Newark Municipal Building, located at 220 S. Main St. in Newark. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
Sussex to consider solar projects
On the Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission’s agenda next week are final decisions on two solar projects.
The larger of the two would be located on nearly 7 acres of land at 27858 Cypress Road near Frankford. It is a 4-megawatt system being developed by RWE Renewables Americas, which acquired the former Con Edison Renewables, one of the nation’s largest solar developers.
The other project is proposed by San Francisco-based Forefront Power, and would be located on roughly 11 acres of land at 32507 Vines Creek Road near Dagsboro.
Both projects are seeking conditional use waivers as their properties are currently zoned AR-1, or agricultural residential.
📍 The Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission will meet publicly at 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 4, at the Sussex County Administrative Office Building, located at 2 The Circle in Georgetown. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
