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.
- Starwood to appeal Delaware City data center denial
- Opioid settlement commission to approve local grants
- Port of Wilmington stakeholders to meet following dredging debacle
- New Castle County Executive to present his budget; Georgetown to present its budget
- Lawmakers to consider prison reform, immigration protections
Starwood pleads its Coastal Zone case
Starwood Digital Ventures is set to present its appeal on Tuesday morning to the Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board, after Delaware environmental regulators ruled that half of its two-part, hyper-scale data center plan is prohibited under the state’s Coastal Zone Act.
Starwood’s controversial Delaware City data center plan, dubbed Project Washington, was originally denied because of its proposed use of 516 diesel generators for back-up power.
Now, the developer will challenge that denial – a process that could take months, or years, to be fully adjudicated.
This week’s hearing comes after New Castle County enacted sweeping regulations against data centers earlier this month, including new rules requiring they maintain buffer zones and use energy-efficient backup generators.
But the Starwood project, if its appeal is successful, would not be subject to these new regulations. As part of a compromise to get the rules enacted, New Castle County Council included a provision that made them only apply to newly proposed projects – not ones already in the development pipeline.
The Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board’s forthcoming decision about Starwood’s appeal will be its first in nearly five years.
📍 The Coastal Zone Industrial Control Board is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday inside the auditorium of the Richardson and Robbins building, located at 89 Kings Highway in Dover. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
Opioid commission to dole out local grant money
The Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission (POSDC) is set to vote on funding applications submitted by various Delaware municipalities on Monday morning.
The commission – tasked with distributing the state’s nearly $250 million in legal settlements with drug manufacturers to municipalities and local organizations – will direct 15% of its total funds to 10 local jurisdictions that include Wilmington, Dover, Seaford and each of the state’s three counties.
The amount of money each jurisdiction will receive was determined based on a formula of population size, drug overdose deaths, and the number of admissions to substance use treatment facilities, POSDC Brad Owens previously told Spotlight Delaware.
📍 The Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission is scheduled to meet at 10 a.m. Monday inside the Springer Building on the Herman Holloway Campus, located at 203 Mitchell Ln. in New Castle. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
Port stakeholders to meet following dredging debacle
Two stakeholder groups that oversee the Port of Wilmington – the Diamond State Port Corporation Board of Directors and the Port of Wilmington Expansion Task Force – will meet on Monday for the first time since Spotlight Delaware reported last month that a buildup of sediment is blocking fully loaded fruit ships from docking at the port – a facility long known as the top banana port in North America.
Spokespersons for Enstructure, the port’s operator, and for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers – which is in charge of maintaining the navigable waters in the United States – each blamed the sediment buildup on delays in dredging that began last fall.
But those delays in digging out the buildup of sediment and mud could amount to a reputational setback for Delaware’s port.
They also mean the hours worked at the publicly owned, privately run Port of Wilmington are lower than what they would have been otherwise. And in some cases, those hours have been filled by non-union labor at upstream ports, sparking outcry from Delaware workers.
📍 The Port of Wilmington Expansion Task Force is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Monday, followed by the Diamond State Port Corporation board of directors at 3 p.m. Both meetings will take place at Buena Vista, located at 661 S DuPont Highway in New Castle. For more details about the expansion task force meeting, click here. For more details about the DSPC board of directors meeting, click here.
Budget season continues with NCCo, Georgetown
Budget season continues in the First State, with both New Castle County and Georgetown scheduled to hold public meetings this week focused on how they will spend money next year.
In New Castle County, County Executive Marcus Henry will formally present his budget proposal for the 2027 fiscal year — which begins July 1 — during a speech on Tuesday evening. A county council meeting will follow Henry’s address.
Facing a $23 million deficit, Henry has publicly said the county will likely see some kind of tax increase next year, though it is unclear exactly how much tax rates could rise.
In Georgetown, town officials will introduce their fiscal year 2027 budget during Monday night’s town council meeting.
📍 New Castle County Executive Marcus Henry is set to present his budget at 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Louis L. Redding City County Building, located at 800 N. French St. in Wilmington. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
📍 Georgetown Town Council is set to meet at 7 p.m. Monday inside council chambers, located at 39 The Circle in Georgetown. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here.
A ban on private prisons?
The Delaware House of Representatives will convene on Tuesday to consider a bill that would effectively ban private prisons in the state.
Introduced by Rep. Mara Gorman (D-Newark), House Bill 151 was first described as a ban on private detention facilities.
An updated version of that bill, set to be considered on the House floor Tuesday afternoon, walks back that description. But the legislation, if passed, would effectively render private prisons inoperable in Delaware.
It would prohibit Delaware from entering into contracts with private providers or incentivizing their operation in any way.
There currently are no private prisons in the state.
Lawmakers will also consider a slew of other bills in committee this week, including one that would prohibit certain state employees from disclosing residents’ immigration status, and two Republican-led proposals to limit school districts’ ability to increase tax rates following property reassessments.
📍 The House of Representatives will convene at 2 p.m. Tuesday at Legislative Hall, located at 411 Legislative Ave., in Dover. For more details, including information about virtual attendance, click here. To view details of all committee hearings, scroll through the “What’s Happening” box here.
Karl Baker, Olivia Marble and Maggie Reynolds contributed to this report.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Delaware received nearly $250 million in opioid settlement funds, not $7.4 billion.
