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 minutes that are happening this week.
Here is a look at some of the most important or interesting public meetings happening around the state this week.
- Georgetown to discuss cottage development
- Red Clay community invited to superintendent town hall
- State to consider grant to NASA contractor
- New Castle County to vote on new police officer contract
Georgetown to discuss cottage development
Now under new leadership following the election of Mayor Angie Townsend this past spring, Georgetown is once again reviewing its cottage development ordinance.
The controversial legislation, approved under her predecessor Bill West, allows for the development of clusters of small homes on lots as small as an acre. It was intended to be a solution for housing affordability, and the developer Little Living is in the process of developing such a project on East Market Street.
However, other residents have raised concerns that the developments are out-of-character with the town. The town council voted earlier this month to pause any consideration of additional cottage projects until they could reassess the law.
The Georgetown Cottage Housing Ordinance Review and Evaluation Ad Hoc Committee will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, at town hall, located at 39 The Circle in Georgetown. For more information, click here. For the video livestream, click here.
Red Clay community invited to superintendent town halls
The Red Clay Board of Education is inviting students, families, staff, and community members to participate in a series of town hall meetings amid their search for the district’s next superintendent.
In June, Dorrell Green left that role in order to take over as superintendent of the Norristown, Pa., School District. Red Clay is the largest school district in Delaware, with more than 14,000 students.
During each town hall, participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback on how they would like the district to conduct the superintendent search.
For those unable to make the meeting, the public can share their thoughts by completing an online feedback form.
The first town hall will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 29, at Richardson Park Elementary School, located at 16 Idella Ave. in Wilmington. The second will take place at 6 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at Cab Calloway School of the Arts, located at 100 N. Dupont Road in Wilmington. A Zoom link will be posted on the Red Clay website homepage on the day of each meeting.
State to consider grant to NASA contractor
The Council on Development Finance, an appointed body that decides whether to issue taxpayer-funded grants to economic development projects, will meet Monday morning to consider a comparatively small grant to a NASA contractor.
Moonprint Solutions, a Dover-based manufacturer of so-called “soft goods,” or textile-based products, has applied for a $50,000 grant from the Delaware Technical Innovation Program. Those grants are add-ons to companies that have already secured federal research grants.
What exactly Moonprint Solutions, which works with NASA, the Department of Defense and the Coast Guard, would invest the state funds into will be discussed in the meeting.
The Council on Development Finance will meet at 10 a.m. Monday, July 27, at the Delaware Public Archives, located at 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Dover. For more details and a link for remote viewing, click here.
New Castle County to vote on new police officer contract
The New Castle County Council is scheduled to consider a new contract with the union that represents county police officers during their meeting Tuesday.
The new pay scales, which have already been agreed to through collective bargaining negotiations with Fraternal Order of Police Lodge No. 5 and accounted for in the Fiscal Year 2027 budget, will increase costs this year by $1.4 million.
The three-year contract will increase costs more dramatically in the final two years though, when budgets will rise $10.1 million and $11.5 million over the FY 2025 baseline year.
The new contract comes amid the first year of New Castle County’s 17% tax increase approved by county council this past spring.
The New Castle County Council will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 28, at the City/County Building, located at 800 N. French St. in Wilmington. For more information and remote viewing, click here.
