Dewey now in control of lifesaving station property

To prevent the potential loss of control of a Dewey Beach landmark, Town Manager Bill Zolper has worked with state officials for more than a year to transfer to the town the property upon which the lifesaving station sits.

“After what happened down in Rehoboth with Deauville Beach going back to the state when the city decided they didn’t want to pay what the state was asking, I was thinking, could the same thing happen here?” Zolper said at the Oct. 18 commissioners meeting.

Zolper enlisted the assistance of Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf, D-Rehoboth Beach, to work with Delaware Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock and their respective lawyers to arrange for the deed transfer of 1 Dagsworthy Ave. 

The town had previously leased the oceanfront property for $1 a year from the Delaware Economic Development Authority. The lifesaving station is used by the Dewey Beach Patrol and as an official municipal meeting place.

The conveyance includes historic preservation and conservation covenants for the property, where the original lifesaving station was commissioned in 1878.

“While a 1988 reproduction of the original lifesaving station now sits on the site, the cultural resources, including the station and the archaeological resources related to site occupation and use, actually and potentially exist,” deed covenants state.

The historic covenant recommends the town conduct a historic resource study to determine the property’s eligibility for listing on the National Register of Historic Places before making any structural or cosmetic changes to the station.

Further, the covenant recommends the town conduct an archaeological study before any construction or ground disturbance of the property. Following the completion of these studies, as appropriate, the state recommends all work on the property follow the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the treatment of historic properties to protect its historic nature.

Regarding the conservation covenant, the town must retain and protect the natural, scenic and open-space value of the property to ensure its availability for public, recreational or open-space use; protect surrounding natural resources such as plant and wildlife habitats and ecosystems; and maintain or enhance air and water quality or supply.

The covenants state the town will seek to have a historical marker placed on the property identifying its history akin to the marker for the Indian River Inlet Life-Saving Station. The public will be permitted to access the property for passive recreational use as long as such activities don’t adversely affect the property.

If the property and station are ever used for commercial or non-public purposes, or sale, the title will be immediately subject to a perpetual right of reversion retained by the Delaware secretary of state, covenants state.

If an offer is made to purchase any part of the property, the town must give the written notice of the offer to the Delaware secretary of state, who has the right of first refusal for 180 days within which to purchase the property on the terms of the said offer.

A deed of easement allows the state and Army Corps of Engineers to continue to use the property for a staging area when engaged in beach erosion projects. The town asked the state to stage equipment on the beach last year and will ask the state to use the beach again, Zolper said.

During public comment, property owner A.J. Pires expressed support for the conveyance and the recommended historic and archaeological studies.

“As a child of a generation of homeowners who worked in the ’80s to try to move the lifesaving station and then build the replica, it really meets the intent of the original use of the land,” Pires said.

Records show the federal government abandoned the 1.088-acre property to the state in 1946. The original station was later moved to the Forgotten Mile and converted into a home. 

In 1987, town leaders sought to purchase the station, move it back to Dagsworthy Street and restore it, but costs were prohibitive. The replica was completed in 1988, which is also when the original station was moved to Shipcarpenter Square in Lewes, where it was restored as a home and still stands today.

Commissioner Elisabeth Gibbings asked Town Counsel Fred Townsend if he saw any issues with the agreement. Townsend said he had objected to some earlier language in the deed, which the state quickly addressed.

“The playing field is not level,” Townsend said. “We’re beggars in this transaction, so we kind of have to accept whatever terms they impose because they’re giving us this property.”

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the resolution.