Lewes finance panel recommends nonprofit funding

Three nonprofit organizations left a Lewes Finance Committee meeting happy after the panel recommended their fiscal year 2026 grant requests to mayor and city council.

The Lewes Fire Department, the Greater Lewes Foundation’s Fourth Street Preserve open space campaign and Lewes in Bloom each made pitches for city money at a Jan. 21 meeting.

Bernie Edmondson, the fire department’s chief marketing officer, told the panel they need $21,270 in FY26 for four thermal imaging cameras and two gas detectors.

He also said the department would need $22,000 in each of fiscal years 2027 and 2028 for six sets of fire protective gear, which include the jackets and pants firefighters wear.

The money is in addition to the $75,000 the city includes as a budget line item each year.

“In 2024, the department handled an average of 21 [emergency] calls a day,” Edmondson said. “As our population continues to grow, so does the demand for our services. However, the recruitment of volunteers and our funding sources are not keeping pace with this increasing need.”

Last year, the department requested the city contribute 16% of its $4 million budget, about $610,000, because 16% of its calls are in city limits.

Councilperson Amy Marasco, the committee’s co-chair, said the city is waiting for the results of a state study on fire department funding, which could change the dynamics. She said those results could be released in February or March.

“There is a pot of money, but we are unaware [of how much], as is our fire department. Then there is concern that when the study is done, the money won’t be realized for a very long time,” Marasco said.

Marasco said council has invited the fire department to address the panel about the fire risks in Lewes.

“We want to be fully prepared as best we can, and to give you the resources you need to protect our citizens,” Marasco said.

Jim Ford, chair of the Open Space Alliance campaign to buy and save the Fourth Street Preserve, asked for $250,000. That figure is the final installment of the $1 million the city has pledged to the campaign.

Council has already approved the first $750,000, but the money has not yet been paid.

Lewes City Manager Ellen Lorraine McCabe said the money is coming from the city’s transfer tax.

“We won’t be coming back to the city for an additional contribution request. We do have some funding sources we haven’t tapped yet,” Ford said.

The campaign has now raised $6 million of the $8.3 million needed to buy and protect the 30-acre preserve, Ford said.

Ford said the deadline is Sept. 15. He said there are a few variables that could extend that date.

“Once we acquire the property and the city has taken ownership of the property, we will continue to fundraise to minimize expenses of implementation of the master plan and maintenance of this property over time,” Ford said.

Ford said the goal is to raise an additional $300,000 for future maintenance costs and an endowment to operate the preserve.

He said Rodney Robinson, a local landscape architect, has begun a site-design study of the property. The parcel is slated to become a wildlife habitat and park for passive recreation.

Ford said the Open Space Alliance will be holding fundraisers in the spring, including the second Race for Open Space 5K run and 1K walk in April.

Lewes in Bloom also received a unanimous recommendation for its request for $33,000. Council approved a $28,000 contribution last year.

Ed Zygmonski, co-chair of Lewes in Bloom, said he was asking for a 13% increase from last year’s contribution because of rising expenses.

The committee’s financial stewardship subcommittee proposed an annual Lewes in Bloom contribution of a flat $50,000 and making it a line item in the city budget.

Zygmonski said the cost of plants jumped from $75,000 in 2023 to $95,000 last year. He said he expects a similar hike this year. He said the organization’s budget is about $200,000 per year.

Zygmonski said Lewes in Bloom’s 400 volunteers worked 16,500 hours last year, saving the city more than $641,000.

Council will consider the panel’s recommendations for all three nonprofits at a future meeting.