No election in Dewey Beach for fourth straight year

For the fourth straight year, a municipal election will not be held in Dewey Beach as incumbent commissioners Bill Stevens and Gary Persinger were the only candidates to file to run by the Aug. 22 deadline.

Just moments after the cutoff, town elections officials issued a notice confirming Stevens and Persinger are deemed elected for a full two-year term each. The election had been scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 21.

“The fact that we haven’t had an election in four years is a testament to our commissioners and town employees working together to make Dewey Beach a better place every day,” said Town Manager Bill Zolper.

In Dewey, commissioners serve two-year terms and elect a mayor to serve a one-year term. Stevens was first elected in 2020, the last held election. Stevens was then elected mayor by his fellow commissioners in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He is a professional acting chief financial officer for start-up companies. 

First elected in 2016, Persinger has more than 30 years of experience in the lobbying environment. He has owned property in Dewey for more than 30 years and serves as commissioner liaison to the audit, charter and code, and climate change committees.

The commissioners-elect will be sworn in for their new two-year terms at the September organizational meeting; a date has not yet been set.

Civic league forum

The Dewey Beach Civic League held its traditional candidates’ forum Aug. 24 at the Lifesaving Station; the event brought town leaders together for a cordial talk on issues.

Persinger thanked residents for giving him the chance to serve for another two years.

“I realize it wasn’t your votes that allow me to have that opportunity, but I certainly appreciate your lack of objection to my continuing,” Persinger said, joking he was too young to run for president.

Persinger said his goals include better engagement with stakeholders and combating climate change, which he said is unsolvable but must be addressed to mitigate the effects of weather. 

“Climate change is not a happy discussion, but it’s one we have to have, and we have to do something about,” he said. 

The town marketing and climate change committees will be working together to create an educational campaign, he said. Future plans may call for increasing the freeboard requirement on new construction from 1 foot to 3 feet, he said.

“It’s just a good idea to get your property up out of the way of potential floodwaters,” he said.

Creating the climate change committee was a proactive step, Stevens said.

“Mother Nature wins, whether you like it or not, and you gotta do what you can,” he said.

Stevens said his 20 years of experience as a chief financial officer for start-up companies has given him the expertise to get things moving forward on a limited budget. 

Construction of the $7 million town hall and police department will be the biggest issue over the next two years, he said. It’s important to keep the project under control, he said, noting the Rehoboth Beach Patrol’s current building under construction is $500,000 over budget because unexpected pool debris was found during construction.

Joining in the conversation, Commissioners Paul Bauer and Elisabeth Gibbings both said no one on council has a personal agenda, as leaders work together on issues and meetings are much less contentious than they used to be.

Regarding concerns over noise voiced at recent public hearings on Nalu’s expansion, Stevens said commissioners realized they need look at the ordinance to make sure it’s being enforced properly by the town. 

Persinger said the Nalu public hearings showed there are definitely noise problems, and that the town and businesses both have responsibility. Ordinances must be reasonable and make sense, he said, and it’s not difficult to turn down the sound if needed. 

After the last public hearing on the issue, Stevens said he asked Nalu owner Regan Derrickson to close the sliding glass door that concerned residents who said noise traveled with the door open. Derrickson said he is already keeping the door closed even though he doesn’t technically have to, Stevens said.

Police Chief Constance Speake said she reviewed police logs and found two noise complaints were filed about Nalu in the past two years. Speake said the biggest problem she faces is that people call, email or text a commissioner or town hall employee about an issue rather than the police, so she doesn’t receive the message until days later.

Speake said residents need to call the police department at 302-227-1110, not town hall, to report such issues so she can immediately deploy officers.

“As soon as I know about a problem, we address the problem,” she said.

Zolper said there is no doubt noise is coming from Nalu. Since the last public hearing, he said he has received one complaint about noise. It’s important that the person conducting sound readings has a good relationship with businesses so there is mutual respect between parties, he said.

Regarding the notion there is no parking in town, Stevens said the town has plenty of spots. It’s whether or not people want to walk, he said, but the town is doing what it can. He asked the public to complete a pedestrian safety survey at townofdeweybeach.com, and said the town will continue to survey residents and visitors about issues.

Bauer noted the town has more than 1,300 public parking spots, and Gibbings said visitors aren’t able to park directly in front of their chosen restaurant.