Rehoboth Beach commissioners change meeting structure

Looking to place more of a premium on the goings-on of city departments, Rehoboth Beach commissioners have instituted a procedural change to meetings.

For many years now, there’s been a placeholder on agendas for reports from the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce, Rehoboth Beach Main Street, Rehoboth Beach Public Library, Rehoboth Beach Historical Society and Cape Henlopen Senior Center.

Now in lieu of those reports, commissioners will hear departmental updates on a rotating basis.

Commissioner Don Preston suggested the change during the commissioner comment period at a May 17 meeting. He said he appreciated hearing reports from Director of Planning Mary Ellen Gray and Public Works Director Henry Matlosz at non-commissioner meetings. In both instances, he said, he was struck by how he was hearing these reports for the first time and the content might carry more weight if the reports were being given at commissioner meetings.

“Maybe not all of them at every meeting, but on a rotating basis to hear reports from the department heads about what’s going on, so we don’t read about these things in the Cape Gazette before we actually know about them as commissioners. One way to do this efficiently would be to deemphasize the reports we get from third parties,” said Preston, pointing to the long-standing liaison reports given by the aforementioned groups. “No disrespect intended, but we might not need a monthly report verbally given to us by these folks. We can certainly read them.”

Mayor Stan Mills didn’t acknowledge the suggestion at that May meeting, but he put the new policy into practice during the June 10 commissioner workshop. During that meeting, Human Resources Director Gene Lee gave an update on staffing levels and other employee-related initiatives she’s overseeing.

A couple of weeks later, Mills said Lee presented her information during the workshop because she couldn’t be at the June 21 commissioner meeting. Moving forward, he said, there will be an in-depth report from the finance department during the July regular meeting and then an in-depth report from building and licensing at the August regular meeting, he said.

Commissioner Edward Chrzanowski said he got a few questions about the change because people expressed concern that the process changed without notice. It was a surprise, he said.

“I just want to make clear that this doesn’t devalue our appreciation or reliance on these organizations or their input. This is a change for time management and meeting efficiency purposes. Not for any other reason,” said Chrzanowski.

Following up on his comments from the earlier meeting, Preston said there was another reason for the change.

“It’s to emphasize the importance of hearing from the thing we’re responsible for, which is the running of the city government, and to hear from staff about how that is going,” said Preston.

Mills concluded the June 21 discussion by saying each of the community groups could ask to be placed on the agenda if there is an issue that needs to be addressed, and they could also do a once-a-year update.

Baja Bob’s permit of compliance approved

By unanimous 6-0 vote June 21, Rehoboth Beach commissioners approved a permit of compliance for Baja Bob’s, which is a new taco stand on the south end of the Boardwalk. Commissioner Patrick Gossett abstained.

This was the second city approval restaurant owner Bob Frankis needed to sell alcohol. He also needed – and was granted – a variance from the city’s board of adjustment because city code doesn’t allow two restaurants to serve alcohol in the same building when those restaurants exceed 2,500 square feet. Baja Bob’s is below Above the Dunes. The variance was approved because, on the word of the city’s building department that it would be OK, Frankis had invested the money needed to turn the space into a restaurant after it had spent the last few decades as an arcade. He was later told about the city code provision.

Prior to the vote, Chrzanowski said he wanted to acknowledge the city screwed up a couple of times during the process and to thank Frankis for his patience.

“It’s so great to have small businesses that want to invest and be a part of the community. As we’ve experienced this, we just need to do a better job in identifying issues earlier in the process, and hopefully this is a lesson learned for all of us,” said Chrzanowski.