Rehoboth library pulls request for deed restriction change

After months of discussion, Rehoboth Beach Public Library officials announced April 19 that they have withdrawn their request to swap deeds with the city for properties at the current library.

At the heart of the withdrawal were proposed conditions related to the types of services the library would provide and the level of building maintenance that was expected.

A little over a year ago, in an effort to meet the needs of the growing population in its service area, the library announced plans to build a second location off Warrington Road near the new Beebe Specialty Surgical Hospital. Soon after, library and city officials began discussing the future of the downtown location.

The structure of the Rehoboth Avenue library sits on three 50-foot-wide, 100-foot-long lots. In the past, the city gave the lot farthest west to the library with a deed restriction saying that lot must always be used as a library, but if that changed, the city had right of first refusal. Library officials said the eastern lots are the best options for the future because, among other reasons, that’s where the stairs providing access to the second floor are located.

Throughout the discussion, members of the public questioned the library’s motives for wanting to go through with the two-lots-for-one deal.

Kay Wheatley, library board president, always responded to those questions by saying it was being proposed to prove the library’s intentions and desire to maintain a location in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

As recently as February, it appeared the city and library were going to reach an agreement. However, city commissioners raised concerns in March that the new contract didn’t include the types or level of service the library would provide.

Proposed wording on those two items was included as part of the agenda for the April 19 commissioner meeting. It said the library must repair and maintain, at its own cost, all structures; that the city could inspect the structure; that it must undergo a collection assessment; that staffing levels would be maintained to current levels; and if the library didn’t hold up any part of these new provisions, after a described period, the city would have the right of immediate possession.

Commissioner Don Preston, who suggested the additional changes, said he didn’t want to see the city’s library become less important to the library board when it turned its focus to building the Warrington Road location. He said this is the one chance the city has to ask the library for something.

Commissioners held a brief discussion on the proposed deed restrictions, but it was cut short when Wheatley announced the withdrawal of the request.

Immediately following the announcement, Wheatley said the library has $3 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds at stake and they had to get moving on downtown renovations because they need to be done by the end of 2026. She said the original request was simple, but it was one change after another for the city.

Wheatley said the library will continue working with its architect Becker Morgan Group to look for alternative design options for the current downtown location. The library will keep operating under the existing agreement, she said.

Following the meeting, Mayor Stan Mills said the city was alerted that the library had concerns related to the alternate proposal discussed Friday. However, he said, they had hoped that a way to advance the proposed swap of deed restrictions on library parcels could be found.

“We remain open to discussing this possibility should the library determine in the future that it wishes to pursue this option,” said Mills. “We are pleased that the library remains committed to maintaining a branch in downtown Rehoboth Beach. The city wants to be supportive of the library as it determines how that will take shape.”