Bivens bids farewell to Delaware State Parks

Ray Bivens spent the morning of his next-to-last day on the job talking about his first 11.5 years on the job.

The now former director of Delaware Division Parks and Recreation spoke at the Lewes Chamber of Commerce breakfast Jan. 23. He left to become the director of parks and recreation for St. Mary’s County, Md.

Bivens had parting comments about the parks system he managed for more than a decade.

“I can say this now since I’m out the door: [Parks] are not funded like they should be,” he said.

Bivens said the statistics show that the state park system has had to do more with less for a long time. In 2009, he said there were 197 full-time staff. Now, that number is 176.

In 2009, state parks received $11.6 million from general funds. They get $11.6 million today, Bivens said.

He said the number of annual park visitors has almost doubled in the last 16 years, from 4.5 million to 8 million.

“I feel like we’ve been Houdini a lot of times. We take duct tape, putty and paint, and make it what it ain’t. But you can only do that for so long,” he said.

Bivens thanked volunteers, some of whom give hundreds of hours a year, for doing much of that work.

He and Brooke Cahill, Delaware State Parks planning, preservation and development administrator, gave a presentation on the newly renovated Biden Environmental Center in Cape Henlopen State Park.

Cahill said the building was built by the Navy in 1962 as a training facility. It was rededicated Dec. 13, after $15 million in renovations funded by the Bond Bill. Cahill said the renovations uncovered some interesting features.

“There was a safe installed by the Navy. It was a little difficult to remove. We actually had to bring an excavator into the building with a jackhammer and slowly chisel the thing away. But, we did save the door,” he said.

The building will now be used by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control for training, regional workshops and community-focused events. It is the only DNREC training center in the state.

The agency has set two open houses: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 22, and 3 to 7 p.m., Wednesday, April 30.

After the breakfast, Bivens talked to the Cape Gazette about the proposals for a new bathhouse and upscale cottages in Cape Henlopen State Park.

He said the bathhouse should be at the top of the list.

“We don’t even have separate changing rooms for our lifeguards or a good place to deal with someone who is overheating. So, [the park] needs a new bathhouse. It could use two. This bathhouse was not built to handle the volume,” Bivens said.

Plans call for a two-story bathhouse to be built north of the current McBride Bathhouse. The existing building would then be torn down.

A group called the Preserve Our Park Coalition is opposed to tearing down the existing bathhouse and constructing a new building on an undisturbed dune. It does support renovations to the current facility.

The group also opposes the proposed 11 upscale rental cottages on what is now the primitive camp site, not far from the Biden Environmental Center. It claims the cottages would have a negative impact on wildlife and the environment.

But, Bivens said the cabins are important part of the $70 million in capital improvements needed in the park.

“There isn’t a cabin in the park that has accessible bathrooms. That’s one of the driving forces. It is the same model cabin that’s at the Indian River Marina, and people love it. But, I understand where people are coming from,” he said.

The coalition is urging DNREC to honor its 1999 master plan, which aims to protect the park’s fragile ecosystem.

Bivens called his decision to go, “A huge burden off my shoulders.”

“It had nothing to do with the new administration,” Bivens said. “I was recruited for this job, and they made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

His successor has not been announced.

Bivens said, despite the financial challenges, he expects state parks will remain in good hands.

“I know Gov. Meyer cares about parks, so I’m looking forward to what the future holds,” he said.