FENWICK ISLAND – Residents in Fenwick Island will have the opportunity to voice questions and concerns to state officials at a dredging workshop later this month.
In a Fenwick Island Town Council meeting last Friday, Mayor Gene Langan announced a meeting between the town and officials with the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) on Aug. 18 at 3 p.m. at Town Hall.
Langan said DNREC’s Tony Pratt will be giving a presentation on the state’s plans for dredging, followed by questions from the audience.
Councilwoman Vicki Carmean told the council no timeline has been established to complete dredging work in the adjacent Little Assawoman Bay, which she said is currently at the bottom of the department’s list, and stressed the importance of attending the meeting and asking questions.
“They are talking about dredging the estuaries and streams, but I don’t know what good that is going to do when you get to the Little Assawoman Bay and you are stuck in mud,” she said. “I really think that anyone coming to that meeting needs to be prepared to ask hard questions.”
Langan agreed and said he was bringing maps of the bay to show to state officials.
“I have satellite photos of the bay,” he said. “You can see the sand. It’s unbelievable. Those are the types of things we need to talk to Tony about. What we really need is for them to do the bay for us. I think he is open to it.”
The dredging workshop will follow another public meeting between the town’s Sidewalk Committee and officials from the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT).
Carmean said the meeting will further the town’s commitment to establishing a continuous sidewalk system along the town’s main corridor.
“We agreed this is what we wanted and we are committed to it,” she said.
“We also recognized we could not go forward without contacting DelDOT. Thanks to our town manager we now have a contact and a date.”
Carmean said the meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in Town Hall on Aug. 18 and will be open to the public.
“Please feel free to come,” she said. “You may want to plan lunch and everything else because it’s an all-day affair. I’m hoping a lot of people come to the dredging workshop with questions and I’m looking forward to public participation.”