FENWICK ISLAND – An opportunity to fund a portion of two drainage projects with grant money led to a broader discussion about the need for a drainage study in Fenwick Island.
Late last month, the Fenwick Island Town Council voted unanimously to apply for a Community Economic Resilience Grant Program through Delaware Sea Grant and to appropriate $30,000 for a potential match. Town Manager Terry Tieman said the grant funding opportunity could help the town fund a portion of drainage improvement projects along Indian Street and Farmington Street.
“We are experiencing drainage issues on both Farmington and Indian streets and have so for a long time,” she said. “These issues have been ongoing despite the town’s attempts to alleviate the problem.”
Tieman told the council AECOM had engineered drainage plans to resolve the issues along Farmington and Indian. But both projects had been removed from the fiscal year 2021 capital budget because of the unknown impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the town’s revenue streams.
“Since then, Delaware Sea Grant has issued a request for proposal for a Community Economic Resilience Grant Program …,” she said. “SERCAP, which is the Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project, has approached the town to partner with them in a grant application. SERCAP would manage the grant and make the application on the town’s behalf.”
Tieman said the town had issued a letter of intent to Delaware Sea Grant, and that a final grant proposal was due on Oct. 9.
“Although matching funds are not required, town council approval of a match would provide a competitive edge in obtaining a grant,” she said. “This supports the third goal to identify and improve flooding and drainage in Fenwick Island’s Community Sustainability Plan.”
Tieman said the two drainage projects were expected to cost nearly $60,000.
“This is an opportunity to get half this project paid for if we win the grant,” she said.
On both streets, she said, new piping would direct rain water into the nearby canals.
“If you look on Farmington near Our Harvest, that is wet all the time and that water stays there …,” Tieman said. “It’s something that’s needed to be done for the last several years and we’ve just not funded it. I saw the grant as a real opportunity to get at least part of it funded.”
Tieman noted the town is also in the process of installing new one-way valves, which she said would alleviate tidal flooding issues on some of the town’s side streets.
“This will help with some of what’s happening on Farmington,” she said. “I don’t know that you are ever going to totally correct the situation, but the one-way valves will help.”
Tieman, however, highlighted the need for a comprehensive drainage study in Fenwick Island. She argued the number of flooding events would only increase in the coming years.
“The next time we have funding available, we ought to think about a town-wide study for drainage,” she said. “I think you are going to see that happen more and more frequently in the climate crisis we are in.”
Mayor Gene Langan agreed.
“We need to start attacking this, we really do,” he said.
Councilman Richard Mais noted frequent flooding events would also add to road maintenance costs. He said a drainage study was something the town needed to explore.
“The frequent flooding of our streets is going to affect the stability of the streets themselves,” he said. “We’re going to end up spending a lot more money on street repairs than we have in the past. I don’t have an answer, but I think we need to look for one.”
With no further discussion, the council voted 7-0 to approve the grant application and to allocate $30,000 in matching grant funds.
