FENWICK ISLAND – A county grant of $100,000 will allow the Town of Fenwick Island to fund sidewalks and police vehicles.
In a Fenwick Island Town Council meeting last Friday, officials approved the final allocation of $100,000 in grant funding from Sussex County.
Councilman Bill Rymer, town treasurer, said the funding would be divided between the town’s sidewalk construction project and the purchase of police vehicles.
“Over the last 10 months we’ve discussed a couple of different times the allocation of $100,000 that the town received from Sussex County,” he said. “Originally the funds were reserved for the sidewalk project. Ultimately the sidewalk project will only need $50,000 of that $100,000.”
This spring, the town began construction on a long-awaited sidewalk project. Using $600,000 in allocated funding, crews spent weeks installing sidewalks along five bayside blocks, beginning in front of Warren’s Station restaurant at Indian Street and moving south toward Dagsboro Street.
“We are so excited that we could bring this 20-year-in-the-making project to a successful completion,” Mayor Natalie Magdeburger said this spring. “This is a great addition for Fenwick and our businesses on the north side as well as our entire community.”
With the project now complete, officials say they will continue to work with the Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) to install walkways along the remainder of Coastal Highway. The town is also looking to add landscaping to the areas between the newly constructed sidewalks and the adjoining bayside properties.
Rymer told council members last week the grant funding from Sussex County has now been divided into two tranches. He said he was seeking the town council’s approval to allocate $50,000 toward two projects.
“So I would like the council to approve a final allocation of $50,000 for the sidewalk project and then $50,000 to help offset the cost of the two police vehicles that we purchased during the year,” he explained. “So the funds will be used for the sidewalk and the police vehicles.”
With no further discussion, the council voted 6-0, with Councilman Paul Breger absent, to approve the requested allocations.
