REGULAR MEETING
February 27, 1967
The regular meeting of City Council was held Monday, February 27, 1967 at 7:30 P.M. with Mayor Carroll presiding. Councilmen present were Messrs Biggs, Harris, Hastings, Hayes, Holpp, Hughes, Jackson and Smith.
MINUTES
Minutes of the meeting of February 13, 1967 were approved by Council and bore the written approval of Mayor Carroll.
UTILITY COMMITTEE
Councilman Holpp presented a report of the Utility Committee meeting held on Monday, February 20, 1967. On motion of Mr. Smith, Council accepted the report of the Utility Committee.
JOHNSTON FRONT FOOT CHARGE
A request had been received from W. Deane Johnston, through the Utility Committee, for relief on front foot charge for sewer on his property located in Northwest Dover Heights. Mr. Johnston claims that he was billed for a 100' frontage of property, when the sewer line runs across the rear of his property, which measures approximately 21'. The policy of the City of Dover was set to bill front foot charge on the frontage per Post Office address. Mr. Johnston requested that some relief be given him as the billing was in excess of the actual footage of sewer pipe installed. On motion of Mr. Hughes, seconded by Mr. Holpp, Council by vote of 6 ‘yes’ and 2 ‘no’, Mr. Hayes and Mr. Jackson, Council recommended that the billing remain as stands per front foot of Post Office address.
McDANIEL WATER
The request of J. Stites McDaniel, for the extension of water across Cooper Road, referred to the Utility Committee from the last Council meeting, was returned from the Utility Committee with a request that it be denied. The present City policy is that utilities, such as sewer and water, will not be extended beyond the City Limits under any circumstances. Mr. Smith stated that he felt that this was wrong in this case, since the main problem was a health hazard here and he felt that the City could help eliminate this problem. On motion of Mr. Smith, seconded by Mr. Jackson, a request to grant the extension of the water line was presented to Council. A tie vote resulted with 4 ‘yes’, Messrs Hughes, Jackson, Hayes and Smith and 4 ‘no’ Messrs Biggs, Hastings, Harris and Holpp, at which time Mayor Carroll voted ‘No’ and therefore denying the request for the extension of water across Cooper Road.
LEGISLATIVE & FINANCE, WAGES & HOURS COMMITTEE
Councilman Hayes reported on the meeting of the Legislative & Finance, Wages & Hours Committee meeting held on Monday, February 20, 1967. Mr. Hayes stated that progress is being made on revisions to the pension plan and a complete report would be presented to Council upon its completion.
VACATING OF NORTH STREET AND COURT STREET
A public hearing was duly advertised for this date for the purpose of vacating and abandoning North Street and Court Street between Federal Street and Legislative Avenue and the extension of ‘E’ Street from Federal Street to Legislative Avenue. Mayor Carroll declared the hearing opened. Mr. Elijah Dukes, Secretary of State, State of Delaware, was present and expressed a hope that the Council would grant the request of the State Building Commission to make these changes in conjunction with the State Department’s building program. Mr. Bernard Ettenger, Dover Businessman, questioned at this time, the availability of parking since two streets were being closed and replaced by only one street. Mr. John Bivens, State Planner, stated that when this office building would be built, ample off-street parking would be made available, as set up in the Building Code of the City of Dover. With no further questions or comments, Mayor Carroll closed the hearing. On motion of Mr. Hayes, seconded by Mr. Holpp, Council by unanimous vote ranted the request of the State Building Commission.
REZONE 814 RIVER ROAD, CAPITOL GREEN
A public hearing was duly advertised for this date for the purpose of rezoning the property located at 814 River Road, Capitol Green. The request was to rezone this property from its present RG-1 to RG-2. Mayor Carroll declared the hearing opened. No one was present to speak for or against the rezoning. Council was informed that the request of the Planning Commission was that the rezoning be denied, due to it being non-conforming in sizes, the Deed Restrictions are for single family only, and the problem of parking would be undesirable. With no further comments or questions, Mayor Carroll closed the hearing. On motion of Mr. Jackson, seconded by Mr. Harris, Council by unanimous vote denied the request to rezone this property.
250TH ANNIVERSARY COMMITTEE
A letter was received from the 250th Anniversary Committee inviting the City Council of Dover to meeting being held this evening at 7:30 P.M. in the Auditorium of the Dover High School on Walker Road. This meeting is to familiarize the public with the plans for the upcoming celebration.
MRS. SPENCE WATER REQUEST
A letter was received from Mrs. Mary Spence, who lives on Webbs Lane, Dover, requesting permission to hook a trailer located on her property to the City Water lines. Mrs. Spence’s home, in which she and her husband reside, is located on the front of this property and the trailer, which she rents, is located at the rear of this same property. Under Section 7.151 of the Zoning Code stated that a house trailer is a non-conforming use. On motion of Mr. Harris, seconded by Mr. Hastings, Council acknowledged receipt of the letter and requested that Mrs. Spence be informed of the action taken pertaining to her letter.
TRAILER STUDY
On motion of Mr. Harris, seconded by Mr. Holpp, Council requested that the City Manager make a study of the problem of the House Trailers that are still located within the City of Dover, and whether an amendment or correction should be made to the Zoning Code to solve this problem of trailers located within the City Limits.
TRAVEL DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE
A letter was received from the State Development inviting the City of Dover to participate in the Governor’s Conference on Travel and Recreation to be held in Wilmington on March 30, 1967. It was requested that the Mayor appoint a five man committee to study the travel attractions within the City of Dover, and designate an official travel information center in some public place in the City. Mayor Carroll stated that he at this time would not appoint a committee, but if anyone were interested in working on this study, he would welcome their participation.
DISPOSAL OF OBSOLETE EQUIPMENT
On motion of Mr. Holpp, seconded by Mr. Hastings, Council authorized the City Manager to dispose of obsolete and unuseable equipment now being carried in the City’s inventory, for which there is no further use.
250TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL DAYS
The request presented to the Council at its last meeting by the 250th Anniversary Special Days Committee to close Loockerman Street from State Street to Governors Avenue for the period of May 6th through May 13th, in conjunction the 250th Celecration, was brought back before Council at this time. The State Highway Department has been contacted and gave its okay, the Police Chief and Fire Chief have okayed the closing with certain restrictions. On motion of Mr. Hayes, seconded by Mr. Jackson, Council by unanimous vote granted the Merchants Association a conditional use for closing of Loockerman Street pending final approval by the Chief of Police and the Fire Chief.
LEON TARBURTON ANNEXATION
A request has been received from Leon Tarburton asking the City to look into the possibility of annexing approximately 25 acres of land he owns on the White Oak Road adjacent to the City Limits of Dover. On motion of Mr. Hayes, seconded by Mr. Holpp, Council acknowledged receipt of the request and referred it to the Planning Commission and the Utility Committee for their recommendations and be presented to Council at a later date.
Council adjourned at 8:45 P.M.
Jay R. Dougherty
City Clerk
All ordinances, orders and resolutions adopted by City Council at its meeting of February 27, 1967 are hereby approved.
February 28, 1967 Crawford J. Carroll Mayor