Commissioners look at fees for Newton parking garage, accept grant for Dennis Library work

NEWTON − An ordinance which sets up daily and permit fees for parking in the county garage was introduced to the Sussex Board of Chosen Commissioners on Wednesday.

The ordinance goes to a public hearing at the body's July 10 meeting and then could immediately be approved by a majority vote.

The ordinance was amended before being brought up for a vote by moving electric vehicle charging stations and parking to an outdoor area adjacent to the three-level garage. The amendment also reduced the number of stations to two and left the number of reserved EV spaces at four.

The package includes two separate ordinances; one which creates the fee system and the other which authorizes establishment of paid parking through fees or permits in the garage.

If approved as presented, parking fees will be 50 cents per half-hour with a 10-hour maximum. A parking pass would be good for hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. Either pass will be $120 per month. The ordinance calls for annual passes to be "purchased and paid for in advance for the entire year."

The electric car spaces will be in the outside area between the garage structure and the row of county owned buildings which face High Street.

Of the four spaces, two will have charging units and two will not. The ordinance notes that electric vehicle charging stations shall range between $0.40 and $0.80 per kWh while an electric vehicle is connected to the electriccharging station. The fee shall be set at least annually in writing by the Chief Financial Officer.

Commissioner Director Jill Space said the original idea was to have four charging stations, but it was decided to initially go with the two stations. Also, as safety issues with EV batteries are reduced and eliminated, parking spaces for those vehicles could be established inside the structure.

Sussex County Library grant

The commissioners were also given the final state library grant amount - $1,572,815 - for renovations and upgrades to the Dennis Branch of the Sussex County Library on Main Street. The county will come up with matching funds for the work which will bring the historic building into compliance with federal and state access standards.

The county library system has six branches, including the main library.

The library is also doing an online survey which people can take at: www.sussexcountylibrary.org.

Delaware Water Gap name change

Also approved by the five commissioners (Commissioner William Hayden was absent) was a resolution supporting state Senate and Assembly resolutions which oppose the renaming of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area to the Delaware River National Park and Lenape Preserve.

The re-naming is being proposed by the Delaware River National Park and Lenape Preserve Alliance, yet has drawn numerous resolutions by government units and other groups on both sides of the river opposing any change in designation.

Many of the arguments center on hunting and fishing which are allowed in most areas of the recreation area in keeping with the individual state's hunting and fishing laws. As a formally designated 'national park', most hunting would be disallowed and some fishing also restricted.

The park − within the NPS most units are called "parks" − is among the 20 most-visited units of the National Park Service with about 4.2 million visitors a year.