Memos at Random


	A potpourri of miscellaneous news SCRIBBLED IN A REPORTER'S NOTEBOOK

Brandywine school superintendent Bruce Harter was one of four finalists seeking to become superintendent of the Poudre School District in Fort Collins, Colo.

According to a 'press release' issued by the district, Harter withdrew from consideration because a schedule conflict prevented his participating in two days of interviews and public appearances on Apr. 19 and 20. The Brandywine school board met on Apr. 19. The 'release' quoted Harter as saying he felt that being interviewed separately "would prevent him from being fairly compared to the other candidates." The four finalists were selected by a screening committee which reviewed submissions by 92 applicants for the job. A nationwide search for candidates was started in February.

Delaforum was unable to immediately determine how widely it was known in the Brandywine district that Harter had applied for the position. A source said not all the members of the school board were aware of it. Harter was hired to be Brandywine's superintendent in1991. Fort Collins is a city of 130,000 in northern Colorado and the location of the main campus of Colorado State University. The school district there serves 24,500 children -- more than twice as many as Brandywine -- in 44 schools. Another senior and another junior high school are scheduled to open this year.

Harter had not responded to a Delaforum e-mail requesting comment as this article was being prepared.

CORRECTION: New Castle County Council did not approve passing through $310,040 of state money to convert the large county-owned lot at Naamans and Marsh road into a three-diamond baseball complex for exclusive use by Brandywine Little League. Delaforum previously reported that it did. The erroneous article was based on discussion at a meeting of Council's finance committee. When the measure came before Council at its Apr. 27 session, however, Councilman William Tansey, its sponsor, tabled it for further consideration after some of his colleagues objected to its exclusiveness.

PLANS REVISED: Astra Zeneca is seeking county approval to change its plan for completing the expansion of its corporate headquarters and research complex. An extensive set of documents filed with the Department of Land Use call for shifting the allocation of space among yet-to-be-constructed office buildings and reconfiguring them. A visitors center would be located at the complex's Concord Pike gate and an internal access road built to connect with the former Rollins Building property which Astra Zeneca has annexed to its complex

Arnie Caine, a company official, said the plan was submitted at this time mainly to secure authorization to build a parking garage. He said there is no timetable for beginning work on the next phase of the expansion adding that the initial target date for completion, 2007, has obviously been pushed back. The revised plan covers a total of 28 structures, most of which are already standing, with about 3 million square feet under roof on the 150-acre property, the southern half of which is owned by and leased from the state.

ONE OF OURS: When Google, a Delaware corporation, goes public, people will be watching not only on Wall Street but also in Dover. Investors are hoping the widely publicized move signals a comeback in the dot.com ranks. The corporation department has fingers crossed that this stock sale will inspire other large initial public offerings. With a drought of them in recent years, Delaware franchising has taken a hit. An average of 40 to 50 a year -- about half of them chartered here -- is a far cry from 400 to 500 in the 1990s. Google itself will contribute $100,500 in franchise tax, the ceiling for large companies.

Owners of historic properties would be eligible for a tax break worth up to $3,412 over five years if they invest at least $5,000 to restore, rehabilitate or preserve the property.

A revised version of a proposed county ordinance pending since July, 2003, was brought before County Council on Apr. 27 but tabled until at least the next session. If enacted, it will establish a tax-exemption program to encourage private-sector involvement in preventing the loss of irreplaceable historic structure. It applies only to those covered by an historic zoning overlay or listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The investment must go to cover the direct cost of exterior or interior architectural improvements which the Department of Land Use approves as meeting the intent of the ordinance.

The measure, sponsored by Councilwoman Patty Powell, caps the amount of exemptions that can be granted in any fiscal year at $50,000 with applications to be considered in the order in which the department receives them. The grants waive the tax on the first $150,000 of assessed property value and continue annually for up to five years so long as ownership of the property does not change. Properties in municipalities which accept county land-use regulation are eligible for the program. That excludes the cities of Newark and Wilmington.

COST ESTABLISHED: The county police force has been authorized to spend up to $46.2 million to build it new headquarters. County Council on Apr. 27 added $21.2 million to the initial authorization in the current five-year capital program. Police chief David McAllister said the new building will be a 'state-of-the-art' facility that will "serve well into the future." It also will be the base for the county paramedical services and emergency communications units. The county will borrow money through the sale of bonds to provide the financing.

NO THANKS: Not enough residents of the area agreed to installation of 'traffic-calming' devices along Mount Lebanon Road so Delaware Department of Transportation has scrapped plans for doing so. The 'vote' by 308 participants in the survey was 52% in favor and 48% opposed. The ayes, however, fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to enable the proposed project to go forward. The stretch of the road west of Concord Pike, which runs by residential communities has long been considered hazardous because speeding is a common practice there.

ABOUT TO BECOME A MEMORY: The building in Talleyville which housed the former Concord Pike Library will be torn down to make way for a new and larger sanctuary for the First Unitarian Church. The present one will be converted into a fellowship hall. A subdivision plan filed with the county said the new structure will have the same gross floor area, 18,200 square feet, as the library building. The church acquired the adjacent property from the Wilmington Institute Free Library in an unannounced deal in 2003. The building project is due for completion in 2005.

THEN THERE WAS ONE: The Department of Elections confirmed that it cancelled the Brandywine school board election, scheduled for May 10, after Wayne Emsley, a former district administrator, dropped out of the race. That means the incumbent board president, Nancy Doorey, will begin her second five-year term on July 1. The board will decide later that month whether she will continue as president. This is the forth consecutive year in which there will have been no election in Brandywine. As a result, a majority of the seven-member board will be serving without having received a voter mandate.