Memos at Random


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

Anyone who turns out to tell the Planning Board what they think about proposed 'hometown' zoning for Claymont will be flying almost blind.

"Our goal is to have the plans available at the Planning Board meetings," Vincent Kowal, publicist for the Department of Land Use, told Delaforum. He was responding to a request to see the proposed community plan and design standards that will govern future development in a selected area along Philadelphia Pike if County Council approves the zoning. The voluminous documents are integral components of the ordinance to do so. They reportedly have been made available to members of the board and leaders of the Claymont Renaissance steering committee, but are not available to the general public.

Councilman Robert Weiner, sponsor of the ordinance, agreed it "will be difficult for anyone to offer meaningful comment without having a chance to see the plan." Gist of the plan and a preliminary version of the guidelines manual have been discussed at steering committee meetings. While he called the department remiss for not having the final products available before the public hearing, Weiner said he won't seek a postponement because to do so would delay Council action, planned for October, until it next deals with zoning ordinances in February. Weiner himself will be on vacation and not attend the hearing. (CLICK HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)

The hearing is scheduled for Aug. 3, beginning at 7 p.m., in the Redding Building in downtown Wilmington.

'POLITICAL PUBLICITY' CURBED: County Council on July 27 unanimously enacted a resolution calling on the Gordon administration to stop "misusing" half of the double-page advertisement it publishes weekly in the Community News. Council president Christopher Coons charged that recent ads "cannot be anything other than campaign ads" for administrative officer Sherry Freebery, whom he is opposing for the Democratic nomination to succeed Tom Gordon as county executive. Although not referring to her by name, he said her photo has appeared frequently since she became a candidate.

Before the Council vote, Coons softened the resolution at the behest of Councilwoman Karen Venezky from banning all use of the right-hand page to just banning its "misuse" -- which is not specifically defined in the resolution. Venezky argued that availability of the ad "is a positive public relations opportunity for the county, including County Council." Councilman Robert Weiner charged county publicist Thomas Hubbard with rejecting a bid to highlight the Claymont Renaissance although the page is frequently used to tout community projects in which the Gordon administration is involved.

County Council's apparent decision to give the city of Wilmington a public safety grant seems to have already paid off. Council's session on July 27 was interrupted and the Redding Building evacuated as a result of an overheated pump. City firefighters responded promptly and quickly took care of the problem while meeting attenders shmoozed outside in the courtyard.

County Council receptionist Kathleen Harris packs computer equipment on July 27 for the move of Council's administrative offices to the former Wachovia Bank building next to the county Government Center on Reads Way in New Castle Corporate Commons. They will be there until September while the permanent quarters in the Redding Building are being renovated to accommodate the expanded Council after the November general election. Council will hold its Aug. 24 session in the Redding Building.

HOW SOON THEY FORGET: An official city of Wilmington information pamphlet refers to "Caesar Rodney, who rode to Philadelphia on December 7, 1787, with Delaware's vote ratifying the Constitution, establishing Delaware's identity as the 'First State'." Could that possibly be the same Caesar Rodney who rode to Philadelphia on July 2, 1776, to break a tie in the three-man Delaware delegation and cast the colony's vote in favor of a resolution declaring the 13 colonies free and independent? A statue commemorating that event stands just across from the building that city government used to call home.

SCHOOL SURVEY: More than four out of five parents in the Brandywine district whose children attend private, parochial or charter schools are satisfied with the education they are getting, but about half of them would consider public education, according to a marketing study 'released' to the district's facilities taskforce. Biggest impediment to making a change is "concern over safety" in public schools. The immediate potential is to attract about 4% of nonpublic students living in the district, mostly from charter schools, according to Marketing Frameworks Inc.

The district's own survey, conducted as part of the quarterly report on implementation of its strategic plan, found 90.4% of parents of children in Brandywine elementary and intermediate schools and 82.6% of those attending middle and high schools agreed that the schools are safe places. A smaller proportion of students -- 75.7% in third-through-sixth grade and 78.8% in the higher grades -- expressed the same opinion. A favorable response came from 88.2% of staff members surveyed. The overall 80.7% favorable result was down slightly from 81.5% a year earlier

Nancy Doorey was re-elected president of the Brandywine Board of Education by a six-to-one vote and Joseph Brumskill will continue to serve as vice president. Thomas Lapinski voted against Doorey after Sandra Skelly declined his nominating her at a meeting on July 19.

UNION UPHELD: Brandywine School District bus drivers voted 34-to-27 to keep their union, Local 1183 of the United Auto Workers. The district administration had sought to decertify the union as bargaining agent for about 100 drivers. Result of the referendum, conducted by mail, clears the way for issuance of a fact-finder's report concerning allegations by the union that district officials have not negotiated in good faith to reach agreement on an initial contract, according to Charles Long, executive director of the Public Employment Relations Board.

Long said those in the education field are the only unionized state workers who do not have recourse to binding arbitration to resolve a stalemated labor dispute. Therefore, whatever recommendations the fact-finder makes are only advisory. However the experience in other instances has been that they usually end up being the basis for eventual agreement. If the fact-finding hearing is not reopened to get additional information, the report could be issued in about a month. It will not be made public unless one or both parties reject it, he said. (CLICK HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)

The Council of Civic Organizations of Brandywine Hundred opposes construction of a liquefied natural gas receiving and distribution facility at Crown Landing, N.J.

"New Jersey has a lot of property as you go farther south," Wally Kremer, told the area civic association's meeting on July 8. "They should move it to a site that is not so close to populated areas." B.P., a multinational petroleum company, wants to ship the material by tankers to the Delaware River Valley and transfer it to pipelines for distribution throughout the mid-Atlantic states. Because the boundary reaches the Jersey side of the river, the pier directly opposite Claymont from which the ships would be unloaded would be in Delaware. The rest of the facility would be in New Jersey.

"Petroleum plants in the state (Delaware) have not had a very good track record." Kremer said. Besides that, he said, the terminal also would be under risk of a terrorist attack. "We need natural gas in this area, but we would like to see more site work done," he said. Construction and opeation of the terminal will require federal and state permits. Opposition was agreed upon by the civic council's executive committee, which meets behind closed doors to keep the discussion private. Kremer claimed committee members were unanimous in their decision. (CLICK HERE to read previous Delaforum article.)