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Delaware House of Representatives'
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Issue 106 - March 2, 2013
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In This Issue
NEWS: Port of Wilmington Deal Expected Soon
NEWS: Group Seeks Help to Preserve Delaware's WWII Heritage
NEWS: New Agency Heads Nominated by Governor
PHOTO BRIEF: Delaware Honoring Harriet Tubman
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This weekly e-newsletter is being offered as a free public service by the Delaware House of Representatives (Republican Caucus)  to provide accurate and timely legislative news and information.   

In photo, from left:  State Sen. Dave Lawson and State Rep. Dave Wilson (a Bond Bill Committee member) listen to Diamond State Port Corporation Executive Director Gene Bailey discuss port operations at a berth on the Delaware River during a tour of the facility last year.

NEWS:

Port of Wilmington Deal Expected Soon

 

Lawmakers will soon get a chance to review a proposal to cede operational control of the Port of Wilmington to a private company.

 

Appearing before the Bond Bill Committee Wednesday, Delaware Economic Development Office Secretary Alan Levin said state officials anticipate presenting a plan to the committee on a prospective public-private partnership "hopefully, within the next month."

 

The Markell administration and the Diamond State Port Corporation, the entity charged with running the state-owned port, have been negotiating a partnership with Kinder Morgan for months.  The energy company currently operates 75,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals in North America. 

 

The port is best known for being a major point-of-entry to for imported fresh fruit, bananas and juice concentrate.  Kinder Morgan is reportedly is interested maintaining those businesses, while expanding into bulk commodities such as scrap metal, steel and fertilizer.

 

According to the Diamond State Port Corporation, the port generates $26 million in regional annual tax revenue and creates hundreds of jobs within and facility and supporting businesses.

 

That modest success has come at a cost to taxpayers.  Since taking over the port from the City of Wilmington in 1995, the state has invested a total of $187 million.  On Wednesday, Diamond State Port Corporation Executive Director Gene Bailey asked the Bond Bill Committee for another $20 million in the next capital budget. 

 

Sec. Levin opposed the request, calling it a mere "Band-Aid."  He told lawmakers a more permanent solution is needed.  "This request, the $20 million ... does not get us to where we need to be," he said.  "We need deeper pockets for this port to take advantage of the changing economy and the changing river with a deeper channel, [and] larger ships coming up from the Panama Canal.  Our hope is we'll have a proposal that will make sense for everyone."

 

State Rep. Mike Ramone, R-Newark/Pike Creek, who sits on the Bond Bill Committee, agreed that the port needs help the state cannot provide.  "The Port of Wilmington needs critical investments in infrastructure to not only keep it viable, but take it to the next level.  I don't think taxpayers are the ones that should be on the hook for that."

 

Under legislation enacted in January, the General Assembly will get a chance to weigh-in on any proposal to sell or lease the port's facilities.  Senate Bill 3, as amended, calls for the plan to be presented to the Bond Bill Committee.  If the General Assembly does not act on the proposal within 30 days of that presentation, the deal will be rejected.

 

"A public-private partnership makes sense for the port, but it needs to be the right partner and the right deal," Rep. Ramone said.  "Delawareans have invested nearly $200 million into this facility over the last two decades, so I think we have a responsibility to review any proposed deal on their behalf."

 
In photo, from left:  State Rep. Dave Wilson; Speaker of the House Pete Schwartzkopf; State Reps. Ron Gray, Steve Smyk & Harvey Kenton stand next to a 12" gun currently on static display at the museum.
 
NEWS:

Group Seeks Help to Preserve Delaware's WWII Heritage

 

A dedicated group of volunteers working to turn a World War II era coastal defense installation near Lewes into a refined

museum is seeking help from the state.

A group of Sussex County state legislators was recently given a tour of the facilities at Fort Miles, getting a look at what's been accomplished thus far and a glimpse into what the future may hold.

 

Fort Miles has been part of the Sussex County coastline for more than seven decades.  Starting its operational life shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the complex of artillery emplacements was charged with protecting the mouth of the Delaware Bay from enemy vessels.  The changing nature of warfare made the facility obsolete by the mid-1950s.  In 1964, the federal government returned 543 acres of former base property to the state, forming the heart of the new Cape Henlopen State Park.

 

Several of the fort's dense concrete bunkers that housed artillery batteries, as well as five concrete fire control towers, are still located on state park land.  The towers in particular have become local icons.  For the last 10 years, work has been underway to give some of these remaining artifacts a new mission and a new life.

 

"Our goal is the have the best World War II museum inside a World War II facility," said Dr. Gary Wray, president of the Fort Miles Historical Association.   "Last year we got on the radar screen of the state legislature and we're hoping we can stay on their radar screen."

 

In the current fiscal year, the project received about $250,000 in state funding from various sources.  Much of the money was spent on architectural planning and infrastructure work.   Dr. Wray says they are hoping to receive a similar commitment in the new budget cycle.

 

"The legislature was great to us last year," Dr. Wray said.  "We're hoping they can see the progress where the money has been put to use and the growth of the organization."

 

State Rep. Steve Smyk, R-Lewes/Milton, who was among the lawmakers on the recent tour, said the association has one of the most dedicated group of volunteers in the state.  With approximately 300 members, last year the group's total volunteer hours were roughly equivalent to that of 40 full-time workers.

 

Last spring, the group scored the donation of a massive 66-foot-long barrel from a 16" gun off the decommissioned battleship USS Missouri. 

 

Dr. Wray said the association is not looking solely to the state and has been actively raising funds from other sources, including corporate donations and contributions from the public.  In fact, he noted that they are currently engaged in an effort to secure the money needed to transport the four remaining elements of the 16-inch gun needed to reassemble it for display at Fort Miles.

 

State Rep. Ruth Briggs King, R-Georgetown, noted that there were two similar 16" guns at Fort Miles during the war and that the association has shown an uncommon level of "passion and dedication" in securing one for the museum.

 

Although years away from completion, parts of Fort Miles are currently open to visitors.  Dr. Wray says the association conducted about 8,000 tours in 2012.  "We'd like to get that up to about 15,000 this year," he said.

 

With approximately 1.5 million visitors coming to Cape Henlopen Park annually, Dr. Wray says the drawing potential for a fully operational museum could be significant.

 

Rep. Smyk agrees that the facility has great potential.  "I can see a day where thousands of Delaware school children will regularly visit this site, not only get a better understanding of World War II, but to also experience another aspect of their unique heritage as Delawareans."

 

To see the Fort Miles conceptual plan, click here.

 

Department of Correction

NEWS:

X

New Agency Heads Nominated by Governor 

 

 

 

Recently-retired Delaware State Police Superintendent Robert Coupe was nominated by Governor Jack Markell Friday to become Delaware's next Commissioner of Correction.

 

Col. Coupe served three-and-a-half years leading the state's largest police unit from mid-2009 through 2012.  If approved by the Senate, he will become the head of Delaware's second-largest agency with a staff of more than 2,500 employees.  At any given time, the Department of Correction oversees approximately 6,500 inmates in the state's prison system and also supervises about 17,000 probationers.

 

Gov. Markell tapped Jennifer Ranji as his nominee to lead the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families.  Ms. Ranji served as the governor's Educational Policy Advisor from September 2009 to July 2012 and was reportedly the leading staff person on the Race to the Top and Early Childhood Race to the Top initiatives.

 

The Children's Department employs approximately 1,200 staff at 31 locations serving more than 8,000 children daily. The agency provides services for children who have experienced abandonment, abuse, adjudication, mental illness, neglect, or substance abuse.

 


In photo: Delores Blakey, wife of State Rep. Don Blakey, performed a vignette as Harriet Tubman during an event at the Old State House Friday honoring the famed abolitionist.
    

PHOTO BRIEF:  

Delaware Honoring 

Harriet Tubman

 

On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of her passing, Delaware is honoring ex-slave and abolitionist Harriet Tubman with events during the first 10 days in March.

 

Born into slavery in Maryland in 1820, Tubman would go on to become one of the best-known figures of her era, leading hundreds of runaway slaves from the South to freedom in the North along a clandestine network of safe houses and hiding places known as the Underground Railroad.

 

During an event at the Old State House Friday, Gov. Jack Markell signed a proclamation making March 10th "Harriet Tubman Day" in Delaware.

 

"Her story is remarkable," said State Rep. Don Blakey, who spoke at the event.  "Her daring rescues are legendary.  Her compassion to help those in need is unquestionable.  ... Our tribute to this remarkable lady is long overdue.  And this is March, Women's History Month, (so) the timing could not have been more perfect."

 

A group of volunteers and the Delaware Department of Transportation are working to establish the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.  For more information, click here.

 

For more information on Harriet Tubman, visit the Library of Congress by clicking here.