After a lengthy discussion, Milford City Council voted unanimously to table a vote on a site plan for Deep Creek Park. Council chose to hold a workshop to determine the requirements of grants used to purchase the land as well as limits on what it could be used for due to the grant funding. During the public comment portion of the meeting held before council’s discussion, several people spoke up for and against the park.
“This park is on the outside of town and is not part of city limits,” Kim Wills, who does not live near the park, said. “You have someone willing to buy the property back for the amount that was paid for it instead of spending $8 million or more for a park that most of us don’t want. The Boys and Girl’s Club swimming pool needs repair, all of the other parks need repair, so maybe focus on those.”
Bruce Herman, who lives on Horseshoe Drive which is adjacent to the park, had concerns about the ingress and egress into the property.
“As a resident of Horseshoe Drive, there have been a number of accidents,” Herman said. “We should conduct a traffic study to look at the amount of traffic, but perhaps, more importantly, the speed of the vehicles since we are putting in a place for families, we need to be mindful of children’s safety.”
Another concern Herman expressed was that this was out of the jurisdiction of Milford Police Department. He felt that a park would create an unsafe area.
“I might be the only one here to support this project,” Nina Pletcher, who lives in downtown Milford, said. “Our strategic plan, which was agreed upon a few years back, asked for more open space. I don’t think there is any better place than that land and selling it back to the owner sounds like a way to get a developer in there.”
Pletcher pointed out that the parks close at dusk which would address the safety concerns. Former Mayor Archie Campbell, who lives near the proposed park, stated that when he served the city, he spoke often to other mayors who took pride in the many parks they had available for children.
“A survey was done and these are your constituents speaking,” Campbell said. “Let’s not let this opportunity slip by. Milford received financial support from the state and what do we do if we have to give that money back? If we do, we will not see funding again for this type of recreation.”
Mike Boyle, who served as a councilman for the area where the park would be located, pointed out that the park was strongly supported by residents of the city on every survey the city has had done. According to Boyle, surveys consistently expressed a need and desire for parks and open spaces.
“Right now, in the southeast portions of the city, we have no such amenities available, and this will be the only one we have,” Boyle said. “I think this should be a non-starter and your job is to look forward for the city. The park is a project that will have to be approved by many agencies and a traffic study will be conducted. Parks are a valued asset in any community. Under this design, we have a walkable trail in a wooded area, and this is an asset to people with mobility issues. I simply do not understand being against it.”
During public comment, City Solicitor David Rutt had to admonish the audience not to be disruptive when others were talking.
Chad Carter of Becker Morgan Group provided council with a preliminary site plan for the park that would include playgrounds, picnic pavilions, pickleball and basketball courts. He explained that their office had met with DelDOT’s Transportation Improvement District who determined the road sees just over 100 cars a day. He also stated that DelDOT found that the entrance to the park from Rehoboth Boulevard complied with DelDOT regulations.
“This design features a trail system that will go around the property, adding about a half mile of walking and bicycle trails,” Carter said “In the center is about 7.75 acres of active space that will allow for future expansion. There will be landscape buffer zones along the property lines, reforestation areas, public restrooms and parking lot with about 97 spaces.”
Councilman Jason James asked Chief Cecilia Ashe if this park would be out of the jurisdiction of Milford Police Department and she confirmed that it would. Because it was Delaware State Police jurisdiction, Milford police were not legally permitted to operate in that park. Instead, all crime activity in the park would be referred to Delaware State Police.
“We’re looking at an automatically opening and closing gate that could be installed,” Carter said when asked if such an amenity could be added. “We’ll look at detection systems and cameras as well.”
Mayor Todd Culotta expressed concerns about the entrance, stating that it was angled and that it could be difficult getting in and out of the park due to traffic.
“We’ve talked about it, the fact that this sits outside of the city,” Culotta said “When we originally bought this, the idea was that it would be part of a bigger green way which had access from this park to the golf course and into downtown. That didn’t work out after we didn’t buy the golf course. On top of that, we had a public meeting but never held a workshop to say what the feedback was. This is the first time I am seeing this site plan in a public setting.”
Councilwoman Madula Kalesis addressed comments about homeless people and drug addicts who may take up residence in the park, stating that this could occur on any plot of land outside the city where there is a wooded area.
“We spent money on this land so it may not be usable today, but it could be tomorrow or 10 or 30 years down the road,” Kalesis said. “Are we really saying no to a park because the state police have to go out there? Shouldn’t we be looking down the road 20 or 30 years from now when our children’ s children have children?”
Culotta stated that council also needed to look at the possibility of land near the park becoming contiguous and he did not feel that was possible.
“I do believe that most of us really try to do our due diligence to represent the people and when the people said this is what we need, they could see we were excited about this, but as the mayor said we were also looking at other properties,” Councilwoman Katrina Wilson said. “Just because we did not obtain those other properties, it might put a little snag in what we foresaw initially, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t move forward.”
Wilson continued, pointing out this was what the people wanted, that they asked for recreation. She explained that the people of Milford wanted to see taxpayer money used for things like parks and recreation.
“People are begging for stores on that side of town and the farmers are selling land because their children are deciding not to farm, we can’t take that on, that is their wish,” Wilson said. “We are only trying to keep up with the demand of our community. I wish the plans had gone in the direction we originally thought, then we probably would not be having this conversation. I agree with Councilwoman Kalesis that we need to think about our children’s children. We have to do our part, not just for the fourth ward, the third ward, but all of them and the second ward has no amenities like this.”
Councilwoman Lori Connor pointed out that the last survey was in 2019, suggesting that it may be time to do another to see if attitudes have changed. She asked whether a community center might be better than a park.
“I am very concerned that Milford will be viewed as acting in bad faith and that could impact future progress that could impact the taxpayer as well,” Councilwoman Nadia Zychal said. “I’m concerned that we should have the larger view that doesn’t make perfect the enemy of the good. There are conditions that have changed since we acquired this land, and we should be flexible enough to work with those conditions to make this a viable recreational space.”
Zychal continued, stating that concerns about homelessness and encampments would not disappear simply because the park was not constructed. Councilman Dan Marabello pointed out that there would be cameras and a gate at the park.
“There are all those new condos along Rehoboth Boulevard,” Marabello said. “Where do they go? They don’t have yards, they have balconies. It would be nice if they had something like this right up the road. They have a right to have a place to play, to sit and have a picnic, to take a walk. And let’s face it, if something goes terribly wrong, we can close it up. Land is disappearing so we only have so much open space available.”
Councilman Michael Stewart expressed concerns about traffic, stating he played golf, and he knows how heavy the traffic is now, let alone during the summer months.
“I also worry about predators, I have grandkids, I take them to the playground at the Boys & Girls Club and I scope out the cars that are in the parking lot, the people in their cars,” Stewart said. “I was not on council when this land was purchased and for me, right now, I am hard pressed to see positives in this park.”
Kalesis pointed out that she was also vigilant when she took her grandchildren to the park, but that was the way things were in the world today. She stated that when her children were young, she wasn’t like that, and her parents simply sent her out and told her not to come back until dark.
“My concern is that we got a grant from the state that required this to be open space,” Kalesis said. “Does it have to be a park, or could it just be open space? Maybe we just sit on it for a bit and decide later.”
Culotta stated that the Little League Park needed renovations, pointing out that the city owned the land. He felt that if money was to be spent it should be on improvements there. He also felt that, initially, this park was to be connected to downtown and it was unlikely that would happen.
“Right now, this site plan has been approved by Sussex County, which has jurisdiction, and they’ve given their approval,” City Manager Mark Whitfield said. “It then goes through agency review and approvals, like directional lighting and noise. Milford is one of the agencies, so they will have a say, but we are ready to move forward on this project. We have monies that will be sent back to the state if we don’t start this project soon.”
Connor suggested looking at the specific language of the grants to see if the city was required to build a park. When Carter was asked for a cost, he estimated it would be around $2 million.
Council voted to table the matter and hold a workshop where they could review the language of the grant funding to determine their next steps. The motion passed unanimously.
