In June, Sussex County Council voted unanimously to accept Sugar Maple Farms into the Sussex Community Improvement (SCI) program. This program will allow the county to repair and improve roads within the development.
“Sugar Maple Farms is a community consisting of 66 accessible parcels located off Coastal Highway just south of the Town of Milford,” a memo presented by J. Mark Parker, P.E., Assistant County Engineer, read. “The community, by letter dated August 7, 2023, requested assistance from the county to repair and improve their existing roads through the Sussex Community Improvements (SCI) program as defined in Chapter 96 of Sussex County Code.”
The memo continued, stating that the engineering department had reviewed the request and determined the development met the criteria and provided a preliminary cost estimate. They also provided an approximate cost for property owners in both a lump sum and 10-year repayment plan option. A community meeting was held to discuss and receive comments about the request.
On June 4, 2024, the request was presented and approved by council with an outline for an election process to determine if the proposed project and estimated cost was or was not favorable to property owners. The election was held on July 11, 2024 and, with 35 votes cast, there were 35 yes votes and 15 no votes.
“At this point with the green light from the HOA, we are looking to proceed with the program,” Mark Parker, Assistant County Engineer, said. “So, based on the affirmative results of the election, the engineering department recommends approval of the resolution which will pull the trigger for necessary design actions to produce design documents for bidding purposes.”
There were no questions from council regarding the request and it passed unanimously.
