Council revises county farm lease, approves Delaware Forest Resiliency grant match for afforestation

Sussex County Council on July 22 approved a second revision to the farm lease with M and M Farms LLC and authorized execution of documents tied to a Delaware Forest Resiliency Fund grant to afforest parts of a county-owned parcel.

County engineering staff described the lease as a year-over-year arrangement in which M and M Farms farms county property and owns irrigation equipment; the lease payment is structured by farmed acreage. The engineering presentation said the county obtained a Delaware Forest Resiliency Fund award of approximately $150,000 and that the grant requires a 10% county match if all eligible acreage is planted.

The motion on the floor combined the lease modification and the grant authorization because engineering staff said both actions were dependent on each other. The council moved to approve the second lease revision and to authorize documents associated with the grant; the motion was seconded and carried by recorded vote.

County staff said the afforestation would focus on nonirrigated areas near Phillips Branch to reduce runoff and provide resilience benefits. Engineering noted that some earlier leases had expired while permitting proceeded over multiple years. The council was scheduled to receive a site package for the Inland Bays project at a future meeting.