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Committee recommends 25% co‑share for Reed Avenue pump station with Army Corps partnership
Summary
The committee voted to recommend that the town commissioners co‑share 25% of a Reed Avenue pump station project that carries a $1,000,000 federal grant via the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; the Corps and town will formalize a design agreement and in‑kind credits can reduce local cash requirements.
The Dewey Beach Infrastructure Committee voted to recommend that the town commissioners commit to a 25% non‑federal share for a Reed Avenue pump‑station project that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will help design and construct.
Peter Gorrie, the Army Corps representative who addressed the committee, said the Corps has $1,000,000 in federal funds for Reed Avenue under a 75/25 cost‑share framework and that the town’s non‑federal share would be roughly $330,000 on a $1.3 million total estimate. "That breaks down into basically $1,000,000 federal and $330,333 non‑fed, which gives us to a rough total of $1,300,000," Gorrie said. He added that the partnering/design agreement and subsequent design work will refine those figures and that in‑kind credits (for permitting, engineering assistance) could reduce the town’s cash outlay.
Why it matters: Reed Avenue was identified as a location that would benefit from a pump station because of multiple drainage inflows and repetition of flooding; the Corps and town officials said a smaller station than Bayard Avenue’s is expected but will include primary and backup pumps and will be sized and phased via the design process.
Funding and sequencing: Town manager Phil Zilper told the committee the town will not have to provide the entire local share in a single fiscal year; the share can be spread across design and construction phases. Gorrie said an initial design slug (for example, $100,000–$150,000 non‑federal) would be needed to start design and NEPA/permitting, and the remainder would be staged as project phases proceed.
Next steps: The committee approved a recommendation to the commissioners to co‑share 25% of the project; staff will pursue the partnering/design agreement with the Army Corps and return to the committee and council with phased cost requests and a schedule as design work produces firmer estimates.
Quotes are sourced from the meeting transcript and attributed to Peter Gorrie (Army Corps) and Phil Zilper (town manager).
