Dewey committee recommends fundraising campaigns

November 29, 2023 89

To help pay for the proposed new town hall and police station, the Dewey Beach Marketing Committee has recommended commissioners consider several fundraising campaigns to involve the community.

At the committee’s Nov. 7 meeting, Chair Alex Csedrik referred to the group’s June vote to recommend commissioners approve a beach-themed wall mural on the new building to recognize donors who contribute funds in escalating amounts that would correspond with different elements painted on the mural.

After a short discussion, members established fundraising thresholds in five sponsorship levels. A $250 donation would pay for a crab, beach bucket or paw print on the mural, while $500 would equal a beach chair or towel.

For $1,000, a donor could choose a lifeguard stand or a surfboard, and $5,000 would pay for a plane ad banner or snack shack. A $10,000 donation would enable a lighthouse painted in the sponsor’s name.

A second fundraising idea involved a green space on the proposed building’s south side that Town Manager Bill Zolper said could use a small pathway or sidewalk with 70 to 100 pavers purchased by donors. The committee recommended a donation price point of $1,500 per paver.

The committee also discussed ways to incorporate donors’ footprints in the concrete leading to town hall, possibly with a QR code. However, a QR code could get worn or vandalized, Zolper said; if it’s a sticker it could be protected with epoxy.

A QR sticker would get a lot of visibility, he is unsure how long it will last. The committee recommended a donation of $3,000 for a three-year use of the QR code on the sidewalk.

Committee member Carmel Rickenbach suggested donors could also fund the purchase of singular items for the new building, such as a lobby bench or flagpole. Zolper conceded this could also be possible and that a plaque with the donor’s name could be placed on the bench.

For consideration on the next agenda, member Patrice Gancie referred to projects completed by Rehoboth in Bloom and Lewes in Bloom organizations that work to beautify their towns, and proposed looking into such a group for Dewey. The groups seem to be self-functioning and self-funded, she said.

Zolper said the town would love that, noting that areas around the Life-Saving Station and Baywalk could use landscape help, and someone to water planters, as well as the new town hall when completed.

Demolition on current town facilities is likely to begin after Labor Day 2024, Zolper said.