OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Millsboro Parks Committee Inaugural Meeting - January 20, 2026

Town Council — Tuesday, January 20, 2026
BodyMillsboro, Delaware
SessionTown Council
DateTuesday, January 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:02:11

Transcript — Verbatim
1:43

The parks committee, Tuesday, January twentieth.

1:47

Please join me in a pledge of allegiance.

1:54

Pledge of that.

2:16

Okay, first of all, I'm looking at the uh the agenda and the order of the agenda.

2:20

The first thing we need to do, I think, is to appoint a committee chair, because that has not been done yet.

2:26

So do we have a nomination or a volunteer for the chair of this committee?

2:32

I nominate Ron, so you could have a break, and he could be in chair.

2:38

I second that.

2:42

Right.

2:42

Okay.

2:43

Mr.

2:44

Chairman.

2:48

That what do I do?

2:50

Control called Roll Call.

2:53

Um Mayor McKee.

2:56

Present.

2:58

Town Manager Jamie Burke.

3:01

Present.

3:04

Present.

3:05

Uh town council person.

3:07

Mary DeSilva?

3:09

Present.

3:10

And Ron Mason present.

3:14

Uh do we have a motion to adopt the agenda?

3:18

I make a motion we adopt the agenda.

3:21

I'll second that.

3:23

All in favor?

3:24

Aye.

3:25

Aye.

3:26

Motion carries.

3:30

Do we have any public comments?

3:32

There are no public comments at this time.

3:52

And then we'll just go uh around from that.

3:56

Uh first of all, perhaps a a little background.

3:59

That uh the park we're talking about is uh ten acre parcel that uh was donated to the town by Lenar as part of the plantation lakes development.

4:11

And it will be uh situated within Plantation Lakes South Community.

4:19

As far as the the goals um for the committee, uh first of all, I I think that it would be important for the committee to reach out to the town and to do a survey of what our residents would like to see house in a park of this type of after that.

4:45

Uh I think the committee should examine different ways to fund whatever improvements are going to be made based on uh recommendations and suggestions from from townspeople.

5:05

Because uh a parcel like this of 10 acres, depending on what it is housed within it, could be in excess of a million dollars or millions of dollars.

5:15

So something to consider.

5:17

Right now, the town does not have a budget for this this new park.

5:22

So the budgeting process would also have to factor into this as well.

5:32

Okay, Mary, do you have anything to I actually was gonna ask Ashley?

5:37

I had heard um that they had given some grants.

5:41

There's um annually there's a the ORPT, the outdoor parks trails that we got for people that's open annually.

5:49

Um and currently in the census track we're in, we are it's 2575 match.

5:56

Den rec will give 75% of the funding.

6:00

Town has to match 25%.

6:02

However, after the next census census is done, it's probably gonna put us in a 50-50 match because of the west side of town expanding um and income levels.

6:12

Um so we can apply for that this year.

6:16

Um, it can be multiple projects within one application if we wanted to look at multiple different parks and you know, anything with that, we can certainly apply for that with the uh Denrec ORPT grant.

6:28

So I was gonna ask you when we get the monies that's gonna be the grant.

6:33

Is it given to the town to divide up or do we apply for it based on specific?

6:40

Oh, so we could definitely apply for it for the the one at Cupla, the one when I applied last year and we obtained it, the cupola park grant.

6:50

I specifically had to have a quote in there for the paving of the road going in, the pavilion have a quote with it.

6:55

Yeah, I understand the trees and anything in there specific, and you want to have just so if you you know, with this park, if you wanted to have apply for you know restoration of a sports field and acquire um you know equipment, you would want to have specific grants from whatever companies you're going to use that identify uh where the funding would be going before applying.

7:22

I also um got forwarded to me from a resident at Plantation Lakes that there's um a grants that may be applicable to Cupolo Park specifically based on the fact that it's on the water.

7:36

Um it's a different grant program, and I'm looking to see if I can find out what that's and also there are um different organizations that offer ADA grants as long as you ensure that your playground equipment is ADA compliant.

7:53

Yeah, I see there's a grant for outdoor recreational parks and trails program by DenREC.

7:58

Yeah.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████53%
Public Engagement███████████13%
Community Engagement█████████11%
Public Safety██████7%
Budget Equity Analysis████5%
Engineering And Infrastructure████5%
Procedural███3%
Historic Preservation███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Millsboro Parks Committee Inaugural Meeting - January 20, 2026

The Parks Committee held its first meeting on Tuesday, January 20, 2026, at 18:28 UTC, to organize and begin planning for a new 10-acre park donated to the town by Lennar as part of the Plantation Lakes development. The committee appointed a chair, discussed community engagement through surveys, reviewed potential funding sources (including DNREC grants), and set a timeline for initial proposals.

Committee Organization

  • Chair Appointment: Ron Mason was nominated and seconded as committee chair, and the motion carried unanimously (no roll call vote recorded).
  • Agenda Adoption: The agenda was adopted by a voice vote of all present members (Mayor McKee, Town Manager Jamie Burke, Councilperson Mary DeSilva, Ron Mason).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • There were no public comments at this time.

Discussion Items

  • Park Overview & Goals: The park is a 10-acre parcel (approximately 8 usable acres after accounting for a stormwater pond) located within Plantation Lakes South. The committee's initial goals include surveying residents, exploring funding mechanisms, and developing a phased plan. No dedicated town budget currently exists for this park.
  • Survey Planning: The committee agreed to conduct a community survey to gather input on park amenities. The previous survey (about nine years old) may be referenced but is considered outdated. The survey will be distributed via utility bills, town website, churches, schools, and local chambers of commerce. Deadline for committee members to submit survey questions was set for January 30, 2026, to be compiled by staff and finalized at the next meeting.
  • Funding Sources Discussed:
    • DNREC's Open Space, Parks, and Trails (ORPT) grant: currently 75% state / 25% town match, but may shift to 50/50 after the next census. Deadline for this grant cycle is May 15, 2026.
    • Community Reinvestment Fund (100% state funding).
    • Sussex County Council grants (up to $10,000, 100% match).
    • Delaware Community Foundation, Carl Freeman Foundation, Rotary, and other local sources.
    • Potential CTF (Community Transportation Fund) for walking trails.
  • Park Amenities & Design: The committee reviewed two previous concept plans (Option A with amphitheater, Option B with splash pad). Elements discussed include: parking, restrooms (vandal-proof, institutional grade), irrigation using reclaimed water from a nearby pump station, lighting (likely dawn-to-dusk to avoid after-hours issues), walking trails, a multi-purpose field, playground equipment for younger children, and potential for a community garden. The possibility of naming the park and incorporating Nanticoke Indian Tribe history (via historian Bonnie) was raised.
  • Coordination with Adjacent Development: Dr. Tam (Nemours) plans to develop a hospital and senior living facility on adjacent BB property, which may include a small park-like area. The committee expressed interest in coordinating with Dr. Tam to align visions and potentially share amenities.
  • Safety & Security: The committee discussed standardizing security cameras across all town parks, using the existing Advantech system, and including camera funding in grant applications.
  • Scope for Grants: The committee considered whether to focus ORPT grant requests on the new park (as the most expensive) or to also include improvements at Cupola Park and other town parks. Staff will prepare a grant timeline for the February 4 meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for Wednesday, February 4, 2026, at 9:30 AM at Town Hall to finalize the survey questions and review grant deadlines.
  • Committee Deadlines: Members must email proposed survey questions to Jamie Burke and Ashley by January 30, 2026, at noon.
  • Action Items:
    • Ashley will compile grant availability and timelines.
    • Jamie will search for any prior survey data.
    • Bonnie will distribute the survey to church contacts.
    • Exploration of partnering with University of Delaware grant assistance (Chase Barnes).
  • Decision: The committee will bring a recommendation to the Town Council at the April 6, 2026 meeting for possible approval of partial park plans and grant applications. The committee plans to submit ORPT and other grant applications before the May 15, 2026 deadline.
  • Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned by unanimous motion.

Meeting Transcript

The parks committee, Tuesday, January twentieth. Please join me in a pledge of allegiance. Pledge of that. Okay, first of all, I'm looking at the uh the agenda and the order of the agenda. The first thing we need to do, I think, is to appoint a committee chair, because that has not been done yet. So do we have a nomination or a volunteer for the chair of this committee? I nominate Ron, so you could have a break, and he could be in chair. I second that. Right. Okay. Mr. Chairman. That what do I do? Control called Roll Call. Um Mayor McKee. Present. Town Manager Jamie Burke. Present. Present. Uh town council person. Mary DeSilva? Present. And Ron Mason present. Uh do we have a motion to adopt the agenda? I make a motion we adopt the agenda. I'll second that. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Motion carries. Do we have any public comments? There are no public comments at this time. And then we'll just go uh around from that. Uh first of all, perhaps a a little background. That uh the park we're talking about is uh ten acre parcel that uh was donated to the town by Lenar as part of the plantation lakes development. And it will be uh situated within Plantation Lakes South Community. As far as the the goals um for the committee, uh first of all, I I think that it would be important for the committee to reach out to the town and to do a survey of what our residents would like to see house in a park of this type of after that. Uh I think the committee should examine different ways to fund whatever improvements are going to be made based on uh recommendations and suggestions from from townspeople. Because uh a parcel like this of 10 acres, depending on what it is housed within it, could be in excess of a million dollars or millions of dollars. So something to consider. Right now, the town does not have a budget for this this new park. So the budgeting process would also have to factor into this as well. Okay, Mary, do you have anything to I actually was gonna ask Ashley? I had heard um that they had given some grants. There's um annually there's a the ORPT, the outdoor parks trails that we got for people that's open annually. Um and currently in the census track we're in, we are it's 2575 match. Den rec will give 75% of the funding. Town has to match 25%. However, after the next census census is done, it's probably gonna put us in a 50-50 match because of the west side of town expanding um and income levels. Um so we can apply for that this year.

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