Town manager previews new Bethany Beach website; DelDOT inspects Route 1 drainage

Town Manager Cliff Grabier told the council on July 17 that DelDOT crews were working on Route 1 swales and closed-pipe drainage for the first time in many years and that the town hopes to receive a report on pipe conditions and whether additional assistance from state legislators is needed.

Cliff then introduced a draft redesign of the town website prepared under internal leadership; Nick Imperial presented screenshots and explained the design goals: a simplified homepage, tile templates, a searchable project directory, an improved calendar and accessibility compliance (ADA and mobile responsiveness). The redesign aims to reduce clicks to commonly sought items (trash schedules, event listings, water-bill payment) and to allow future additions such as committee pages. Staff proposed a public workshop on the design in late August or early September to gather council and public feedback before launch.

Councilors generally endorsed the design and asked questions about timing and content ownership; staff said the initial launch should be ready before Christmas with workshops scheduled in the fall. Cliff said data migration is underway and the redesign is intended to be low-cost and easier to maintain than the previous site.

What happens next: staff will schedule a workshop to show pages and collect council feedback and will report back on DelDOT's findings regarding the Route 1 drainage work.