Seaford City Council approves funding for demolition of hotel

The members of the Seaford City Council approved funding for the demolition of the hotel located on Sussex Highway owned by Galaxy Hospitality. The property was purchased in 2011 and closed in 2020 and has since stood vacant. The building façade is falling down and the exposed metal studs are rusting, the building has water damage throughout along with mold. The pool fence is falling down and the water is stagnant with weeds surrounding the entire area.

Additionally, break-ins and police calls to the location mounted over the past few years. The city condemned the building in 2021 and a demolition order was issued in August 2021. In June of 2022, the property owners installed a fence around the building and applied for a permit to demolish the interior of the building. The owners did demolish much of the interior but have not moved forward with any of the plans. In 2023, the property was listed for sale wherein the city met with potential buyers and nothing materialized. The estimated cost of demolition is $450,000 which would come from the motel hotel tax reserves. The city will put a bid out for the demolition, advertise for contractors, bring the reviewed bids before council before the actual demolition occurs which could be in the first quarter of 2026.

The city of Seaford recognized and congratulated recent promotions in the police department. Shown (l to r) are: back row- City Manager Charles Anderson, Councilman Dan Henderson, Sergeant Ashlyn Hare, Sergeant Joe Palm, Sergeant Kyle Jones, Staff Sergeant Toby Laurion, Mayor Matt MacCoy; front row- Lieutenant Valerie Horn and Chief Marshall Craft.

Council member Mike Bradley said, “This building has been an eyesore for quite some time and I think the city in both regimes have been more than accommodating to the owner in the past, and I think it is a time for us to make a decision to move forward.” Council member Alan Quillen spoke in support of the demolition citing that the city has worked hard to clean up the area and made progress and the building owners have done nothing in forward progress. Councilwoman Stephanie Grassett wanted to be clear on two points in that the city does not own the property or building therefore are unable to change it or turn it into something. Grassett said, “I’ve seen lots of comments out there, of things this could be,” and said the city cannot turn it into anything but only to issue the demolition order.”

Grassett also wanted to say to residents, “This fee is not something that taxpayers are going to be footing the bill with for a long period, because it is going to be a lien on this property, whoever has this property and decides to sell it, they are going to have to pay this lien back.”

Mayor Matt MacCoy inquired about the inside conditions. Building Official Mike Bailey said a professional would have to provide an evaluation and quote but said no one should be walking through that building in the current state it is in, it is not safe at all. The council approved the demolition request and will move forward with bids.

In other business, the council also approved the final site plan for construction of two six unit townhomes located on Wall Street. The homes will have 28 parking spaces and dumpster enclosures for the residents.

The council listened to a yearly update on the Seaford Community Swim Center, presented by treasurer Sheila Kintz. The swim center’s 371 members is an increase of 46 from the previous year. Kintz told council the investment into the pool is paying off and a complete refurbishment around the pool, main drain repair, and variable speed drives for the pumps will be completed for next season. The board members are recommending the removal of the family membership option and Kintz said, “It is just not really viable any longer.” The board members are also recommending the same membership fees as last year and have a senior and veteran rate discount. The swim team is combined with Seaford Swim Association and enjoyed a full season that was successful. The board members are Nancy Sturgeon, president; Michelle Tennant, vice president; Diane Atkinson, secretary; and Kintz. The council approved all requests and thanked the board for its volunteerism and commitment to the community.

The Seaford Electric Department was presented with three awards that included The Smart Energy Provider Designation which is awarded because Seaford demonstrates a commitment and accomplishments in smart energy program planning, energy efficiency, and distributed energy resources, environmental sustainability programs, and communication and customer experience.  The American Public Power Association (APPA) Safety Award for Excellence recognizes utilities incident rates and overall safety programs, and the APPA Certificate of Excellence in reliability shows the city is below the average interruption duration for customer experience during an outage. Director of Electric Greg Brooke accepted the awards, that were presented by Kimberly Schlichting, CEO and president, and Robert Cote, Chief Operating Officer of DEMEC, on behalf of the department. The APPA is the voice of not-for-profit, community owned utilities. Brooke said, “These awards recognize Seaford as a utility that is committed to the highest standards of workplace safety, smart energy practices, sustainability, and service to our community,” and added, “everybody plays a crucial role in the designation of the awards.”

Schlichting said, “All your electric customers should feel very proud that they have a utility here that they can depend on.”

Seaford Police Chief Marshall Craft introduced recently promoted officers Lieutenant Valerie Horn, a 20-year veteran of the force; Staff Sergeant Toby Laurion, Sergeant Joe Palm, Sergeant Kyle Jones, and Sergeant Ashlyn Hare.