3/1/2005
District Letter - March 2005

Greg Lavelle
500 Whitby Drive
Wilmington, DE 19803
478-6128 (H) 577-8723 (O)

March 2005

Dear Neighbor:

It continues to be an honor to serve in Dover as State Representative for the 11^th District. At a time in history when the importance and value of democracies around the world are more apparent than ever, I thank you for the opportunity to participate in our government at this level.

Since being elected, I have strived to do my best to be as available as possible to residents in our community. For four years I have held Constituent Coffees the 1^st and 3^rd Tuesday of each month from 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Coffee Creations in the Fairfax Shopping Center. Senator Charlie Copeland also holds monthly coffees at the same location on the first and third Tuesday of the month, immediately before my coffees at 7:30 a.m. These are informal meetings where people may come to express an issue of concern or just hear what others are thinking. The coffee is on me.

I am also happy to meet individually or with groups at mutually convenient times. I’ve held numerous other outreach meetings, and I am always happy to go to civic association and other meetings that I am invited to attend. This past spring, along with other elected officials in the area, I arranged for two meetings that addressed the issue of long term care for our senior citizens.

Realizing that we live in busy times with the demands of work and family, I have also made it a practice to send out community surveys and newsletters in an effort to gather input and keep you informed. This website provides information and various links to state and federal governments. The feedback from these efforts has been positive and I will continue to maintain and increase my communication with you.

The issue of airplane noise is one that I have received numerous complaints about for the past few years. As a co-sponsor of House Joint Resolution 26 last year, we invited Senators Biden and Carper and Congressman Castle to join other task force members, made up of local and state governmental officials, to press for alteration of flight routes, improvements in technology and other changes to lessen the noise over our community and make other quality of life improvements. I invite you to visit this website for additional information and a copy of HJR 26. You may also call my office at 577-8723 and I’ll be happy to mail you a copy.

The demand for active recreation areas led to the creation of the Sports Field Task Force organized under House Resolution 32. As a co-sponsor of HR 32 and a member of the task force, last year we were able to successfully obtain funding for the demolition of Channin and Old Mill Lane Schools so the land could become the home fields for Concord Soccer and Talleyville Girls Softball. The Brandywine School District will continue to own the land and cooperate with New Castle County so that the properties will go from being dangerous eye sores to once again being an asset to our community. Long time area Representative Dave Ennis played a significant role in this action and many other open space initiatives over the years. Dave’s legislative knowledge and skill will be missed as he enjoys retirement.

As the planning process for the renovation and revitalization of Philadelphia Pike from I-495 to Maple Lane moves from planning to design, I will work to encourage DelDOT to make every effort to minimize the impact on local businesses and residents when the construction actually begins in 2007. It is my goal to have DelDOT put the hard lessons learned in other projects to work in this one to lessen the inconvenience and hasten the benefits that will result. I’m certain that DelDOT shares this goal.

The charges of corruption and the related indictments in New Castle County have troubled many of us. I was sponsor of HB 320 that would strengthen and update the office of New Castle County Auditor. While the legislation ran into political roadblocks, some measures have been adopted by County Council.

As we move past the November elections and into 2005, work in Dover will continue. Education reform, reform that appears to never end, will be in the forefront once again. The future of the three-tiered diploma will be front and center. I am open on how to best manage the issue of high standards and state testing and believe that there must be sensible alternatives to the three-tiered diploma. That said, I do not believe that we should administer expensive tests that have little or no consequences. I would welcome your opinion on this issue.

Finally, spending drives almost everything we do in Delaware. I am concerned about how some of the revenue forecasting has been handled in the past few years. The Delaware Economic and Financial Advisory Council (DEFAC) has served us well over the past 20 years and its independence and integrity should be protected. We need to ensure that politics does not hinder honest revenue forecasting.

I have enclosed a sheet that lists a number of other pieces of legislation that I have sponsored or co-sponsored. I have also included a list of Frequently Asked Questions that you may find useful.

Thank you for your support and please have a safe and enjoyable spring.

     Sincerely yours,

     Greg

     Greg Lavelle

Greg Lavelle
500 Whitby Drive
Wilmington, DE 19803
478-6128 (H) 577-8723 (O)

Frequently Asked Questions

Roads and Streets: There is no such thing as a county road in Delaware. All roads, except private roads, are maintained by the state. You may call DelDOT to report potholes and other maintenance issues at 326-4523. You may also contact me and I will be happy to call DelDOT for you.

Storm Drains and Sewers: The state is responsible for the maintenance of storm drains.  DelDOT can be contacted at 326-4523 with issues concerning existing storm drains.  New Castle County maintains the sanitary sewer system. You may call the County at 395-5700 with questions or concerns.
     If you live near a storm drain please make an effort to keep it clear of leaves and other debris. This will help prevent ponding and icing and keep the pavement from deteriorating.

Speeding: Calls about speeding on our community streets are one of the top three complaints I receive.  The police indicate that when tickets are handed out, the vast majority of the offenders live near where the ticket was issued.  It is impossible for the police to be everywhere and none of us likes to receive a ticket.  Please adopt a version of the Golden Rule on this and drive near others as you would have them drive near you.

Helpful Phone Numbers: I have copies of the phone card that I mailed out in the spring that contains these and other useful numbers.  Please feel free to contact me and I’ll be happy to send you one. You may also access the information from my website at
     www.greglavelle.com.

Where Do You Vote: Call the Department of Elections at 577-3464 or go to
     www.state.de.us/election to easily determine your polling location.

     You can access copies of bills over the Internet at www.greglavelle.com or www.delaware.gov. Copies can also be obtained by calling Legislative Council at 1-800-282-8545.

House Bill 192 was passed and signed into law earlier this year. I was the lead sponsor of this legislation which requires DNREC to set aside 25% of fines into a Community Environmental Project Fund so that those funds can be used in communities where the pollution violation occurred. The idea for this legislation came out of a number of meetings in the Claymont community.

House Bill 400 will change the primary election day from Saturday to Tuesday starting with the 2006 election.  Holding Saturday primaries conflicts with the Jewish Sabbath, and it is hoped that moving the primary to a weekday will improve voter turnout.  I was a co-sponsor of this legislation which was passed and signed into law.  

House Bill 19 has been signed into law and will allow 16- and 17-year-olds to work as paid poll workers.  The need to have an adequate number of poll workers is often a challenge and this would help in that effort, as well as introduce young people to the electoral process.  Parental permission is required.  Approximately 50 young adults have been selected to work the polls on November 2 as a result of this legislation. For information please call the New Castle County Department of Elections at 577-3464.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 32 encourages the Army and the DuPont Company not to treat and dump the remnants of VX nerve gas and related byproducts in the Delaware River. As the lead House Sponsor on this resolution I am only sorry that it does not carry the force of law, but New Jersey has regulatory authority over DuPont’s Chambers Works facility in Salem County.  The Army is expected to announce its decision about whether or not to proceed with this proposal in the next few months.

House Bill 109 mandates that chronic violators (companies that repeatedly violate pollution laws and create safety hazards) submit annual environmental audits; it expands reporting requirements of existing permit holders including the owners of the facilities, their record of violations in Delaware, and the environmental record of facilities they operate in other states; and it gives DNREC the ability to suspend or revoke the permits of facilities guilty of on-going violations threatening the public welfare.

House Bill 118 sets into play a series of actions that should allow northern New Castle County, the most densely populated area of the state, to fully meet its water needs by 2010, even under drought conditions.  Some of the key provisions of the bill include requiring Delaware's water utilities to implement a water conservation rate structure by 2005; requiring water utilities to certify every three years that they can meet the projected demand of their service area during the following three-year period; and giving the Delaware Public Service Commission a broader scope and additional powers.

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