All council members were present, with the exception of Mike Eisenhauer, who was recuperating from a hospital visit for treatment of a bleeding ulcer.

The police chief introduced the newest member of the police force, "Officer Hax," a beautiful 16 month old German Sheppard who is in training for a role in sniffing out narcotics and other duties.  Sophisticated equipment outfitting the a police car in which Hax will serve was also described in some detail.

There was a presentation by Renewable Energy company on the technology available to install wind power devices at private homes and small businesses.  The fixtures would likely require zoning changes or exceptions since they would exceed the 35 foot height limit.  State credits are available to offset the cost.  Overall, the units tend to pay for themselves in about 3 years.  Concerns were expressed about the aesthetic effect on the town, and no action was taken.  If future proposals are made, they would likely be referred to Planning and Zoning for evaluation.

Commissioner Walsh described a new project called "Sweep the Beach," which she is supervising with students from Delaware Tech High School's Key Club, to pick up litter around town.  This last summer was one of the worst in recent memory for litter in town.  A litter committee will be formed, and the Civic League may become involved as well.

The Town Audit for FY 2006 was presented by Joe Churchman.  The audit was clean, but the Budget and Finance Committee repeated an earlier recommendation that the town strongly consider hiring a full time assistant with financial background and training to help manage town finances and speed up the compilation of data and information.  Budget and Finance will come back to Council with further recommendations on this.

The replacement of stolen Welcome to Dewey  Beach signs was discussed.  It was recommended that they be replaced with signs that are harder to steal, as this has been on ongoing problem.

A possible ordinance was discussed at length, common in other Delaware towns, that would allow courts to substitute on a one time basis "probation before judgment" for the violation of town ordinances, including those involving alcohol and minor traffic stops.  This would make it possible for those with minor and first time infractions to avoid having a conviction on their permanent record.  The proposed ordinance will receive further study for possible action at a later time.

A budget modification of $2,960 was approved for upgrades to the town computer systems.

Note that the next meeting will be on Saturday, October 13 at 9:00 am.