QUARTERLY OPEN TOWN MEETING

The Quarterly Open Town Meeting was held on November 7, 1995 with Mayor Hutchison presiding. Members of Council Present were Council President Christiansen, Mr. Lambert, Mr.Tudor, Mr. Leary, Mr. Pitts, Mrs. Malone, Mr. Fenimore, Mr. Salters and Mr. Hare. Staff members present were Chief Smith, Mr. Lucas, Mr. DePrima, Mr. Pepper and Mrs. Boaman. Mr. O'Connor was absent.

AGENDA ADDITIONS/DELETIONS

Mr. Leary requested an addition to the agenda for the presentation of a Proclamation. Mr. Leary moved for approval of the agenda as amended, seconded by Mr. Christiansen and unanimously carried.

PROCLAMATION - WORLD WAR II

Mayor Hutchison presented the following Proclamation to Mr. John Davis:

WHEREAS, World War II was fought between 1939-1945 and began with the German invasion of Poland; and

WHEREAS, under the leadership of Franklin D. Roosevelt, the United States remained neutral until the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, which subsequently resulted in a declaration of war on Japan by the United States; and

WHEREAS, this war which became a global conflict, was responsible for millions of deaths in both military and civilian populations and caused more destruction than any other war; and

WHEREAS, the United Nations was formulated through efforts of the Allied powers, which included the United States, Great Britain, the Soviet Union and China who met to discuss methods of preventing a similar war of ever occurring again; and

WHEREAS, the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of World War II officially concludes on November 11, 1995.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, JAMES L. HUTCHISON, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF DOVER, DELAWARE, do hereby proclaim the week of November 4-11, 1995, as 50TH ANNIVERSARY OF WORLD WAR II COMMEMORATION WEEK in the City of Dover and urge all citizens to use this time to reflect on this critical period of our nation's history and give recognition to WWII veterans and their families for the many sacrifices made in the name of our country's defense.

The proclamation was presented by Mayor Hutchison to Mr. John Davis on behalf of the Dover Memorial Post #9962, Veterans of Foreign Wars. Mr. Davis relayed some life experiences of himself and some of his friends that were involved in World War II. He expressed his extreme appreciation for the recognition of the 50th Anniversary of World War II.

PRESENTATION - WESLEY COLLEGE

Mayor Hutchison stated that he had the opportunity of being present during a session where representatives of Wesley shared their vision for the future of Wesley College. He requested that they share their ideas with members of City Council and invited them to the Quarterly Open Town Meeting. Mayor Hutchison introduced Dr. Reed Stewart, President, and Mr. Steve Brannon, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement, of Wesley College.

Dr. Reed Stewart stated that those that have watched Wesley College grow over the last many years may think that Wesley is a finished product but it is not. They are extremely proud of the many changes planned for Wesley College over the past several years. Dr. Stewart has been President of Wesley College for 14 years. During that time, they have come from the brink of bankruptcy to 12 consecutive years of financial operating surplus. The transition from a two to four year status is now complete and they have 20 baccalaureate degree programs, seven pre-professional programs, and a new master's degree in nursing. They are fully accredited as a senior college by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Accrediting Association. They currently have a $12.5 million operating budget and a $6.5 million payroll. Currently, they operate from approximately 15 buildings, with a value of approximately $40 million. They employ 130 persons with the majority from the greater Dover area. Utilizing the commonly accepted economic multiplier, their economic equivalency impact on Dover and the immediate surrounding area for this fiscal year will be approximately $40 million. Dr.Stewart stated that the College currently has 1,300 students of which 800 are full-time, traditionally aged students. As they look to the future, they expect to grow to 1,100 full-time students by the turn of the century with approximately 640 living on campus. Wesley now attracts students from 13 states and six foreign countries. To keep with their expected growth, they have developed a Campus Master Plan Goal which is "To create a campus that promotes quality education within a quality environment". Dr. Stewart introduced Mr. Stephen F. Brannon, Vice-President for Institutional Advancement, to explain their goals.

Mr. Brannon explained that Wesley has experienced significant growth over the last several years and the new master plan strives to guide the necessary changes which will allow Wesley to continue a momentum of growth. The Board of Trustees of Wesley College commissioned a Campus Master Plan Study to direct Wesley's educational mission and to realize Wesley's role as a leader within the Dover community. A firm was contracted to conduct a study and to develop a Campus Master Plan. The Campus Master Plan involved the entire Wesley community and reflects the goals and objectives derived from the examination of Wesley's history, existing campus, and prospective image.

Explaining that at this point it is only a vision, Mr. Brannon described the components of the Campus Master Plan Study. The planning and architectural firm of MacLachlan Cornelius and Filoni was contracted to conduct the study and they worked with College trustees, administration, faculty, students and representatives of the Alumni Association. The Plan is a compilation of the input from everyone involved with Wesley College. The Plan includes the renovation and reorganization of existing buildings to meet changing technologies and student needs. It will include improvement of the Campus appearance to create a better image, which includes the use of as much green space as possible. They plan to improve inadequate athletic facilities. Their plan is to expand to the north and to the west rather than to the east and south. Since they have Wesley West which is the playing field north of the main campus, they hope to grow in that direction. The plan includes changes to the South Quad which is where the Campus Chapel is located and they plan to add as much green space in this area as possible. The Chapel has very unique architecture which they will maintain, but they will expand the Chapel extensively to include a fine arts center. One aspect of the plan incudes the vacationing of portions of Bradford Street and Fulton Street. The plan would provide for a wonderful view of the College from Division Street as well as the one from State Street. Many of their current buildings will be relocated into different sites, particularly their labs which have dramatically changed with use of computers. A new academic building, adjacent to Parker Hall, is where the new labs would be located. The back of the College Center, adjacent to the old tennis courts is now used as a parking facility. They hope to change the facade of the structure to make it more appealing and to make it look less like the back of the building. Directly across the street from the old tennis courts is a block of homes that is predominately owned by the College. A major addition to the College is anticipated for this block which is their proposed Athletic and Recreation Center. The Center would have three basketball gymnasiums that can be reconfigured into one with a total seating capacity of 2,200. Also proposed in the Center is an Olympic size swimming pool and the other typical athletic center items such as weight rooms, dressing rooms, etc. One important aspect of the Center is that on the back of the building additional dedicated space will be built for the creation of an additional Boys and Girls Club in Dover that will serve the neighborhood adjacent to Wesley College. Wesley hopes to open up the College to the community and they feel that the Club would be a wonderful way to involve their students and the community. Mr.Brannon explained that their education students can concentrate on working with the Boys and Girls Club participants in the way of tutoring them for their existing classroom work, their health and nursing students could offer a wellness program, etc. One of the items in their new curriculum is the requirement for public service. Each Wesley College student will be required to provide some level of public service for the community. They have received some funding from one of the major foundations in the country for such a program. Construction of the Athletic and Recreation Center will require the demolition of some of the houses on this block of land and they will have to give consideration as to a safe way for the students to cross Governors Avenue.

In the basement of the College Center, they plan to renovate for a student center. Many of the students have worked with their architects and planners and have designed a center that will include booths, food service, coffee and juice bars, etc. Food will continue to be prepared at their main dining hall and that convenience types of foods will be available at the student center until 2:00to 3:00 a.m. There will be booths, large screen television, stage for dancing, pool tables, etc. They feel that this will give their students an area to socialize with one another without leaving the College Campus.

The library will eventually be moved to the top two floors of the College Center to provide the space they will need and to provide the computer technology and labs that are now a part of all library systems.

The Wesley West athletic field will see the addition of soccer practice fields and the locker room will have an addition for use by those playing field hockey, soccer, softball, etc. A proposal for six tennis courts is planned for the Campus so that they do not have to borrow space from other facilities in the community.

Mr. Brannon explained that adequate funding will determine how long it will take to accomplish their goals. However, even if they had the funding today, it would take two to three years before it could be completed. Wesley College will celebrate its 125th Anniversary in 1998 and they hope to reach most of their goals by then so that they can celebrate their accomplishments along with their 125th Anniversary.

Dr. Reed Stewart reminded members of Council that most of the students that are being served today, and a large number of Council's constituency in the City of Dover, will spend most of their lives in the 21st century. Their Campus Master Plan seeks to serve their students and this community in the new century in an effective manner. As leaders of the college and leaders of the community, Dr.Stewart felt that we will build a better Dover by creating better men and women to live in it. He relayed his appreciation to Mayor Hutchison, members of City Council and the citizenry for sharing their time to participate in the plans and goals of Wesley College.

There were general questions on the proposed plan by members of Council which were fully addressed by Dr. Stewart and Mr. Brannon.

Mayor Hutchison stated his appreciation to Wesley College for sharing their plans with the City of Dover. He reminded members of Council that the City needs to be as involved as possible with the future goals of all our educational institutions and businesses so that we can work together to meet the needs associated with this growth in an orderly manner.

Mayor Hutchison asked if there was anyone from the audience wishing to address City Council on any issue. There was no one present wishing to speak.

Mr. Leary moved to adjourn into executive session to discuss personnel and legal matters, seconded by Mr. Lambert and unanimously carried.

Meeting Adjourned at 8:00 P.M.

                                                                                    DEBRAH J. BOAMAN

                                                                                    CITY CLERK

                                                                                    JAMES L. HUTCHISON

                                                                                    MAYOR

/DJB