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Disappointment, Patience, and Perseverance
Variance Delays Community Center Construction
After an anxious week of negotiations for the building
permit, and with contractors, architect, staff and volunteers ready and
waiting for the work to begin on the new CAMP Rehoboth Community Center
wing, word arrived late in the day on Friday, October 5, that we would
need to apply for another variance.
 Unfortunately, the next available date with the Rehoboth
Beach Board of Adjustment is November 26, so assuming we get the variance,
and I think we will since nothing has changed since our last appearance
before the Board—except the building inspector—our whole project will
be delayed a minimum of two months.
The variance concerns the large multi-purpose room that is
the focal point of all our plans, and the fact that “community center“
is not clearly defined in the building code. Though acceptance of both the
multi-purpose room and the vagueness of the code seem to be implied by the
discussion at our first appearance before the Board of Adjustment, the
current building inspector would also like to see a written decision on
the matter by the Board of Adujstment.
The night after we got the word about the variance
requirement, Steve and I went home grumpy, tired, disappointed, and even a
bit depressed. The next morning, rested and with a little time to digest
the changes, we were back in the office and ready to deal with the change
in plans.
Disappointment, after all, is not life threatening.
Nor, for that matter, will a little delay make much
difference in the grand scheme of CAMP Rehoboth. CAMP Rehoboth has been
growing for 17 years, seven of those years with an intense focus on
raising money for first the property and now the new building. To get to
this point we’ve had to face a lot more than disappointment and delay.
To be successful at anything requires patience and perseverance.
Not long ago, someone asked me why I thought CAMP Rehoboth
had been successful over the years. Half joking, I replied, “Because
we’re still here.” Sometimes the difference between success and
failure is simply not giving up when things don’t go our way.
That’s true of relationships as well. Love can carry us a
long way and make up for many of the missteps we humans are apt to make,
but without patience, without perseverance, without flexibility, without a
willingness to work together—to compromise—we become so stressed out,
so brittle, we snap at the first sign of resistance.
Life is full of complications, but way too short for us to do
anything but find a way to make the best of them—or even enjoy them. My
plans for this issue of Letters from CAMP Rehoboth had been to write about
the exciting first few days of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center
construction. I was already at work on Web site ideas and articles and ads
that would feature photos of the building-in-progress to help us focus
attention on our new Wish List and GEM Club financial campaigns.
We can still do that, now that I think about it. Maybe the
delay is a godsend, a little extra time for us to launch our new campaigns
and stir up excitement and expectation for the new Community Center
building. Time is money, of course, especially since we’re so far into
the project. Contractors, sub-contractors, our architect and his staff,
our CAMP Courtyard tenants, all will be affected. The bidding process
included a specific time period that will now have to be changed, as well.
Not to mention the additional attorney and application fees that are a
part of the variance process.
In the last issue of Letters, I wrote about the importance of our new campaigns: the GEM
Club, our long-term sustaining campaign; and the Wish List, our short-term
capital campaign. As I said then, every bit of money we raise in the next
few months will cut down on the amount of our construction loan and
therefore on the amount of our new mortgage.
Sure, we’re all disappointed that construction will not
start on time. But let’s make the best of it. Please take this
opportunity to fill out the GEM Club form on page 16, and also to look
over the list of items on our Wish List on page 17. Buy a chair, or
underwrite the cost of an entire room. Even the naming rights on the new
wing and the courtyard are available.
Now that I think about it, maybe we can even find someone
willing to underwrite the cost of the variance process itself.
I also encourage all who are residents of Rehoboth Beach to
write letters in support of the variance for the CAMP Rehoboth Community
Center to the Rehoboth Beach Board of Adjustment.
For details about the variance and what the letters need to
say, contact Steve Elkins at the CAMP Rehboth office, 302-227-5620, or
steve@camprehoboth.com.
Murray Archibald, Founder and President of the Board of
Directors of CAMP Rehoboth, is an artist in Rehoboth Beach.
Did You Know...
CAMP Rehoboth has operated the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard as a
free space for our community for more than 17 years. The new Community
Center construction includes a complete redesign of this exterior
courtyard in the heart of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center CAMPus and
ensures that its vital, welcoming space will continue to provide free
public WiFi, and access to restrooms; an information and ticket kiosk; and
the perfect place to meet friends, catch up on local news, or just sit
back and watch the people and pet parade on Baltimore Avenue.
Thank You to all the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center
Volunteers for the period of September 14-October 11.
Cathin Bishop
Tony Burns
Jim Byrnes
Ward Ellinger
Tony Ghigi
Spencer Kingswell
Charlie Lee
Stan Mills
Michael Muller
Barb Ralph
Ken Reilly
Mark Robinson
Chris Sampson
Rainbow Thumb Club
Matt Carey
Ward Ellinger
Rob Freeman
Tony Ghigi
Steve Hoult
Bud Palmer
Ken Reilly
Tom White
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