REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. -- Neighbors living near Silver Lake in Rehoboth Beach are fed up with decorative fountains installed by city officials and have asked that they be removed for good.
According to Rehoboth Beach mayor Stan Mills, the two fountains, located on either side of the bridge, were installed about three years ago. Neighbors living closest to the two fountains have complained about the mist that blows off the fountains during intense winds.
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," Mills says. "We've got some people that think they're absolutely visually appealing and wonderful, including the colored lights. Yet, we've got others on other end of the spectrum that think they're a blight over the lake; that lakes are natural areas and you're putting these artificial fountains there."
Mike Klingel, who's lived in his home near Silver Lake for 29 years now, is on the latter end of that spectrum.
"I love them, especially at Christmas time when they put lights on them," Klingel says. "I'd hate to see them go. I like watching them."
Meanwhile, neighbor Francis Fabrizio, who's spent much of his life in Rehoboth Beach and has lived near Silver Lake for nearly three decades, has complained to city officials about the fountains many times. His concerns range from health hazards to simply not being able to enjoy spending time with his family on their lake gazebo.
"Silver Lake is a retention pond for South Rehoboth," says Fabrizio. "The water is filthy and the fountains atomize the water. When there is a wind from the west or southwest, we get clouds of mist that will blow, and it depends on the intensity of the breeze, but it can be pretty bad."
Fabrizio has noticed the lake getting progressively dirtier as runoff from lawns and streets continue to enter it. The water coming out of the fountains is recycled lake water. Fabrizio mentioned that he believes he developed a lung infection form inhaling the fountain's mist.
"I don't want to breath it, and I don't want to come in contact with it," Fabrizio says.
Fabrizio and other neighbors addressed the Rehoboth Beach Board of Commissioners through letters concerning their frustrations with the fountains and in-person at a commissioners workshop at the beginning of the month.
Mayor Mills says the commission will vote on the relocation of the fountains during their next meeting on Sept. 16. He says the vote will decide if the fountains will remain in their current location on Silver Lake, be relocated to a different location on Silver Lake, relocated to a different lake, or abandoned completely.
