MILFORD, DE- A final decision on the controversial Deep Branch Park came Tuesday night, as Milford City Council voted 5-3 in favor of moving forward with the long-debated project.
Council members had halted planning in April amid mixed feedback from the community.
At that time, they directed city staff to gather more detailed cost estimates and clarify what would happen to previously accepted state grant funding if the project was canceled.
Mayor Todd Culotta said that while the funds already allocated wouldn’t have to be returned, they would have been reallocated to other projects if Deep Branch Park did not move forward.
During Tuesday’s meeting, the council cast its final vote to approve the park, which will be built on a currently empty field along Rehoboth Boulevard.
Some neighbors, like Connie Pusey, who lives near the site, say the location isn’t a good fit.
“Traffic is definitely an issue. For us, sometimes trying to get out of the development, it’s a challenge.”
James Brown, who also lives next to the proposed location, said he supports the idea of a new park — just not in that spot.
“We are glad about is the fact that it’s not a strip mall. It’s not an apartment building because it’d be too much, too many people."
Brown added that safety remains a major concern, especially given the site’s distance from the main road and its location outside city limits.
“We’re concerned about safety because the park itself is so removed from the main street that we’re trying to see, what kind of policing is going to be monitored here?”
The approved plan includes a half-mile stone-dust walking trail, nearly eight acres of open flexible space, a multi-age playground, a 20-by-40-foot picnic pavilion, a 97-space parking lot, public restrooms, six pickleball courts and three basketball courts.
The project is partially funded by state grant money, which city officials said would have been redirected to other uses had the project been rejected.
Mayor Culotta, who voted against the proposal, said the park’s location outside city limits complicates the city’s ability to justify the investment.
“We have to benefit all the citizens of Milford, and I think there are a lot of other locations we could look at within city limits that that money could go towards."
Culotta also raised concerns about the project’s affordability. The park is expected to cost $3.41 million and take up to five years to complete.
“We do not have that budgeted right now, and looking at other things within the city, it is just a bit of a stretch."
Culotta told WBOC that a construction timeline has not yet been set, noting the project still requires approval from the county and relevant state departments.