Phony Reform at Fort DuPont: Resignations and a “Clean Up” Bill

This is the 7th post in the “The Privatization of Public Land” series by Jack Guerin, concerning the saga of  the Fort DuPont Redevelopment and Preservation Corporation (FDRPC). Jack Guerin is an anti-corruption advocate with FightDECorruption.com. This series currently consists of 10 posts, and may grow to more. A post will be published every day Monday through Friday over the next two weeks (April 22, 2024 to May 3, 2024). Click Here for access to all published posts.

Jeff Randol became the first Executive Director of FDRPC in July 2015. Mr. Randol became the focus of many problems at FDRPC as documented on my website. Early in 2022, Valerie Longhurst became concerned about developments at FDRPC and launched a behind the scenes campaign to force Jeff Randol, to resign which happened in March 2022. FDRPC Board Chair, Bryon Short resigned shortly thereafter. Neither Longhurst nor FDRPC specified any reasons for the resignations other than issues of “transparency.”

Valerie Longhurst and Nicole Poore were the only legislators sponsoring the FDRPC enabling legislation and three subsequent revisions of that legislation. Valerie Longhurst was recently elected Speaker of the House.

A Sham Bill to Constrain Executive Director

In January 2021, House Bill 85 was introduced by Valerie Longhurst and rubber stamped by the House Administration Committee before it appeared on the House agenda. This bill was launched so quickly that the synopsis had multiple typos.

HB 85 was obviously a phony bill because it remained on the ready list for more than a year until it was stricken on March 17, 2022. Longhurst could have passed it at any time. HB85 apparently wasn’t a serious legislative proposal. Instead, this bill seems to have been a deceptive effort to intimidate Jeff Randol.

HB85 included a provision which would prohibit using state appropriations to pay staff salaries. This provision threatened the funding of Jeff Randol’s salary. HB 85 was like the sword of Damocles suspended above Randol for more than a year.

Phony Reform with House Bill 355

House Bill 355, sponsored by Valerie Longhurst and Nicole Poore, passed the General Assembly in the spring of 2022. On the floor of the House, Valerie Longhurst promoted this legislation as a “Clean Up” bill.

At the heart of HB 355 is another shuffle of the FDRPC Board of Directors. Prior to HB 355, the Mayor of Delaware City appointed four FDRPC Board members. HB 355 eliminated these local appointments substituting the Co-chairs of the General Assembly’s Capital Improvement Committee as presented in the screenshot below.

This bill provided two additional board appointments for the Governor and two more for legislative leaders.

The FDRPC website was recently revised, but it presents misleading information about the Board of Directors stating that FDRPC is “governed by an 11 member Board of Directors, seven of which are appointed by the Governor and four by the Mayor of Delaware City.” Fifteen board members (one non-voting) are listed below this misleading statement and none of them was appointed by the Mayor of Delaware City.

Some provisions of HB 85 were included in HB 355. However, the sponsoring legislators forgot to remove the provision threatening the Executive Director’s salary. A new Executive Director had just been selected, and their intent was not to burden him with this problem. They had to revise the bill and pass it again.

Why Was HB 355 Bogus Reform?

Appendix A presents an email which Valerie Longhurst sent constituents advocating for this legislation. The first sentence states:

“House Bill 355, which I co-authored with Sen. Nicole Poore, makes sure that the FDRC functions as it was designed and achieves what it was created to do in 2014.”

The sponsoring legislators passed multiple FDRPC bills starting with the Enabling Act in 2014. The 3rd post in this series documents that these legislators played a passive role while Markell administration attorneys wrote the enabling legislation.

Before 2022, there was little legislative oversight. Valerie Longhurst’s constituent email does not explain why she waited eight years to implement these reforms. One critical point neglected in 2014 was, “Clear and definitive requirements to abide by all state environmental permitting policies and restrictions.”

The constituent email presents six bullet points summarizing HB 355 reforms. The first point falsely claims that HB 355 increased local representation on the FDRPC Board. As cited above, this bill eliminated appointments by the Mayor of Delaware City.

Some of the points listed are basic administrative procedures which shouldn’t require legislation. I would include the “reforms” below in that category.

• Approval and sign-off requirements for credit card purchases and checks
• Requiring a criminal background check and credit report for the executive director

Some points in Longhurst’s email don’t qualify as “reforms” because they aren’t new. FDRPC was already complying with FOIA. Bert Scogletti is the Treasurer referred to in the first bullet point. He reports to the Comptroller General. He was present at the first board meeting in 2014 and HB 355 has not changed his role.

Reforms Don’t Address Past Wrongdoing

Valerie Longhurst never acknowledged the problems which prompted leadership changes at Fort DuPont. HB 355 proposed procedural changes going forward, but there has been no investigation or resolution of past problems.

Auditors and advocates have cited financial irregularities, and on one occasion a report on property management accounting was referred to DOJ. However, no action has been taken to address these issues.

On February 11, 2020, the FDRPC maintenance staff demolished Building 58 which the Delaware State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO) had designated for preservation—not destruction. Neither the FDRPC Board nor the SHPO was notified of this action. FDRPC failed to obtain a demolition permit as required by Delaware City. This incident has not been investigated.

The most significant issue which both the sponsoring legislators and the new Executive Director continue to ignore is the campground sale. On February 3, 2022, I sent Valerie Longhurst a draft Joint Resolution by which the General Assembly would return the campground site to the state. Her response was:

“Thxs Jack. I’ll look at this. I need to find out legally where they are in the process.” 

There was no additional follow-up. However, on March 9, 2022, Valerie Longhurst and Nicole Poore sent an email to constituents stating:

“After the sale was complete, and details surfaced about the transaction, we had our own reservations about the plans for that property. It is extremely unfortunate, but at this point there is no way to reverse the sale.”

With one sentence, the legislators state that the campground transaction is “extremely unfortunate,” but “there is no way to reverse the sale.” It’s frustrating that they restrict themselves to two words in expressing what went wrong with this transaction. More elaboration could be helpful in setting priorities and proposing solutions.

“There is No Way to Reverse the Sale.”

Valerie Longhurst has become Speaker of the House and is one of the most powerful members of the Delaware General Assembly. Valerie Longhurst and Nicole Poore have sponsored multiple bills related to FDRPC and these bills have all passed with minimal opposition.

These legislators can’t deny that they have the power to pass additional FDRPC legislation. Logically, they are stating that the campground sale is beyond the scope of the Delaware General Assembly.

The General Assembly created both FDRPC as well as Title 7 and the Open Space program. Most Delawarians understand that the General Assembly has ultimate authority over land use issues, but the Speaker of the House is questioning that authority.

The legislators may be arguing that even the General Assembly can’t reverse a legal contract. “Reversing” a contract sounds both challenging and wrong—requiring a do over. The phrase “Reverse the Sale” implies a legally valid sale.

However, as documented by multiple posts in this series, there is not a legally valid contract for the campground sale. The FDRPC Board never approved the campground contract as explicitly required. FDRPC was never able to transfer valid title to this property.

On December 30, 2019, Jeff Randol affixed his signature to a stack of paper which was woefully incomplete with 29 missing or incomplete exhibits and due diligence documents. This was not a legally valid contract.

The sponsoring legislators should acknowledge that they share responsibility for the campground sale. Instead of phony reforms and sham bills, they should pass the Joint Resolution, return this land to the Parks Department, and unlock the gates to the public.

Appendix A
Email from Valerie Longhurst to Constituents March 22, 2022

Dear concerned citizen,

On Thursday I introduced legislation in the House that will bring greater transparency, fiscal accountability, environmental protection and community oversight to the running of the Fort DuPont Redevelopment Corporation (FDRC.) 

House Bill 355, which I co-authored with Sen. Nicole Poore, makes sure that the FDRC functions as it was designed and achieves what it was created to do in 2014. Working on behalf of the State of Delaware and taxpayers, the FDRC exists to build a flourishing new community of families, small businesses and amenities — in a beautiful natural setting that will be protected and preserved for generations to come. 

This organization has been entrusted with taxpayer dollars and property. It’s our duty to make sure the FDRC acts as a true steward of those resources. Some highlights from HB 355 include:

• Adding members to the FDRC Board of Directors appointed by the General Assembly and the City of Delaware City, including an independent Treasurer who reports to the General Assembly.
• Approval and sign-off requirements for credit card purchases and checks
• Clear and definitive requirements to abide by all state environmental permitting policies and restrictions
• Requiring a criminal background check and credit report for the executive director, and prohibiting employees of the FDRC from receiving housing for free or at a discount. 
• Requiring annual reports to the General Assembly and the Delaware City Council of all FDRC activities, including proposed changes to development plans, land sales and impacts to wetlands.
• A clear statement that the FDRC and its board are “public bodies” under state law, meaning they must comply with the Delaware Freedom of Information Act.

We’re proud of the work that’s being done at Fort DuPont, and HB 355 will ensure that we can be proud of what’s to come. Thank you for your interest, your concern for the Delaware City and Fort DuPont community, and you advocacy for change.

Sincerely,
Val 

Jack Guerin is an anti-corruption advocate with FightDECorruption.com. He is plaintiff in a lawsuit to stop the development of the campground. Click to send an email to legislative leaders asking them to pass the Joint Resolution and return this protected land to the State Parks Department.