By Brian Gilliland

LEWES — While the meeting room at Love Creek Elementary School wasn’t packed Monday for the first information session about the March 26 Cape Henlopen School District referendum, the dozen or so attendees came with questions and feedback.

It was the proposed capital projects that drew the most scrutiny from the crowd. Plans include such items as an indoor swimming pool, a transportation maintenance facility, a new district office and 102 acres of land.

In total, according to the district, these initiatives constitute $0.214 of the total hike of $0.549 per $100 of assessed property value for which the district is asking. The balance is earmarked for operations and things like salaries, which drew little criticism during the meeting.

Cape Henlopen officials estimate that the pool will cost about $36.1 million, the district office $21.5 million, the acreage $15 million and the shop $6 million. In total, the district believes that this portion of the bill will cost the average homeowner almost $60 per year, or $4.99 per month.

Meeting attendees were most critical of the maintenance shop and pool, and wondered about ongoing costs and potential usage.

Superintendent Bob Fulton explained that the pool could teach every student in the district to swim, something currently not offered, and could be rented to outside teams and tournaments.

“There’s not another facility like the one we plan for 100 miles,” he added.

So, while taxpayers will share some of the initial price, ongoing costs could be defrayed via community use — another reason the facility is not planned to be attached to an existing school, Mr. Fulton said.

The maintenance facility, he continued, is not intended to be the be-all and end-all of auto shops, but, as the schools now maintain a fleet of at least 50 vehicles, there should be a place to perform routine work, like oil changes.

However, “some things would still need to be contracted out,” he said. For example, the district is not expecting to do engine replacements.

As for the land parcel, off Cedar Grove Road, Mr. Fulton said it’s not initially intended for a school building, but he admitted that the property may eventually be used for such. The audience was generally amenable to the challenges of purchasing land in Sussex County, as described by the superintendent.

The cost of the 102-acre lot breaks down to about $150,000 an acre, he added.

Further, the district’s administration building, now near Cape Henlopen High School, needs to be moved, clearing the space for more classrooms for that building. Last year, the district submitted a plan to expand the high school to the state, but it was not approved based on those space concerns and other factors, Mr. Fulton said.

Clearing those issues would allow Cape High to proceed with its expansion.

Two more information sessions are scheduled before the referendum — March 11 at Milton Elementary and March 18 at Lewes Elementary. They will also include Q&As with Mr. Fulton.