Big Delmar Jeep event moves forward, but leaves many questions in its wake

Amid Safari at the Quarry, a jeep off-roading event, moving forward, the Wicomico County Council is taking aim at leases and contracts that could bring similar productions to the area.

The disagreement stemmed from District 5 Councilmember Joe Holloway, who represents where the event is slated to take place, noting the memorandum originated with the Office of the County Executive. He argued the time allowed of 364 days to plan, approve and hold the event is a specific number that would legally preclude it from even coming before the council at all.

The item was included on the Jan. 2 work session agenda of the county council.

When Brad Hoffman of Live Wire Media, LLC announced during the Dec. 5 regular legislative meeting the event was scheduled for May 4-5 off Route 13, council members explained their concerns were about the cost to county in terms of police assistance, cost of county manpower required, traffic issues and noise that many vehicles could create.

"More recently with the Jeep and quarry issue, there was a 364-day contract in order to get the memorandum of understanding signed," said County Council President John Cannon on the Jan. 2 legislative meeting. "That ignored the responsibility of the council and giving the public proper input on this project. These legislative bills have been proposed so that we can reduce the number from one year to six months so that anything six months or more has to come before the council."

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How big is the Jeep event and why public outcry?

Adding to the timeliness of the issue is the scope of the Jeep event, with it expected to bring 100 to 150 jeeps and about 400 people. It would also be a multiple-day production, Hoffman noted back in December.

Cannon characterized the measure as one that would not adversely impact similar contracts and leases, and that it would create better public awareness and input on concerns.

At-Large County Councilmember James Winn suggested simply requiring a public hearing on such events and contracts associated with them, rather than amending the current rule of 365 days.

"What stirred it up was the public ultimately not getting the chance to say anything before an MOU was signed," Winn said during the first legislative session of 2024.

According to County Attorney Paul Wilber, there currently is a memorandum in place with an addendum being considered. He added that one year seems to be the standard time period for many similar leases and contracts in other counties.

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Safari at the Quarry approval leaves lingering questions

County Executive Julie Giordano cited legislation making anything over six months could create a backlog of pressing contracts that cannot be awaiting a signature for long. She cited examples of similar documents that needed a response by the county within one business day.

The event, which is set for a property that abuts the neighborhood of Shadow Hills near Delmar, would allow drivers to maneuver over off-roading terrain in the quarry area, simulating a safari-style setting.

According to Hoffman, the decibel level would not exceed 35, with the vehicles not surpassing 15 miles per hour. On average, a whisper is 20 decibels, the noise level in a suburban residential neighborhood is 50 decibels, a heavy truck is 90 decibels, and a commercial plane taking off is 120 decibels. Beyond 130 decibels, there is potential damage to hearing.

"Safari at the Quarry will never potentially be a year-long MOU again," Giordano said. "If we were to have a successful event and council saw it as that, it would probably fall under contracts similar to how people rent the civic center."

District 1 County Councilmember Shanie Shield noted much of the outcry was discovering the event had the green light on social media.

"Anything that's going to impact the community's peace and quiet the public needs to know about and they shouldn't first hear about on Facebook or in ads in the press," Shields said.

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This article originally appeared on Salisbury Daily Times: Delmar Jeep event approval leads big contract questions in its wake