Rehoboth Beach
New Rehoboth city manager called strong LGBTQ ally
Taylour Tedder backed first-ever Pride proclamation in conservative Nevada city
Taylour Tedder, whose appointment as the new Rehoboth Beach, Del. city manager has come under fire over his salary and benefits package, is described as a strong and committed LGBTQ community ally by the leader of an LGBTQ rights organization in Boulder City, Nev., where Tedder served as city manager for three years before being hired for that same position in Rehoboth.
He is scheduled to begin his new job in Rehoboth on May 15.
Brynn DeLorimier, president of Dam Pride, the LGBTQ organization of Boulder City, told the Washington Blade Tedder played a lead role in helping the group successfully lobby the mayor and City Council in what she calls a conservative, Republican-dominated city to approve earlier this year a first-ever proclamation naming June 2024 as Pride Month in Boulder City.
“I feel he’s very supportive,” DeLorimier said. “We’re really, really sad to see him go. I have a feeling we won’t find a city manager as progressive and diplomatic as he is,” she said. “So, Rehoboth Beach is really lucky to have him.”
Since it voted unanimously on April 8 to hire Tedder as city manager, the seven-member Rehoboth City Commission, which acts as a city council, has come under criticism from some Rehoboth residents for providing Tedder with a contract that includes an annual salary of $250,000, coverage of $50,000 for his moving expenses, and a $750,000 house loan that will be forgiven in full if he remains in his job for seven years.
Rehoboth’s two gay commissioners, Patrick Gossett, and Edward Chrzanowski, are among the commissioners who have been criticized for voting to hire Tedder on grounds, among other things, that his salary and benefits package are out of line with that given to Rehoboth’s previous city managers,
Rehoboth Mayor Stan Mills, who also serves on the commission, called Tedder “fiscally savvy, experienced in the day-day-day operations of a destination community, enthusiastic and energetic, and a fantastic communicator,” according to the Cape Gazette newspaper. Mills and others supportive of Tedder’s hiring have noted that in recent years city manager positions have become highly competitive among cities large and small across the country.
They point out that Rehoboth’s previous city manager, Laurence Christian, resigned and left the city in November of last year after serving only about 10 months. A salary and benefits package like what Tedder has received is needed to find and retain a talented and qualified city manager, his supporters have said.
Nearly all the public discussion about Tedder has centered on his salary and benefits as well as claims by some critics that he may not have certain job requirements specified in the Rehoboth City Charter. The Washington Blade could not find reports of any public discussion on whether the Rehoboth City Commission, including the two gay Commission members, sought to find out Tedder’s record and position on LGBTQ issues in a beach city with a large number of LGBTQ residents and visitors.
Kim Leisey, executive director of CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community Center, said she too had not heard of any discussion on Tedder’s record or positions on LGBTQ issues.
The Blade couldn’t immediately reach Tedder for comment. DeLorimier of Dam Pride, which she said is named for the Hoover Dam located in Boulder City that makes the city a national tourist destination, said Tedder told her his contract with Rehoboth prevents him from speaking with the press until he begins his new job on May 15.
Mills, the Rehoboth mayor, in response to a request for comment by the Blade, said he and the other commissioners could not publicly disclose the questions asked and responses they received, including any related to LGBTQ issues, in their interviews with candidates applying for the Rehoboth City Manager position under a confidentiality policy, according to Lynne Cohen, the Rehoboth City communications director.
“He did mention to me that the job posting for the city manager position mentioned or includes language that the City of Rehoboth Beach has a vibrant LGBTQ+ community,” Cohen said. “And that they had asked every candidate if they had read the job posting, and they indicated they had,” Cohen told the Blade in recounting her conversation with Mills.
Rehoboth officials have said Tedder was selected after a six-month nationwide search.
Prior to his tenure as city manager of Boulder City, Tedder served for a little over five years as assistant city manager for the city of Leavenworth, Kan., a suburb of Kansas City.
DeLorimier said she initially approached Boulder City officials last year to request that a Pride proclamation be issued in time for the June 2023 Pride celebration, but the mayor, a conservative Republican, turned down the request during a meeting that Tedder attended. She said the meeting became tense, noting that the mayor’s abrupt decision to say no came after she argued that LGBTQ residents in Boulder City deserved recognition during Pride month.
“At that point Taylour Tedder spoke up,” DeLorimier recalled. “He said, well, maybe start a group and gather support from the community and come back and ask again next year.” And that is exactly what she and others did, according to DeLorimier, who told of her and her fellow LGBTQ activists’ effort to create Dam Pride.
She also pointed out that Tedder mentioned that the city’s longstanding tradition of changing the color of a string of lights hanging over the city’s main street to celebrate special occasions like Christmas and Valentine’s Day, referred to as the “Bistro Lights,” could also be adopted to reflect Pride month.
“Taylour said, by the way, we can change them to rainbow colors with the flip of a switch,” DeLorimier recalls. “He offered that up himself. So, that indicates to me he’s very supportive of the cause.”
Added DeLorimier, “I really feel like Taylour helped us. He gave us all the help we needed. And we will be celebrating Pride month, our very first one, this June.”
Rehoboth Beach
Rehoboth’s Blue Moon is for sale but owners aim to keep it in gay-friendly hands
$4.5 million listing includes real estate; business sold separately
Gay gasps could be heard around the DMV earlier this week when a real estate listing for Rehoboth Beach’s iconic Blue Moon bar and restaurant hit social media.
Take a breath. The Moon is for sale but the longtime owners are not in a hurry and are committed to preserving its legacy as a gay-friendly space.
“We had no idea the interest this would create,” Tim Ragan, one of the owners, told the Blade this week. “I guess I was a little naive about that.”
Ragan explained that he and longtime partner Randy Haney are separating the real estate from the business. The two buildings associated with the sale are listed by Carrie Lingo at 35 Baltimore Ave., and include an apartment, the front restaurant (6,600 square feet with three floors and a basement), and a secondary building (roughly 1,800 square feet on two floors). They are listed for $4.5 million.
The bar and restaurant business is being sold separately; the price has not been publicly disclosed.
But Ragan, who has owned the Moon for 20 years, told the Blade nothing is imminent and that the Moon remains open through the holidays and is scheduled to reopen for the 2026 season on Feb. 10. He has already scheduled some 2026 entertainment.
“It’s time to look for the next people who can continue the history of the Moon and cultivate the next chapter,” Ragan said, noting that he turns 70 next year. “We’re not panicked; we separated the building from the business. Some buyers can’t afford both.”
He said there have been many inquiries and they’ve considered some offers but nothing is firm yet.
Given the Moon’s pioneering role in queering Rehoboth Beach since its debut 44 years ago in 1981, many LGBTQ visitors and residents are concerned about losing such an iconic queer space to redevelopment or chain ownership.
“That’s the No. 1 consideration,” Ragan said, “preserving a commitment to the gay community and honoring its history. The legacy needs to continue.” He added that they are not inclined to sell to one of the local restaurant chains.
You can view the real estate listing here.
Rehoboth Beach
Clear Space Theatre to remain in Rehoboth Beach
New arts center to be built on city-owned land
Clear Space Theatre Company and the City of Rehoboth Beach have agreed to create a public-private partnership to redevelop city-owned land into a new performing arts center, the theater announced Friday.
The CSTC board of directors formally accepted the letter of intent from the city on Oct. 23, wrapping up an 18-month process for site selection for its new performing arts center.
With the agreement, Clear Space commits to remaining in Rehoboth Beach, where it has been based since 2010.
Based on the terms of the letter of intent, Clear Space will enter into a land lease of 11 Christian St. after the Cape Henlopen Senior Center relocates to its next home outside the city limits on Hebron Road, according to the announcement. The senior center has been a tenant on city land for 45 years, but was gifted land to expand its operations and will move after the completion of a capital campaign. At that time, Clear Space will begin a lease of up to 50 years. The land, which has been valued at $7.2 million, will be made available to Clear Space for $1 per year.
The new performing arts center will include a proscenium mainstage, a flexible seating black box, a rehearsal studio, expanded lobby, concessions, and backstage facilities, and gallery space, according to the announcement. Parking will be provided on site
“On behalf of the Board of Commissioners, I am thrilled that Clear Space has selected our offer and plans on staying in the City of Rehoboth Beach,” Mayor Stan Mills said in a statement. “Clear Space has always enriched Rehoboth Beach culturally, socially, creatively, and economically. It is a top-notch performing arts center that is near and dear to our residents, visitors, and business owners. We believe it’s a win-win, and we look forward to many more years of our partnership with Clear Space.”
“We are grateful to Mayor Mills for first proposing that Clear Space consider the site at 11 Christian Street back in March 2024,” said Clear Space Managing Director Joe Gfaller.“Without his encouragement, the site might not have been explored as one of the nine in our 2024 market study. As our analysis winnowed down our preferred sites, the City of Rehoboth Beach’s staff and elected officials were consistently excellent partners, negotiating fairly and transparently in the interest of the citizens, business owners, and visitors of Rehoboth Beach.”
The total cost for the new performing arts center is approximately $40 million, according to the announcement, with a national RFP process for the project’s architect coming soon along with community forums for residents and audiences to follow in 2026.
The development ends years of contentious debate about the location of the new theater complex. In 2021, The Rehoboth Beach Board of Commissioners voted for the second time to overturn a decision by the city’s Planning Commission to approve plans by Clear Space to build a larger theater and adjacent rehearsal theater in a new downtown location.
Supporters of the project expressed outrage at the time over the Board of Commissioners’ 4 to 3 vote to reject the Planning Commission’s approval and deny the Clear Space application to build its proposed new theaters on Rehoboth Avenue, which serves as the city’s main commercial boulevard. The controversy led to speculation that Clear Space could relocate outside of Rehoboth to Route 1 or even to nearby Lewes, Del.
Rehoboth Beach
CAMP Rehoboth announces retirement of executive director
Kim Leisey to leave job at end of January 2026 as ‘true champion’
CAMP Rehoboth, the LGBTQ community services center serving Rehoboth Beach and areas across Delaware, has announced that Kim Leisey, who has served as its executive director since July 2023, will step down to retire at the end of January 2026.
“The Board of Directors has expressed deep gratitude for Leisey’s leadership and confirmed that she will continue to work with the Board and incoming leadership to ensure a smooth and seamless transition,” the organization says in a Sept. 17 statement.
Leisey, who holds a Ph.D. in Human Development, served for 30 years in the field of student affairs and facilities management at the University of Maryland Baltimore County before beginning work as CAMP Rehoboth executive director. Her position immediately prior to starting at CAMP Rehoboth was Senior Associate Vice President for Student Affairs at the university.
At the time of its decision to hire Leisey as executive director, CAMP Rehoboth noted that she had been a resident of nearby Lewes, Del., since 2020 and a Rehoboth Beach visitor since the early 1990s.
The board hired Leisey shortly after CAMP Rehoboth’s previous executive director, David Mariner, resigned to start a new Delaware LGBTQ advocacy group called Sussex Pride.
The board noted the change in leadership came at a time when the COVID pandemic presented challenges to the organization’s operations and during an organizational transition period to reassess and expand its programs that began prior to the pandemic.
CAMP Rehoboth Board President Leslie Ledogar said in the statement announcing Leisey’s retirement that at the time it hired her in 2023 it was confident her 30 years of experience in her prior career as a University of Maryland official would make her the right person to advance CAMP Rehoboth’s mission.
“Thanks to Kim’s steady leadership, her commitment to our mission, and the fact that she truly is a ‘champion for all things that help humans to thrive during their lifespan,’ she leaves CAMP Rehoboth well positioned to emerge from a time of uncertainty to one of strength, with the capacity we need to serve our community for decades to come,” Ledogar said in the statement.
“It’s been a privilege of a lifetime to serve in this role,” Leisey said in the statement. “Together we built something I am proud of, including strengthening a high-performing leadership team, deepening a culture rooted in integrity and excellence, and delivering strong, continuous financial performance,” she stated.
The statement says a search committee, to be chaired by Board President Ledogar, will be formed in the coming weeks to begin the search for a new executive director.
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