For the second time since the City of Delaware entered into a sister city partnership in 2011 with Baumholder, Germany, a delegation of local officials is planning a trip overseas.

On Feb. 26, by a 6-1 vote (council member George Hellinger voted no), Delaware City Council passed a resolution in support of an upcoming sister city visit to Baumholder.

Unlike the first trip back in 2012 in which members of the delegation paid their own way, the delegation set to head over to Germany in May won’t have to pay for everything.

The resolution approved by council states, “Sending representatives of the City of Delaware to Baumholder, Germany as part of the delegation achieves a public purpose. Public funds, as budgeted in the City’s 2018 travel/training line item, may be used to pay the costs of participating in the delegation. Any travel expenses must conform with the City’s travel reimbursement policy.”

City Manager Tom Homan said back in 2017, council passed a measure declaring the sister city visit to Sakata, Japan (took place April 2017), a public purpose, therefore allowing the use of tax dollars to help fund the trip.

As for the upcoming trek to Germany, Homan said, “We have been invited by the mayor of Baumholder to partake in the official opening of their cultural center … that’s now opening in May.”

As a gift to the people of Baumholder, Homan added, the city is actively seeking local residents who were stationed in Baumholder at the U.S. Army Garrison Rheinland-Pfalz.

The military base, which is commonly referred to as “The Rock,” sits in the wooded hills of the Western Palatinate in the German federal state of Rheinland-Pfalz.

“This is a call for people who served at the garrison in Baumholder to be part of a photo we would like to shoot and present as a gift to be displayed in the cultural center,” Homan said.

Veterans who were stationed in Baumholder are asked to contact City Council Clerk Elaine McCloskey at 740-203-1013 or email [email protected] by March 30 to be included in the photo to be taken in Delaware.

According to City of Delaware documents, the Golden Angel Cultural Center in Baumholder will be dedicated this spring, and it will highlight the post-World War II history between the 11,000-troop garrison and Baumholder.

The center will feature a regional museum, cafe, city library, tourist information, and a designated space for temporary exhibitions. The regional museum will focus on the history of the region, as well as the establishment of the military training area and the influence of the U.S. Armed Forces on the region, and how Americans and the residents of Baumholder have lived together for decades.