Ocean City stumbles in Berlin presentation

No one can blame the residents of Flower Street, the Berlin mayor and Town Council, or even some individuals connected to the two Stephen Decatur schools on Seahawk Road for opposing Ocean City’s plan to build a sports complex on the eastern edge of town.

Because the proposed site abuts school property and Flower Street, the currently vacant tract will unquestionably affect surrounding properties once it is developed with multiple athletic fields and indoor facilities. Yet Ocean City officials never made a meaningful effort to bring Flower Street residents and Berlin officials into the conversation early on.

Assumptions were made. But as Ocean City officials saw during their presentation at Stephen Decatur High School on Saturday, the penalty is steep for assuming their grand idea would be perceived as grand by everyone else.

That is especially true for residents of the Flower Street area, where generations of Black families have endured slights, marginalization, and worse. That includes the 1950 opening of the Worcester County landfill that operated as an open-burning dump until 1983. It wasn’t fully closed until 1990.

Given that history, it is no surprise that Black families and other residents on the east side of Berlin are sensitive and suspicious when they aren’t consulted in the beginning when proposals arise that will affect their community. They expect to be engaged, not bypassed — and certainly not dictated to. Berlin officials, in turn, had little choice but to stand with their constituents.

Ocean City now faces unexpected heavy lifting if it hopes to secure the state funding needed to build the facility. It is entirely possible that the Town of Berlin could block the project.

If so, supporters of the sports complex have a serious task ahead: persuading Berlin Town Hall and the residents of east Berlin neighborhoods that this development truly serves their interests.