BERLIN—During a Jan. 17 interview, Michael Franklin, president and CEO of Atlantic General Hospital seemed to want to make it clear that a declaratory judgment complaint to seek an exemption from the Town of Berlin’s new stormwater management fee and a letter to inform members of the local business community of the hospital’s reason for the action were taken after attempts to handle the dispute in a more discrete manner failed to produce results.
During a Jan. 28 meeting the Berlin Town Council held a public hearing on a proposal to amend Chapter 26 of the town code by adding a stormwater utility department and establishing a stormwater management utility fee system (Ordinance 2013-1).
Hugh Cropper, who spoke on behalf of AGH, expressed the hospital’s trustees’ opposition to the ordinance. He told the council AGH the proposed stormwater management user fee “would be a heavy burden and it would be the highest rate in the county,” according to the minutes taken at the hearing.
Moreover, several local business representatives, including Ray Thompson, president and CEO of Taylor Bank:, Cam Bunting of Bunting Realty; and Stacy Schaffer also of Taylor Bank and a member of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce Advisory Board, advised the council they had been misrepresented as participants of a committee supporting the ordinance after attending an information session to learn more about it.
Nevertheless, the council approved the proposed ordinance by a vote of 5-0.
Franklin said AGH had engaged a member of its board of trustees, Hugh T. Cropper, IV, a local attorney with the law firm Cowdrey Thompson, to ensure that the hospital was following the proper process in disputing the fee imposed on them. Moreover, they argued that AGH is not contiguous to the town center. Also, they said that the hospital already has stormwater management facilities on its 24-acre campus on Healthway Drive in accordance with approved plans and specifications to mitigate the potential for flooding.
Franklin outlined a brief chronology of the attempts hospital representatives made to address their concerns on the new stormwater utility and fee structure that he said was approved in the middle of the hospital’s budget cycle, which is from July 1 to June 30.
Among the inquiries hospital representatives began seeking were clarifications on the new system as early as January 2013, according to Franklin. He said the trustees had sought to handle the dispute between the hospital and town discreetly and by expressing their concerns with the new ordinance with as little provocation as possible. But he said they received no further advice from town officials.
Later in July, Cropper forwarded a list of concerns to Town Counsel David Gaskill, along with a request for a meeting to discuss them. Cropper was advised the issue would be addressed during a council meeting held in August, which Franklin said, never occurred.
According to Franklin when Cropper attempted to remind Gaskill of the commitment that was made again in September he was advised that the town had outsourced representation for the stormwater management utility to Nathan Greenbaum, an attorney with the Bethesda-based law firm Linoews and Blocher, L.L.P.
When contacted, Franklin said, Greenbaum asked for time to get up to speed on the matter. Nearly two months passed before they heard back from Greenbaum, according to Franklin. At the end of October, Greenbaum advised the hospital that he had reviewed the issue and saw no reason to exempt the hospital from the ordinance, Franklin said, adding that Greenbaum had relayed he recommended that no change was needed on the part of the town.
Meanwhile, Franklin said Cropper was also asked how the hospital should respond to a notice from the town threatening to shut off the hospital’s water and utility services when the hospital tried to withhold payment until the town responded to AGH’s question about the calculations used to determine the assigned assessment.
Although Franklin said the hospital had a self-contained back-up water supply, under Cropper’s advice AGH paid the assessment.
Throughout the dispute, Franklin indicated that the trustees had been dismayed at the lack of dialogue between the two parties as the trustees sought to find common ground that could resolve the matter. He said it was the recommendation that no change was needed that spurred the hospital to file for a declaratory judgment.
Toni Keiser, vice president of public relations for AGH also pointed out during the interview that while the assessment rates may seem reasonably low, there was no cap to limit them. “They could increase at any time, “ she said.
During a Jan. 28 meeting the Berlin Town Council held a public hearing on a proposal to amend Chapter 26 of the town code by adding a stormwater utility department and establishing a stormwater management utility fee system (Ordinance 2013-1).
Hugh Cropper, who spoke on behalf of AGH, expressed the hospital’s trustees’ opposition to the ordinance. He told the council AGH the proposed stormwater management user fee “would be a heavy burden and it would be the highest rate in the county,” according to the minutes taken at the hearing.
Moreover, several local business representatives, including Ray Thompson, president and CEO of Taylor Bank:, Cam Bunting of Bunting Realty; and Stacy Schaffer also of Taylor Bank and a member of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce Advisory Board, advised the council they had been misrepresented as participants of a committee supporting the ordinance after attending an information session to learn more about it.
Nevertheless, the council approved the proposed ordinance by a vote of 5-0.
Franklin said AGH had engaged a member of its board of trustees, Hugh T. Cropper, IV, a local attorney with the law firm Cowdrey Thompson, to ensure that the hospital was following the proper process in disputing the fee imposed on them. Moreover, they argued that AGH is not contiguous to the town center. Also, they said that the hospital already has stormwater management facilities on its 24-acre campus on Healthway Drive in accordance with approved plans and specifications to mitigate the potential for flooding.
Franklin outlined a brief chronology of the attempts hospital representatives made to address their concerns on the new stormwater utility and fee structure that he said was approved in the middle of the hospital’s budget cycle, which is from July 1 to June 30.
Among the inquiries hospital representatives began seeking were clarifications on the new system as early as January 2013, according to Franklin. He said the trustees had sought to handle the dispute between the hospital and town discreetly and by expressing their concerns with the new ordinance with as little provocation as possible. But he said they received no further advice from town officials.
Later in July, Cropper forwarded a list of concerns to Town Counsel David Gaskill, along with a request for a meeting to discuss them. Cropper was advised the issue would be addressed during a council meeting held in August, which Franklin said, never occurred.
According to Franklin when Cropper attempted to remind Gaskill of the commitment that was made again in September he was advised that the town had outsourced representation for the stormwater management utility to Nathan Greenbaum, an attorney with the Bethesda-based law firm Linoews and Blocher, L.L.P.
When contacted, Franklin said, Greenbaum asked for time to get up to speed on the matter. Nearly two months passed before they heard back from Greenbaum, according to Franklin. At the end of October, Greenbaum advised the hospital that he had reviewed the issue and saw no reason to exempt the hospital from the ordinance, Franklin said, adding that Greenbaum had relayed he recommended that no change was needed on the part of the town.
Meanwhile, Franklin said Cropper was also asked how the hospital should respond to a notice from the town threatening to shut off the hospital’s water and utility services when the hospital tried to withhold payment until the town responded to AGH’s question about the calculations used to determine the assigned assessment.
Although Franklin said the hospital had a self-contained back-up water supply, under Cropper’s advice AGH paid the assessment.
Throughout the dispute, Franklin indicated that the trustees had been dismayed at the lack of dialogue between the two parties as the trustees sought to find common ground that could resolve the matter. He said it was the recommendation that no change was needed that spurred the hospital to file for a declaratory judgment.
Toni Keiser, vice president of public relations for AGH also pointed out during the interview that while the assessment rates may seem reasonably low, there was no cap to limit them. “They could increase at any time, “ she said.