By Hunter Hine, Staff Writer

The Berlin mayor and City Council voted to approve motions for a land transfer, rain dates and a water works apprenticeship at their Monday meeting.

Land transfer on Flower St.

Council members unanimously approved a transfer of property from the Berlin Community Improvement Association to the Town of Berlin with the intent of building a Berlin Community Center on the site.

The property includes two land parcels on Flower Street near the intersection across from the Showell Street, which contain a multi-purpose center and the Shore Up Head Start buildings, according to the contract and agreement of transfer.

The association is donating the land to the town.

Shore Up’s Head Start program is a community based early learning center for economically disadvantaged families, according to the organization’s website.

Mayor Zack Tyndall said the Shore Up Head Start Center will remain active at the site and described the use of the two parcels as a partnership between the Berlin, Shore Up and the improvement association advancing.

Once the agreement is ratified it will be transferred to the town within 90 days

The agreement states that the town will use the land for the community center in perpetuity. If the community center goes out of use, the land would go back to the association, according to the agreement.

Berlin event rain dates

The council unanimously approved rain dates for three town events in 2024.

The Jazz and Blues Festival, which is set for May 4 next year, will have a rain date of May 5. The Fiddler’s Convention, which is set for Sept. 21, will have a rain date of Sept. 22. And Oktoberfest, which is set for Oct. 12, will have a rain date of Oct. 13.

Ryan Nellans, the executive director of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce, said that after missing the Fiddlers Convention and most of Berlin’s Oktoberfest, local businesses missed out on a lot of business.

The rain dates would help save the much needed economic influx that local businesses received from events with the hope that 24 hours makes a big difference for weather, Nellans said.

Nellans estimated that one of the town events can generate a collective $100,000 spread out across town businesses.

The rain dates were scheduled for the Sundays following the Saturday events, which would be much easier than pushing an event a week later than originally scheduled, Nellan said.

He said that organizers would ideally be able to call the rain date 48 to 72 hours ahead of time.

Nellans said that Ivy Wells, of the Berlin Farmers Market, which also takes place on Sundays, originally suggested these dates.

“I think of this as a no-brainer,” said Councilman Steve Green.

Water Apprentice

Berlin’s Water Resources Department received unanimous approval from the mayor and council to become an employer in the Maryland Rural Water Association’s Water and Wastewater Operations Specialist Apprenticeship Program.

According to the staff report, the apprenticeship program was created to train up-and-coming professionals and standardize training across the state.

The two-year program consists of classroom education along with job experience, and after completion participants gain a certification from the Maryland Department of the Environment.

“I think it’s a smart move in a field that’s a dying field,” said Jamey Latchum, the director of water resources.

The U.S. Department of Labor, the Office of Apprenticeship and the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Council have all approved the program.