The current Berlin Welcome Center is pictured on Main Street.

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

Berlin Town Hall is set to undergo renovations soon, requiring town staff to temporarily move to the town’s Main Street Visitor Center and potentially displacing community groups.

The Berlin Mayor and Council are seeking potential new uses for the welcome center and invite community members to share their suggestions.

Two weeks ago, town officials briefly discussed the issue with plans to broadly talk about the facility’s future at an upcoming meeting. The conversation was brought up on Monday night by Calvin B. Taylor House President Melissa Reid during the public comments portion of the meeting.

Reid asked the governing body to include stakeholder groups in the discussion when considering potential avenues for the town’s welcome center. Currently, the building is utilized by Berlin’s two-person Economic and Community Development Department, the Berlin Chamber of Commerce and the nonprofit Beach to Bay Heritage Area. The center also services as a welcome area for tour buses as well as contains literature about the town and its businesses.

Reid added the Taylor House also uses a closet at the site to store things like tents and chairs used sporadically for special events.

When the improvement work at Town Hall begins, displaced staff will be moved to the Visitor Center until the construction is completed. As of now, the chamber and Beach to Bay Heritage Area will be forced to find new accommodations. The nonprofit and the chamber relocation may be temporary, and their use of the facility is unclear once the Town Hall project is finalized.

However, town officials maintain the move-out could well be permanent.

“I think it would be great if there could be a larger conversation with maybe some of the stakeholders who are currently utilizing [the Visitor Center] … explore some uses of the building before a final decision is made about what happens to that building after the renovations to Town Hall,” Reid said.

Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall maintained the council would consider a wide range of options before making a concrete decision.

Councilman Jack Orris noted that a plan should be agreed upon soon so the groups currently in the Visitor Center can strategize.

“After the renovations are done, and our staff is back to where they’re going to be, and [the Visitor Center] is empty…is there a strong feeling one way or another of any direction the building should go?” Orris said. “Sold? Bringing the folks back that were there, sharing the space? The ultimate thing is I think that the groups who were there, I think they understand what’s happening. We’re doing a renovation. They are just looking to see…they need to have some solid plan on our end because they have to look for other options.”

Councilman Steve Green asked if the departments currently using the Main Street facility pay rent to the Town of Berlin to use the site. Town Administrator Mary Bohlen confirmed they do not.

“I’m interested in hearing about these different avenues,” Green said. “… Rent space should be charged, and what that looks like, that’s an exploration process I’m very interested in hearing about.”

Tyndall maintained the storage closet used by the Taylor House will be unaffected throughout the Town Hall renovations. However, the closet cannot be promised when the improvement work is completed and the Visitor Center is potentially repurposed. The new public works structure planned for Heron Park will likely be able to accommodate items from the museum for storage.

“The goal is to have some storage capacity at the new public works building,” Tyndall said. “Can I promise that everything the Taylor House wants to store there will be accommodated? No, but I can say that if we can be a good community partner to help out with stuff like that, we’re not going to say no, more than likely, within reason.”

The museum can pay rent for any storage space they need, Reid noted.

According to Tyndall, the Visitor Center conversation began following a letter from Beach to Bay Heritage Area (BBHA) to the Berlin Mayor and Council.

“The Beach to Bay Heritage Area is hoping that you will continue to allow us to operate in this space, and with your support, BBHA can continue to offer programs, and funding … at the same level unencumbered by the expense of rent and utilities,” the correspondence reads. “We will be able to continue to participate in showcasing Berlin as a town with such a strong link to the heritage of the region.”

Per the group’s letter, BBHA’s mission is to “preserve, protect, and promote the heritage assets within each designated area. Our area is comprised of Worcester, Wicomico, and Somerset counties. We advocate for strong support of the Maryland Heritage Areas Authority (MHAA), fair and consistent funding for its partners, and the resources our communities need to grow and thrive, and to promote heritage tourism.”

The note adds the nonprofit offers an annual $25,000 mini-grant program, and that an impact report from 2020 revealed that the team “contributes to $230 million economic impact, supports 3,000 jobs and adds $29.6 million in state and local taxes.”

Tyndall said that while the future of the Visitor Center is uncertain, his position remains the town will likely not lease the building at a decreased amount.

“How this whole conversation got started was Beach to Bay wanted a reduced rate on rent and what I said … was that’s probably not going to happen, that we’re not going to lease the building to Beach to Bay at a reduced rate where the town still has the liability of maintenance and upkeep,” the mayor said.

Tyndall said the goal is to move staff from Town Hall to the Visitor Center in December. Thus, a pathway must be decided on soon.

“I think there could be some options that could be discussed and then certainly that’s your all’s decision, that might be able to solve a couple of different problems,” Reid said. “All I’m hoping is that there can be some kind of collective discussion before a final decision is made.”

Tyndall concurred, reiterating that any suggestions are welcome.

“This is the gathering of ideas phase,” he said.