(Nov. 20, 2014) Despite suffering repeated setbacks at nearly every stage, from inception to construction, the long-discussed sidewalk connecting downtown Berlin and Stephen Decatur Park appears to be edging ever-closer to reality.
The town sent requests for proposals on the project and was set to move toward construction as far back as July when easements from a sole property owner put a proverbial wrench in the works.
Frustrated, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams asked legal counsel David Gaskill to personally reach out to the homeowner.
“This is ridiculous,” he said during a council meeting on Monday, Aug. 25. “Fortunately it happens very seldom when an entire community’s interest is being held hostage by someone who just doesn’t want to respond. We’ll go through all the hoops and everything we have to do, but this town will not be denied a sidewalk and safety so they can have access to the park.”
Public Works Director Jane Kreiter underscored the necessity of the project at the time.
“That’s a heavily traveled area, and if somebody is walking and there aren’t sidewalks then you’re sharing the road with all the cars that are coming and going,” she said. “It’s a safety issue.”
A month later, the project appeared to be back on track. Kreiter announced during a council meeting on Sept. 22 that the holdout homeowner had acquiesced.
On Oct. 14, the mayor and council approved a $61,402.60 bid by Worth Construction to build the sidewalk, apparently running from South Main Street down Tripoli Street to the park. The motion approved 4-0 with Councilmember Dean Burrell absent.
During another council meeting, this time on Oct. 27, Kreiter reported that construction on the sidewalk would begin on Nov. 10. As of press time no construction has taken place.
This time, Kreiter believed the problem was with the Maryland Department of the Environment, who are required to conduct an onsite preconstruction survey before work can start.
“The only update is that the contractor has still been trying to get a hold of MDE because the plans require a mandatory meeting 48 hours in advance of construction beginning,” Kreiter said. “For whatever reason MDE has not been getting back with them – or so I’m told. That’s all we’re waiting for. As soon as that meeting occurs it will happen 48 hours after that.”
Kreiter said it was “not the town’s responsibility” to make contact with the department.
“I’m assuming the contractor is on the up and up and truly nobody is getting back with them,” she said. “I did make another phone call to MDE to see, but at this point I haven’t heard anything.”
The town has not previously had any problems with Worth Construction, according to Kreiter.
“They’ve done a lot of good work in town,” she said. “I don’t think that’s the issue. I think there’s been some reorganization at MDE and I think maybe it might just be a bad time for them.”
A representative from Worth Construction, who asked not to be named in the article, said he had spoken to MDE.
“I called and played phone tag for a little bit. It wasn’t very long,” he said. “The guy said he was busy, but that if it met certain criteria we wouldn’t have to have a meeting. So now that’s pretty well ironed out. Now it’s just sitting down with the town of Berlin and coming up with a schedule. We’re in that process.”
The representative said the project has taken more than a year in planning alone. He confirmed that two bids came in, and that his was the lowest.
“They wouldn’t have awarded it otherwise,” he said. “But it was very close – maybe $800 or $900.”
The current holdup seems to be the busy schedule of holiday events in Berlin.
“I know that’s a bust street and they’ve got the Christmas parade coming up, which is another concern,” he said. “I don’t want to leave a mess that’s going to cause problems. Especially turning on Tripoli, it’s tight so I don’t want to mess anything up if you have a parade that comes down, turns in there and goes up that side street. We’re trying to work it so – hey, it took this long, let’s do it right instead of having a big, fat mess.”
The representative said he was only contracted to do the first phase of the sidewalk, running from South Main Street, down Tripoli, and stopping just before hitting a ditch on the way to the park. The ditch is currently marked with orange safety cones.
“Next year they’ll bid out the otherphase,” he said.
Cold weather is a factor in construction, and delays have previously pushed projects from late fall to the following spring. Still, the representative was confident the Tripoli Street sidewalk could be completed by the end of the year.
“I don’t think [it will be delayed],” he said. “I’m meeting with the town again. It’ll happen.”
The town sent requests for proposals on the project and was set to move toward construction as far back as July when easements from a sole property owner put a proverbial wrench in the works.
Frustrated, Berlin Mayor Gee Williams asked legal counsel David Gaskill to personally reach out to the homeowner.
“This is ridiculous,” he said during a council meeting on Monday, Aug. 25. “Fortunately it happens very seldom when an entire community’s interest is being held hostage by someone who just doesn’t want to respond. We’ll go through all the hoops and everything we have to do, but this town will not be denied a sidewalk and safety so they can have access to the park.”
Public Works Director Jane Kreiter underscored the necessity of the project at the time.
“That’s a heavily traveled area, and if somebody is walking and there aren’t sidewalks then you’re sharing the road with all the cars that are coming and going,” she said. “It’s a safety issue.”
A month later, the project appeared to be back on track. Kreiter announced during a council meeting on Sept. 22 that the holdout homeowner had acquiesced.
On Oct. 14, the mayor and council approved a $61,402.60 bid by Worth Construction to build the sidewalk, apparently running from South Main Street down Tripoli Street to the park. The motion approved 4-0 with Councilmember Dean Burrell absent.
During another council meeting, this time on Oct. 27, Kreiter reported that construction on the sidewalk would begin on Nov. 10. As of press time no construction has taken place.
This time, Kreiter believed the problem was with the Maryland Department of the Environment, who are required to conduct an onsite preconstruction survey before work can start.
“The only update is that the contractor has still been trying to get a hold of MDE because the plans require a mandatory meeting 48 hours in advance of construction beginning,” Kreiter said. “For whatever reason MDE has not been getting back with them – or so I’m told. That’s all we’re waiting for. As soon as that meeting occurs it will happen 48 hours after that.”
Kreiter said it was “not the town’s responsibility” to make contact with the department.
“I’m assuming the contractor is on the up and up and truly nobody is getting back with them,” she said. “I did make another phone call to MDE to see, but at this point I haven’t heard anything.”
The town has not previously had any problems with Worth Construction, according to Kreiter.
“They’ve done a lot of good work in town,” she said. “I don’t think that’s the issue. I think there’s been some reorganization at MDE and I think maybe it might just be a bad time for them.”
A representative from Worth Construction, who asked not to be named in the article, said he had spoken to MDE.
“I called and played phone tag for a little bit. It wasn’t very long,” he said. “The guy said he was busy, but that if it met certain criteria we wouldn’t have to have a meeting. So now that’s pretty well ironed out. Now it’s just sitting down with the town of Berlin and coming up with a schedule. We’re in that process.”
The representative said the project has taken more than a year in planning alone. He confirmed that two bids came in, and that his was the lowest.
“They wouldn’t have awarded it otherwise,” he said. “But it was very close – maybe $800 or $900.”
The current holdup seems to be the busy schedule of holiday events in Berlin.
“I know that’s a bust street and they’ve got the Christmas parade coming up, which is another concern,” he said. “I don’t want to leave a mess that’s going to cause problems. Especially turning on Tripoli, it’s tight so I don’t want to mess anything up if you have a parade that comes down, turns in there and goes up that side street. We’re trying to work it so – hey, it took this long, let’s do it right instead of having a big, fat mess.”
The representative said he was only contracted to do the first phase of the sidewalk, running from South Main Street, down Tripoli, and stopping just before hitting a ditch on the way to the park. The ditch is currently marked with orange safety cones.
“Next year they’ll bid out the otherphase,” he said.
Cold weather is a factor in construction, and delays have previously pushed projects from late fall to the following spring. Still, the representative was confident the Tripoli Street sidewalk could be completed by the end of the year.
“I don’t think [it will be delayed],” he said. “I’m meeting with the town again. It’ll happen.”