(July 25, 2019) The petition opposing Berlin’s annexation of property where a gas station and convenience store would be built on Route 50 fell 43 signatures short of what its spon- sors needed to force action to referendum, town officials said last week.

“It was always going to be a possibility that we would fall short of the required number of signatures,” said the petition’s author, Jeff Smith. “I mean, I was disappointed, but not necessarily surprised.”

Annexation of roughly six acres of land on Route 818, across from Berlin Main Place was approved during a May 28 Town Council meeting in a 4- 1 vote, with Councilman Zack Tyndall dissenting.

Spiro and Mary Anne Buas, of Athena Properties Inc., own the land, “Athena Plaza,” where the proposed gas station and convenience store would sit.

Smith initially called for area resi- dents to have a voice in the matter in a June 14 Facebook video. In order to get a special election on this issue, his petition needed 681 signatures, 20 percent of Berlin’s 3,407 registered voters.

“I think it was a daunting task,” Smith said. “It was significantly more daunting than I expected it would be when I started.”

He, and several other town residents, scoured the area over the past several weeks hoping to speak with townspeople about the issue.

“I didn’t do this with the thinking that I was only going to talk to people who I knew were registered voters,” Smith said.

With that, Smith said he strived to get more signatures than required, and eventually turned in a petition to Town Hall with 709 signatures on the July 12 deadline, 45 days after the initial annexation agreement was approved.

Town Administrator Laura Allen said another petition with an additional signature was submitted prior to the 5 p.m. deadline, bringing the signature total to 710.

Allen added staff worked to verify the submitted signatures against voter records from the Worcester County Board of Elections.

Seventy-two signatures did not pass muster, according to a statement from town officials, which brought the total to 638 signatures.

Nevertheless, Smith said he was pleased with his and others’ efforts.

“The point of the referendum, the point of the petition, was to start a conversation, and get that conversation out into the public eye and get people a chance … to start thinking about it and start talking about it,” Smith said. “And in that prospect, it’s been an overwhelming success.”

Councilman Troy Purnell said it “seemed like due process is playing out the way it’s supposed to.”

Berlin’s Mayor Gee Williams said the town could see an economic benefit from this venture.

“Annexations such as this enable the Town of Berlin to expand our property tax base, Williams said in a statement.

However, Williams also addressed allegations of misinformation during the petition process.

“Several petitioners were told their town taxes would go up if this annexation was allowed to proceed,” Williams said in a statement. “This is simply not true.”

RACHEL RAVINA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin resident Jeff Smith learns that a petition he organized with 710 signatures to push a pre- viously approved annexation agreement to a referendum fell short by 43 signatures last week.

To that, Smith appeared unsure of what Williams was referring to.

“I can’t respond to what other people might have said, or what other people might have done, or what other people heard,” Smith said. “I mean, I know that every person that I spoke to. I know exactly what I told them, and that those words never came out of my mouth because that would not be the case.”

Smith said he hopes his initiative inspires others to get involved.

“I think … there is a groundswell of interest among residents of this town to see more transparency from our Town Council to have their voices heard, and to have the opportunity to have the [Town] Council do the things that reflect what people of the town want as opposed to the council just going their own way,” Smith said.

As for the future of the proposed gas station and convenience store, Smith has plans to attend every meeting involved.

“Absolutely, because I still have concerns about this particular project,” Smith said. “And, of course, no matter what happened with the petition, I was always going to continue to be involved in what’s going on because I’m a concerned citizen, and I think … the Town Council has asked for concerned citizens to step forward and make their voices heard.”