JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin Mayor Gee Williams swears in Jeff Ricks to the Housing Board of Review during a Jan. 14 Town Council meeting.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Jan. 24, 2019) The Berlin Mayor and Council discussed the following items during a Jan. 14 public meeting at Town Hall:

Swearing in

Mayor Gee Williams, as he has done during several meetings in recent months, swore in new and returning board and commission members.

This month, Williams welcomed Jeff Ricks to the Berlin Housing Board of Review.

“Our board members and commission members, they’re all volunteers,” Williams said. “We’re very lucky that we have always had … so many people take a real interest in the town and volunteer their time.”

Williams said board and commission members bring “so many more opinions and expertise for the entire community.”

“We’re very grateful,” he added.

Rate increase

The council unanimously approved a septage disposal rate increase, effective March 1, from $0.06 to $0.07 per gallon.

According to a staff report, the disposal fees have not been increased in several years and were decreased from $0.07 to $0.06 in 2011. The report said the increase was now necessary “to offset higher operating and maintenance costs at the waste water treatment plant.”

The report said most septage haulers bring thousands of gallons per load and, during the last five years, the town received an average of $119,000 of revenue per year from the activity. Raising the rate is expected to generate an additional $19,000 per year, assuming usage remains the same.

Currently, rates in Pocomoke and Snow Hill are $0.065 cents, or $65 per 1,000 gallons, while the rate in Princess Anne is $0.08 cents, or $80 per 1,000 gallons.

The vote was 4-0 with one member, Troy Purnell, not present during the meeting.

Tennis open

Administrative Services Director Mary Bohlen said the rehabilitation of tennis courts at Stephen Decatur Park had finished. The project was delayed several times because of bad weather and a faulty foundation.

Bohlen said feedback so far has been positive and the restored courts would likely last 20 years or more.

Capacity update

Water Resources/Public Works Director Jane Kreiter said a required yearly capacity management report compiled for the Maryland Department of the Environment showed average flows in the last four years were 474,000 gallons per day. She said the town was permitted for 750,000 gallons per day.

Based on those numbers, Kreiter said the town was at 70 percent of its capacity when factoring in the 55,000 gallons – or 220 equivalent dwelling units measuring water consumption – that were reserved for infill lots.

She added the study factored in a four-year average because “2018 flows were ridiculously high [and the area] … had over 60 inches of rain.”

According to a handout available during the meeting, “last year was the wettest year in decades and flows were much higher than normal.”

New clock

Electric Utilities Director Tim Lawrence said a new clock was installed to replace the old one on Main Street that was damaged last year.

Lawrence said the LED clock could automatically reset its time after a power outage and also account for Daylight Savings Time. He added the Swiss mechanics in the clock were “kind of like a miniature computer.”

Resident complaints

Pam Hay, during the public comment portion of the meeting, said she wanted to address the council for two reasons.

For one, Hay said she was there to raise awareness about town leash laws. She previously came before the council in 2014 after an unleashed dog attacked her dog. Hay said the owner did not take any responsibility, or offer an apology or monetary help for injuring her pet.

She also brought up short-term rentals and, specifically, Airbnb operations in the town. According to Hay, “there’s at least 10 short-term rentals in town.”

Williams said he was unaware that was occurring.

“You’re the first person to mention this to me at all,” he said. “It’s happening very quickly. It’s even starting to have an impact in Ocean City.”

“Small towns, like this, are being hit hard and some of them are getting hollowed out,” Hay said.

More on feasibility studies

D.J. Lockwood, chairman of the Berlin Community Improvement Association, said during public comments his group was considering donating the multipurpose building property on Flower Street to the town.

He brought up a YMCA feasibility study discussed earlier during the meeting and said his committee would like to see a study related to a community center in his neighborhood.

Lockwood said he’s a manager at the Ocean City convention center and feasibility studies there help to keep the facility running – and growing.

He went on to say he would love to see a YMCA in the town and joked that he learned to swim in a sand pit.

“Don’t tell my mother that!” he said with a laugh.

“I believe we’re leaning toward donating that property, but that feasibility needs to be straight,” Lockwood continued. “If it could be incorporated with the YMCA feasibility study at Falls park … it would make all of us feel a little more comfortable giving that property up.”