RACHEL RAVINA/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin’s Town Administrator Laura Allen requests elected officials revise the tier two-stormwater priorities during a meeting last week. Berlin’s Mayor and Council unanimously approved removing a project at Bottle Branch Road at Decatur Street.

By Rachel Ravina, Staff Writer

(Aug. 22, 2019) To improve its chances of obtaining FEMA funding for storm water-control projects, the Berlin Town Council last Monday took one long-range plan off its list of priorities.

Town Administrator Laura Allen said the town probably wouldn’t get to what’s known as “Project Five, Tier II, on Bottle Branch Road at Decatur Street “for at least five, maybe 10 years.”

Since it’s so far along the schedule, not enough detailed information about Project Five is available to make a good presentation to FEMA, thus risking the approval of other more timely projects, Allen said.

Allen said removing that undertaking would allow the town to include four other projects in Worcester County’s Hazard Mitigation Update Plan, which FEMA examines during the funding process.

Incorporated in the plan are: Completion of Hudson Branch along Pine, Franklin, Grice, and Nelson streets; Hudson Branch at Bottle Branch Road –  Channel Stabilization; Bottle Branch Road at Esham Avenue and Henrys Mill Drive; Bottle Branch Road at West Street and Abbey Lane.

Several townspeople expressed their concerns with the amount of time it will take to complete the remaining projects.

Berlin resident Marie Velong said she felt West Street should be worked on before Henrys Mill Drive because the road has experienced problems with flooding for 30 to 40 years.

“So, it seems to me that the priorities are really skewed here,” Velong said.

Mayor Gee Williams said he’d love the opportunity to have future conversations with townspeople and resident consultant E.A. Engineering, Science and Technology Inc.

However, Allen said there was a method to the madness when tackling each stormwater project.

Allen said the first project was classified as a top priority “because there’s still a lot of work to do in that neighborhood.”

She added that the second initiative involves a town building.

“Number two is a priority because it involves flooding associated with our wastewater treatment plant, and I’m concerned because we’ve had water all the way up to the fence. But if we don’t do something with that stream, we’re going to have some sort of flooding in our wastewater treatment facility and I don’t want to see that,” Allen said.

Councilman Zack Tyndall moved to approve Allen’s request. Williams amended the motion to include that “the sequence of events will be determined as we move along.”

Allen said she turned in the information in time to meet the Aug. 15 deadline.