JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin Falls Park Coordinator David Deutsch addresses the Town Council on Monday. Deutsch spoke on behalf of the park advisory committee about its recommendation to proceed with a YMCA feasibility study.
By Josh Davis, Associate Editor
(Jan. 17, 2019) The Berlin Town Council on Monday put off a decision on whether to spend $20,000 on a YMCA feasibility study, citing the need for more information.
The Berlin Falls Park Committee in November voted unanimously to endorse the study, although some members at the time expressed some anxiousness over how it would be done and what it would encompass.
Similar questions came up Monday night before the Town Council.
Town Administrator Laura Allen said staff supported the committee recommendation and the study would determine whether there’s a market for a YMCA in Berlin.
To do the study, the YMCA uses a firm that’s staffed largely by people who had worked with the organization in some capacity.
“I think it’s a good way for the town and the committee to get answers as to whether or not a YMCA is feasible and whether or not that location of the park is the right place,” Allen said. “From a staff perspective, it’s worth the money to go ahead and get that information.”
She added the study would last about 90 days.
When asked how the study would be conducted, Park coordinator David Deutsch said he understood “they do a lot of phone interviewing.”
“They’re going to have to work with staff to develop some parameters for their actual work, but they will determine who to contact in the community. They’re going to have to get some information … from folks here in Berlin,” Deutsch said. “But, they do a lot of phone contact and then they prepare a report based on their analysis of the data that they can produce.”
“So the $20,000 would get us, primarily, a lot of phone calls?” Councilman Thom Gulyas asked.
“What you’ll get at the end is a report that will contain data,” Deutsch said, adding, as an example, “one of the things they need to report on is what’s the scope of folks’ willingness to drive to a certain facility” and “how far beyond the center of Berlin would this facility draw people.”
Gulyas then asked whether the study would include fundraising necessary to construct a YMCA building. Planning Director Dave Engelhart in November estimated that cost to be $7 million to $8 million.
Allen said fundraising would require a separate study and an additional $20,000.
Gulyas also wondered how an agreement to lease part of Berlin Falls park would work. Deutsch said in similar situations the YMCA had worked out a long-term ground lease for about $1 per year.
Several times, councilmembers brought up the YMCA in Pocomoke, which they said had proved difficult for many in that community to access.
“I understand the Y’s interest in possibly drawing folks from surrounding areas … but we are concerned with those services being accessed by the population of Berlin,” Councilman Dean Burrell said. “The Y that’s in Pocomoke is outside of town and the folks that could use possibly utilize those services and need those services don’t have the transportation to access those services. So, we are concerned with those services being readily available to our population.”
Burrell asked for more information on how survey respondents are selected.
“We’ll get that,” Deutsch said.
Gulyas also wanted more information, including copies of YMCA feasibility studies done elsewhere.
He said he was not “anti-Y” and had enjoyed a YMCA facility while growing up outside of South Philadelphia. However, Gulyas said some of the financial aspects concerned him.
“We’re sitting here staring at that [Berlin Falls] property with a two-and-a-half-million-dollar note,” Gulyas said, adding it would cost another $600,000 to tear down the old Tyson building on the property to make room for a new one.
“It’s another $20,000 for a study just to see if people want it … and then, in order to find out if there’s fundraising ability, that’s going to be another 20, 30 or 40 grand on top of that, and then they want to lease it to them for $1 a year,” he continued. “So, my question to you is, how do I look at a taxpayer and say this is a good idea?”
Councilman Zack Tyndall, who is also a member of the Berlin Falls Park Committee, moved to table the motion until more information can be gathered.
“I respect the committee’s recommendation, but we need to make sure that we’re getting a good sample of our population and that we’re actually targeting the right people to solicit responses from,” Tyndall said.
Allen said the council could include that request in a formal motion with a vote to approve the study, but Tyndall replied, “I’d like some more information.”
Gulyas provided a second and the vote to table the motion was 4-0. One councilman, Troy Purnell, was absent from the meeting.
Mayor Gee Williams asked all the councilmembers to send their questions and concerns to Allen.
“We’ve got some work to do and we’ll get back to you,” Deutsch said.
“I think there’s a lot of interest, [but] the devil is in the details,” Williams added.
Berlin Falls Park Committee Vice Chairman Jack Orris, after the meeting, said the council did the right thing in asking for a delay.
“I think tonight’s vote to table the study was based on council’s desire for more information before spending $20,000,” he said. “In addition with the added information tonight, and not available when the committee voted, was the potential for $20,000 more funding for a fundraising study. More importantly, we all want a facility accessible and user friendly for everyone in town.
“The study as presented tonight wasn’t clear on the ‘how’ factor of obtaining reliable data that represents all of Berlin,” Orris continued. “I’m confident that David Deutsch will be able to obtain the requested info and report back to the committee and council in order to conduct a reliable study.”
Orris added, “On a personal level, I hope this can give us an opportunity to also explore other options further, such as county/town partnership for a rec center with a pool where program/membership fees and employment stay local.”