JOSH DAVIS/BAYSIDE GAZETTE
Berlin Falls Park Commission Vice Chairman Jack Orris on Monday tours the park grounds. Committee members said they’re continuing with park development plans, while some residents have been critical of plans in light of proposed property tax and utility fee increases.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(March 21, 2019) While critics of the Berlin Falls park purchase believe development there should stop until town budgeting deficits are solved, members of the Berlin Falls Park Committee continue to work toward redeveloping the former industrial site.

Committee Chairwoman Amy Field, in an interview last Thursday, said she was taken aback by calls last week to sell the property, which was purchased in 2015 for $2.5 million.

Town officials have for months said operating deficits in water, sewer and stormwater funds would necessitate rate increases this year, and Mayor Gee Williams said property taxes were likely to increase anywhere from 20 to 34 percent.

“I really didn’t see it coming, but at the same time I can understand [the criticism],” Field said. “While the town is in a situation where we have a deficit or need more money, people might look at the park property as something that’s unnecessary.”

Field has heard suggestions that the town sell the park in order to funnel money back into the general fund.

“I hope people can come to understand that, unlike the other parks, the mayor and the council have been really clear to the advisory committee that the park is going to be unique, in that it needs to generate money for the town,” she said. “The mayor asked us to do certain things, and one of them was to make money for the town [and] to not compete with other things that are already going on.

“We’ve been very careful, and I guess maybe conservative, and sometimes that process is time-consuming, but we’ve been careful because we don’t want to misuse town resources or do anything too quickly,” Field added.

She cited the committee recommendation to tear down the main building on the property, which came after several months of discussion.

“We debated that for a long time,” Field said. “Some people on the committee saw it as, if there’s any use for that building at all, to rent it out … and that’s a way to generate money for the town.

“The rest of us thought tearing it down is going to look more attractive to investors, and that’s also more money for the town,” she continued. “Every move we’ve made and all of our discussions have kept true to the purpose of wanting to make good use of the resources, and do something that will be long-term for the town, to generate revenue.”

Committee members also took their time before recommending the demolition of several smaller buildings. Field noted money for the demolition, which was recently approved by the Town Council, was allocated for park development several years ago and could not be spent on other items, such as deficit recovery.

“We haven’t just started spending this money on anything and everything that seems attractive,” Field said. “We’ve been really conservative with it, and I think people have to understand that we have to use money to demolition things on the property, so it’s attractive for investment and people can start to visualize the possibilities, and so it doesn’t look like an old chicken plant that’s just sitting there, rotting.”

Field admitted the committee has perhaps “not done the best job at getting the word out” that a larger park development plan is being formulated.

“Although you can go to the town’s website, click on the ‘park’ link, look through the documents, look through our minutes and things like that, that’s not what the normal person necessarily does with their time,” she said. “We need to be better at communicating to the townspeople what’s going on and what our ideas are. That’s definitely a goal of ours.”

For instance, Field said last Tuesday a subcommittee on park features and layout surveyed the property to get estimates on parking capacity.

“That will help us fine-tune conversations about what we want out of an amphitheater,” she said. “I have a certain vision for the amphitheater to be kind of a hybrid, shelter-type stage where different people could rent it out for parties or wedding receptions, let alone concerts.

“We just got a lot of momentum going in that direction, so hearing about this criticism was kind of like a little punch in the gut,” Field continued. “I’m trying not to take it that way, because I do understand why people might look to the park [as part of the problem], but in my opinion we just took a year to get a lot of organizational things established … and now we have some priorities set.

“The park will incorporate more things than just an amphitheater, but we hope that that will generate money for the town for years and years and years to come,” she added.

Committee Vice Chairman Jack Orris in 2016 ran for the Town Council on a platform related to park development, citing his prior park management experience.

He attended the Town Council meeting last Monday, when many labeled the park as a negative.

“I completely respect and understand every person that spoke,” Orris said. “[But] if selling the property is what’s ultimately decided, we may not see any positive results for two-to-three fiscal years down the road, [and] selling wouldn’t have anything to do with water and sewer rates.

“Everyone is rightly upset looking into the next fiscal year and hearing [reports of] at least a 20 percent tax hike, plus fee and rate increases,” he continued. “This is a lot of robbing Peter to pay Paul – and Peter is running low on cash. I’m more upset and disappointed it’s taken until now to address a problem that’s been brewing for years.”

On park development, Orris said nothing could ever move as quickly as people want, especially when government is involved, but the committee is working on a plan.

“We have great ideas and thoughts [of what] we would like to see at the property,” he said. “One of the best benefits to the town would be an entertainment venue, which the committee feels we want and need. In my mind, that’s the revenue generator.”

He cautioned the venue would not instantly make millions for the town, and like Field said better communication is needed.

“This is where I think our leadership, including myself, has failed to publicly express what we’ve been doing,” Orris said. “Regrettably, some residents don’t even realize this committee exists. We have folks that spend hours every month – volunteers – doing research, generating plans [and conducting] site visits to the property in preparation for one meeting that’s an hour and a half.”

Committee members continue to seek grants for Park development. Orris compared the situation to Wicomico County, where last year the National Parks Service awarded a more than $800,000 grant to develop the “Pirate’s Wharf” park.

“We always ask about grants, but we need to dig deeper and see everything that’s out there,” he said. “I can say for myself, I will continue to push for grants and not vote on another expenditure for BFP until we’ve exhausted all grant or partnership opportunities first.”

Despite the recent criticism, Orris thinks the townspeople will eventually look fondly upon the decision to purchase the property.

“I think if the mayor and council decide to keep the property and continue on the foundation our committee has created, it will turn out to be a great area with a little bit of something for everyone,” he said. “Along with the entertainment venue, we have plans for a skate park, scheduled events onsite, nature exploration, and we’ve even been talking to the county about the possibility of reconstructing the bridge that connected [the park] to the senior center area.

“I understand the question of why [purchase the property] and when I ran in 2016 for Town Council I always answered with, ‘We have the property now, let’s do something with it – preferably that generates revenue.’ These are some of the things the committee is working on,” Orris added.

He stressed that development of this scale takes time. At present, Orris said he is focused on items that could return revenue to the town.

“I’d like us to step up the amphitheater/event venue implementation,” he said. “I wouldn’t be opposed to leasing parts of the property for an entertainment venue. In my vision, the whole property can serve as more of an educational and entertainment complex and is an obvious opportunity for revitalization.”

He also suggested the committee look into the broader idea of creating a “Berlin Industrial Revitalization District.”

“I think branding the property as its own unique district could open up more grant opportunities, while still seeking community input for individual parts/sections of the future park,” Orris said.

Both Field and Orris encouraged more public participation.

The Berlin Falls Park Committee is scheduled to meet today, Thursday, at 6 p.m. at Town Hall on 10 William Street.

“I encourage people who are interested to come to our meetings and to speak up, and we know we need to do our part in getting some information out there better to people, to help them understand what’s going on behind the scenes,” Field said.