(Oct. 5, 2017) Berlin Falls park project manager David Deutsch was recently named interim general manager of Sykesville, Maryland.

His role there is not expected to interfere with work in Berlin, where in January he was appointed project manager.

Before that, Deutsch was city manager of Bowie and interim city manager of Westminster. He is also a consultant for the Mercer Group Inc., a public and private sector management-search firm.

Berlin Town Administrator Laura Allen said she did not believe the dual roles would be an issue.

“[Mercer] is handling the Sykesville recruitment, so he’s serving as their interim city manager,” she said. “He’s only been retired for maybe a year, so he has been an interim in another community as well. That’s part of what some retired city managers do.

“Typically, those recruitments take three-to-four months, maybe a little bit longer depending on the applicant and the ability of the candidate to move quickly to fill the position,” Allen continued. “I’m sure he’ll be able to continue helping us with the park development.”

Deutsch said he would be working in Sykesville three days out of each week.

“What I told Laura [Allen] before I started working in Sykesville is I thought I could continue to keep things going in Berlin and she said that was fine,” he said. “Remember, I’m not an employee [in Berlin] – I’m an independent contractor. As long as I’m able to stay on top of things there and juggle things elsewhere, things will work out.”

As for Berlin Falls, Allen said Deutsch is working with engineering firm Davis, Bowen & Friedel Inc. to get an estimate for demolition of the main building on the property. A recent study suggested rehabilitating the building could cost more than $2.3 million.

Deutsch, during a Town Council meeting in August, said $2.3 million “gets you a building that, basically, gets repaired … but it doesn’t give you a building that’s ready for active use because there’s no mechanical, electrical, heating, plumbing systems in place.”

Allen said Economic and Community Development Director Ivy Wells is working with Dave Wilson, from Community Conservation Consultants, to write a pair of grant applications for the Berlin Falls park through the Maryland Coastal Bays Program.

She said any grant money from Maryland Coastal Bays would almost certainly be used for passive park development.

“If you look at the interpretive plan [crafted by Community Conservation Consultants], the vast majority of what that covers is passive uses and the portion of the park that we’re intending to leave in a natural state – at least at this point,” she said.

A Berlin Falls park advisory committee is also being formed.

“The next thing that needs to happen, and I think will happen over the next couple of months, is for the mayor to appoint the committee … so we can have an ongoing community focus on the park,” Deutsch said. “I think it’s safe to say that the situation is one where Berlin is not having to take a backseat to what I’m doing elsewhere – I wouldn’t [take the job in Sykesville] if it was.”

Allen agreed the next step should be to let the committee evaluate the work that has been done.

“I would prefer to wait to do too much with the park until we get the advisory committee in place,” Allen said. “We’re keeping an eye on the fact that the advisory group will probably want to create their own work plan.”