(March 16, 2017) Berlin officials continue to hope that Program Open Space will return as a funding source for the development of town parks.
During a Berlin Parks Commission meeting last Tuesday, Administrative Services Director Mary Bohlen presented a fiscal year 2018 wish list for the state program, which is administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The priority is a $126,270 request to be use to buy and install prefabricated bathrooms for Stephen Decatur Park. An application for that is also pending through the state’s Community Parks and Playgrounds program.
Berlin also is asking for $54,000 to buy and install lighting for the basketball courts at Dr. William Henry Park, $40,500 for benches, picnic tables and trash cans at Berlin Falls Park, and $9,000 to expand the tot lot at Stephen Decatur Park.
The town also requested $49,500 to establish John Howard Burbage Park, a small, aesthetic space that would be next to the municipal power plant and public works facility on William Street.
The $279,270 total request is a significant jump from the $99,000 the town sought last year. Three of those items, for Berlin Falls, John Howard Burbage Park and the Stephen Decatur Park tot lot, were held over from last year.
According to Bohlen, there was no significance to the increase other than the two new items being added, although it might not make much difference. She said it was unlikely the town would receive any funding from the program.
“The way Program Open Space works is the county gets an allocation from the state and the county can either hold that allocation themselves or they can allocate pieces out to the different municipalities,” she said. “Those funds, as with so many things, have substantially decreased over the years and the county has not been able to allocate to the municipalities in quite a while. But, we all keep hoping that that will change.”
She said she expected the bathrooms to be funded at some point through the Community Parks and Playgrounds grant. Recently, the town received $96,000 from that source to establish permanent restrooms at Henry Park, which should be set up this summer.
Ironically, the Community Parks and Playgrounds grant is a program of Program Open Space, but its funding is only available directly to municipalities.
Bohlen said the town could apply for additional funding for other projects on the wish list.
“What we’ll do is go down that priority list and keep applying for those funds until we … get funded,” she said.
The Berlin Mayor and Council approved the list of Program Open Space requests at their public meeting on Monday.
Also discussed during the parks commission were Spring Celebration on April 15, Clean-Up Day on April 22, Spring Just Walk on May 6 and the Outdoor Movie Nights series, this summer. Bohlen said a public poll concerning the choices for the screening series would likely be posted on social media next month.
During a Berlin Parks Commission meeting last Tuesday, Administrative Services Director Mary Bohlen presented a fiscal year 2018 wish list for the state program, which is administered by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources.
The priority is a $126,270 request to be use to buy and install prefabricated bathrooms for Stephen Decatur Park. An application for that is also pending through the state’s Community Parks and Playgrounds program.
Berlin also is asking for $54,000 to buy and install lighting for the basketball courts at Dr. William Henry Park, $40,500 for benches, picnic tables and trash cans at Berlin Falls Park, and $9,000 to expand the tot lot at Stephen Decatur Park.
The town also requested $49,500 to establish John Howard Burbage Park, a small, aesthetic space that would be next to the municipal power plant and public works facility on William Street.
The $279,270 total request is a significant jump from the $99,000 the town sought last year. Three of those items, for Berlin Falls, John Howard Burbage Park and the Stephen Decatur Park tot lot, were held over from last year.
According to Bohlen, there was no significance to the increase other than the two new items being added, although it might not make much difference. She said it was unlikely the town would receive any funding from the program.
“The way Program Open Space works is the county gets an allocation from the state and the county can either hold that allocation themselves or they can allocate pieces out to the different municipalities,” she said. “Those funds, as with so many things, have substantially decreased over the years and the county has not been able to allocate to the municipalities in quite a while. But, we all keep hoping that that will change.”
She said she expected the bathrooms to be funded at some point through the Community Parks and Playgrounds grant. Recently, the town received $96,000 from that source to establish permanent restrooms at Henry Park, which should be set up this summer.
Ironically, the Community Parks and Playgrounds grant is a program of Program Open Space, but its funding is only available directly to municipalities.
Bohlen said the town could apply for additional funding for other projects on the wish list.
“What we’ll do is go down that priority list and keep applying for those funds until we … get funded,” she said.
The Berlin Mayor and Council approved the list of Program Open Space requests at their public meeting on Monday.
Also discussed during the parks commission were Spring Celebration on April 15, Clean-Up Day on April 22, Spring Just Walk on May 6 and the Outdoor Movie Nights series, this summer. Bohlen said a public poll concerning the choices for the screening series would likely be posted on social media next month.