(July 14, 2016) An apparent misunderstanding led to a minor flare-up during a Berlin Council meeting Monday night, as the mayor and council voted 3-2 to absorb costs related to water and sewer installation at a new Dollar General Store on 109 Decatur Street.
Developer Oxford Chase purchased 1.6 acres from the town, near the intersection of Flower Street and Route 376, for $409,250.78. As part of the agreement, the developer agreed to deed “sufficient property at the northwest corner of the premises for a right of way to align Decatur Street with Flower Street.”
Also in the contract, Oxford Chase agreed to install, at its own cost, “all sewer and water infrastructure on the premises.”
The portion of the property on the agenda Monday night, however, was part of the property deeded back to the town – and not the property of Oxford Chase.
“This is a function of the sale of the property … and then deeding back of a portion of that property to the town to assist with the realignment of Decatur [Street] in providing some easement access along the road,” Town Administrator Laura Allen said on Monday. “The town, in exchange for components of that arrangement, has agreed to pay for the water and sewer connection to Dollar General in the area that is town property.”
Reynolds Excavating Inc., who won the bid for the project, provided an estimate of $24,700 for the project.
During the meeting, Councilmember Thom Gulyas wondered if the town had made similar agreements in the past.
“This is the first time that I’ve heard of this,” he said. “Since I did my development in town and I paid full monty for mine, I think it sets a dangerous precedent for developers when they come into town to start doing this. It’s a slippery slope, and I don’t feel comfortable [with it].”
Councilmember Lisa Hall also worried about “setting a precedent.”
“This is not the supreme court,” Mayor Gee Williams said. “Our decision should be based on the circumstances that we face any particular time. Quite frankly, I think one of the reasons government gets so damned screwed up is they say, ‘Well, we’ve always done it this way, so we’re going to keep doing it this way.’
“When you have special circumstances that require some creative thinking, as long as everybody gets properly compensated, thing get done,” he added.
Oxford Chase originally sought a permit to build a Dollar General at the intersection of Old Ocean City Boulevard and Healthway Drive in 2014. When the Berlin Planning commission vetoed a site plan, citing traffic concerns, the matter bounced around between the Berlin Board of Appeals and the circuit court.
Then, last October, an agreement was made with Oxford Chase involving the new site. In turn, the developer agreed to drop its case in circuit court.
The deal also set into motion plans for a new police station adjacent to the store.
“We basically took a train wreck and created something that’s going to be important to the neighborhood. We didn’t do it for the town in general – we did this for the neighborhood,” Williams said.
“But that’s at the cost of the ratepayer,” Hall said.
“No. No. No. No,” Williams said, raising his voice. “This is something we have worked on for a year. There is nothing new. This is not a surprise, and it’s not setting a precedent that we have to do again because we don’t have properties to sell to retail.
“We’ve needed a police station for over 25 years. We found a way to get that done. We bought the property with [casino] revenue. We have basically worked for years to get here,” he continued. “I’m sorry you didn’t understand that, but this is no obligation for any other developer any time just because we did this.
“We took adversity and turned it into a very good situation for the community – and we’re not giving away a damned thing,” Williams said.
Councilmember Elroy Brittingham said he did not “have a problem with it,” and made the motion to approve. He and Dean Burrell voted in favor, while Hall and Gulyas voted against.
Because one councilmember, Troy Purnell, was absent, Williams voted to break the tie.
“Just because we haven’t done it before doesn’t mean that it’s not a good thing,” Burrell said. “This has always been in the deal, that they would deed back some of the property to us and we would provide this hook up, and I don’t think it sets a precedent … I believe that these conditions are right for this deal.
“It’s going to make that corner a lot safer for our community. I think this is a good thing,” he added.
During an interview on Tuesday, Burrell said the council had been aware of the negotiations with Oxford Chase for some time.
“In the negotiations, the mayor was able to have them deed off a portion so we could address this safety issue in our community, and just like I said last night I was all for it,” he said. “It was something he had shared with us in a previous meeting.”
Also on Tuesday, Williams said the contract with Oxford Chase was finalized this spring. The matter did not come up in a public meeting until now, he said, because it was simply lost in the shuffle.
“In retrospect, maybe I should have had an up-to-date because it’s been so long since all of this was discussed,” he said. “Obviously, not everybody remembered about it. That’s OK and I understand that, but we would not expect any private property owner to pay for infrastructure that is on public right-of-way.
“We’re not charging them for the cost of the sewer up to their actual property line, that they have permanently,” Williams added. “Once you hit their property line, then they’re paying for all the costs that anybody would.”
Williams said he took full responsibility for “not explaining it better back in the day,” and said it was late winter or early spring when the council last discussed the agreement. What made the situation unique, he said, was that the land in question was public, then sold to the developer, and then deeded back to the town.
“There’s a lot going on, so I understand why everybody would not recall every nuance,” he said. “But, at the same time, I don’t understand why questions weren’t just asked so it could have been cleared off right on the spot.
“Our legal counsel consistently throughout said that we would not expect anyone to pay for infrastructure on public right of way – why would this be any different?” Williams added.
Planning Director Dave Engelhart confirmed that it was standard for the town to take care of water and sewer infrastructure costs, up to the property line.
Developer Oxford Chase purchased 1.6 acres from the town, near the intersection of Flower Street and Route 376, for $409,250.78. As part of the agreement, the developer agreed to deed “sufficient property at the northwest corner of the premises for a right of way to align Decatur Street with Flower Street.”
Also in the contract, Oxford Chase agreed to install, at its own cost, “all sewer and water infrastructure on the premises.”
The portion of the property on the agenda Monday night, however, was part of the property deeded back to the town – and not the property of Oxford Chase.
“This is a function of the sale of the property … and then deeding back of a portion of that property to the town to assist with the realignment of Decatur [Street] in providing some easement access along the road,” Town Administrator Laura Allen said on Monday. “The town, in exchange for components of that arrangement, has agreed to pay for the water and sewer connection to Dollar General in the area that is town property.”
Reynolds Excavating Inc., who won the bid for the project, provided an estimate of $24,700 for the project.
During the meeting, Councilmember Thom Gulyas wondered if the town had made similar agreements in the past.
“This is the first time that I’ve heard of this,” he said. “Since I did my development in town and I paid full monty for mine, I think it sets a dangerous precedent for developers when they come into town to start doing this. It’s a slippery slope, and I don’t feel comfortable [with it].”
Councilmember Lisa Hall also worried about “setting a precedent.”
“This is not the supreme court,” Mayor Gee Williams said. “Our decision should be based on the circumstances that we face any particular time. Quite frankly, I think one of the reasons government gets so damned screwed up is they say, ‘Well, we’ve always done it this way, so we’re going to keep doing it this way.’
“When you have special circumstances that require some creative thinking, as long as everybody gets properly compensated, thing get done,” he added.
Oxford Chase originally sought a permit to build a Dollar General at the intersection of Old Ocean City Boulevard and Healthway Drive in 2014. When the Berlin Planning commission vetoed a site plan, citing traffic concerns, the matter bounced around between the Berlin Board of Appeals and the circuit court.
Then, last October, an agreement was made with Oxford Chase involving the new site. In turn, the developer agreed to drop its case in circuit court.
The deal also set into motion plans for a new police station adjacent to the store.
“We basically took a train wreck and created something that’s going to be important to the neighborhood. We didn’t do it for the town in general – we did this for the neighborhood,” Williams said.
“But that’s at the cost of the ratepayer,” Hall said.
“No. No. No. No,” Williams said, raising his voice. “This is something we have worked on for a year. There is nothing new. This is not a surprise, and it’s not setting a precedent that we have to do again because we don’t have properties to sell to retail.
“We’ve needed a police station for over 25 years. We found a way to get that done. We bought the property with [casino] revenue. We have basically worked for years to get here,” he continued. “I’m sorry you didn’t understand that, but this is no obligation for any other developer any time just because we did this.
“We took adversity and turned it into a very good situation for the community – and we’re not giving away a damned thing,” Williams said.
Councilmember Elroy Brittingham said he did not “have a problem with it,” and made the motion to approve. He and Dean Burrell voted in favor, while Hall and Gulyas voted against.
Because one councilmember, Troy Purnell, was absent, Williams voted to break the tie.
“Just because we haven’t done it before doesn’t mean that it’s not a good thing,” Burrell said. “This has always been in the deal, that they would deed back some of the property to us and we would provide this hook up, and I don’t think it sets a precedent … I believe that these conditions are right for this deal.
“It’s going to make that corner a lot safer for our community. I think this is a good thing,” he added.
During an interview on Tuesday, Burrell said the council had been aware of the negotiations with Oxford Chase for some time.
“In the negotiations, the mayor was able to have them deed off a portion so we could address this safety issue in our community, and just like I said last night I was all for it,” he said. “It was something he had shared with us in a previous meeting.”
Also on Tuesday, Williams said the contract with Oxford Chase was finalized this spring. The matter did not come up in a public meeting until now, he said, because it was simply lost in the shuffle.
“In retrospect, maybe I should have had an up-to-date because it’s been so long since all of this was discussed,” he said. “Obviously, not everybody remembered about it. That’s OK and I understand that, but we would not expect any private property owner to pay for infrastructure that is on public right-of-way.
“We’re not charging them for the cost of the sewer up to their actual property line, that they have permanently,” Williams added. “Once you hit their property line, then they’re paying for all the costs that anybody would.”
Williams said he took full responsibility for “not explaining it better back in the day,” and said it was late winter or early spring when the council last discussed the agreement. What made the situation unique, he said, was that the land in question was public, then sold to the developer, and then deeded back to the town.
“There’s a lot going on, so I understand why everybody would not recall every nuance,” he said. “But, at the same time, I don’t understand why questions weren’t just asked so it could have been cleared off right on the spot.
“Our legal counsel consistently throughout said that we would not expect anyone to pay for infrastructure on public right of way – why would this be any different?” Williams added.
Planning Director Dave Engelhart confirmed that it was standard for the town to take care of water and sewer infrastructure costs, up to the property line.