By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Dec. 28, 2017) What started with a raucous meeting in January turned into a quietly productive year for the yet-to-be-developed Berlin Falls park.

Behind the scenes, and during several committee meetings, groundwork was laid that should benefit advancements at the former industrial site for years to come.

It all started when resident Bill Todd, during a mayor and council meeting, offered a petition he said was signed by 300 people to rename the park in honor of former mailman James Tingle. A large crowd was present and Todd had spoken about the idea extensively on social media, in at least two newspapers – including this one – and on the radio.

He did not, however, run the idea by Mayor Gee Williams before approaching the council, and Williams was quick to show his displeasure.

Todd said he wanted to rename the park “in honor of a beloved member of our community … for his 30 years of service to the United States Postal Service.”

“The people who’ve signed this petition feel that he’s worthy of this honor,” Todd said. “He went well above and beyond what is called for, for the average postal worker. He was a great ambassador for this town when he was working and he is very highly thought of by the people that know him.”

Todd added the petition was “reflective of a popular sentiment around that town that the name of our newest park, Berlin Falls, is not very well received at all.”

Williams objected to the way Todd had handled the petition.

“This is Mickey Mouse,” Williams said. “This is not the way representative government works. No one called me. No one called the council. No one said, ‘Hey, we have some ideas here.’”

He said this was the first “social media driven petition” the council had faced, adding, “it does not meet any of the standards which I think are critically important to a fair and well-represented government.”

“This is the wrong thing at the wrong way at the wrong time, and nobody even bothered to ask about the name,” Williams said. “That’s not the way we got to where we are.”

Several others present during the meeting voiced their own opinions and things appeared to be getting out of hand, when Councilman Zackery Tyndall, looking to diffuse the situation, suggested the town come up with a blanket policy on naming both public property that is donated and property that is purchased by the town.

Tyndall moved to form a committee to study the issue and said Todd should be a part of that as “a representative of the people” who signed the petition.

A vote on the motion was unanimous.

“We have talked about the obligation of government and who’s supposed to do what here this evening,” Councilman Dean Burrell said. “I would like to suggest that we don’t place blame or point fingers, because I think as the Town of Berlin we’re bigger than that.

“As part of this local government, I think one of our obligations is to listen. I can say that we have heard your concerns,” Burrell continued. “As we go forward, because this is not something we can settle or do here this evening … your concern and your consideration will be weighed by not only the mayor, but by the entire council.

“Speaking on behalf of the council, you can bet your bottom dollar that your concern will be considered,” Burrell said. “That’s why we’re here – that’s what we’re supposed to do. I just wanted to say that and to assure the group and the 300 petitioners that you’ve been heard.”

Two weeks later, during another public meeting, six voting members of the “Naming Parks and Public Spaces Committee” were announced. They included Todd, Tyndall and Burrell, as well as Berlin Parks Commission Chairman Mike Wiley, Berlin Historic District Commission Chairwoman Carol Rose and Berlin Arts & Entertainment Committee Chairwoman Heather Layton.

Also during the meeting, David Deutsch, a former city manager, was announced as the new project coordinator at Berlin Falls, overseeing the park’s development.

“It’s a great opportunity for the community and I appreciate the confidence that you’ve demonstrated with me,” Deutsch said. “Clearly it’s going to be a team effort, and once the project goes through a couple of phases I think the community will be really amazed at what can be produced out there. Developing consensus as we go through the project will be part of where I think I can be helpful in facilitating the various kinds of community meetings … that need to happen.”

By May, the Town Council unanimously adopted a naming and renaming policy for town property developed by the committee, with Tyndall serving as chair and Town Administrator Laura Allen providing assistance.

Tyndall said the group worked well together, drafting a three-page policy based on a similar document used by a town in Florida.

The policy applied to town structures and real property including open spaces, parks and memorials.

Individuals or organizations can request names for existing items by submitting a written request to the town administrator. The policy says the mayor and council “may direct the town administrator to publicly solicit ideas for naming new items.”

A public hearing must be held to receive comments “on all naming or renaming requests,” the policy states.

More than just policy work, the town also commissioned several studies designed to determine the cost to rehabilitate areas of the park once used for industrial purposes. The results of three such studies were announced in August and a fourth was announced in September.

The cost to return the lagoons at Berlin Falls park to a healthy standard could be more than $6.7 million, according to a study by EA Engineering, Science and Technology Inc., and the cost to rehabilitate the property’s main building could be more than $2.3 million, based on a study by Davis, Bowen & Friedel Inc.

The good news? A third study by volunteer scientist group Thriving Earth Exchange found that samples it took showed no presence of harmful pathogenic bacteria on the property.

Deutsch said the main building had not been used for more than a dozen years. He said Davis, Bowen & Friedel sent a structural engineer to examine the building. The engineer produced a “detailed analysis of the condition of the walls, of the roof, of the flooring.”

Deutsch 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.”

As a follow-up, he said the town requested an estimate on full or partial demolition of the structure.

“The ground is valuable for potential future activities, even if you decide not to retain the building,” Deutsch said. “Those prices should be coming in shortly – as soon as they come in we’ll report to you.”

Allen said the EA Engineering and Thriving Earth Exchange studies were done to determine whether a microbiological hazard was present in the sediment. She said initial tests of the water, before the purchase of the property, showed E. coli was present.

“The scientists determined there was no microbiological hazard, so there’s no impetus or health and safety need to remediate the ponds. To me this is good news, because the EA report indicated if the town were to remediate all three of the ponds the price tag would be about $7 million,” Allen said.

She said EA was asked to provide a separate estimate to remediate the southern-most pond, closest to the park entrance.

“You might remember the preferred conceptual plan that the council had in place had that first pond filled in with an eye towards having an amphitheater or some sort of entertainment venue being constructed there,” Allen said. “EA’s estimate is about $2.5 million to fill in that first pond, but do it in a way that would make it possible to construct on top, so we’re not just talking about throwing in some soil.”

The fourth study was presented to the council in September by Conservation Community Consultants, who suggested the property was best served by drawing out and enhancing what was already there, rather than undertaking a major redevelopment.

At an estimated price tag of almost $276,000, the report identified 11 projects ranging in cost from $5,000 to $75,000. However, with funding opportunities and possible town employee involvement, cofounder Dave Wilson said the actual cost could be much lower.

“Realistically, it’ll cost between $150,000-$180,000 to do everything … The goal is to protect the natural assets and draw them out,” he said.

The costliest proposal was the addition of a nature playground to give children a centralized play place. Next, the report recommended adding five piers to the park, with a high chance of the town having to foot the bill.

The second-most expensive item in the report was wetland construction, although it was suggested the Chesapeake Bay Trust could help fund the project and possible involvement of Public Works could reduce the final price.

Other items included floating islands, additional trails, tree and meadow planting, installing bird boxes, and adding interpretive panels describing local wildlife.

As for eventual development, Williams said the town was still “at the beginning of the beginning” and he planned to propose an advisory committee of both elected officials and private citizens.

“Yes, it’s ambitious and I know there are some people who think … very small. This town did not get where it is by accepting what everybody else says is possible,” Williams said.

He called the park a “generational project … that will evolve with the community and the interest of the community.”

“Youngsters in our community today will be playing a role and making decisions about future uses of this park,” Williams said. “As exciting as this project, I believe, is, we’re not going to set any artificial deadlines just because we want to see something happen right away.”

Membership of the latest committee was announced in October, and again it included Tyndall.

Other members of the Berlin Falls Park Advisory Committee are Councilman Troy Purnell and residents Amy Barra, Amy Field, Roger Fitzgerald, Kate Gaddis, Bruce Hyder, Joan Maloof, Shaneka Nichols, Jack Orris and Kate Patton.

The group met for the first time in November, with additional assistance from Deutsch and Allen, and an introduction by Williams.

“This has been a long-anticipated evening,” Williams said. “When we first started discussing the possibility of what is, for now, called Berlin Falls park, we got a lot of laughs. We got a lot of people who said this is beyond anything Berlin can imagine.

“I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to be able to … transfer the responsibility for this very unique opportunity to you folks,” he continued.

“Each of you brings some very unique talent to this endeavor, but you also bring what I’ll call an understanding that you belong to a greater family. And, like with any family, you just don’t care about your own lifetime … but you think about the generations that will follow.”

Williams reiterated, as he has often done during Town Council meetings, that fully realizing the potential of the 60-acre property could take generations.

“There is a point in your life where you realize that you do as much as you can and then you trust in the folks that follow. I have great trust in all of you,” he said. “Our little community has succeeded for the last several generations not because we’ve discovered some secret, but because we recognize we are family first.”

Deutsch said the group was “more than … an academic exercise.”

“[We’re] really going to rely on you to help us move this process forward and focus on those options [of development],” he said.

He mentioned the YMCA as an organization he and other town planners have already met with, and said the property would need to balance active and passive uses, with more active uses likely on “the front half,” near Old Ocean City Boulevard.

Deutsch said the park needs to be inclusive of the entire community and any developments should compliment the downtown, but not detract from it.

“I think we’ve got a great opportunity here. We’re got a great group of people with a diverse, community background,” Deutsch said.

The committee will meet again on Jan 11 at 6:30 p.m. in Town Hall. A tour of the property was tentatively set for Jan. 6 at 9 a.m.