BERLIN MD BLOG

“Not in my backyard” – beyond our boundaries…

Self-interest, fear of the unknown or just plain bigotry (prejudice); were these the all too human of motivations for the ‘vibrant’ citizen testimony during last night’s regular Berlin’s Mayor and Council meeting?  At issue again was the abatement of a total $31,500 in property tax contributions from the developer/builder/manager to be spread over 5 to 10 years for the proposed 12 buildings (housing 40 units) senior housing complex to be located along Broad Street.  No matter, there was a litany of objections – location being the most often mentioned.  Specifically, ‘seniors have a slower reaction time when driving and Broad Street cannot handle it’.  I thought about this, (while stifling an internal snicker) – if some of these objectors could view their own driving performance, trying to navigate one handed with a cell phone stuck to their ear, then that couldn’t possibly be construed as a valid reason.  Daily, sitting at the stop sign on the corner of Broad and West Sts. I get to see some pretty fancy and unsafe maneuvers by some of our good town folks.   If the speeds necessitated by this tiny intersection weren’t already so reduced these oh so busy, ‘younger people’ could cause some ‘big bangs’.

Another impacting ‘infrastructure’ problem mentioned  – that of most ‘west side’ residents experiencing an already reduced water pressure.  This, despite the fact that the property is already located on an approved plat for residential development and anything that speaks to ‘infrastructure’ comes under the purview of Berlin’s Planning and Zoning Department and Berlin’s Utilities Depts.  Our Town’s Director of Water, Jane Kreiter spoke to that by saying that a test model had been constructed and the impact of an additional 12 EDU’s was negligible – at most, under extreme circumstances, a reduction of 2 psi.  Perhaps, again the objectors could look at the widespread use of lawn irrigation throughout our community (mostly on the west side).  Often, I’ve seen local ‘sprinklers’ at work on a rainy day.   What’s with that?

For grins, let’s imagine placing the ‘senior housing’ at the location most suggested last evening –Route 346 – beside a platted but yet as yet undeveloped assisted living facility, creating essentially a segregated community of old folks.  There, the road width differs not – in fact the speed limit is higher making the nearest intersection far more dangerous.  The already existing lack of ‘west side’ water pressure and the overall Town need for more water still then could only be remedied by a new ‘water tower’ and the placement of such would necessitate building it in closer proximity to Broad Street.  Would we then hear again the refrain, “Not in my backyard”?  We continue to seek control beyond our own boundaries.

Opportunity & Immeasurable Benefits – Housing for Seniors in Berlin!

NOTE: SEE FOR YOURSELF…EVERYONE WELCOME – Open House for ‘Cottages at River House’ in Salisbury, Saturday, September 12th, 2 until 4 pm.

Still fresh in my mind, a discussion at the most recent meeting of the Berlin Mayor & Council, along with a looming significant birthday, has kept my thoughts turned toward a most important issue. Specifically, the real need for senior housing in our community; the need cannot be denied, the how and what and where is causing some concern. That evening’s Town discussion focused on the request of the developer/builder/manager planning a modest senior community here in town asking for a 10 year long declining/proportional abatement of Town property taxes to meet the requirements of Maryland State subsidized housing for those over 62 years of age. Sounds alarming – Berlin ‘giving’ up tax income and with an already depleted economic situation? Not at all – the math has been done – a spreadsheet produced, and the total loss to the Town over the 10 years requested – a mere $31,500 (one or two employee vehicles?) while the ultimate benefit to all of us is immeasurable!
Immeasurable in many ways…no matter how we choose to ignore or deny facts we are all growing older, every day. If we live out our time as hoped, in relatively good health we may still reach a point of needing at least some assistance; in poor health this time could come sooner. Many may find that our single-family homestead has become ‘too much’ to maintain on our own. The loss of a helpmate or a temporary disability combined with diminishing income could cause careful consideration of, or in the event of a catastrophe a rapid, move to a smaller, more sustainable independent living arrangement. Yikes! As for ‘diminishing income’, unless very prudent or darned lucky, during our recent world-wide economic ‘shake-down’ most have seen a decline in value of our 401K’s, retirement and certainly our Social Security benefits (no COLA through 2011 planned) leaving us with less – in straightened circumstances with less to sustain our later years. Because of the dearth of affordable senior housing here, for many of us this would mean a move to another town. It would mean the giving up of all things familiar; our friends and neighbors, nearness to our families, our Church, familiar shops, doctors, banks and pharmacies. Disquieting, unhealthy and certainly nothing to which I envision for my ‘golden’ years!
The model for our proposed community is available for your inspection (see above) – The Cottages at River House are located off Pemberton Drive in Salisbury. Drive over and take a peek. I’ve looked and the community is lovely – flowers on the patios – people busy outdoors and smiling! The area is walk-able, beautifully landscaped and well maintained. The residences are single story, generously windowed and definitely safe. Having others nearby too heightens comfort and furthers that ever-important sense of community as we age.
This project and the accompanying request for a pittance tax abatement could just provide the answer to many – if approved by the Council it would mean that the Town of Berlin Maryland would become a viable part of the solution to this nationwide growing dilemma and offers both opportunity and immeasurable benefit to all of our town citizens.
The next regular Berlin Town Council Meeting will be held on Monday, September 14th beginning at 7 pm. To hear more about this subject, come on out!

Summertime in BERLIN – done ‘just right’!

On Sunday, September 13th beginning at 1 pm the Berlin Main Street group will sponsor an Old Fashioned – Victorian Picnic on the Lawn at the Taylor House Museum to benefit the purchase of permanent decorations for our annual Victorian Christmas celebration.  Tickets are available at MR Ducks, Treasure Chest and Stuarts’ Antiques through September 7th.
Now that those niggling details are out of the way…WOW, we’re having a Town picnic where everyone is welcome to join in.  Admittedly, the Taylor House Museum lawn is the very best place Berlin has to offer for this event – spacious, with soft, green grass, seasonal color flowerbeds and large, lofty trees offering cool shade on a warm day.  In the background, our favorite ‘home of history’ too will lend a special feeling to this day.  As for the day’s main event – the picnic fare – Toni Stuart, chairperson has assured us that the catered Fried Chicken, Potato salads, Baked beans and HOMEMADE pies will be just right – of course, accompanied by fresh lemonade and iced tea!  We’re also told that there will be lawn games, old time photo ops and music for those with excess energy.  For the more staid among us there will be a live auction of oil paintings by our Town’s own artist of renown, Lynn Lockhart, as well as a silent auction of other special stuff.  And for those that like to take a chance – this is your opportunity – a 50/50 raffle with tickets at $100 each – the odds, pretty good…only 250 to be sold!  To mention again – the proceeds will go toward the purchase of special holiday decorations to be placed around town in December – so everyone shares in the winnings! Following the picnic that day, beginning at 6 pm the Museum will hold their monthly summertime Lawn Concert!
Come on – come out and enjoy an old fashioned, summertime Sunday afternoon in your town – done just right!

911 for 411 – time for a change!

A couple of weeks ago I was online seeking time and place information regarding our annual Memorial Day parade and celebration party to be held at Henry Park here in town. I went to our official Town website – TownofBerlinMD.com and under the third column on the home page at the bottom, clicked on ‘Town Events‘. This link redirected me to the Berlin Chamber of Commerce website at BerlinMDCC.org where I then went to the left side and clicked on ‘Event Calendar’. A page quickly popped up saying – “There are no events this week”. Wow, I had struck out there – at which point I had to ask myself for probably the 500th time – WHY?

And yet, I can probably answer my own question. For the past several years the Berlin Chamber has limited events to be listed on their website calendar to ‘member only’ activities. If a Chamber member business wants something to be listed they must email or phone a request to the Chamber office. Yet, falling further short, it seems that very few Chamber member events are ever listed. What’s with that? To my mind it stands to reason that to fully support Berlin businesses, encouraging publicity is primary – positive marketing is key. A few signs along the local roads may help, however folks from afar – never see these – (and they do not have access to the local info crawl on TV) they do however, when planning a trip to our big sister town of Ocean City Maryland – like to be aware of activities area wide. I was one of these folks for many years. And, because at that time, Berlin and it’s Chamber of Commerce having NO website, this town didn’t exist for me! Another story – another time.
Which brings me back to the official Berlin MD Town website. Yes, we have a website – although having pertinent information – unfortunately it is not attractive and certainly not truly representative of our community as are many other Town websites up and down Delmarva. Our new mayor, after having listened patiently to many complaints, some months back proposed that we have an IT (Internet Technology) Committee – made up of a few interested citizens along with our new Administrative Director and Deputy Director. (I’m now one of the ‘complaining’, citizen committee members.) It was decided during one of the three meetings held during the past five months that an overhaul of the Town ‘hardware’ would be first on the agenda – requiring a lot of our tax payer dollars – that’s fine and determined necessary. It was then proposed that money for a new website (requiring far fewer of those dollars) be held off and put into the new 2010 budget. OK, we’re there. The budget has been passed *. When’s the next website planning meeting?  Berlin Maryland proudly hosts some of the best events around, enjoying much public participation – and we could welcome more!
In the meantime, this very frustrated citizen will, in the next few weeks attempt to place a comprehensive and interactive Berlin Community Calendar of Events on this site and with your participation put up public-welcomed activities pertaining to any and all non-profit organizations within our Town limits. I’ll keep you posted as to the progress of this venture.

* The 2010 Town of Berlin budget was passed last week including a 3% raise for Town Staff at the same time many in our community were receiving news that there would be NO cost of living increase for FY 2010 in Social Security benefits. And, what’s with that?

Berlin’s own – JAZZ & BLUES BASH…’play it again, Steve’!

Next Saturday (May 9th) beginning at 10 am Berlin Maryland will offer up a return engagement of last year’s newest (surprise) musical event – now the Second Annual JAZZ AND BLUES BASH.  The ‘surprise’, that a first-time effort such as this was already just about perfect!  For many of us who were just leaning that bright spring morning of the sudden passing of our Mayor, Thomas Cardinale, the quality of this event and the professionalism exhibited by the performers help reconcile that deeper understanding of what Mayor Cardinale always stood for – his love, allegiance and unabashed pride toward his adopted home – the small, yet fine, Eastern Shore village of Berlin.
This year, again, our own ‘music man’, event chair Steve Frene (also chairman of the ever popular fall Fiddlers’ Convention) promises even more and better.  Frankly, I don’t know if that’s possible!  Going over the listings for the bands to be performing that day one can hardly imagine better.  Again, eyes and ears will be focused on the two stage sites along Main Street – and with our own beloved historic Atlantic Hotel back in full Victorian-inspired dress – the porch too will be overflowing with jazz aficionados amid just plain folk seeking a day of pleasure with good sounds.
Finally, to the many volunteers and to the event sponsors – special THANKS – your work and generosity helps Berlin continue to stand tall!
P.S.  Seating will be limited so remember to bring a lawn chair!
To enlarge any photo – just ‘click’!

It’s SPRING…and time to celebrate!

Recently, when stopping by my favorite Berlin Maryland “feel good” shop, Victorian Charm, I picked up a lovely ‘rack card’ from the counter. On it was advertised the activities for next Saturday (April 11th) taking place downtown on Main Street – SPRING CELEBRATION! Frankly, although a bit past the age of believing in the Easter Bunny – this is one of my favorite events. For 14 years our Town, through the auspices of the Berlin Chamber of Commerce, has celebrated our own Berlin-style rites of springtime with this joy-filled, colorful and just plain FUN event. Beginning at 8:00 am one can have breakfast with that cute furry character – the Easter Bunny, this year held at the Worcester County Arts Council on Jefferson St. and sponsored by the PINK BOX bakery (that means the food will be terrific!) Next, the lovely lawn at the Taylor House Museum at the corner of Main and Baker Streets becomes the site of the ubiquitous egg hunt followed by games for all ages – providing too a time to work off that breakfast! At noon, the newly re-opened Atlantic Hotel becomes a place of fashion – with a ‘homemade’ Easter Bonnet Contest sponsored by Bruder Hill. From noon until 2:00 pm our ever-cheerful, Mayor “Gee” Williams will be walking the streets passing out shiny quarters – change your outfit and get two! Concurrently, the Worcester County Arts Council building becomes the place to decorate a ‘Bunny Cake’ – more treats! Reservations are necessary for this and for the ‘Tea with the Easter Bunny’ held at Tea by the Sea at 1:30 pm. That Bunny is surely a busy fellow!
OK, here’s where the ‘feet meet the street’ – at 3:00 pm (only in Berlin) it’s time for the Hog Calling Contest. This is really fun – don’t be shy – more giggles than ‘calls’ but no matter, the kids try real hard! Finally, it’s 4:00 pm and it’s time for the main event…the infamous Berlin Maryland Official Pig Races where the contestants are first rounded up and then “encouraged” (this is the fun part) to run a course of 25’, in heats, to determine the day’s official winner! The prize – bragging rights for a full year added to whatever else our beloved emcee, Steve Frene can round up!
Throughout the day – all along the Main Street will be additional attractions: craft activities sponsored by Children’s Book Garden, rides (mechanical) by Jolly Rogers, rides (live, horse) from Autumn Grove Stables, a Mobile Learning Adventure (what’s this?) sponsored by PNC Bank and of course, the street vendors.
All of this amounts to a really full day – full of smiles – delight and wonder from the kids and broad smiles of pride from the adults. Never let it be said that the coming of Spring, celebrated Berlin-style, is not the very BEST anywhere! See you there!

A special thanks to Lindsay Parker of Wiggles and Giggles Daycare for chairing this super event!
For further information – visit www.berlinmdcc.org

March – UPS & DOWNS…around our “growing Green” Town!

A visit to the Home, Garden & Condo show at the Convention Center in Ocean City this past weekend turned up a very nice surprise.  While examining a bucket of live algae (very interesting stuff) at the Maryland Coastal Bays booth, Kate Patton, Director of the Lower Shore Land Trust, strolled over and asked if I had visited our “Berlin” booth yet.   Being ever curious I turned the corner and there it was – a wonderful display (predominantly GREEN in color and thought) of Berlin in photos, manned by two very pleasant volunteers standing beside a rain barrel and one of our old street corner signs (Graham & William).  There were take-away goodies here too – some candy and a nifty little attachment for a spigot – to aerate while reducing overall flow – saving our water!  With the current impetus by all on those three very important “E’s” – energy, environment = economy, Berlin MD with the overall enthusiasm of many local groups may become a leader in both learning and action in the new millennium!   For more on these fine efforts – keep watching for word from the newest group –“Grow Berlin Green”.  A website should be up soon at this address http://growberlingreen.org.
Alas, there is a down – rumor has it that we’ve finally hired a utilities director but as of this writing the Berlin Utility Commission hasn’t been notified.   The other day, out of frustration I perused ten months worth of approved “meeting” minutes and identified a large number of unresolved issues – including questions and requests for updated information – made by the BUC to the Town.  Sharing a home with an interested BUC member, attending public meetings and being Berlin ratepayers has led to many lively conversations often ending in the mutually frustrating question as to why the Town is not responsive – not keeping the Berlin Utility Commission informed of the frequent actions often taken by Town – even without informing the public.  Certainly too, anything to do with Water, Wastewater and Electric qualify as subjects for BUC oversight under our Town Charter, why then is this happening?  These days with everyone faced with rising costs and husbanding their checkbooks we need the positive participation of every interested citizen.
One further question – if Berlin has enough funds to consider a new Town Park can we find the same money for purchase and installation of an AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) water/electric system for Town ratepayers?  These do work and encompass those all-important “3 E’s” – ENERGY CONSERVATION thus ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION thus ECONOMIC CONSERVATION – SAVING OUR DOLLARS!  HOW MUCH MORE “GREEN” CAN ONE GET???
Note: To enlarge any photo, just “click”!

Our town HEART at pause…”the hotel”

Last Sunday when I drove by and noticed a shuttered and bleak silence emanating from the Atlantic Hotel I became seriously reflective. First feeling shock (OK, I had heard rumors), and then sadness, I then went on to consider the importance of this building’s history as it relates to the people of Berlin MD.

Early in my own history here, I remember immediately learning that “the hotel” was at the geographic center of town – furthermore, that it was the town “heart” – and certainly a strong social force! Phrases such as, “see you at the hotel”, “they are at the hotel” and “let’s hold it at the hotel”, became to this listener, almost everyday statements. If one wanted a good lunch or dinner on a dreary winter day, it could be found at “the hotel”. If a donation for a Town function or other good cause was needed, we could ask at “the hotel”.
Thinking about my own experiences then made me realize what a huge part the Atlantic Hotel has played in the lives of other town residents. Perhaps a quiet, romantic dinner here led to an engagement party on the porch, which then led to a toast during a summertime wedding reception and yet later to hosting a Christening celebration in the main dining room. Add to that the countless bereaved Berlin families who have held a reception after a funeral. “The hotel” has always been a dignified yet familiar place in which to hold the most serious rites of a Berliner’s life.
I’m sure too that if the walls could talk, we would learn of business conducted, political fortunes won and lost, angry words uttered and then hands shaken upon agreement – all within “the hotel”.
More than 20 years ago, it was with foresight and determination that a group of leading town citizens, “visionaries with pockets”, gathered to rescue and restore an already old building at the heart of Berlin – I’m asking that you please do it again!

VALUE for our VOTES – the determiners on the dais!

With the recent swearing in of Troy Purnell, as Council representative for Berlin MD District I we now have, for the first time since May, our full complement of “determiners” on the dais. It is to be hoped that combined with the intense energy of our other new Councilmember Lisa Hall, Mr. Purnell’s knowledge and business experience will help Berlin move forward. Add to that mix the dramatic authority revitalization of the Berlin Utility Commission and we may perhaps finally resolve several of the most long-standing, critical issues…those pertaining to our Town utilities – wastewater treatment and the successful operation of the Berlin Electric Company. The ultimate result though must be based on value.

As is custom, near the conclusion of each Town meeting the Town Administrator reads off a list of Purchase Orders to be approved by the Council. My understanding is that any purchase over the amount of $1,000 is to be brought forth and voted upon before the public. Actually seldom is any expenditure questioned although the totals bi-monthly may run into the tens of thousands of dollars. On occasion however, my favorite fiscal “watchdog”, Councilperson Paula Lynch, will ask if a contract was let out for open bid, question the particular reason for the expense or evaluate the inherent VALUE afforded. She will even sit and hypothetically add and subtract items like the good bookkeeper that she is. I like this line of questioning – it’s what we do in our homes, with our own budgets in order to meet current and future needs. It’s what we must do with our businesses – in order to make a profit, or these days, to even stay solvent. I consider it a huge value that I’m getting this same level of intense scrutiny in the Town budget funded with my tax dollars.

In these times and with the Town elections now behind us, it’s time to ask, and yes – even demand, for that much promised VALUE for our votes! We are owed just that!

To the Voters of Berlin’s District I – an endorsement!

As interested citizens and regular attendees of Berlin Maryland Town Meetings for the past several years, my wife Sue and I occasionally find that we still have questions on the various and challenging issues presented to the Mayor and Council. We’ve found a very reliable solution – “Ask Troy!”
Troy Purnell, as a “town boy” has KNOWLEDGE of the past, the EXPERIENCE of the present as a successful businessman and the personal qualities – objectivity and honor, to offer prudent LEADERSHIP for the future of our town.
Let’s put this guy to work for us – We can afford nothing less!

Mike Beaman
West Street

Please remember to vote on Tuesday, December 16th, Buckingham Presbyterian Church, South Main Street.