5/31/2006

Berlin needs to grow at a managed pace
By Don Klein
 
If you think that the quaint small town of Berlin, nestled in the shadow of two of the most populous areas in Worcester County, would not have too many problems by comparison, you would probably be right.

But for Tom Cardinale, mayor of Berlin, the problems the town does have are just as serious and important to him as the challenges being faced by Ocean Pines, which has more than twice the population, and Ocean City, which becomes the state’s second largest city for three months every year.

In particular, Mr. Cardinale needs to reduce the town’s debt, solve water and sewer needs, keep energy costs under control and make life in general more comfortable for Berlin residents.

“We’ve been working on these since the day I walked in the front door” in October 2004, when he took office. It will take years to solve all the needs but “we are trying our best,” the mayor claimed.

“These are no short term problems,” he said speaking of controlling the rising cost of energy, and the need to increase   water and sewage capacities. “Berlin is growing,” he said, “and it needs to grow at a managed pace. Sewage, water and energy are not one year problems.”

In an effort to control skyrocketing energy costs, Mayor Cardinale says the town has been negotiating with Choptank Electric Company to take over the Berlin Electric Company, which is owned by the town.  He said this would result in “among other things an immediate reduction in electricity bills.”

The Choptank Company, according to the mayor, can deliver energy needs at lower costs than presently to townspeople, who could actually become owners of the company. “That’s why we are pursuing this approach,” he said.

The town council recently passed a resolution authorizing town officials to open negotiations with Choptank.

Although the plans are “not chipped in stone yet,” as the mayor puts it, the prospects are potentially positive for all in Berlin. In the end the takeover of Berlin Electric by Choptank will have to go to the voters for their approval, he noted.  

Another circumstance that needs managed control is the pace of growth. “The prospects for folks who want to move here are enormous,” Mr. Cardinale contended. Living in picturesque Berlin means you are 10 minutes from the beaches at Ocean City or the park lands of Assateague Island.

“Growth will come on the west side of town,” he contends and potential annexation is always possible. Berlin’s population now stands at just under 4,000.

Shortfalls in the current water and sewage capacity are urgent, he noted. “We need to upgrade our plants. We need more capacity at plant sites.” he admitted.  According to Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) standards “when your plant is 85 percent of capacity you have to have plans underway” for expansion of capacity.

“That’s where we are right now,” he said. Water, sewage upgrading “will be under construction in another year.”  When the total natural daily load level reaches 90 percent you must be in the construction phase, MDE rules say, to avoid serious water and sewage problems.

Running a quaint small town like Berlin, whose throwback to another era look has attracted Hollywood producers in the past decade to make two major films there, still requires up-to-date skills when it comes to running a 21st century community.

It may have an Andy Hardy look to it but it’s not a fairy tale land. It has modern problems as does all modern communities.

According to Mr. Cardinale, “Government can’t do it all, I’ve always said that.” But government can help, he said. “If you are making $500,000 and your electric bill is raised $25 you can handle it, but if you making $30,000 and a single mom with three children or an elderly couple on fixed income,” it is not so easy, he admitted.

“High utility prices, takes no prisoners. Utility costs are a tax, energy costs have to be paid,” he said. “Charitable organizations help but we in the town government must do everything we can to help.”

That is why he is particularly encouraged by the “claim by Choptank that they will be able to bring energy costs down immediately,” he said.  That is why they are now working with the involved companies.

Mr. Cardinale, a former high school teacher of graphic arts, science and mathematics who later went into the construction business, moved here five years ago from Little Italy in Baltimore.

He is proud of the fact that “I have the accounts and finances under control in town and that folks living here are on sound financial footings and they know basically someone cares about them.”

With growth demanding solutions to matters such as water, sewers and energy, which are now underway, Mayor Cardinale says, “I want to be a people’s mayor.”

Send an Email Letter to Courier Editor - be sure to include your telephone number.