[0:00] All

[0:01] right, good evening everyone and we're

[0:02] picking back up with our regular session

[0:04] of the mayor and council uh for the town

[0:06] of Berlin. It's Monday, August 24th,

[0:08] 2026. If you uh saw the previous

[0:11] recording, that was for the public

[0:12] service commission hearing uh that was

[0:15] held prior to this meeting. Just as an

[0:17] FYI, anyone that maybe wasn't able to

[0:19] attend, the uh ability to still comment

[0:22] on case number 9879 is still available

[0:25] and there will be information published

[0:27] to the town of Berlin's website about

[0:29] how to be able to do that. All right,

[0:31] with that, we're going to begin with a

[0:32] moment of silence followed by the pledge

[0:34] of allegiance.

[0:54] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the

[0:57] United States of America and to the

[0:59] republic for which it stands, one nation

[1:02] under God, indivisible, with liberty and

[1:05] justice for all. Thank you all. Uh,

[1:08] first item on our agenda, the uh,

[1:10] consent agenda, which is the approval of

[1:12] our minutes from the regular session of

[1:14] August 10th, 2026. U Mayor Andrew might

[1:18] just have a minor correction on page 13

[1:22] of the packet minutes. Um the fourth

[1:26] paragraph down

[1:31] uh and about halfway through it's it

[1:32] states um council member reported

[1:35] conducting independent research and

[1:37] finding that 3 was commonly used as

[1:39] value and so forth and so on. Um, that

[1:42] was actually Council Member Green who

[1:45] did that research.

[1:47] >> Thank you. All right. So, do we get a

[1:50] motion with the correction?

[1:51] >> Oh, yeah. I'll make a motion with

[1:53] another correction.

[1:54] >> So, I have a motion by Council Member

[1:56] Orus with the correction on page 13 and

[1:58] a second by Council Member Ner. All in

[2:00] favor say I.

[2:01] >> All oppose. Let the record reflect the

[2:03] minutes from the regular session of

[2:05] August 10th, 2026 pass as amended with

[2:09] Vice President Burrell absent. Uh it is

[2:12] Vice President Burell's 41st wedding

[2:14] anniversary. So he said they wouldn't be

[2:16] here this evening. Uh so congratulations

[2:18] to him at the bow. All right. Up next,

[2:20] agenda item two, proclamation 2026-10,

[2:24] national preparedness month. And we have

[2:27] a proclamation of the mayor and council

[2:28] of town of Berlin for national

[2:30] preparedness month. Whereas emergencies

[2:32] and natural

[2:34] disasters, wow, can occur without

[2:37] warning. Testing the preparedness and

[2:38] resilience of our families,

[2:40] neighborhoods, community, and local

[2:41] infrastructure. And whereas the Federal

[2:43] Emergency Management Agency's FEMA Ready

[2:46] campaign has designated Americans stand

[2:49] ready as the theme of 2026 National

[2:52] Preparedness Month, emphasizing the

[2:54] importance of being ready before an

[2:55] emergency occurs. And whereas since

[2:58] 2004, National Preparedness Month has

[3:00] encouraged Americans to take proactive

[3:02] steps to prepare themselves, their

[3:04] families, their homes, and their

[3:06] communities for emergencies and

[3:07] disasters. And whereas individual and

[3:10] household preparedness, including

[3:11] developing a family emergency and

[3:13] communication plan, assembling a

[3:15] disaster supply kit, understanding local

[3:18] risks, and signing up for the emergency

[3:20] alerts can help protect lives, reduce

[3:22] property loss, and strengthen our

[3:24] community's ability to respond to and

[3:26] recover from emergencies. Whereas the

[3:29] town of Berlin recognizes the and honors

[3:31] our first responders, emergency

[3:33] management professionals, public safety

[3:35] personnel, and volunteers whose

[3:36] dedication, preparation, and service

[3:39] help safeguard our community before,

[3:40] during, and after emergencies. Now

[3:42] therefore be proclaimed that I, Mayor

[3:44] Zach Tindle, and the council of Berlin,

[3:46] do hereby proclaim September 26 as

[3:48] national national preparedness month in

[3:52] the town of Berlin and encourage all

[3:53] residents, businesses, and community

[3:55] organizations to take meaningful steps

[3:57] toward preparedness, remain informed of

[4:01] potential hazards, and work together to

[4:03] strengthen the resiliency, safety, and

[4:05] readiness of our community. Thank you.

[4:08] Uh, with that, I will say that the

[4:10] ability to sign up for the emergency

[4:14] preparedness or the emergency

[4:15] communications, you can go to the town

[4:18] website, click the code red icon, and

[4:20] you can sign up for those emergency

[4:22] alerts. Uh, the same thing, Kate and

[4:25] Mary, does that automatically register

[4:27] you for Worcester counties, or do you

[4:29] have to do Worcester counties as well?

[4:33] >> In addition to

[4:35] >> So, Berlin and Worcester. So, you should

[4:37] do both really. Um, with that being

[4:40] said, uh, you'll notice that, uh, the

[4:43] first Saturday, I believe it is, of

[4:45] every month, uh, the Worcester County

[4:48] Emergency Services tests the siren as

[4:50] well. So, that's the long uh, blast of

[4:53] the siren. That is your civil alert

[4:55] awareness. So with that being said,

[4:58] we'll move on to agenda item three and

[5:00] that's a public hearing on ordinance

[5:02] 2026-06

[5:04] amending chapter 16 entitled fire

[5:06] prevention and protection article 2

[5:09] entitled outdoor burning. Our town

[5:11] attorney David Yasel and our acting

[5:12] planning director Ryan Hardesty are

[5:14] going to run point. Our first reading on

[5:16] this was Monday August 10th 2026

[5:20] and the two of you need to take it away.

[5:23] >> That's a cry out story.

[5:25] I did just pass out the version that you

[5:29] said it later this afternoon. So what is

[5:31] coming to you now is slightly different

[5:33] than what was in the packet and Dain

[5:36] explain

[5:38] you.

[5:41] >> Are there copies available for the

[5:43] public? You can have

[5:45] >> Yeah, I think you're going to have some

[5:47] purple.

[5:48] >> Thanks.

[5:48] >> Yeah.

[5:50] So

[5:53] >> what I did after after our last meeting

[5:56] when we had first reading of the I

[5:59] amended the proposed ordinance with

[6:02] every amendment that

[6:08] » at that point it was pointed out to me

[6:10] that it appeared that we were appeared

[6:13] that the group wanted that outest open

[6:16] burn. So I then removed the section on

[6:21] earned feeds

[6:23] and

[6:24] I left it at that

[6:28] discussion with Ryan this morning. She

[6:32] was of the opinion that I should remove

[6:35] section 16-21 which is permit required

[6:39] because why would we want have someone

[6:41] get a permit for open burning if we're

[6:43] not allowing open burning?

[6:47] Subsequently, after I thought about this

[6:49] and talked to Ryan this evening, I I

[6:52] think we ought to table this. Start off

[6:54] all over.

[6:55] >> What?

[6:56] >> Well, there are still sections in this.

[6:58] If you look at 1619, purpose, and

[7:00] intent, the purpose of this article is

[7:02] to pro protect the public health,

[7:04] safety, and welfare by regulating open

[7:06] burn. We're not regulating it. We're

[7:08] out.

[7:09] >> Well, but it wouldn't open burning also

[7:12] be a fire pit, or is that a contained

[7:14] burn? I would think that it's open.

[7:16] >> That's a recreation.

[7:18] >> Okay.

[7:19] >> Recreation.

[7:20] >> Yeah.

[7:20] >> We also have a definition for open still

[7:23] in this.

[7:27] » I think you need to address open

[7:29] burning.

[7:30] >> I think we should need to address it.

[7:32] And if you want to outlaw it, then let

[7:34] me let me uh amend this to say open

[7:36] burning is not permitted within the town

[7:38] limits of Berlin.

[7:40] that this evening or will it take more

[7:44] you have that

[7:45] >> right is that 23

[7:50] safety regulates open burning

[7:56] » but we still have 1622 which is

[7:58] permanent exceptions we don't have any

[8:01] back issuing permits

[8:02] >> can we take it from date let's I mean we

[8:04] don't have a whole lot on our agenda

[8:06] let's take it on page one together Um,

[8:10] so the purpose of this article is to

[8:12] protect the public health, safety, and

[8:13] welfare by regulating open burning. It

[8:16] should also say regulating open burning

[8:18] and recreational burn.

[8:21] Isn't that correct?

[8:22] >> Yes.

[8:23] >> Within the town of Berlin, improper o

[8:27] open burning can create that could just

[8:30] say improper burning instead of open

[8:33] burn. You would strike the word open.

[8:40] can create fire hazards, air pollution,

[8:42] and public nuisances. This article is

[8:44] intended to ensure compliance with

[8:46] applicable state laws and regulations,

[8:49] including Comar 2617.

[8:52] Nothing within this ordinance shall

[8:54] authorize open burning that is

[8:57] prohibited by Worcester County Code of

[9:00] Public Walls, Comar, Maryland Forest

[9:02] Service Regulations, the Maryland State

[9:05] uh Fire Protection Code, or any other

[9:07] county or state burn ban. So with that,

[9:09] you would just get rid of

[9:12] open. You would just keep burning.

[9:16] >> Is that correct for paragraph one?

[9:19] What the change again is the purpose of

[9:21] this article is to protect the public

[9:23] health, safety and welfare by regulating

[9:26] open burning and recreational burning.

[9:28] >> Okay.

[9:30] >> You amend it.

[9:32] >> That's that's what I think it should

[9:33] say.

[9:34] >> Do you agree?

[9:35] >> How does the council?

[9:36] >> Then the next sentence is improper

[9:39] burning would take over.

[9:41] >> Yep.

[9:44] » Are you guys good with that? I is are

[9:48] there any objections from the governing

[9:49] body? Okay, keep moving. This article is

[9:53] intended to ensure compliance with

[9:54] applicable state laws and regulations

[9:56] including public first.

[10:03] Do we need to make any changes to the

[10:06] last sentence? Nothing within this order

[10:09] shall authorize open burning that is

[10:11] prohibited by the Worcester County Code

[10:13] of Public Law. We need to any of that.

[10:16] >> Hold on. Where are you? Yes.

[10:18] >> The last sentence in 1619, the first

[10:21] paragraph

[10:22] >> that we just for a second.

[10:24] >> Yes, something does need to be altered

[10:26] there because it says nothing within

[10:27] this ordinance shall authorize open

[10:29] burning. It should just say burning that

[10:31] is prohibited by Worester County Code.

[10:33] And then it goes on further.

[10:39] » Can you just give us a second to work

[10:41] through this and then we'll take all

[10:42] questions at the end. Go ahead.

[10:46] It's not open yet. No, it's okay.

[10:48] >> So, we want to go to definition.

[10:50] >> Yep. Let's go to definitions. Page two

[10:52] of the

[10:55] Okay. Definitions. The following words,

[10:57] terms, and phrases when used in this

[10:59] chapter shall have meanings ascribed to

[11:01] them in this section, except where the

[11:04] context clearly indicates a different

[11:05] meaning. Open burning means a fire where

[11:08] any material is burned in the open or in

[11:11] an open receptacle.

[11:16] Right. I think what you were discussing

[11:19] a few minutes ago at the very beginning

[11:21] about open burn versus burning it

[11:24] basically without a problem. That

[11:26] probably does need to be addressed a

[11:29] little bit better.

[11:30] >> Okay.

[11:30] >> You could argue that a uh fire pit is an

[11:33] open receptacle.

[11:36] >> Okay. But then

[11:42] recreational fire is underneath the

[11:43] different for the definition as well.

[11:48] » That that's yeah.

[11:49] >> So that's one of the clarify.

[11:51] >> Okay. So hold on. I'm going to basically

[11:55] highlight and accent that on my end and

[11:57] we'll come back. Recreational fire means

[11:59] a small controlled fire either gas or

[12:02] wood burning used for warmth or

[12:04] recreation not intended for waste

[12:06] disposal.

[12:08] Everybody good with that?

[12:12] Okay. Um cooking fire means a fire used

[12:15] solely for food preparation uh in

[12:18] grills, smokers, or similar appliances.

[12:20] I think we're good with that, right?

[12:22] Yard waste means leaves, grass

[12:24] clippings, weeds, and similar vegetative

[12:26] material. Pretty straightforward there,

[12:29] right? Yard debris means brush, limbs,

[12:32] branches, shrubs, and tree trimmings

[12:35] resulting from routine landscape

[12:37] maintenance. I don't know. Why does it

[12:39] need to say routine landscape

[12:41] maintenance

[12:43] or resulting from what it just mean? I

[12:46] think that's really not needed. Yard

[12:48] debris means brush, limbs, branches,

[12:50] shrubs, and tree.

[12:52] >> Well, clearing debris underneath. So,

[12:56] >> double check that to make sure that you

[12:58] >> I think routine landscape speaks

[13:01] difference between what's then defined.

[13:03] >> Okay. Let's keep it

[13:05] >> that's pruning a shrub. That's routine.

[13:08] >> Okay. So then land clearing debris means

[13:10] trees, stumps, brush and other natural

[13:12] vegetative material generated from the

[13:15] clearing of land for development or

[13:16] agricultural purposes. But there are

[13:18] other reasons people would clear land.

[13:20] >> Yeah.

[13:22] >> Like

[13:23] >> well develop

[13:23] >> what happens if they just wanted more

[13:25] open space?

[13:25] >> I mean I think you could argue that that

[13:27] might fall under development. that might

[13:29] be getting into the weeds.

[13:30] >> Why can't we just say why can't we say

[13:33] yard debris means brush, limbs,

[13:36] branches, shrubs, and tree trimming?

[13:38] Land clearing debris means trees,

[13:40] stumps, brush, and other natural

[13:42] vegetative material and get rid of

[13:44] generated doesn't matter how it was

[13:46] acquired. So strike generated from the

[13:50] clearing of land for development or

[13:51] agricultural purposes. And for yard

[13:54] debris above that, let's strike

[13:56] resulting from routine landscape

[13:59] maintenance. I don't think that's

[14:00] necessary. Would the group agree?

[14:06] » All right, let's move on then.

[14:07] >> I have a question.

[14:08] >> What did we do with open burning?

[14:10] >> We've highlighted that. We're coming

[14:12] back to it.

[14:14] >> Okay. Page three,

[14:17] section 1621, permit acceptance.

[14:20] Recreational fires as well as outdoor

[14:22] cooking fires using grills, smokers,

[14:25] barbecue pits or similar devices solely

[14:28] for food preparation are exempt from

[14:29] permitting requirement. Think that's

[14:32] straightforward? Everybody agree?

[14:35] Uh let's see. But let me say go ahead

[14:38] because you have permit exceptions but

[14:41] there is no permit so we have to say

[14:45] that

[14:46] >> let's can we once we get to the end can

[14:48] we come back or we're going to hit

[14:49] permits in a second all right uh section

[14:52] 1622 I'm going to highlight permit so

[14:56] then we figure that and permit

[14:57] requirements um

[15:01] come back

[15:03] okay uh 1622 requirements for recreation

[15:06] burning must be a minimum of 15 ft away

[15:09] from any building structure or flammable

[15:11] material. Straightforward must be

[15:14] attended until completely

[15:18] extinguished. Reasonable bonfires may be

[15:21] no larger than 3 feet high and 4 feet in

[15:24] diameter. I think that's reasonable and

[15:27] we pulled that from other

[15:28] municipalities. Uh, number four, bonfire

[15:31] shall only be allowed from 6 pm to 10

[15:34] pm. I think the neighboring

[15:35] municipalities were uh till midnight and

[15:38] we tighten it up. I think council member

[15:40] Nichols, you had suggested 10 p.m.

[15:42] >> Yeah, I have Can we talk about that one

[15:44] for a minute? Sure. Um, so for one, um,

[15:47] I don't know that we need to have a

[15:48] start time, frankly. I think 6 p.m. one

[15:51] day in November, it start at five.

[15:53] >> Yeah. So, that's one thing, but also

[15:55] like what um I have to be trit what do

[15:59] we care if um a neighbor wants to have a

[16:02] small bonfire or s'mores for their kids,

[16:05] you know, at 3:00 in the afternoon, you

[16:07] know? So, I'm kind of like don't feel

[16:09] like I feel like that may be a little

[16:10] overkill on our part. Um the 10 p.m. I

[16:13] know that came up at the last meeting.

[16:15] Um I mean, I feel like that's honestly a

[16:17] bit early. Um I

[16:20] >> do what, Steve? Well, yeah. I think 11

[16:22] p.m. I mean, midnight's Ocean City. Um,

[16:25] >> 11's good.

[16:26] >> Okay.

[16:28] I think what we're looking at there,

[16:30] it's, you know, let's be honest, you

[16:32] know, it's it's going to be a reactive

[16:33] type of situation, you know, right? I

[16:35] hope our neighbors text them their

[16:37] neighbors to be like, "Listen, you're

[16:38] being a little rowdy or whatever the

[16:40] case may be." Um, so I'm fine with 11 pm

[16:43] on that. I appreciate the start time

[16:45] being taken because I just

[16:46] >> Okay, so we It should say bonfire shall

[16:48] only be allowed until 10 or until 11

[16:52] p.m.

[16:53] >> Oh, midnight.

[16:54] >> Mid midnight. That's was my suggestion.

[16:57] But

[16:58] >> I I said midnight sounded good last

[17:00] meeting, but it was it was taken down to

[17:02] 10.

[17:04] I mean my thing I where I was going with

[17:06] the kind of block was the aligning it

[17:10] with all the other things that they need

[17:12] lights at park or what is when is noise

[17:15] ordinance starting to be one of those

[17:17] things that you know what I'm saying is

[17:18] there a time on that when they start

[17:21] that's

[17:22] >> noise could be a separate thing you

[17:25] could have a bonfire without being

[17:27] >> yeah I mean you know if you guys if you want to have 11 o'clock you want

[17:32] to have 12 o'clock Help yourself with

[17:35] that. My only thing with that is I don't

[17:36] want I don't want there to be

[17:40] in and by October when we're all out

[17:42] bonfiring in our yards, everybody coming

[17:45] in here and complaining, oh my gosh,

[17:47] people are out till midnight and it's

[17:49] and I'm just that's my only thing. You

[17:51] know what I'm saying? So if you want it

[17:53] to be midnight, I have no problems with

[17:54] that. I was just aligning the 10 o'clock

[17:56] with when all the other things start to

[17:59] shut down. I would complaining right now

[18:02] that

[18:03] I don't think so.

[18:04] >> Hold on if you don't mind. So I think

[18:06] this was placed in at the at our last

[18:08] meeting because there was public comment

[18:12] about nuisance burning and how do we

[18:15] address and des like identify nuisance

[18:18] burning? If you put a time in there

[18:19] without a start time, the end time

[18:22] really is irrelevant because you can

[18:24] pick up burning again right after the

[18:27] time ends because you don't have a start

[18:28] time.

[18:30] I could have a 1 a.m. fire

[18:34] sunset because that varies according to

[18:37] the time of year.

[18:38] >> I mean, I'm just saying like I think if

[18:40] you're going to strike the opening time,

[18:42] the end time doesn't matter.

[18:43] >> Opening time might relate to general

[18:46] weather. There might someone be attuned

[18:50] to and knowledgeable about managing

[18:54] these things. They might say, well, hey,

[18:59] you know, it is typical that the wind is

[19:01] going to change or it's going to die

[19:03] down. It's going to shift in direction

[19:06] around this time during the day. But you

[19:08] guys want to ban anything that I do

[19:10] anyway. So, it doesn't matter. I'm just

[19:12] going to point out that it might be a

[19:14] little bit more complicated than this

[19:15] came forward discussion.

[19:17] >> Thank you. We appreciate that. The um

[19:20] but the the thing is is that can we

[19:23] strike this entire

[19:26] >> can we strike this uh number four

[19:28] entirely? Because if we're going to if

[19:31] we're going to not have a start time,

[19:33] the end time doesn't matter.

[19:36] >> That would

[19:39] be fine with that. And if we have a lot

[19:40] of nuisance taking place and people

[19:42] coming in here, then we just take it up

[19:44] at that time. That's good. Is everybody

[19:46] okay with that? Yeah. Breaking floor in

[19:49] section 1622.

[19:51] All right. Uh number five, which will

[19:53] become our new number four. No hazardous

[19:55] conditions, air pollution, or nuisance

[19:58] will be created.

[20:00] I think it's a nice thing to just put it

[20:02] in there, but I think that nuisance is

[20:03] very big. Um section 1623, prohibited

[20:08] burning. The burning of yard waste, yard

[20:10] debris, land clearing debris generated

[20:12] from doesn't really matter how it was

[20:15] generated in my opinion, but generated

[20:17] from the maintenance or cleaning of

[20:19] property, household trash, hazardous

[20:21] materials, treated wood, plastics, or

[20:23] rubber. I guess might be worth it. Uh,

[20:26] is prohibited. Everybody okay with that

[20:28] one?

[20:30] All open burning. Moving on to page

[20:33] four. Permits are automatically.

[20:36] But we're taking out from 1624

[20:42] land.

[20:44] >> I don't think so. Because

[20:46] >> so we're not taking out generated from

[20:48] the maintenance of the property.

[20:50] >> Yeah.

[20:50] >> I mean,

[20:51] >> we took that out of the definition.

[20:53] >> Yes. But then household trash, hazardous

[20:55] materials, treated wood, plastics, and

[20:57] rubber were not in the definition.

[21:00] >> Just just check.

[21:01] >> Is that okay though? Just check.

[21:03] >> All right. Um, all open burning permits

[21:06] are automatically suspended whenever

[21:08] Worcester County or the state of

[21:10] Maryland declares a burn ban. We're

[21:12] going to need to come back to it.

[21:14] >> Town of Berlin, should we decide to do a

[21:18] burn?

[21:19] >> Well, and I think that this is going to

[21:20] require us to revisit that in just a

[21:22] second anyway because of the permitting

[21:25] that Gas will ref. All right. So then

[21:29] 1624 enforcement and penalties on any

[21:32] person who shall violate any provision

[21:34] of this article shall be guilty of a

[21:37] municipal infraction and shall be

[21:39] subject to a fine in the amount of $100

[21:41] for any single or initial infraction and

[21:44] a fine in the amount of $200 for each

[21:47] repeat or continuing violation.

[21:50] Okay,

[21:52] we don't have anything outside of

[21:54] referencing permitting. So we need to

[21:57] hold one sec

[22:04] out where the material is burned in the

[22:08] open.

[22:11] Um

[22:14] see

[22:20] should is our first location where we

[22:23] reference a permit

[22:25] in the amended ordinance. The first time

[22:28] we reference that is on R page three

[22:30] section 1621. Right. And gaswell your

[22:34] recommendation is that we get rid of

[22:36] permanent this whole section because we

[22:38] don't have a permit. Is that correct?

[22:42] >> Page three, 16, section 1621.

[22:47] >> I think the discussion was that in the

[22:49] way the code currently reads, you only

[22:52] need to obtain a permit if we're doing

[22:54] an open burn. So if you are eliminating

[22:57] open burning, you're eliminating the

[22:59] reason for a permit. So then that

[23:01] language just doesn't have any place in

[23:04] the code.

[23:05] >> Okay. So then my question is why don't

[23:08] we change 1621's heading instead of it

[23:11] saying permit exceptions? Why don't we

[23:13] make that say authorized burning? And it

[23:16] says recreational fires as well as

[23:18] outdoor cooking fires using grills,

[23:20] smokers, barbecue pits or similar

[23:22] devices solely for food preparation.

[23:25] Recreational fires as well as Okay. for

[23:28] food preparation are

[23:31] authorized.

[23:37] with the following requirements which is

[23:39] the next section.

[23:41] >> Yeah, there you are. I like that. Uh are

[23:43] authorized

[23:45] repeat that

[23:47] >> with the following requirements.

[23:49] >> Authorized with following requirements

[23:54] » requirements.

[23:56] >> Let's not move on.

[23:58] >> You're good.

[24:02] » Are authorized from what? Um, so hold

[24:04] on, let me let me restate it. So section

[24:07] 1621,

[24:09] >> we're going to remove the heading permit

[24:11] exceptions and it's going to be retitled

[24:13] authorized burning.

[24:14] >> Got it.

[24:15] >> It will read below that recreational

[24:17] fires as well as outdoor cooking fires

[24:19] using grills, smokers, barbecue pits, or

[24:22] similar devices solely for food

[24:24] preparation are authorized with the

[24:27] following provision following

[24:29] requirements. And then it'll go into

[24:31] 1622.

[25:03] Okay, we're going to change the heading

[25:05] to section 1621 to authorize burning.

[25:09] It shall say recreational fires as well

[25:12] as outdoor cooking fires using grills,

[25:14] smokers, barbecue pits, or some of those

[25:16] devices solely for food preparation are

[25:19] authorized with the following

[25:21] requirements of section 16-22.

[25:24] >> I like both.

[25:25] >> Yep.

[25:28] >> Do we have consensus on that?

[25:29] >> Yeah.

[25:30] >> Okay. And go ahead. Well, with that now

[25:33] 16-22 should probably be titled

[25:36] requirements for recreational and

[25:40] cooking fires.

[25:42] >> Requirements for recreational and

[25:44] cooking

[25:44] >> striking burning

[25:45] >> striking burn.

[25:46] >> So requirements for recreational

[25:49] and

[25:50] >> cooking

[25:52] fires.

[25:53] >> That's what simplifies just say

[25:54] authorized burning.

[25:56] >> Requirements for authorized.

[25:58] >> Okay,

[25:59] >> I like that. Simplified.

[26:01] I hear.

[26:02] >> Okay. So, section 1622 is going to be

[26:05] retitled requirements for authorized

[26:11] burn.

[26:27] All right. So, then prohibited burning

[26:29] stays the same. Um, can we go back to

[26:33] open burning because No, hold on. Hold

[26:37] on one second.

[26:37] >> My council member told me that there

[26:39] would be a discussion

[26:42] public hearing in a moment.

[26:43] >> But but no, you're actually negotiating

[26:45] the full text before there's a

[26:47] discussion.

[26:48] >> That this is this is not the procedure

[26:51] at least that my council member

[26:53] indicated to me that we would have.

[26:56] >> Okay. So I'm a I'm a bit curious about

[26:58] because you you see you're saying that

[27:00] you are going to have public discussion

[27:03] but you actually want to finalize the

[27:06] code before there's a public discussion.

[27:09] >> So that's really kind of a fake promise

[27:11] isn't it of public participation.

[27:13] >> Thank you Mr. And we'll address that in

[27:14] a moment. Um open burning uh means a

[27:18] fire. So back to page two. Open fire

[27:20] means a fire where any material is

[27:22] burned in the open or in an open

[27:25] receptacle. To the point of it being

[27:27] vague, I think we got to try and find a

[27:30] way to put open burning and include some

[27:33] of the stuff that is in 1623.

[27:36] You know, any of you have any thoughts

[27:38] on how we can best do that? You want to

[27:40] add a definition to cover fires

[27:44] >> or maybe also uh prohibited materials

[27:48] from burning.

[27:52] » I just I feel like saying in an open

[27:54] receptacle

[27:57] >> is very vague.

[27:58] >> Yeah. Yeah. So then instead of having

[28:01] open burning

[28:03] um can we come up with a better word

[28:06] choice and strike open burning from

[28:11] what about prohibited materials or

[28:14] something like that

[28:18] because you have in here I'm I'm not

[28:20] saying anybody in particular we the town

[28:22] of Berlin have in here um household

[28:25] trash hazardous materials treated wood

[28:28] plastics and rubber I mean those are all

[28:30] things that I think we have a go ahead.

[28:33] Open burning means a fire. A fire where

[28:36] any material

[28:44] I was ready to say

[28:46] >> it's okay. It it would it would

[28:48] reference

[28:50] section 1623

[28:54] burning need to fire on every material

[28:56] to burn in the open

[28:58] or in an open receptacle

[29:01] which is prohibited

[29:03] by section 16-23.

[29:08] » Um hold on. Is there a way to put in

[29:10] here unauthorized burning? And that

[29:14] would include

[29:16] um we could make it so it includes open

[29:18] burning as well as the items listed in

[29:22] prohibited um burning. So unauthorized

[29:26] burning would include open burning

[29:30] as well as yard waste, yard debris, land

[29:32] clearing debris. That that's what open

[29:35] burning is. Why don't you just address

[29:37] it in 1623

[29:40] by saying in the last line uh hazardous

[29:43] materials treated with plastic or rubber

[29:45] is as or is defined as open burning and

[29:50] prohibited.

[29:52] Okay,

[29:54] I see what you're saying. So 1623 the

[29:58] burning of yard waste, yard debris, land

[30:00] clearing debris generated from the

[30:02] maintenance or clearing of property,

[30:04] household trash, hazardous materials

[30:06] treated wood, plastic or rubber is

[30:09] prohibited. No is defined is as open

[30:12] burning and is prohibited

[30:16] >> as open even if it's closed burn it

[30:20] still we would these materials would

[30:22] just be classified as open. I mean, open

[30:24] burning is a well-known phrase.

[30:27] >> I'm just saying though, I mean, like if

[30:28] I took my hazardous I'm not saying I do

[30:30] this, but if I took my hazardous

[30:32] material or my uh like say somebody's

[30:37] got plastic Tupperware and they don't

[30:39] want to take it to the landfill and put

[30:40] it in the trash can for some reason,

[30:41] they want to burn it, but they do it in

[30:43] a closed receptacle. It's still not

[30:45] going to be healthy for the public,

[30:48] but it would it would also be closed. It

[30:51] wouldn't be open.

[30:54] That would be a separate

[30:55] >> I'm just Why don't we say unauthorized

[30:57] burning includes open burning as well as

[31:02] debris yard u the burning of yard waste

[31:06] yard debris land clearing debris the

[31:08] maintenance of cleaning of property

[31:10] household trash hazardous materials

[31:12] treated wood plastic and rubber

[31:15] >> are we putting that in the definition

[31:18] I think that it wouldn't hurt it also

[31:20] clarifies them So my recommendation and

[31:24] we can see how it dives, right? Is to

[31:27] strike the definition for open burning

[31:29] and make that unauthorized

[31:34] burning

[31:37] includes

[31:41] open burning.

[31:45] and

[31:47] or and um yeah and or

[31:53] and then pick up here the burning of

[31:55] yard waste, yard debris,

[31:58] land clearing debris generated from the

[32:00] maintenance of cleaning property,

[32:02] household trash, hazardous materials,

[32:04] treated wood, plastics or rubber.

[32:10] And we're removing the definition of

[32:12] open burning.

[32:19] Let make a modest suggest even for your

[32:21] own purposes so that you have a town

[32:24] code that actually makes sense at the

[32:26] end of this that you take your council's

[32:28] advice to allow someone to calmly and

[32:32] fully try to go through this instead of

[32:34] rushing it through this all and a few

[32:37] other people um just for your own sake.

[32:40] Do you have a do you have a town code

[32:42] that makes sense at the end of the day?

[32:44] >> Thank you. But our mission is not to

[32:46] aggravate anyone. It's to respect

[32:47] everybody's time that has come here to

[32:50] provide testimony for the public hearing

[32:52] process and hopefully have something

[32:55] that the public can actually comment on.

[32:58] So, uh, Gaswell, then we got to go back

[33:01] to

[33:02] >> Go ahead.

[33:06] » Okay. So, we're going to strengthen the

[33:08] definition of open burning.

[33:10] >> Correct. And it would then say

[33:12] unauthorized burning.

[33:14] >> Let me tell you what I've written. Go

[33:15] ahead.

[33:16] >> It's a definition.

[33:18] Unauthorized burning includes open

[33:21] burning and all burning described in

[33:23] section 16-23 entitled prohibited burn.

[33:28] >> I like that.

[33:30] >> Everybody

[33:34] simplified it.

[33:36] for 16.

[33:41] How about the last sentence in 1623

[33:44] prohibited burning which speaks about uh

[33:48] permanent open burning permits being

[33:50] suspended? Do we need that in there? Um,

[33:55] no. But I think that one of the

[33:56] requirements we should add a new number

[33:58] five that um makes it adhere to any

[34:04] Worcester County or state of Maryland. U

[34:07] >> I don't understand what you're saying.

[34:08] Do number five.

[34:09] >> So right here 1622 requirement. So we

[34:13] have uh number one must be 15 ft away.

[34:17] Uh must be attended to completely until

[34:19] completely extinguished. bonfire is no

[34:21] larger than we struck number four,

[34:24] >> right?

[34:24] >> And the new number four or our whatever,

[34:27] however we want to do this, and then no

[34:29] hazardous conditions, air pollution or

[34:31] nuisance will be created. Um maybe we

[34:35] expand number five or we create a new

[34:38] number five that says that

[34:42] um

[34:45] requirements for authorized burning

[34:49] must not take place during Worcester

[34:52] County or state of Maryland declared

[34:55] burn.

[34:59] » Well, because you're not. It's the

[35:01] requirements for authorized burning. You

[35:03] don't want to authorize burnings

[35:06] without clearly noting that the burn

[35:08] bands of Worcester County and the state

[35:11] of Maryland apply.

[35:12] >> Well, why don't we just instead of

[35:14] creating a new number five just amend

[35:16] that last 1623

[35:19] >> because it's already said it's old.

[35:22] >> In 1619, you already refer to nothing in

[35:25] this ordinance

[35:27] supersede any burn. You've really

[35:30] already said Yeah.

[35:31] >> I But I think Gaswell was heading to

[35:33] take out like all open burning. Go

[35:35] ahead. What was your idea there?

[35:36] >> No, I was my initial idea was do we need

[35:40] the all open burning permits

[35:43] >> in that last sentence since we've

[35:45] already

[35:47] >> No, I thought you were going where it

[35:48] says prohibited burning to amend that

[35:50] sentence. Just trying

[35:52] >> I was going to take it out.

[35:54] >> Okay. But I think we should still have

[35:57] something in there that says um

[36:01] automatically suspended whenever

[36:03] Worcester County or the state of

[36:04] Maryland declares a burn date bait.

[36:06] >> Do that

[36:08] >> where

[36:10] the very first

[36:12] uh section last sentence

[36:14] >> nothing within this shall authorize.

[36:17] >> Perfect. Okay. Thank you.

[36:19] >> So we can take out that last

[36:24] I like that. Thanks, Jack.

[36:29] Okay. And then the enforcement and

[36:32] penalty stay the same, right? Uh Yep.

[36:36] All right. So, let's see if there's

[36:38] >> Give this thing one more glance and see

[36:40] if you see over burning somewhere.

[36:43] Um well, back in purpose. The purpose of

[36:46] the article is to protect the public's

[36:48] health, safety, and welfare by

[36:49] regulating.

[36:51] >> It should just say burning within the

[36:53] town of Berlin instead of open and

[36:55] recreational. Right.

[36:57] >> Good. Sure.

[36:58] >> Can we strike open everybody in section

[37:01] 1619?

[37:03] We're going to strike open and we're

[37:04] going to strike our

[37:05] >> I would say outdoor burning

[37:07] >> and we we're going to add recreational

[37:09] burning.

[37:11] >> Well, if we just call it outdoor

[37:13] burning. Well, because I'm saying you're

[37:15] not trying to regulate somebody's

[37:16] fireplace or burn. Then we're going to

[37:19] define outdoor burn. Um, let's keep open

[37:21] burning.

[37:23] Hold on.

[37:25] Let's see.

[37:31] Yeah, we said by regulating open burning

[37:33] and recreational burning.

[37:38] All right, I'm going to read it from the

[37:39] top because we've talked a lot about a

[37:41] lot and I want the public to be clear on

[37:42] what we're going through here. So,

[37:44] article two,

[37:46] uh the that should perhaps be

[37:51] should we keep

[37:53] >> burning?

[37:53] >> Should it just stay burning?

[37:55] >> I feel like it needs to stay

[37:57] >> outdoor burning.

[37:59] >> Every version for recreational is all

[38:02] done outside.

[38:03] >> Okay.

[38:04] >> All right. So, article two, outdoor

[38:06] burning, section 1619, purpose and

[38:08] intent. The purpose of this article is

[38:11] to protect the public health, safety,

[38:12] and welfare by regulating open burning

[38:15] and recreational burn within the town of

[38:17] Berlin. Improper burning can create fire

[38:21] hazards, air pollution, and public

[38:22] nuisances. This article is intended to

[38:25] ensure compliance with applicable state

[38:27] laws and regulations, including Comar

[38:30] 1617.

[38:32] Nothing within this ordinance shall

[38:34] authorize burning that is prohibited by

[38:36] the blister county code of public laws

[38:40] Maryland forest service regulations the

[38:42] state of Maryland fire prevention code

[38:44] or any county or state burn.

[38:47] Then moving on definitions. The

[38:50] following words, terms and phrases when

[38:53] used in this chapter shall have the

[38:54] meanings ascribed to them in this

[38:56] section except where the context clearly

[38:59] indicates a different meaning. We are

[39:01] removing outdoor burning there and we

[39:04] are Oh, thank you. Open burning. I

[39:07] appreciate it. Uh and adding authorized

[39:11] burning.

[39:12] >> Unauthorized burning. Thank you. Gasel,

[39:14] can you read what you have?

[39:16] >> Authorized burning includes open burning

[39:18] and all burning described in section

[39:21] 16-23

[39:23] entitled prohibited burning.

[39:25] >> Thank you. Recreational fire means a

[39:28] small controlled fire either gas or wood

[39:30] burning used for warmth or recreation

[39:32] not intended for waste disposal. Cooking

[39:35] fire means a fire used solely for food

[39:37] preparation and grills, smokers or

[39:39] similar appliances. Yard waste means

[39:41] leaves, grass clippings, weeds and

[39:43] similar vegetative material. Yard debris

[39:46] means brush, limbs, branches, shrubs and

[39:49] tree trimming. Land clearing debris

[39:51] means trees, stumps, brush and other

[39:53] natural vegetative material.

[39:55] One more points.

[39:57] >> No, it's fine.

[39:58] >> Just me, but can they be alphabetized,

[40:01] please?

[40:01] >> Yeah, sure. That's fine. Uh,

[40:04] >> alphabetical.

[40:08] » Who's running on that? Gaspel.

[40:10] >> Yeah,

[40:12] I'll write it.

[40:13] >> Thank you.

[40:14] >> Up next, 1621 has been retitled from

[40:17] permit exceptions to authorized burning.

[40:20] And it reads, "Recreational fires as

[40:22] well as outdoor cooking fires using

[40:24] grills, smokers, barbecue pits, or

[40:26] similar devices solely for food

[40:28] preparation are authorized."

[40:32] Yas, you can pick it up from there.

[40:35] >> With the following requirements of

[40:36] section 16-22.

[40:39] >> Thank you. Section 1622, requirements

[40:42] for authorized burn. That's been

[40:44] retitled. So it is requirements for

[40:46] authorized burn. Item one, must be a

[40:49] minimum of 15 feet away from any

[40:51] building, structure, or flammable

[40:52] materials. Number two, must be attended

[40:55] to until completely extinguished. Number

[40:57] three, bonfires may be no larger than 3

[41:00] ft high and 4 feet in diameter. We have

[41:04] struck item four, and the new item four

[41:07] would be no hazardous conditions, air

[41:10] pollution or nuisance will be created.

[41:13] Section 1623 prohibited burning. The

[41:16] burning of yard waste, yard debris, land

[41:19] clearing debris generated from the

[41:20] maintenance or cleaning of property,

[41:22] household trash, hazardous materials,

[41:24] treated wood, plastic, or rubber is

[41:27] prohibited.

[41:29] That ends that section 1624.

[41:32] Enforcement and penalties. Any person

[41:34] who shall violate any provision of this

[41:36] article shall be guilty of a municipal

[41:38] infraction and shall be subject to a

[41:40] fine in the amount of $100 or any single

[41:43] or initial infraction and a fine in the

[41:46] amount of $200 for each repeat or

[41:48] continuing violation.

[41:51] Have I missed anything?

[41:53] >> Quest

[41:55] 1623 prohibited burn.

[41:57] >> Okay. It leads the burning yard waste,

[42:00] yard debris, land cleaning generated

[42:03] from maintenance or cleaning of

[42:04] property, household trash, hazardous

[42:06] materials, tree, wood, plastics or

[42:08] rubber is it? I think so. Okay.

[42:13] All right. Now, any other comments

[42:16] before we open up the public hearing?

[42:19] Okay. Seeing none, we're going to open

[42:21] the public hearing on ordinance 2026-06

[42:24] amending chapter 16 entitled fire

[42:27] prevention and protection article two

[42:29] entitled outdoor burning as discussed a

[42:32] moment ago. Now, anyone that would like

[42:35] to address the baron council may do so

[42:36] at at this time regarding ordinance

[42:39] 2026-0.

[42:42] Well, what what is your name and street

[42:44] name if you don't mind and come forward

[42:46] and then you know where I live. Thank

[42:48] you and you know what my name shirt

[42:53] >> nice shirt.

[42:53] >> Oh, thank you.

[42:54] >> Um I mean what you're doing here is

[42:58] what you can do but this creates a a

[43:01] very significant hardship for me. Um how

[43:04] much money and time did the town spend

[43:06] running the chipper all around town

[43:09] after the storm doing that? and you all

[43:12] have access to $50,000 shippers and

[43:16] manpower and you know the ability to do

[43:20] that. But my understanding was is that

[43:22] the cleanup after the storm this spring

[43:25] for the town was a rather substantial

[43:27] burden. Um I may be in a relatively

[43:30] unique situation in town where I have an

[43:33] agricultural property that's been in

[43:35] agricultural production since before the

[43:37] town of Berlin existed. I have a

[43:40] forestry management plan. I have 30

[43:43] acres and it generates a lot of debris

[43:46] and I need to get rid of it. I have a

[43:48] chipper. I can't afford a $50,000 veneer

[43:51] tripper and a truck to drag it all

[43:53] around. Uh I've been through I've worn

[43:56] out two shippers. I'm on my third

[43:58] chipper. It's an $8,000 piece of

[44:01] equipment. It's not, you know, it's this

[44:04] is an expensive and difficult thing to

[44:06] do.

[44:07] Um, and the ordinance as you have just

[44:11] done it. I understood from my council

[44:13] member that we were actually going to

[44:14] have a discussion of what should be in

[44:15] the ordinance, but apparently that's not

[44:17] the case. Um, you know, it's it's going

[44:20] to create imagine, you know, imagine a

[44:24] the the level problem that that the town

[44:28] had after the storm this spring. Now, my

[44:31] level problem is not quite that big, but

[44:34] it's pretty damn big. and the ordinance

[44:37] as you are proposing it now creates a

[44:40] really serious hardship for me in terms

[44:44] of being able to maintain the property.

[44:47] Um it you might say well why don't you

[44:50] just you know push that stuff back into

[44:53] the woods or something.

[44:55] Maybe 40 or 50 years ago before we had

[44:58] the invasive species problems that we

[45:00] have now, it was easier sometimes to

[45:04] just push material back into the woods

[45:07] and forget about it. I can still cut up

[45:09] and let material lie along the forest

[45:11] floor if it's in a wellshaded area, but

[45:14] most areas are not shaded. One of the

[45:16] reasons why I don't have a lot of shaded

[45:18] area is the town's mowing. Um, but so I

[45:22] can't just push the material back in the

[45:24] woods and and hope that it goes away

[45:25] because you know what happens? It

[45:27] becomes a scaffold for invasive species

[45:30] to grow on and it becomes a a large

[45:34] problem on the land because the wood

[45:37] doesn't break down fast enough before

[45:40] the wisteria, the porcelain berry, the

[45:43] whatever it is gets on it and start and

[45:45] starts going. So, um, yeah,

[45:50] listen, uh, as I said at the last

[45:53] meeting, uh, you know, my family has

[45:58] periodically needed to have a fire

[46:01] behind my place for as long as anyone

[46:04] can remember. We've always done it, and

[46:08] there's never been an issue of the fire

[46:10] not being controlled. Um,

[46:14] I do my best to

[46:17] avoid burning things. It's not like I

[46:19] want to do it, right? You know, um, I do

[46:22] my best to avoid burning things, but the

[46:25] amount of material that is generated is

[46:28] just too much to be able to deal with.

[46:32] Um and uh

[46:36] you know if there is no if there's no

[46:38] provision in this ordinance that that

[46:41] allows me to do something to to control

[46:45] this stuff,

[46:47] you know.

[46:50] Yeah, it's it's it it's it's a

[46:51] substantial burden for me. Um and it's

[46:55] also potentially like substantially not

[46:58] good for the quality of the environment.

[47:01] um going not just where I am like

[47:03] because like for example if I do a

[47:05] decent job controlling invasive species

[47:07] by being able in part to do this stuff

[47:10] and to burn this stuff it doesn't go

[47:12] downstream and start growing you know

[47:15] further down. So uh you know y'all can

[47:19] do what you want but you know it

[47:23] we've been there for a while. We've

[47:25] managed I've been able to manage my land

[47:27] and my family has managed my land

[47:29] without problems including about one

[47:33] burn a year for longer than the town has

[47:37] been here. Um, and if you want to take

[47:40] that away from me and create a burden on

[47:42] me as town land owner, there's nothing

[47:45] that I can do about that. But I really

[47:48] think that um

[47:52] it's pretty lousy thing to do. But, you

[47:54] know, if if you want to do that, do

[47:56] that. But, you know, I really think that

[47:59] there should be a provision. There are

[48:01] not very many people in town that are in

[48:02] a that are in sort of my place, you

[48:05] know, and I understand that and that's a

[48:07] reality to be recognized. You know,

[48:10] that, you know, folks don't generally

[48:12] have the types of properties that I

[48:14] have, which because I didn't ask for it.

[48:16] just there it was, right?

[48:20] let me do what I need to do in order to

[48:24] maintain my property. We've done it

[48:27] safely. We've done it for a very, very

[48:30] long time and create some sort of

[48:33] provision in this fire ordinance to

[48:36] allow that. That's my request to you.

[48:39] >> Thank you for your comment. Anyone else

[48:41] that would like to address the Baron

[48:43] Council regarding uh 2026-06?

[48:48] » I go I just the street name

[48:51] >> Beverly right um up your lane

[48:54] >> I just was curious

[48:57] about how often he burns

[49:03] um

[49:04] he said oh he talked I thought last time

[49:07] he said something like 30 times and so

[49:10] that concerned me um so I know you're

[49:16] probably gonna think this is crazy but

[49:19] There probably ought to be some

[49:22] provision

[49:24] that allows him to apply for some kind

[49:26] of permit within some kind of

[49:28] parameters.

[49:30] Um

[49:32] because he does have a huge property and

[49:34] it might be unique

[49:36] and I'm not saying that everything he's

[49:38] doing is correct, but

[49:40] he seem no one's died yet or and he

[49:44] seems to be following a lot of rules.

[49:47] So, I I think there might be room

[49:51] for something

[49:53] to accommodate whatever he's doing if

[49:56] it's limited to once or twice a year.

[49:59] What about notice given to neighbors

[50:01] that there's going to be open burning so

[50:03] we're prepared for it and we don't think

[50:06] that the whole town is burning down if

[50:08] we smell. I'm just offering that as a an

[50:12] option.

[50:15] point typically I would burn one time a

[50:19] year. the contact the comment about 30

[50:21] times. It was if I had to burn the same

[50:23] amount of material and was restricted to

[50:26] >> Oh, by

[50:29] the name

[50:30] >> Street Dawn Sure. 305 North Main and uh

[50:35] thanks for public comment. Nice. We got

[50:37] to it eventually. Um

[50:40] I was coming here originally to say,

[50:41] "Hey, 6 to 10, that's crazy." But thank

[50:44] you very much. That one's already gone,

[50:45] so I'm going to trust that it'll stay

[50:47] gone. Um, I think my first thing is

[50:49] probably going to need to start over

[50:51] with a new first reading and all, right?

[50:53] It's different enough. Well, I would

[50:55] suggest it because it's different enough

[50:57] that there might be other people in town

[50:59] that would want to have different

[51:00] comments, but that's it's my opinion.

[51:02] Um, also I think in that same vein I

[51:05] would suggest that the council look

[51:07] again at section 1622

[51:09] rec requirements for authorized burning

[51:12] because previously in 1621 we said that

[51:16] recreational fires as well as outdoor

[51:18] cooking fires will follow those same

[51:20] requirements which now means that if you

[51:23] have a grill it needs to be 15 ft away

[51:26] from any building structure or flammable

[51:29] material. So, I don't know if anybody

[51:31] has a fence if they put their grill

[51:33] closer than 15 feet or if at the back of

[51:36] their house they roll out their little

[51:38] charcoal grill and it's 10 feet. Has

[51:40] anybody measured the Atlantic Hotel to

[51:43] see if they're 15 ft from their fire

[51:45] pit? It this this just also applies to

[51:48] um to gas, right? Yeah. So, their fire

[51:52] pit possibly is closer than 15 ft. So,

[51:54] maybe we need to measure that. I like

[51:56] the Atlantic Hotel to sit around. um see

[52:00] that that I don't know that we want it

[52:02] to apply to

[52:05] cooking fires. Um artificial cooking

[52:08] fires and then also that um I guess

[52:11] whateverly was saying I don't know the

[52:13] two properties that previously were able

[52:16] to do the get the permits to do control

[52:19] burning or something that was in the

[52:21] notes from last time. I are they

[52:23] agricultural?

[52:25] >> It's just one

[52:26] >> Mr. Hammond yours is agricultural. So, I

[52:29] think a real easy way is to look at

[52:31] permitting that there would be a permit

[52:33] that if you have a property that's large

[52:34] enough to be considered agricultural,

[52:36] you have a way to apply for a permit

[52:40] once a year, four times a year, I don't

[52:43] know, includes post um post uh storm or

[52:48] something. And my only other thought was

[52:53] as we were you guys we were all talking

[52:54] or listening and then I kind of changed

[52:57] my mind but just to share if there's no

[53:00] way for permitting

[53:02] it might make it harder if we ever have

[53:04] something in the future like god forbid

[53:07] a post uh real hurricane clearance

[53:10] something that is like an emergency

[53:12] situation there's no way to get it then

[53:16] it could slow down the process of

[53:18] recovery if the council has to go and

[53:20] make a um a temporary emergency

[53:23] situation for what's allowed. So,

[53:29] >> anyone else that would like to comment

[53:31] regarding ordinance 2026-06

[53:35] message here?

[53:38] » Can we take that during council comments

[53:40] instead of public comment?

[53:43] >> Well, it's for this for this.

[53:49] No, no, no. I meant like once we close

[53:52] the public hearing, take comments and

[53:54] consideration from our group.

[53:55] >> I think that is a public. It is a public

[54:02] hear.

[54:02] >> No, I just think that like advertise it

[54:04] as being open to

[54:08] call.

[54:08] >> Yeah. That's why I think it's probably

[54:10] better they've reached out to me. That's

[54:12] your comment following the public.

[54:15] All right. Anyone else that would like

[54:17] to address the mayor and council

[54:18] regarding 20 ordinance 2026-0?

[54:22] Okay, we're closing the floor. Now we'll

[54:24] open it up for council discussion.

[54:27] >> Well, I was real quick on my mind. The

[54:29] 15 ft. Um, can I hear you on that?

[54:31] Because I know like we're all out

[54:34] through my house. Um, where did that

[54:36] come from language that a testing

[54:40] performance or I think Ryan

[54:44] recreational fires for the county that

[54:46] did not include

[54:48] >> we just broke that in just right now.

[54:51] So, do you did it say that that

[54:54] >> personally if you have a gas grill

[54:57] >> if you have a gas grill or a cooking

[54:59] grill or something like that?

[55:01] >> You Yes, it works most of the time, but

[55:05] it doesn't work all the time. And having

[55:09] a recommendation of 15 ft,

[55:12] I don't think it hurts. I mean, that

[55:15] grill catches on fire. I mean to your

[55:17] point too uh you said the gas fires that

[55:20] sometimes I've watched people do it on

[55:22] their porches doesn't mean that it's a

[55:24] good idea

[55:26] but I mean if somebody I don't think

[55:28] anybody uh from planning and zoning or

[55:31] the police department's going to come

[55:32] out there with your cooking grill and

[55:34] say 14 ft $100 fine but I don't that's

[55:39] just my two cents

[55:40] >> if your house burns down

[55:42] >> I've seen a couple of those

[55:45] about

[55:47] >> but once it's written we could get a

[55:48] fine

[55:49] >> could play

[55:51] >> and they come out and he says you get a

[55:54] fine

[55:55] >> we have a lot of reporting that

[55:58] >> right I mean we're still in dialogue but

[56:01] I'm just saying

[56:02] >> yeah so my feeling about all this is

[56:05] we'll come back to Mr. gas is initial.

[56:07] We have changed quite a substantive

[56:09] amount of this. Um I don't know how um

[56:12] I'm just a little bit concerned that

[56:14] your notes are driving exactly what

[56:16] we've outlined here. Nothing no offense

[56:19] you know. Uh I think I do think there's

[56:22] merit to um I mean I guess it is

[56:24] restarting the process of having revised

[56:26] when it's come back per treating. I mean

[56:28] really don't think we'll burn out both

[56:30] at a time and money for the legal ads

[56:32] personally. Um

[56:34] >> that's not a

[56:35] >> Yeah, that's not

[56:36] >> I just I do kind of feel like it's

[56:37] probably a fairness issue. I mean um

[56:40] just because we have we dissected this

[56:41] thing a lot. Um so that's just my

[56:44] comment on that but I think that's too

[56:47] comment.

[56:47] >> Uh well yeah I I have this comment and I

[56:50] have my comments but I'll I'll read this

[56:52] one u first. So, I know everybody I'll

[56:55] try to be so ready to hear. Uh, Mayor

[56:57] Tindle, members of the council, I

[56:59] support tightening this ordinance. Yard

[57:02] waste and household trash burning in a

[57:03] town this dense doesn't belong in the

[57:05] code anymore, and I don't think anyone

[57:07] in town disagrees with that. But section

[57:10] 16-24, as drafted, doesn't tighten the

[57:12] rule, it erases. It treats a resident

[57:15] with a twoft brush pile the same as a

[57:17] property owner sitting on acres of

[57:19] wooded land who loses trees every storm

[57:21] season. Those aren't the same problem

[57:23] and they shouldn't get the same answer.

[57:25] I'm not here asking you to keep the old

[57:27] system. I'm here asking for a middle

[57:29] path between the old system and offering

[57:31] a blanket no. In the last meeting, Ryan

[57:34] informed the mayor and council that only

[57:36] two open burning permits have been

[57:38] processed recently and both were excuse

[57:41] me and both were on unusually large

[57:43] parcels. One is actually my neighbor who

[57:45] lost some serious limbs during our most

[57:47] recent blizzard. That's not evidence the

[57:50] exception is being abused. That's

[57:51] evidence is already self-limiting. The

[57:54] people using the exception are exactly

[57:55] those we should permit. A blanket ban

[57:58] punishes them to solve a problem they

[58:00] aren't actually causing. With that in

[58:02] mind, I propose a special land clearing

[58:05] and storm debris permit available only

[58:06] to parcels above a defined acreage

[58:08] threshold, say 2 acres. So, a standard

[58:11] in town lot can't claim it. Every permit

[58:14] will require site approval from the fire

[58:16] marshall or Berlin fire department

[58:17] before issuance, not just a paper

[58:19] application.

[58:21] where the county's 500 yard setback

[58:23] cannot physically be met, the applicant

[58:25] signs a site plan and the fire

[58:27] department signs off on an alternative

[58:29] safer configuration. Safer

[58:31] configuration, similar to how Ed

[58:34] Hammond's aerial imagery submissions

[58:36] already have been reviewed and approved.

[58:39] Cap at four permits per property

[58:41] annually, so it functions as relief for

[58:42] genuine storm debris, not a loophole for

[58:45] routine burning.

[58:47] Council member Nichols raised the idea

[58:49] of a fire department partnership for

[58:50] these situations. That's the mechanism

[58:53] right there. Let the fire department's

[58:55] presence be the safety valve that makes

[58:57] this workable instead of the reason to

[58:58] shut it down entirely. This middle path

[59:01] isn't a request to keep the old system,

[59:03] and it isn't a request to eliminate the

[59:05] exception outright. It's a request to

[59:07] replace it with something that actually

[59:08] distinguishes between the guy burning

[59:10] leaves in his backyard and the property

[59:12] owner managing storm damage on five

[59:14] wooded acres. Right now the ordinance can't tell those

[59:18] two people apart. I think it should.

[59:21] Thank you.

[59:23] This was emailed to the group after the

[59:25] fact that I found out and it's probably

[59:26] I'll tell you

[59:30] on base.

[59:32] So I have a couple questions for how

[59:34] many acres do you have?

[59:36] Over 30.

[59:37] >> Okay. And I know you've been burning for

[59:39] several years now. I understand your situation, but the county

[59:44] regulations, and I kind of brought this

[59:46] up last time, but county regulations

[59:48] state that any open fire has to be

[59:51] within 12 feet, 1200 ft of structure.

[59:55] How is it that you can burn it,

[59:58] a structure or road?

[59:59] >> I've applied for per I mean, I you know,

[1:00:02] again, I think the last time I said, I

[1:00:04] mean, maybe you need to speak to the to

[1:00:07] the county fire marshal. I've always

[1:00:09] applied for permits. Permits go to the

[1:00:12] county fire module and I include was

[1:00:16] mentioned overhead

[1:00:19] imagery and indication of where it would

[1:00:21] be. Um, you know, and I remember on

[1:00:24] exchange the last time having it where I

[1:00:28] do just for example, I have access to

[1:00:30] multiple spots and a lot of water if I

[1:00:32] were needed. Um, I could,200 feet I

[1:00:36] can't do. I mean, I could I would go

[1:00:38] further away from a structure, but it

[1:00:42] would actually I think I would argue

[1:00:44] that

[1:00:46] I mean

[1:00:47] >> you're doing it safely if you are.

[1:00:49] >> Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I would say you're

[1:00:51] always going to be better off,

[1:00:53] >> right?

[1:00:54] >> But you're looking at it like we're

[1:00:55] trying to prohibit it, but really the

[1:00:57] county is already prohibited.

[1:01:00] County Fire Marsh. Look, I mean, I've

[1:01:02] been I've talked to the county fire and

[1:01:05] county fire marshal does not have issues

[1:01:08] with that I spoke with, you know, I

[1:01:10] don't want to put words in it is now

[1:01:11] does not have issues with fire

[1:01:14] that I had. Um, you know,

[1:01:18] I again I mean maybe it's it's the thing

[1:01:21] is I mean I'll just be I'm just very a

[1:01:26] literal read of the county fire gun

[1:01:28] which I did a few years ago um makes you

[1:01:32] eligible for you know uh 20 years in the

[1:01:36] supermax if you like a cigarette walk up

[1:01:38] and down the street right the county

[1:01:40] fire code's clearly written to be as

[1:01:44] prohibited as possible

[1:01:45] and that it is obviously the case that

[1:01:49] then the county fire march will exercise

[1:01:51] its discretion with respect to what is

[1:01:54] per because if you if you took that

[1:01:57] literal reading of it um I mean really

[1:02:00] serious took that literal reading of it

[1:02:02] I think lighting a cigarette on the

[1:02:04] street is criminal offense so I think

[1:02:07] that they're

[1:02:09] uh maybe

[1:02:11] you know if you look comparing the the counting fire code to what has

[1:02:18] existed and would potentially exist in

[1:02:20] future intervention.

[1:02:22] Um it's a little bit of an apples and

[1:02:24] oranges situation because it's a totally

[1:02:26] different kind of land mass and sort of

[1:02:31] system under which the county operates.

[1:02:34] Um

[1:02:35] you know the county fire marshal has not

[1:02:37] had issues signing off all the fires.

[1:02:43] So the other side of that is in the

[1:02:47] >> I know we all got to get up and dance.

[1:02:49] So there's been reference to like two

[1:02:52] permits, but the other thing is Brian,

[1:02:55] do you happen to know off the top of

[1:02:56] your head or Fisher? I know that we have

[1:02:59] a couple at least on the books of folks

[1:03:02] doing this type of burning like outdoor

[1:03:04] burning where people complained and have

[1:03:08] called and have had the police

[1:03:09] department come out and make contact.

[1:03:12] Not not you, Mr.

[1:03:13] >> H. There was one. There was one.

[1:03:16] >> There was one. And the reason why was

[1:03:18] that the town did not notify the

[1:03:20] neighbors. I pulled the permit. Part of

[1:03:23] pulling the permit was that the

[1:03:24] neighbors were to be informed. And

[1:03:27] >> are you talking about your own property?

[1:03:28] I'm not talking about your property.

[1:03:30] Okay.

[1:03:30] >> I'm saying in general,

[1:03:32] >> in general, that has happened with

[1:03:33] respect to my property. And the reason

[1:03:35] why it happened was that the neighboring

[1:03:38] land owner had not been informed by the town and and follow the fire in.

[1:03:45] >> I'm talking about instances where folks

[1:03:48] are burning and it has created a

[1:03:51] nuisance that has yielded itself I think

[1:03:54] probably more to the police department

[1:03:56] than the planning but it might have been

[1:03:57] reported after the facts. So there are

[1:03:59] more than just two instances of burning.

[1:04:02] There are instances of police department

[1:04:04] responding to nuisance burning that this

[1:04:07] ordinance would address. So I want to

[1:04:10] make sure that when we say two, there

[1:04:12] are more uh that this does

[1:04:15] >> those are unpermitted

[1:04:18] then the police should go.

[1:04:19] >> I'm saying open burn is what I'm saying.

[1:04:21] Open instances of open burn.

[1:04:23] >> But maybe we could have a special

[1:04:24] provision for large land owners to have

[1:04:26] an open burn once possibly twice a year.

[1:04:29] And how my thing on that will be how you

[1:04:32] define large land by a certain amount of

[1:04:35] acreage.

[1:04:36] >> I mean I I wrote an email including to

[1:04:38] the including to the town attorney and I

[1:04:41] said that you know you can do it by size

[1:04:43] and and I don't think that that's

[1:04:44] somehow you know discriminatory or

[1:04:47] something. I mean it's a simple

[1:04:49] recognition biological reality but you

[1:04:52] know larger properties there's that um I

[1:04:55] have a farm management excuse me forest

[1:04:56] management plan you know it's it's

[1:04:58] drafted by the state forester um it's

[1:05:01] you know my land is agriculture in the view of the state of Maryland um

[1:05:06] those are some pos those are some

[1:05:08] criteria that can be used um the other

[1:05:11] thing that I pointed out to the town

[1:05:12] attorney is that the county has a

[1:05:14] freedom to farm law and the freedom to

[1:05:17] farm law was intended specifically to

[1:05:19] protect traditional agricultural

[1:05:22] practices of which an annual burn is

[1:05:26] most definitely one uh in the county.

[1:05:29] It's intended to you know prevent the

[1:05:30] problems that happen when people don't

[1:05:32] know what the chicken house is get too

[1:05:33] close to the chicken house that sort of

[1:05:35] thing. But this is this is another

[1:05:36] example. So you want to talk about

[1:05:38] carrying through the the spirit of of

[1:05:41] county law into the into the the town

[1:05:45] code.

[1:05:47] Well, what about what about the

[1:05:48] county's, you know, freedom of farm,

[1:05:53] right?

[1:05:54] I mean, I I would be if you gave me if

[1:05:57] you gave me one time a year, that's all

[1:05:59] I need, right? if we're going to

[1:06:01] continue under the system of the present

[1:06:03] size, you know, but um I mean

[1:06:08] there should be a restriction size

[1:06:10] though

[1:06:12] because I hear I hear your claim about

[1:06:14] having multiple garden hoses, but a 5/8

[1:06:18] line is half inch line is probably what

[1:06:20] you have fed by

[1:06:23] >> the fire. I'm just saying like the

[1:06:25] volume

[1:06:26] >> this and done that and shown my

[1:06:28] >> but the volume of fire that you

[1:06:30] discussed with your method of handling

[1:06:33] it if it were to get out of control

[1:06:36] there has to be some structure around

[1:06:39] the size and the way that something like

[1:06:42] that would burn.

[1:06:44] >> My ask is always been I'll do it the way

[1:06:47] that you say that I should do it. um

[1:06:52] just give me a viable opportunity. So I

[1:06:55] would yeah you say you want to put it

[1:06:57] inside a inside a firebox of some sort.

[1:07:01] I can do that. I might need more than

[1:07:02] one a year that's like that but I can do

[1:07:06] that. I mean I'm willing to I'm not

[1:07:08] saying

[1:07:10] you have to agree to what I do and even

[1:07:13] the practice that I have now of the

[1:07:16] former rules right because I wanted to

[1:07:18] use

[1:07:21] you know, a containment area. But I was

[1:07:23] told that, you know, that wasn't

[1:07:26] practical because I would have to pull

[1:07:28] permit.

[1:07:28] >> Why don't we do this? Why don't you put

[1:07:30] your ideas on paper, send them to the

[1:07:33] town attorney, we'll take a look at them

[1:07:35] to see how we can Why Why are you

[1:07:37] laughing?

[1:07:38] >> Because I did that and there was and the

[1:07:40] result was that you just walked through

[1:07:42] and completed the ordinance.

[1:07:44] >> Well, you have to realize and you make

[1:07:46] comments that this is designed and aimed

[1:07:48] at you. It's not. This is an ordinance

[1:07:50] of the town of Berlin 5,000 something

[1:07:52] residents

[1:07:54] design

[1:07:57] but but that's the subject

[1:07:59] >> a lot of things I enjoy. I don't know if

[1:08:01] this is one thing um the the you provide

[1:08:05] and make sure he has your best uh step

[1:08:09] forward at what you think you would need

[1:08:10] to be able to accommodate your forested

[1:08:13] land. and we will review that with the

[1:08:17] reintroduction of the ordinance and see

[1:08:20] if there's a way that we can marry the

[1:08:21] two together. Fair enough. First reading

[1:08:23] will include the amendment

[1:08:27] hold. First reading would include the

[1:08:28] amendment as drafted by the council and

[1:08:31] it can include a summary of Mr.

[1:08:34] Hammond's thoughts about what could be

[1:08:37] addressed uh related to a larger parcel

[1:08:40] or something like that.

[1:08:42] So I was going to but actually

[1:08:50] » I mean I've said what I thought about

[1:08:51] it.

[1:08:53] >> All right. So, I'm going to go ahead and

[1:08:54] make a motion that we table this uh

[1:08:57] until the town attorney can advise us

[1:09:04] on the amendments that we the suggest

[1:09:07] the edits that we made tonight and input

[1:09:09] from folks like Mr. Hanning and ways we

[1:09:14] can deal with the unique circumstances

[1:09:16] of certain property.

[1:09:17] >> Can I help with that?

[1:09:18] >> Sure. enabling the amended motion u the

[1:09:23] amended ordinance 2026-06

[1:09:25] to be brought back at our next meeting

[1:09:27] with the amendments in print form along

[1:09:30] with a recommendation on if we were to

[1:09:33] incorporate burning for larger parcels

[1:09:36] what that would look like.

[1:09:37] >> Yeah, because I do I mean I do agree

[1:09:41] >> we're not promising that it's going to

[1:09:42] be about

[1:09:42] >> I do agree with Steve that we've made

[1:09:44] some substantive changes.

[1:09:46] I think this could I know I think that

[1:09:48] could qualify as a first

[1:09:50] >> because the public hearing comes second

[1:09:53] time. So I I think I don't disagree with

[1:09:57] I think I I'll make the suggest changes

[1:10:01] and I think that that once I get it to

[1:10:03] you we should have a first reading on

[1:10:06] that

[1:10:08] >> but you're not incorporating

[1:10:10] >> the process of the correct

[1:10:12] >> but you're not incorporating

[1:10:14] a

[1:10:16] plan for large property owners. You're

[1:10:19] going to take Well, we have

[1:10:21] >> with an option that if it were to be

[1:10:25] adopted that it could be inserted into

[1:10:27] the ordinance.

[1:10:28] >> Yeah, that would be what this would do

[1:10:30] today had we made any changes to side

[1:10:33] like if this were to go through and we

[1:10:35] just said, "Oh, we're going to change

[1:10:36] the time."

[1:10:39] That's the same process.

[1:10:40] >> So, can you want me to restate the

[1:10:42] motion or you want to restate?

[1:10:43] >> Um, okay. So, Councilman Doris has made

[1:10:46] a motion to table ordinance 2026-06,

[1:10:51] restart the process with at our next

[1:10:53] meeting with first reading with the

[1:10:57] amended version of the ordinance in the

[1:11:00] packet as well as a plan for uh if the

[1:11:03] council were to adopt a a pathway for

[1:11:06] larger property owners. Do we have a

[1:11:08] second?

[1:11:08] >> I have a second by council member Gur.

[1:11:10] All in favor say I.

[1:11:11] >> I.

[1:11:11] >> All oppose. Let the record reflect the

[1:11:13] votes unanimous to table ordinance

[1:11:15] 2026-06.

[1:11:17] Restart the public process with first

[1:11:20] reading at our next meeting. Thank you.

[1:11:22] everyone. Can we hold those

[1:11:24] until public comment? I think that will

[1:11:27] be

[1:11:28] >> I think I know but I think it would be

[1:11:30] great.

[1:11:31] >> Let's

[1:11:31] >> I'm unclear on what it's in your head.

[1:11:34] I'm unclear on what you actually want

[1:11:36] from me. You want justification for

[1:11:39] these? Do you want what the physical

[1:11:41] requirements are?

[1:11:44] >> We don't want a book. We want like if we

[1:11:46] were to take your

[1:11:47] >> Don't worry, I'm not sending you a book.

[1:11:48] I I want you to tell me though what it

[1:11:50] is.

[1:11:50] >> So, if we were to plug and chug like if

[1:11:52] you were to take the ordinance that we

[1:11:55] have here and you look at section uh 19

[1:11:58] uh 1619, purpose and intent, don't

[1:12:01] exceed that amount. But we would like

[1:12:04] your thoughts on if you have a large

[1:12:06] parcel that I'd be allowed to burn once

[1:12:09] a year.

[1:12:11] >> Yeah. In essence, make it easy and

[1:12:14] digest and

[1:12:16] >> find. All right. Well, can I get a copy

[1:12:19] of what it actually

[1:12:23] suggest? Um,

[1:12:26] I don't read my emails on the weekend.

[1:12:28] Will send me emails on the weekend.

[1:12:32] All right.

[1:12:34] Yeah.

[1:12:34] >> Just our next meeting isn't until

[1:12:37] September 14th. So, if you put your best

[1:12:40] effort on it before sometime before uh

[1:12:43] the first week of September, he should

[1:12:45] have time to be able to look at it. We

[1:12:46] should have time to be able to put it on

[1:12:47] the desk.

[1:12:48] >> I think I wonder if So, all right.

[1:12:53] >> I think that what he read from that

[1:12:55] person is what I was trying to say, too.

[1:12:58] And I think that should be somehow

[1:13:02] send that send that text. It should be

[1:13:04] thrown into your mix to be considered as

[1:13:07] part of a new section.

[1:13:10] I know it's very well thought out. Thank

[1:13:13] you. All right. Can we everybody good?

[1:13:16] Okay. Let's move on. So items for

[1:13:18] approval. Item four. Before each one of

[1:13:20] these are action, there is an

[1:13:21] opportunity for public comment. Motion

[1:13:23] uh 4 A. motion 2026-48

[1:13:26] funding for lead service line project

[1:13:28] and our finance director Natalie Slay is

[1:13:30] going to welcome

[1:13:31] >> good evening I'm going to just for a

[1:13:34] quick summary we all know that we have

[1:13:37] that place projects uh started a while

[1:13:40] ago it requires a long process of

[1:13:43] inventory servicing and eventually a

[1:13:46] replacement with that said obviously the

[1:13:50] cost u associated with those projects

[1:13:53] and

[1:13:54] um been estimated in the past but as we

[1:13:57] moved along um the costs not matching

[1:14:01] what was previously

[1:14:04] we've gone back to Maryland department

[1:14:06] of envir environment and have asked them

[1:14:09] to revisable

[1:14:11] funding funding um they offer to us in

[1:14:16] the form of loans slash loans with

[1:14:20] forgiveness of the principal after

[1:14:22] several

[1:14:24] years of being.

[1:14:27] So

[1:14:31] » go ahead come to the table or something.

[1:14:34] >> The only thing numbers

[1:14:36] >> I'll add to what we said just for

[1:14:38] clarification.

[1:14:40] >> Excuse me. This is not a project that

[1:14:41] Berlin just undertook. This is mandated

[1:14:44] for every every community to

[1:14:49] >> Thank you. Go ahead, Nick.

[1:14:50] >> Certainly. So back in 2023, this this

[1:14:53] project began. Uh the state required it

[1:14:55] and town took at it full force. At that

[1:14:59] time, we submitted an application for

[1:15:00] funding of roughly a million dollars.

[1:15:03] That was uh slotted for all of William

[1:15:05] Street, Broad Street, and Bay Street.

[1:15:07] Unfortunately, as we continued moving

[1:15:10] forward, the state kind of ironed out

[1:15:12] the regulations and the requirements for

[1:15:14] the project became a lot more than what

[1:15:16] was originally anticipated. At that

[1:15:18] point, at that point in time for 2024,

[1:15:21] we submitted for additional funding and the amount of about another half

[1:15:25] million dollars and did receive that. Uh

[1:15:28] we then finished project for design

[1:15:30] permitting and then took it all the way

[1:15:32] out to bidding and received only one bid

[1:15:35] at the time uh which exceeded the amount

[1:15:37] of funds we had to bid.

[1:15:39] >> Uh at that point in time we went back to

[1:15:41] the state requested additional funds and

[1:15:43] that is why we're here today

[1:15:45] >> because the state has granted those

[1:15:46] additional funds. Yes sir.

[1:15:48] >> And in order to accept those funds it

[1:15:49] takes account.

[1:15:50] >> Yep. So today

[1:15:53] front of you a summary that I put

[1:15:55] together with what is offered to us in

[1:15:58] funding. It's $2 million 286,773.

[1:16:04] The total cost as of today is a little

[1:16:07] bit uh more but $79

[1:16:13] contribute that the combination of those

[1:16:17] funds as I mentioned there are loans but

[1:16:22] loan.

[1:16:24] I don't have details as of yet how

[1:16:27] that's being structured. Um what's the

[1:16:29] interest rates going to be? It's going

[1:16:30] to be all determined we will move

[1:16:34] forward with settlements and then

[1:16:37] interest rate that most likely will be.

[1:16:44] » Perfect. Thank you. Any questions for

[1:16:46] Natalie or Nick? I just um well first I

[1:16:48] wanted to say Natalie thank you for the

[1:16:49] staff work. This was very helpful

[1:16:51] breaking all these large numbers down

[1:16:53] for someone like me. So thank you. Um

[1:16:55] but just for um just for some clarity

[1:16:57] questions please for Nick. Um phase 1 A

[1:17:01] and phase 1B right. So

[1:17:05] phase 1B is bud and 1 A is

[1:17:11] >> correct.

[1:17:11] >> That's correct. Sorry. And then on the

[1:17:13] on from Natalie's thing and she she said

[1:17:15] it, but I just want to everyone out

[1:17:17] there the um the total 2.286

[1:17:23] what we will definitely be required to

[1:17:26] pay back is the 44%.

[1:17:29] And that the rest is what's forgiven.

[1:17:31] >> It's not fully forgiven. It's going to

[1:17:33] be given after several years of payment

[1:17:36] of the interest. So there will be cost

[1:17:38] associated with securing that law also

[1:17:42] settlement

[1:17:44] but the 1 million7

[1:17:48] will be count's responsibility to carry

[1:17:51] on water

[1:17:55] it

[1:17:58] thank you. Any other comments? If not

[1:18:00] we're going to open it up to the public.

[1:18:01] Anyone from the public that would like

[1:18:02] to address the mayor and council

[1:18:04] regarding motion 2026-48?

[1:18:08] Seeing none, we'll take action by the

[1:18:09] council.

[1:18:10] >> Motion to approve.

[1:18:11] >> A motion by council member Green.

[1:18:13] Second.

[1:18:13] >> Second by council member Nichols. All in

[1:18:15] favor say I. I.

[1:18:16] >> All oppose. Let the record reflect the

[1:18:18] motion 2026-48. Passes unanimously with

[1:18:21] vice president. Thank you, Nick. Thank

[1:18:23] you all.

[1:18:24] >> Thank you Natalie.

[1:18:26] Up next is agenda item five and that's

[1:18:29] town administrators report and

[1:18:30] departmental report

[1:18:34] of

[1:18:36] announcements.

[1:18:39] Uh the

[1:18:41] lost

[1:18:45] u Monday August 31st at 5:00 pm will be

[1:18:47] a planning commission work session

[1:18:49] regarding the plan update. Uh it is open

[1:18:53] to the public. It is a work session of

[1:18:54] the planning commission. No, not mayor

[1:18:57] and council.

[1:18:58] Um, and no, I don't have it on here.

[1:19:02] Monday, September 7th is Labor Day and

[1:19:05] town offices will be off.

[1:19:07] >> Thank you. I do also have one um while it is certainly no longer

[1:19:18] I do want to take this opportunity to

[1:19:21] publicly announce my retirement after 35

[1:19:23] years of service to the town. It has

[1:19:26] been both a pleasure and a privilege to

[1:19:28] serve this community and making the

[1:19:30] decision to retire has been a difficult

[1:19:31] one.

[1:19:36] my last official day of work be October

[1:19:38] 9th. I am proud of what I've

[1:19:41] accomplished during my time with the

[1:19:42] town and perhaps even more so the role I

[1:19:45] have played in building a strong

[1:19:47] foundation for Merlin's future.

[1:19:51] Over the years, I have not always seen

[1:19:52] eye to eye with every elected official

[1:19:54] I've worked with, nor every citizen, but

[1:19:57] I have always approached each issue with

[1:20:00] the same goal in mind, ensuring that

[1:20:02] Berlin continues to grow and thrive

[1:20:04] while keeping the best interests of its

[1:20:06] citizens, businesses, and visitors at

[1:20:09] the forefront. Sustainable policies and

[1:20:12] practices and resiliency for the future

[1:20:14] have always been foremost in the

[1:20:16] recommendations I have made and the

[1:20:18] actions that I have taken.

[1:20:20] My retirement is certainly bittersweet,

[1:20:22] but I know that it is the right decision

[1:20:24] for me at this point. I leave with a

[1:20:26] tremendous appreciation for the

[1:20:28] opportunity I've been given to serve

[1:20:30] this town and with nothing but the very

[1:20:32] best wishes for Berlin and its future.

[1:20:36] Most of all, I want to thank the

[1:20:37] dedicated professionals who work every

[1:20:39] day to make Berlin a safe, healthy,

[1:20:41] vibrant, and enjoyable place to live,

[1:20:43] work, and visit. It has been an honor to

[1:20:46] work alongside some of the talented and

[1:20:48] committed people.

[1:20:51] Thank you for allowing me the privilege

[1:20:52] of serving the town for the past 35

[1:20:54] years. I will always be proud to have

[1:20:57] been a part of this community and its

[1:20:59] story.

[1:21:07] Mary, when you say that that you're

[1:21:09] proud to be part of its story, I think

[1:21:12] you write a portion of that story

[1:21:14] yourself, starting as um someone working

[1:21:19] in customer service and admin and

[1:21:22] working your way all the way up to the

[1:21:23] top um paid profession uh in the town of

[1:21:27] Berlin, youth. I remember when you and I

[1:21:31] sat down and we had a vacancy in the

[1:21:33] town administrator's position and we

[1:21:36] were starting the search process. I

[1:21:37] said, "Mary, you've got a lot of

[1:21:39] institutional knowledge. You've got a

[1:21:41] lot that you bring to the table. Have

[1:21:42] you ever considered it?" And you were

[1:21:44] very modest. You're like, "No, let's I've served in that capacity.

[1:21:49] >> You've you've you've uh served in the

[1:21:51] acting capacity many times. uh and then

[1:21:57] you you accepted uh my request to be

[1:22:00] able to serve in this capacity and it's

[1:22:02] been an honor to work together. You're

[1:22:05] amazing at what you do. You uh have so

[1:22:08] much knowledge about the town of Berlin

[1:22:10] and I've loved every minute of it. So,

[1:22:13] thank you.

[1:22:15] All right. Anything from departmentals

[1:22:18] that are either in the packet or that

[1:22:20] any of you want to say?

[1:22:23] Okay. Seeing none, um, any comments from

[1:22:26] the council?

[1:22:28] >> Okay.

[1:22:29] >> Yeah.

[1:22:29] >> Or questions.

[1:22:30] >> Questions or

[1:22:31] >> either either way. I mean, we're going

[1:22:33] to go to council comments, but I'm just

[1:22:35] saying like for the departmental reports

[1:22:38] side. I haven't forgotten you all. I

[1:22:39] know. All right. Up next, agenda item

[1:22:42] six, comments from the public. Anyone

[1:22:43] from the public that would like to

[1:22:44] address the mayor and council may do so

[1:22:46] at this time.

[1:22:48] Okay. Seeing none, we'll move on to

[1:22:50] comments from the council. We'll start

[1:22:51] with council member.

[1:22:53] >> Mayor, I just want to say thank you for

[1:22:54] your many many years dedicated service

[1:22:58] your heart soul.

[1:23:03] » Council member Nichols,

[1:23:05] >> congratulations.

[1:23:07] A lot of this life has been

[1:23:12] intertwined with this town. A lot of the

[1:23:14] family history of your own

[1:23:17] title in this town. Congratulations to

[1:23:19] you and your family

[1:23:23] successfully

[1:23:24] made us enjoy the rest of your life.

[1:23:28] Congratulations.

[1:23:30] >> Thank you, Council Member Wars. Uh Mary,

[1:23:32] I also um want to offer my

[1:23:34] congratulations and

[1:23:38] thank you for all of your service to the

[1:23:41] brother. I I know I've only been working

[1:23:44] with you professionally this capacity

[1:23:47] for a short time in your career, but um

[1:23:50] I have truly enjoyed

[1:23:52] navigating.

[1:23:55] >> Council member Green,

[1:23:56] >> 35 years. Your emotions say it all. It

[1:23:59] means a lot to me. It's meaningful and I

[1:24:02] think the work

[1:24:04] a lot to be proud of for sure. Um when I

[1:24:08] was elected um actually when I decided

[1:24:10] to run I came and saw you and filed and

[1:24:12] asked you what the you know what makes a

[1:24:14] good council person and what makes a not

[1:24:16] so good council person and I took that

[1:24:18] to heart and meaningful advice that I

[1:24:22] try to keep in mind throughout this um

[1:24:24] journey. So u yeah thank you for

[1:24:26] everything you've done in town. We still

[1:24:27] have some work to do though. But wishing

[1:24:29] you all the best.

[1:24:31] >> You're not done until October,

[1:24:33] September.

[1:24:34] >> Not that anybody's counting.

[1:24:38] » Uh yes. Um I'm just I'm going to double

[1:24:41] dip real quick just some some questions.

[1:24:44] Um so I had brought up last month uh see

[1:24:49] if there was any appetite on discussion

[1:24:50] of data centers in Berlin and then any

[1:24:53] implications they may or may not have. I

[1:24:55] believe I sent I can't remember if it

[1:24:57] was to the group or maybe it was just um

[1:24:59] during count administration the counts

[1:25:03] uh past Morris for you. Um I I don't

[1:25:07] want to keep beating this if there's no

[1:25:09] interest on the group. Uh I I personally

[1:25:11] think we should be proactive but I'm

[1:25:12] just asking now if there's no interest

[1:25:15] in moving forward I would drop it. Um

[1:25:19] I guess to my I don't want to destro I

[1:25:22] guess I'm just trying to figure out how

[1:25:23] we codify it. Um, and if it's needed, I

[1:25:27] guess what your point is, you know, you

[1:25:29] don't sure if it's needed, right? You

[1:25:30] want to be proactive and reacting if

[1:25:33] there's application that comes through

[1:25:34] the plan,

[1:25:35] >> right? Well, I mean, just not technical,

[1:25:37] but it's just a discussion point. We

[1:25:38] were, I believe, I could be wrong, we

[1:25:40] were a little um taken back with the

[1:25:42] solar model and then there wasn't

[1:25:44] anything in the code to address it. So,

[1:25:46] we kind of well navigated that and made

[1:25:50] it work. But um this data centers is

[1:25:54] counties. I mean Maryland I I can bring

[1:25:57] you the information I got from Eastam.

[1:25:58] These other municipalities are drafting

[1:26:00] these um that can only be a year

[1:26:04] moratorum.

[1:26:05] Um so I I just think that

[1:26:09] I think it's something we should talk

[1:26:10] about.

[1:26:11] >> Are there any tracks of land within the

[1:26:13] town limits that are large enough to

[1:26:15] accommodate a date?

[1:26:16] >> Well, I mean it depends. Well, from what

[1:26:19] I've learned uh and I won't take up too

[1:26:20] much, but from what I've learned here,

[1:26:22] there's different types of data sets and

[1:26:24] that could affect the size of what they

[1:26:26] are,

[1:26:26] >> right? So, the the minimum I guess would

[1:26:29] be like 3 to 5,000 square feet up to

[1:26:32] whatever um

[1:26:34] >> data

[1:26:36] you could probably call the um little

[1:26:40] fiber shed that we have a data center.

[1:26:43] >> You know what I mean? you really could

[1:26:45] because it houses

[1:26:47] similar types of equipment, but it's not

[1:26:50] what you see in the newspaper as a data

[1:26:52] center,

[1:26:53] >> right? And and I'm not there are there

[1:26:55] are parcels in town that that are

[1:26:57] currently for sale that would commercial

[1:27:00] that would fit a center would fit it.

[1:27:05] >> What's the problem with the data center?

[1:27:07] Well, there are many state requirements

[1:27:09] too that that you can't just like pop

[1:27:11] one up as quickly as you can open a

[1:27:13] brick and mortar shop, right? Doing

[1:27:15] something else. There are a lot of

[1:27:18] >> Well, you might know, I believe you

[1:27:20] don't see about the names.

[1:27:22] >> We've had two data as they want to come

[1:27:25] to. How many are actually built? There's

[1:27:28] a reason for that because they they

[1:27:30] don't jive with who we are, what we are.

[1:27:33] They don't jive with us right now, but

[1:27:36] they may. We won't always be sitting

[1:27:39] where we sit.

[1:27:39] >> No, no, no. I'm saying they don't jive

[1:27:41] as in the way that they wanted to build

[1:27:43] it out, the requirements and all of

[1:27:45] those things for them wasn't a fit.

[1:27:47] >> So there's

[1:27:48] >> I mean I felt that way too but

[1:27:51] >> but they've never materialized.

[1:27:54] >> And so you say they went through their

[1:27:55] proposals.

[1:27:56] >> They've reached out and asked for

[1:27:58] guidance and they they didn't like the

[1:28:00] guidance. They never got to the stage

[1:28:02] formal

[1:28:03] >> proposal.

[1:28:04] >> I do think there's I personally I think

[1:28:06] there is

[1:28:07] >> I mean the town in any way

[1:28:12] infrastructure

[1:28:12] >> I don't know

[1:28:13] >> I really don't understand the whole

[1:28:14] thing about data centers just like I

[1:28:16] don't understand the opposition to the

[1:28:19] wind thing out there. So I I don't

[1:28:22] really have a comment. I just think that

[1:28:24] what Jack is saying really does

[1:28:27] bear some exploration, but it needs a

[1:28:29] lot more explanation

[1:28:31] and

[1:28:32] >> see what's the pros, what's the cons,

[1:28:34] >> not what everybody not what you read in

[1:28:36] the newspaper, not what you think you

[1:28:38] know or admit,

[1:28:40] >> but what what do we think is actually

[1:28:43] happening

[1:28:44] >> and I think it's a whole education

[1:28:45] process.

[1:28:46] >> It's a lot of environmental impact on

[1:28:48] native centers being on the media to

[1:28:51] Hawaii.

[1:28:53] environmental issues. It's a problem

[1:28:56] nationwide when the data center comes

[1:28:58] especially in the small community with a

[1:29:01] lot of disruption, a lot of generated a

[1:29:03] lot of noise, a lot of um noise.

[1:29:08] >> Yes. Um so

[1:29:10] to the point I think we do

[1:29:13] not

[1:29:15] kind of strict but something in

[1:29:20] so many communities not have it

[1:29:23] happening after the fact

[1:29:27] I just know maybe there are some

[1:29:28] isolated properties where those

[1:29:30] negatives would be less impactful but I

[1:29:33] don't know if you're in the town of

[1:29:34] Berlin it's hard I don't even know where

[1:29:35] the town values are really so they also

[1:29:37] draw significantly on uh public utility

[1:29:41] resources, electric and water,

[1:29:43] >> but the water is necessary to fuel the

[1:29:46] process.

[1:29:46] >> So maybe we don't have the kind of

[1:29:48] resources that it and that's as you just

[1:29:52] stated a second ago, not only do we need

[1:29:55] to have the conversations, but we also

[1:29:58] need to make sure that Berlin has a good

[1:30:00] understanding as to what these data

[1:30:03] center requirements are and what that

[1:30:05] could do to our infrastructure. I think

[1:30:08] the point of a moratorum gives you the

[1:30:10] opportunity to do that research and

[1:30:12] define things.

[1:30:13] >> Is that a state moratorum or

[1:30:15] >> the other side of that is too is that

[1:30:18] like we we haven't been idle to Jack's

[1:30:20] point that the association groups that

[1:30:24] we're part of are doing some of this due

[1:30:26] diligence. The state is doing some of

[1:30:28] this as well. Uh, Council Member Nur and

[1:30:30] I were just talking sidebar for a moment

[1:30:32] that the state has even passed that

[1:30:36] electric wise you have to be able to be

[1:30:38] self-sufficient. Water-wise, you have to

[1:30:40] not create an undue burden. So, there

[1:30:42] are things that are working, but it's

[1:30:45] kind of like uh cannabis and it's kind

[1:30:48] of like drones, you know what I mean?

[1:30:50] Like those are some things that have

[1:30:51] occurred recently where we keep an eye

[1:30:54] on them, but we didn't have a moratorum

[1:30:56] on cannabis. But the

[1:31:00] there are just things

[1:31:04] >> so uh Jack's bringing forward which

[1:31:06] isn't a bad thing a a discussion point

[1:31:08] of whether or not the town needs a

[1:31:10] moratorum on u data centers. Oh, I

[1:31:15] thought there was one place

[1:31:18] >> in the county and in other

[1:31:20] municipalities.

[1:31:21] >> Worester County has

[1:31:23] >> correct.

[1:31:24] >> Okay.

[1:31:24] >> The county is a little different

[1:31:27] municipality, but I'm just saying that

[1:31:29] like

[1:31:30] >> we are monitoring these things, but it's

[1:31:32] not a bad idea to discuss them. And what

[1:31:35] I'd like to do

[1:31:36] >> take the lead. Someone's got to take the

[1:31:37] lead.

[1:31:38] >> If I if I may. Thank you.

[1:31:41] >> You brought it up. Um uh since I I think

[1:31:44] there's at least one more week of which

[1:31:46] I can push this um uh one of our

[1:31:50] colleagues in EAN has developed a nice

[1:31:52] written out

[1:31:55] thing on forming their committee and

[1:31:57] drafting the right word is verbage and

[1:31:59] stuff like that. Why don't I also send

[1:32:01] that to the group and um I I can circle

[1:32:04] back at our next meeting.

[1:32:06] >> Why don't we put it as an item for

[1:32:07] discussion? Okay.

[1:32:08] >> At our next meeting that's great. Is it

[1:32:11] possible to get somebody in here to

[1:32:12] really help explain what they're all

[1:32:14] about find

[1:32:22] these unique session?

[1:32:25] » Yeah, I think like a note no more than a

[1:32:28] 10 minute like presentation.

[1:32:31] >> I will tell you that the September 14th

[1:32:33] agenda this year

[1:32:33] >> it's going to be pretty big. very well.

[1:32:37] >> Can I can I sign for the next one then?

[1:32:39] >> Yeah, I have one in September.

[1:32:45] » Thank you.

[1:32:46] >> You okay with that?

[1:32:49] >> All right, let's see what else.

[1:32:53] » All right, so then we'll move on to

[1:32:54] comments from the mayor um mayor's

[1:32:58] office. The one thing leading into our

[1:33:01] next discussion, uh, we had talked about

[1:33:04] the auxiliary dwelling unit stuff. I

[1:33:06] think Kate sent that to everybody to put

[1:33:08] it on your radar, but the first meeting

[1:33:10] in September the 14th, we will have a

[1:33:12] work session with the planning

[1:33:14] commission like we did before to discuss

[1:33:17] our

[1:33:19] ideas and and a draft ordinance of

[1:33:23] auxiliary dwelling units. It's probably

[1:33:25] going to be a little bit like the fire

[1:33:27] pits where we are going to meet,

[1:33:29] discuss, there might be a markup and

[1:33:32] then a first reading of that markup. Uh

[1:33:34] during the 14th meeting, we will try to

[1:33:38] get some consensus around what that

[1:33:40] would look like and then hold a public

[1:33:41] hearing on the second meeting in

[1:33:44] September so that we meet the deadline

[1:33:46] of October 1st for having something on

[1:33:48] the books. So just as an FYI, keep that

[1:33:52] on your calendar. So the public comment

[1:33:54] for all those people out in the nursing

[1:33:56] road public comment is not going to be

[1:33:59] September 15. Public comment will be

[1:34:02] September 20 whatever.

[1:34:05] >> So when they come on September 14th you

[1:34:09] listen not to interject.

[1:34:11] >> Well

[1:34:12] >> right at well so the public hearing will

[1:34:15] be on the 28th of September. The public

[1:34:19] of course can comment but during during

[1:34:22] public comment time.

[1:34:23] >> Okay. I'm asking

[1:34:24] >> and the work session will not have

[1:34:26] public comment time.

[1:34:29] >> The work session. Say that one more

[1:34:30] time.

[1:34:31] >> The work session of the maring council

[1:34:33] and the planning commission will not

[1:34:34] have public comment

[1:34:35] >> on the 14th. Which is right. Correct.

[1:34:37] >> And then on the 14th, we will have the

[1:34:39] introduction and first reading of the

[1:34:42] ordinance that was a topic of discussion

[1:34:46] and included in all the packets and

[1:34:48] everything for the work session. And

[1:34:51] then there will be the opportunity for

[1:34:53] comment always at the end of our meeting

[1:34:56] uh for public comment on the 14th where

[1:34:58] the public may address any item

[1:35:01] including that item and then a public

[1:35:03] hearing will be held on the 28th.

[1:35:07] All right, let's see up next comments

[1:35:10] from the press. Okay, so we are now item

[1:35:14] 10 which is a jouring into close

[1:35:16] session. So you want to read

[1:35:20] >> uh I think that would be wise. Yes, give

[1:35:22] me one second.

[1:35:24] >> Give me one second. Let me find my

[1:35:28] state.

[1:35:29] Do I have a copy of that?

[1:35:34] if not

[1:35:39] my book, but I like to have my little

[1:35:41] sheet just in case somebody gets

[1:35:44] >> Okay, so um we would like a motion to go

[1:35:48] into close session uh to adjourn into

[1:35:50] close session. The statutory authority

[1:35:52] for the closed session would be under

[1:35:54] the general provisions article 3-305

[1:35:57] item B one to discuss the discuss the

[1:36:01] appointment employment assignment

[1:36:04] promotion discipline demotion

[1:36:05] compensation removal resignation or

[1:36:08] performance evaluation of appointees

[1:36:10] employees or officials over whom this

[1:36:12] public body has jurisdiction or any

[1:36:14] other personnel matter that affects one

[1:36:16] or more specific individuals. Before we

[1:36:19] take the motion to go into close uh to

[1:36:22] adjourn our regular meeting and go into

[1:36:24] close session, does anybody in

[1:36:26] attendance have an objection to the

[1:36:28] mayor and council going into close

[1:36:29] session? Seeing none, we have to ask. So

[1:36:33] if you go back to all of them, we always

[1:36:34] ask.

[1:36:35] >> Make a note when you go back into public

[1:36:37] session.

[1:36:37] >> Thank you, Mary. See, sure you want to

[1:36:39] return. Um we will return to the public meeting

[1:36:45] uh on Monday, September 14th at 6:00

[1:36:50] p.m. So now we'll take a motion to

[1:36:52] adjourn and slow down.

[1:36:54] >> Motion by council member Oris, a second

[1:36:56] by council member Nur. All in favor say

[1:36:57] I.

[1:36:58] >> All oppose. Let the record reflect the

[1:37:00] vote unanimous. Would like favor abs.

[1:37:02] Thank you all. Three perch chance.

8.24.26 Regular Session of the Mayor & Council

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