The Berlin City Council has unanimously approved another ordinance amendment to the Heron Park demolition project, increasing the total cost of the initiative by $73,200.
A map in the Berlin City Council agenda packet shows about $73,000 worth of additional demolition work at the site of the former poultry processing plant in Heron Park.
Image courtesy
By Tara Fischer, Editor
The Berlin City Council has unanimously approved the latest ordinance amendment to the Heron Park demolition project, increasing the total cost of the initiative by $73,200. The adjustments primarily include cleanup work on the site.
“This amendment covers many areas where cleaning is desired,” said City Administrator Mary Bohlen. “That’s essentially it.”
Additional services include demolition of walls and bollards, which are short, vertical posts that divert traffic from a specific area within the site. Four locations have been identified for demolition behind a fence on the property. The areas are not visible from Old Ocean City Boulevard and are near the railroad tracks.
The contract was extended by 45 days as proposed by the vendor JNT Enterprises to allow sufficient time to complete the changes. The demo project completion date was postponed to October 17.
According to the amendment ordinance, the total cost of the initiative increases to $432,254 from $359,054.68, which was raised from $246,339 for amendments approved in July. Bohlen claimed the adjustments will leave the city with $11,565 from a demolition grant it received from the state.
“We’ll figure out how to spend the last few dollars,” she said.
Council member Jay Knerr asked why an old shed on the property along the railroad was not included in the proposed demolition change order.
Andrew Welch of the architectural firm Davis, Bowen & Friedel, said that developer Palmer Gillis of Coastal Ventures Properties, which had begun talks with the city about purchasing and redeveloping Lot 57 in Heron Park, expressed interest in preserving the building after an inspection.
Bohlen argued that the city would have the deciding vote even if attorney David Gaskill drafted a contract with an extended negotiation period.
“It’s still your project,” she told the council. “If you want it to be demolished, we can ask the contractor to prepare a change request now.”
Welch said that because of the wooden construction, dismantling would be easy and would take no more than a day.
Mayor Zack Tyndall argued that by pushing back the completion date to October 17, the council would have time to consider the shed’s future after further discussions.
“We have time to discuss it,” he said. “It’s not his wishes, it’s our wishes that coincide with his. If there’s a point like this that he wants to keep and not put us behind, that’s fine, but that’s still something we’re discussing.”
The group agreed to return to this structure at future meetings and working sessions.
City Council Vice President Dean Burrell made the motion to approve the ordinance amendment, which was seconded by Council Member Jack Orris. The amendments were unanimously approved by the governing body.
