BERLIN – Town officials vowed to do whatever was necessary to get the road damaged during the construction of Cannery Village repaired.
At the urging of Councilman Dean Burrell, the town council agreed Monday to have staff get the damaged section of Flower Street in front of Cannery Village repaired as quickly as possible at the developer’s expense.
“This has been going on long enough,” Burrell said.
Councilman Elroy Brittingham first broached the subject of Cannery Village Monday, advising his fellow council members that he continued to hear complaints from residents in the area.
“I don’t want us to forget about it because there is a problem there…,” he said. “Where the problem is it’s on our street that existed before they started. I don’t want them to blacktop Cannery Village without correcting our street that was ok before they came.”
Town Administrator Laura Allen said the damaged street was one of several items left to address with Cannery Village developers.
“They know it’s an issue,” she said. “This is one of several issues we have with them. They have not asked for a final inspection yet and we still have their bond.”
Mayor Gee Williams pointed out that that bond could be used to pay for the road work if necessary.
Burrell, however, said he thought the work needed to be done immediately.
“I think we need to make those repairs,” he said. “This has been going on for really a long time. It remains a terrible spot.”
He said he was aware that town staff was working with the developer to ensure that any problems were addressed as the project neared completion but said that wasn’t enough.
“That’s all well and good but the fact still remains when folks run over that spot it’s damaging their vehicles,” he said. “It’s not a good thing for our citizens to have to endure day after day after day. I say we need to get it fixed as soon as possible.”
Brittingham added that the school year was underway and the street was now seeing a significant amount of school bus traffic. Burrell agreed and said the street’s condition would continue to deteriorate during the winter.
Williams advised Allen to work with the town’s attorney to “put the pedal to the metal” in getting the street’s condition addressed. The council then voted unanimously to support Burrell’s formal motion to have staff work to alleviate the problem as quickly as possible.
The damaged street is not the first concern Cannery Village has caused along Flower Street. This summer, the council agreed to spend $95,000 to buy a strip of land and erect a fence to address trespassing concerns. The fence, which will separate the three Flower Street homes closest to the Cannery Village entrance from the development, is set to be installed Sept. 28.
