BERLIN – Longtime incumbent Councilman Dean Burrell faces challenger Tony Weeg for the District 4 council seat in next week’s election.
Burrell, who’s served on the council for the past 28 years, wants to continue to use his experience for the betterment of the town. Weeg, an unsuccessful candidate for the at-large seat in the 2020 election, has been active in advocating for recreational opportunities in Berlin and wants to help the town tackle new projects.
The Dispatch asked the candidates to provide answers to four questions to give voters an idea of their viewpoints as they head to the polls.
Berlin’s municipal election takes place Tuesday, Oct. 4. While this year’s election includes District 1, District 4 and the at-large seats, District 4 is the only one with a contested race. In District 1, Steve Green (editor/publisher of this newspaper) is unopposed and set to take over the seat held by Troy Purnell since 2008. In the at-large category, Councilman Jay Knerr will retain the seat he initially took over in 2020.
For the District 4 voters waiting to cast their ballot for either Burrell or Weeg, they can do so on Tuesday at the Berlin Police Department between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Q. Why are you running for council and what will you bring to the position?
Burrell: I know you have heard this from every candidate you have interviewed but I feel I am the best person for the job. I bring to the Council great experience and an understanding of the operation and authority of the Council. I also bring leadership, a valued opinion by the Mayor, Council Membership and Staff and above all a sense of fair play.
Weeg: I bring a wealth of computer, communication, and technology expertise that currently does not exist in the chambers. I spend my time engaging projects head-on, rather than waiting for things to come. I hope to motivate all of Berlin into a highly communicative and involved electorate. Organizing people, and getting things done is something that makes sense to me, and I fully intend to use it for Berlin’s good. I will seek to continue action on multiple fronts so that we are not always waiting on the next big thing to come, rather we chew off smaller pieces of projects, work them through in phases, and see incremental growth of amenities through partnerships with non-profits and strategic grant writing. I will collaborate with my colleagues on projects and new initiatives. I am a student of history, and I realize how important our local history is to our collective challenges,
Q. What are the biggest challenges the town is currently facing?
Burrell: There are several challenges of any municipality in the times in which we live. However for the Town of Berlin I would say one of the biggest challenges of all involved in the decision making process for the Town of Berlin including but not limited to the Mayor & Council, the public and the staff is to allow all to be heard without being ridiculed or ostracized for their opinions and beliefs and using those opinions to make the best decision possible for the Town of Berlin.
Weeg: Retaining town employees; specifically, our police force needs to be paid attention to, and LEOPS should be closer to reality than it is today.
- Flooding is a town-wide concern, and it needs to be addressed, not just talked about, every other Monday at the council meeting.
- Berlin has a comprehensive plan, but it’s not been updated since 2010. Supposed to get an update in 2020, but there were other concerns then. Berlin needs to update its comprehensive plan and needs to be intimately involved in the updated county plan. Our future cannot continue to be “annex and grow.”
- It takes forever to get things done in Berlin: infrastructure projects, slow to get started, languish and stagnate; a community center discussed for years and still not complete; a town code in need of updating and enforcement. We need to implement a multi-threaded approach to getting things done.
- The people want to see progress and they want to be communicated with.
Q. ARPA provided some much-needed financial support but the town has a long list of aging infrastructure that needs to be replaced or updated. How should the town go about addressing the infrastructure needs not being funded with the federal aid money?
Burrell: The Town should first complete the mapping of all town utility systems to allow for the development of a comprehensive and informed maintenance plan for those systems based on documented need.
Weeg: Our infrastructure, like many towns founded in the late 19th century, is aging. Some avenues that we can continue to seek funding from are Federal and State grants, and other infrastructure programs. One key part of this process would most likely be a priorities list and knowing what we need to be able to face head-on, from a whole-town perspective, including how we handle storm and wastewater. I am glad to see that we have an RFP out for the new lift station on Broad Street, and we are waiting on a study, but I have to ask – Could we have ordered that back in the spring when the funds were allocated? The bottom line is that raising taxes and increasing fees always seem like the first answer from town hall. I will do my best to make sure that is the last answer you hear.
Q. The town has been considering an offer for Heron Park but there has been little news in recent months. What do you want to see done with the property?
Burrell: First let me say I am very concerned about the impact of any retail development of the area on our Downtown well-being. I think the property should remain with the Town of Berlin and developed by the Town as determined in partnership with the Mayor and Council and the Citizens of all Districts of the Town. I do believe there should not be a rush to sell this property that will only grow in value.
Weeg: Heron Park is currently a drag on our budget—but it has a lot of potential. The Town of Berlin is not a real estate developer, so we cannot develop it alone. We could upzone, make it developer-friendly, and continue to pay the debt down ‘til the perfect plan arrives, or we could sell it
to the right developer who can make it a prosperous complement to our downtown, not a competitor. If I close my eyes I can see mixed-use with some retail spaces, a few living spaces, and another restaurant for the north end of town. I can see walking paths, greenspace, a skatepark and an amphitheater. I’d love to see a rail trail that gets us from one end of town to the other that terminates at the park. There is potential within, we need to use the leverage we have — it’s our space.
