BERLIN – Municipal meetings in Berlin have been postponed as crews address water damage discovered at town hall.
Town officials announced this week that several town meetings meant to take place this week and next week were postponed because of water damage found at town hall. The damage is being repaired and the council chambers, Berlin’s primary public meeting space, is expected to be usable after Aug. 16.
“The council chambers is a construction zone right now and we are waiting for the contractors to begin rebuilding the areas that were affected,” Mayor Zack Tyndall said on Wednesday.
On Aug. 3, water damage and mold were discovered within the north-facing wall of the council chambers at town hall during routine maintenance. An announcement from the town this week said that out of an abundance of cation, work was stopped immediately to allow for further testing and evaluation of the area.
“After it was determined there were no safety and/or environmental risks present following the results of testing, town staff worked with external contractors to carry out necessary demolition and remediation of the area,” a news release from the town reads. “As work continues, residents may notice several contractor vehicles parked at town hall during and after normal business hours.”
Tyndall said the restoration work in the council chambers was expected to be completed by Aug. 16. The Town of Berlin is planning to host a field meeting for the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship on Aug. 17. The committee is chaired by Maryland Sen. Ben Cardin.
According to this week’s release, Town of Berlin staff continue to work inside the building and town hall remains open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. to allow residents to pay their utility bills. Due to the location of the water damage, however, meetings typically held in the council chambers have been postponed. The Berlin Planning Commission and Berlin Board of Appeals meetings scheduled for Aug. 9 have been postponed to Aug. 23. The town council meeting scheduled for Monday, Aug. 14, has also been moved and will now take place on Aug. 21 at 5 p.m. While there was a work session to discuss the future of Heron Park initially scheduled to take place before the Aug. 14 meeting, that work session is now listed on the town calendar for Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. Representatives of We Heart Berlin, the nonprofit working toward bringing a skate park to Berlin, are also expecting elected officials to vote on a location for the skate park at one of the upcoming meetings.
