Berlin eyes new public works facility, replacing electrical meters with state funding

BERLIN, Md. – America’s Coolest Small Town has historical charm… and some aging infrastructure. That’s why Berlin officials are excited to receive state funding, to help bring their Public Works facility and electrical meters up to speed.

On Wednesday, the town was awarded $3.8 million from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to spur those improvements.

Larger Public Works Facility

Director of Public Works Jimmy Charles says the department needs a bigger and better building than the one they’re currently housed in. The structure was built in the 1960’s, and was only intended to be temporary.

“We have ten employees, and we’re all within a 22-foot building,” Charles said. “We have two office spaces, and a very small break room, and a very small changing area.”

The plan is to repurpose larger, existing structures and land at Heron Park for Public Works’ use. Charles says a bigger facility would keep both workers, and the equipment they use, in better shape and out of harm’s way.

“The goal is to build a facility that meets our future goals, and for employees to have safety and well-being,” Charles said. “Just to do what we do here with streets, parks, and trash and recycling with our crew, it would just be nice to have an expanded building.”

Replacing Electical Meters

The new funding is also being used to tackle another challenge that Berlin is facing: replacing aging electrical meters.

“Most of the meters in town now are orignally from the 1960’s going into 2000,” explained Electric Utility Director Tim Lawrence.

The mechanical meters display their readings through a series on dials marked with numbers. The problem, says Lawrence, is that they don’t always lend themselves to the most accurate data measurements.

“Sometimes, you can misread them just because they’re dials, and there are a lot of numbers,” Lawrence said. “So, there could be an error.”

Ditching Analog Readings and Recordings

The new meters are electronic. “Basically, they do all the work for you,” remarked Lawrence.

Lawrence says the new meters automatically collect usage data every 15 minutes, which can be accessed both by Berlin’s customer service, and homeowners though an online portal. Electrical utility workers will still occasionally do manual readings if connection is lost.

It’s a far cry from how they were taking the readings before. In the early 1990’s, Lawrence says, the town switched to handheld Telxon devices; they’re often used in restaurants or retail for inventory purposes.

“They’re actually obselete,” Lawrence said. “They started failing, and we couldn’t get parts for them. And, you can’t even buy them anymore. So, at that point, we had to go back to paper and pencil.”

Upgrading the electrical meters will also upgrade town safety, Lawrence says. The new devices are equipped with temperature sensing alarms and automatic disconnect.

“Let’s say, for example, there is a heating issue in the meter base, which could start a fire. The system will automatically send a signal back to us, telling us the address of where that is,” Lawrence explained. “If it’s normal business hours, we can call customer service and say, ‘We have a house fire. Can you shut the power down?’ And, they can just push a button right at Town Hall.”

Up To Speed

Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall says the improvements may be just bringing the town up to speed; however, the work is really about making sure employees are cared for.

“First and foremost, we’re investing in them, in the space they work in, for the needs that they have today, as well as for the future,” Mayor Tyndall said. “I can’t tell you how important that is when you recruit and retain staff.”

Mayor Tyndall says the timeline for upgrading the infrastructure will be aggressive.

“We have the money, we have a deadline on when we want to expend those funds. So, we are going to move the project forward as quickly as possible,” Mayor Tyndall said. “[With] the stuff that the team does every day for the people of Berlin, we need to do something that performs for our needs today, and in the future.”

Looking Ahead

Town officials are hoping to award a building contract for the new Public Works facility in the next three to four weeks. Designs are expected by the end of this year.

And as for those meter replacements, they’re currently working on a plan for which sections will be replaced, in what order. Homeowners will be notified when they’re set to get an upgrade. The work may knock power out for just a few minutes.