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The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch
December 20, 2013
Hospital Seeking Exemption From Stormwater Fees
By SHAWN J. SOPER
NEWS EDITOR
BERLIN – Frustrated by Berlin’s adoption of an ordinance to create a stormwater utility to help stem chronic flooding problems, along with the associated cost for non-residential property owners to help foot the bill, Atlantic General Hospital (AGH) will seek the assistance of the court system to gain an exemption. Earlier this year, Berlin officials adopted an ordinance creating a stormwater utility for the town to help stem its chronic flooding problems. Under the ordinance, all property owners in the town, both residential and commercial, are being required to pay a prorated share of the cost of establishing the new stormwater utility. For residential property owners, a flat annual fee of $50 is assessed to help pay for the cost of setting up the utility. For non-residential property owners, a formula has been established based on the amount of impervious surface a particular property includes. During spirited public hearings over the ordinance earlier this year, several non-residential property owners cried foul over the proposal they deemed inequitable to the commercial properties. For the larger commercial properties in Berlin, the formula has been onerous. For example, AGH’s estimated annual cost came in at around $5,025, while Worcester Preparatory School’s will be $3,750. The four public schools in Berlin are taking the biggest hit at a combined estimate of $14,825 annually. AGH has been particularly vocal about its displeasure with the ordinance and has tried on different occasions to seek an exemption from the annual fee to no avail. In a letter to the Berlin Chamber of Commerce earlier this month, AGH President and CEO Michael Franklin said the hospital has filed a Declaratory Judgment Complaint in the Worcester County Circuit Court against the town of Berlin seeking the judicial system’s help in gaining an exemption. “We firmly maintain that it is not fair and equitable, as required by the purpose of the proposed statute, to require AGH to pay an excessive annual fee when we have already been required to design, permit and construct a stormwater management facility on our campus, which complies with all regulations,” Franklin wrote. AGH was established in 1993 and owns roughly 24 acres along Healthway Drive with a campus that is not contiguous to the town of Berlin. Over the ensuing years, the hospital has expanded at different times, and each time has complied SEE PAGE 34
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