BERLIN — With a few budget tweaks and some cost-saving project modifications, plans for a new public park at Berlin are moving forward, with an eye toward having the park ready to welcome guests in time for this year’s opening of the Berlin Farmers Market.

At its regular meeting Monday, Jan. 20, the Berlin Town Council unanimously voted to adjust its FY 2024-2025 budget to cover part of the increased cost of the project, after seeing its original projected $550,000 cost eclipsed by a low construction bid of $938,040. In approving the changes, the council also authorized mayor Patrick Bates to negotiate additional modifications to scale back project costs with Burks Building, Inc. of Cullman, which submitted the lowest bid.

The council agreed on an approximate figure of $750,000 as an acceptable adjusted cost target for completing the park in its first phase this spring. By far the biggest cost-cutting change is the removal — at least for now — of paved asphalt parking, an original inclusion in the initial project plan for the new park. The elimination of paved parking, said Bates, will cut approximately $140,000 from the overall cost, while allowing the town to revisit the feature, as finances allow, in the future.

“In addition to trimming some existing areas of our current budget, we also accounted for additional cash on hand that we did not include in the budget originally. That has allowed us to add approximately $175,000 toward the park project,” explained Bates, noting that the town has so far enjoyed slightly higher revenues than originally projected during the current fiscal year. An additional commitment of $25,000 in state-administered funding for the park, secured by Alabama House Rep. Randall Shedd (R-Fairview), will also contribute to the project’s completion, Bates added.

In other business at its Jan. 20, regular meeting, the council:

— Held a first reading of a proposed ordinance that, if approved, would establish a monthly salary for Berlin’s mayor beginning with the onset of a new elected administration in November. Both the mayor and the town council have served without compensation since Berlin was first incorporated in 2018; under the proposed ordinance, the council would continue to serve without compensation while the mayor would receive a monthly salary of $800. By statute, elected governing bodies for Alabama municipalities cannot approve pay raises during the term in which they are serving, and must approve any pay changes at least six months before a newly elected administration takes office. Berlin’s next municipal election will be held in August of this year; the proposed pay ordinance will see a second reading and possible approval at the council’s next regular meeting in February.

— Held a first reading of a proposed ordinance that, if passed, would establish operational procedures for using electronic voting devices supplied by Cullman County for all of the town’s future municipal elections. Because the ordinance aims to conform with recent clarifications to existing Alabama voting law, it is expected to pass upon its second reading at the council’s February regular meeting.

— Approved a $15,600 budget adjustment to account for the increased cost of an ongoing road and drainage project at County Roads 1612 and 1614, owing to water line issues encountered during the project by contracting company GradeTech, LLC. Council member James Sanford abstained from the otherwise-unanimous vote because of a potential conflict of interest arising from the employment of a relative at the contracting company.

— Took no action on a resident’s request to vacate a portion of town-owned property, pending the forthcoming arrival of additional documentation.

— Approved the minutes of the council’s Dec. 16, 2024 regular meeting.

Benjamin Bullard may be reached by email at ben.bullard@cullmantimes.com or by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 234.