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Berlin councilman rallies against annexation

(June 22, 2017) When the Berlin Planning Commission last Wednesday launched into an informal discussion of whether to annex a parcel of land on the corner of Route 346 and Route 50, members already knew that opposition to that move had begun to organize.
Before the session convened, Berlin Town Councilman Zack Tyndall posted a call to action on Facebook, asking residents to attend the meeting.
Tyndall said he opposed the annexation and would work against it.
“This is a pivotal point in Berlin’s history,” Tyndall wrote. “If we continue to annex property into town limits, we are all at risk of paying higher taxes and losing something that is irreplaceable; Berlin’s charm.”
He asked residents who could not attend to send him an email with “a short message stating why you are against annexation.” He said he would read the emails into the record during the meeting.
The post was shared more than 20 times, received dozens of comments, and was largely responsible for the larger-than-usual turnout during the meeting. Several in attendance said they came because of the post.
Ultimately, no decision was made on the parcel and the members of the Berlin Planning Commission asked to meet with county planning officials to discuss the subject further.
On Monday, Tyndall outlined his position after being asked whether he thought a member of the council should involve himself in the deliberations of another town agency.
 “As a council member, I try to remain aware of the work being done by our various boards and commissions. When I noticed that the Planning Commission was scheduled to discuss the proposed annexation of a parcel of property located on the corner of Route 346 and Route 50, I wanted to make sure that people were aware.
“Annexation is a very sensitive issue for a lot of people in Berlin. Throughout my campaign and time in office, I have had the opportunity to interact with many of our residents. Overwhelmingly, many of them explained to me that they are against the continued expansion of our town’s borders. Some critiques state that this means that I am against growth. However, I am very much for growth but in the right areas.
“In my Facebook post, I mentioned a few points of consideration for our residents. The first thing I mentioned was that any property we decide to annex will not become a Town of Berlin Electric customer. This means the town could end up with a group of citizens who have a voice in how our electric plant is operated without any financial “skin in the game.
“The next thing I would like residents to consider is our wastewater treatment plant. Our plant is approaching a threshold where we will be mandated to begin planning for an upgrade. Both points of consideration come at a financial cost to our residents and I want everyone to seriously consider them. By putting the pause button on annexation, we can use our remaining wastewater capacity to grow within the towns current borders. This will help reduce costs and expand our electric customer base while creating sustainable revenue for the town.
“Lastly, I would like to thank everyone that took the time to respond to my Facebook post and express their concerns regarding annexation. I would also like to thank everyone that took the time to email me regarding annexation. Since the Planning Commission voted to remove agenda item number five from the agenda and since the planning director mentioned there would be a public hearing on this proposal, I decided to wait and read those posts and emails into the record during the public hearing.”