The Worcester County Commissioners voted 7-0 on Tuesday to install a fence between the parking lot of the new Berlin library and several residential homes that border the property. The Berlin Planning Commission approved the fence by a narrow 3-2 vote a week prior.

By Josh Davis, Associate Editor

(Feb. 22, 2018) The Worcester County Commissioners on Tuesday unanimously approved a slight increase in the construction costs of the new Berlin library, now estimated to total just over $6.255 million.

Along with steel roof eave brackets and additional plywood for the upper rail framing, the change order involved landscaping alternations at the Harrison Avenue site. These include “a privacy fence requested by the town of Berlin” that is described as a six-foot white vinyl fence along the southern property line, according to the official meeting packet.

All three modifications brought the price for the building $5,319 above the original contract.

While it passed 7-0 as presented to the commissioners, the fence by itself was narrowly approved 3-2 by the Berlin Planning Commission a week earlier.

During the planning meeting, commission member Ron Cascio recused himself to present on behalf of the library, estimating the fence would be about 480 feet long.

Cascio said planners originally proposed a vegetative buffer of Eastern Red Cedar trees around the property. He appeared, as stated several times by commission member Pete Cosby, to be seeking approval under duress.

“Who prefers having a glaring piece of plastic in their eyes rather than a dense, green fence?” Cosby asked.

“I can tell you it’s not the library,” Cascio said.

“The library would prefer not to do this?” Cosby asked.

“Without a doubt,” Cascio said.

Commission member John Barrett asked if library officials were willing to install the fence.

“Willing – no,” Cascio said. “The library is here because, well, I’m just going to shut up.”

“I think we have a reluctant applicant for some reason that I’m not clear on,” Cosby said.

Ross Palmer, who lives on Brittany Lane next to the new library, said he requested a fence because he has small children.

“My kids are in the back playing ball. At the least the fence could stop anybody coming to me or them going there,” he said. “It’s pretty daunting to have a parking lot sitting right in my back yard.”

Planning Director Dave Engelhart said other residents raised concerns during a series of public meetings held by the library. He said Library Director Jennifer Ranck and county officials agreed to put up a fence “in the interest of keeping the neighbors happy.”

Engelhart added the original site plan did not include a fence, but an architectural rendering “showed a fence on it.”

Councilman Troy Purnell said the library parking lot was above the grade of houses bordering the property and cars in the lot would “shine the headlights right into the backyard of everybody’s house.”

Purnell reiterated residents saw a fence in drawings and said he reassured several people the fence was part of the plan, before learning otherwise during the public meetings.

“The residents came at me as the councilperson in my district and said, ‘Hey, what can you do about this?’ I went to the mayor, the mayor went to county commissioners, a couple county commissioners got together. They all agreed it would be a good idea.

“It surprises me that [Cascio was] not representing that request of them wanting this,” Purnell continued. “My understanding is the commissioners do want to see this.”

“[The commissioners] don’t want a fence,” Cascio said. “[They] don’t want to buy and own and operate a fence.”

Cosby suggested anyone bothered by the library could simply “build their own fence on their side if they want.”

“Maybe some people like to see linear lines in construction – I like seeing trees and brush,” he said. “I have a reluctant applicant here. What I’m detecting is, if Ron had a personal opinion he’d say, ‘I don’t want the fence here.’”

Barrett moved to approve the fence addition.

“I make a motion to approve it to make the neighbors happy,” he said. “They’ve got headlights going right in their backyard … I see no problem with it, especially since it was on the renderings.”

About 10 seconds of silence followed before Chairman Chris Denny seconded the motion. Barrett, Denny and Phyllis Purnell voted in favor.