BERLIN — After watching his community slowly grow over the years, lifelong Berlin resident Jim Quick Jr. would like to see the place he calls home take what he considers the next logical step — becoming a town.

“I’ve lived here all my life and just want to see the area excel,” Quick said of the Berlin community, located just east of the City of Cullman on Highway 278. “We’re proud of it and we want to see it grow.”

Quick, a trustee for the Berlin community center and member of the volunteer fire department, said he believes incorporation could help the area flourish. Berlin is already home to a handful of businesses, including gas stations, a grocery shop and construction supply store.

“It’s about getting grants, so maybe we can build a senior center or get some grants for sidewalks,” Quick said. “We’re just to trying to get some money out here. It’s hard for just a regular community to get grants without being incorporated.”

As nearby areas grow and expand around them, Quick said incorporation could also give Berlin residents more control over the future of their community.

“I’d like to see this place stay intact as Berlin,” he said. “This would let us take care of our community better.”

Before the area could incorporate, owners of at least 60 percent of the affected property would have to sign a petition stating they are interested, according to the Alabama League of Municipalities. If enough signatures are gathered, the change would be put to a public majority vote in the area. If the measure were to pass, elections would then be held to establish a mayor and town council.

Berlin resident Ralph Laney, who is also chief of the volunteer fire department, said proponents are in the early process of circulating petitions to gauge public interest on the issue.

“We’re sticking with this and really want to see Berlin become incorporated,” he said. “This doesn’t have anything to do with me being fire chief. I’m working on this as a Berlin resident.”

While shopping at The 278 Rock Grocery Wednesday, Berlin resident Mark Campbell said he would be in favor of incorporation — because of the potential for growth and additional municipal services in the future.

“I think it could be good, so we might could eventually have a police department and some things like that,” he said. “That might be able to help with the drug problem.”

Though some residents are in favor of becoming a town, not all Berlin denizens support the initiative to incorporate.

Bruce Bentley, owner of The 278 Rock Grocery, said if Berlin were to become a municipality the area might change into something much different than the community he has called home for more than a decade.

“I’m just not for it because if Berlin is incorporated, then folks might be able to bring up a wet-dry vote like they did in Good Hope earlier this year,” he said, referring to a recent state law that allows towns of at least 1,000 to vote on legalized alcohol sales. “If that were to come up, the community could go wet, and I’m really against that. That’s the last thing our community needs.”

Vicky Gilispie, a clerk at the grocery store, echoed Bentley’s sentiments.

“I think this community is fine just the way it is,” she said. “Berlin is a good community with a lot of great people.”



Incorporation or annexation

Along with the talk of incorporation, rumors that the nearby City of Cullman might annex the Berlin community have also been circulating in the area — something Cullman Mayor Max Townson was quick to refute.

“Neither the City of Cullman, nor any of its officials have discussed, or have any intention of annexing, Berlin or any other neighboring community into the City of Cullman,” Townson wrote in a letter to Berlin residents. “I do not know where this wild idea came from, but it is totally false.”

Despite Townson’s assertion, Quick said he is still concerned about possible interference from the city in the future, since water lines and right-of-way related to the upcoming Duck River Dam water source project could run through the Berlin area.

“Not that this is anything that might happen anytime soon, but it could,” he said. “With the proposed Duck River Dam, that may in the future give them a reason to come out this way. I think if we become a town, we’ll have more control over what happens.”

If the city did want to annex portions of Berlin, it could only be done at the request of the residents there, by election of Berlin residents to be annexed, or by a legislative act — all options, Townson said, the city has no desire to pursue.

“To my knowledge, the second and third alternatives have never been used in the history of the City of Cullman,” Townson wrote. “Please be assured the City of Cullman is not considering such a ridiculous idea.”



* Trent Moore can be reached by e-mail at trentm@cullmantimes.com, or by telephone at 734-2131, ext. 220.