BERLIN, Ala. – The Berlin Town Council on Monday evening discussed a change to its plans for the current farmers market and proposed town park, considering an alteration that would please farmers who sell at the market. According to Mayor Patrick Bates, engineers at Cullman-based St. John & Associates, who are overseeing the development of the park, said the current farmers market shed cannot be made handicap-accessible in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act in a cost-effective manner, and suggested construction of a new shed.
In the ensuing discussion, council members talked about relocating the new structure farther south on the property, closer to U.S. Highway 278 and more visible from the road. The idea has been suggested previously by the farmers who sell their produce there.
“I will say, that’s the number one recommendation from the growers,” Town Clerk Keirstyn Montgomery told the council.
Bates added that a new market shed would have a hard interior floor and driving lanes for vendors, “just wide enough on the sides – 8 or 10 feet – for them to get their vehicles in and out.” Bates’ idea also included handicap parking immediately adjacent to the building, and he estimated that relocation of the building would increase the overall amount of space available for public parking.
St. John engineers also told Bates that relocating the building could allow planned recreation walking trails to be extended all the way around the park property. Space between the market and the Berlin Community Center would be reserved as green space for the park. The current market structure might be moved to the back of the property and reassembled as a storage site for lawn mowers, tractors and other equipment.
According to Bates, the construction work can be completed in time for the planned farmers market opening date in the spring.
The Berlin Town Council meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of each month in Berlin Town Hall. The public is invited to attend.
