BERLIN, Md. -- Stephen Decatur is in need of a location for their special dance, which is now less than a month away. A proposal to host the event in downtown Berlin was shot down after local businesses pushed back.
The wet and dreary start to the year is one reason why business owners felt losing a Saturday in April was something they couldn't afford.
Dana Gottloeb, owner of On What Grounds? said the plan to host the event on April 27th, a Saturday, could take business away from stores right when they are hitting their busy season.
"Saturday's in the spring, once we get past Easter that's when the weekends start to pick up," said Gottloeb.
Decatur usually holds their prom at the convention center in Ocean City, but there was a mix-up in scheduling. It left the school without a venue and led the prom committee to the Berlin town council and Mayor Zack Tyndall, looking for a solution.
"For me it was an opportunity, a no-brainer to be able to try and help the kids," said Tyndall.
Contrary to how many businesses on Main Street felt about the proposed plan, Tyndall said the event could have put more people inside stores.
"I hear the concerns, I was hopeful on the other side of things that maybe it would bring more people to Berlin," said Tyndall.
His optimistic view however is not shared by everyone.
"It really isn't something that should be held in a downtown business area," said Gottloeb.
Gottloeb, as well as other business owners, also had concerns with the short notice they were given. Tyndall said the town did the best they could.
"We received and inquiry from the school system, sat down with the staff and said 'what would this look like'," said Tyndall. [We] put it on the next agenda for public discussion, which the packet goes out the week before so as much notice as we could possibly give to everybody with the short notice we had, was what we tried to do."
While SDHS is still looking for a specific site, they aren't out of luck just yet. Ocean City officials told us on Thursday they are working with the school to host the event in the resort town.
