MINUTES
REGULAR MEETING
Thursday, August 14, 2014 at 3:30 P.m.
Town Hall, 1st Floor Conference Room
302 Main Street, Old Saybrook
I. CALL TO ORDER
Vice Chairman Robert Yust called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m.
II. ROLL CALL
Members Present
Janice Holland
Douglas McCracken
Michael Momparler
Thomas Gezo
Robert Yust
Jerry Brophy (arrived at 3:40 p.m.)
Land Use Department Staff Present
Christine Nelson, Town Planner
Sandy Prisloe, Environmental Planner
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
Three members of the audience were present as well Jim Monopoli, Director of Public Health and two members of the Water Pollution Control Authority Commission.
III. REGULAR BUSINESS
A. Minutes
MOTION to approve the minutes from the Conservation Commission’s Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee’s Regular Meeting of July 24, 2014 as presented contingent on Chris Costa’s review for accuracy of the facts from her presentation entitled, “Construction in Special Flood Hazard Areas.”; MADE by D. McCracken; SECONDED by T. Gezo; VOTED IN FAVOR: D. McCracken, J. Holland, T. Gezo, R. Yust, M. Momparler; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 5-0-0.
- Correspondence & Announcements
William Johnson has resigned from the SLRCAC because he has moved out of Old Saybrook.
- Mission & Web-based Working Interface
T. Gezo discussed the reasons why there are two proposed mission statements for the Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee. He asked that Committee members vote on which of the two proposed Mission statements they felt best represented the charge of the committee.
MOTION to approve the Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee’s Mission Statement proposed following the 7/7/2014 meeting which reads as follows: “The Sea Level Rise and Climate Adaptation Committee (SLRCAC) will provide recommended policies and actions for the Town to adapt to and mitigate against the effects of climate change and the impacts of sea level rise on Old Saybrook in the near- and long-term. The Committee will educate the townspeople about its findings.”; MADE by D. McCracken; SECONDED by T. Gezo; VOTED IN FAVOR: D. McCracken, J. Holland, T. Gezo, J. Brophy, R. Yust, M. Momparler; OPPOSED: none; ABSTAINED: none; APPROVED: 6-0-0.
S. Prisloe gave a presentation about the SLRCAC’s web site. He said all Committee members would have the ability to edit the web site once they register with a Google account e-mail.
There is an event calendar on the web site. Committee members can send information about upcoming events pertaining to Old Saybrook and sea level rise or climate adaptation, and S. Prisloe can put those events into the calendar for Committee members to see.
There are currently four topics on the web site: sea level rise, environmental impacts, economic impacts and community impacts. Each topic is a hyperlink that will show the lead Committee person for that topic, Committee members assigned to that topic, and related articles, resources and a synopsis.
S. Prisloe showed Committee members how to navigate the web site, make changes to the pages and add resources.
S. Prisloe asked that all SLRCAC Members e-mail him their Google e-mail address, so he can give them access to the web site.
R. Yust asked members of the public if they wanted to speak.
George Gwizd and Bob Senger from the Water Pollution Control Authority said sea level rise and climate adaptation are very important for Old Saybrook to address. They are very interested in how these factors will impact the work they are doing on the WPCA.
Mary Stone, candidate for State Representative for Old Saybrook, said she hoped that through the minutes, other towns could see the process Old Saybrook has used to address sea level rise and climate adaptation.
IV. STUDY & REPORT
- Economics – Floodplain Construction Standards
- Inventory – Where Are We?
- Analysis – Where Are We Going?
- Plan – How Do We Get There?
V. OUTREACH & EDUCATION
- Building a Level of Familiarity in Old Saybrook
- Measuring Community Values in Old Saybrook
VI. MEETING SUMMARY
- Categories & Topics (break out session)
Committee members broke into three groups. Each group has been assigned a topic to discuss. C. Nelson and S. Prisloe joined the discussions. The topics are economic impacts, environmental impacts and community impacts.
C. Nelson summarized their discussion for the economic impacts group. T. Gezo will focus on residences, J. Brophy will focus on commerce and industry, D. McCracken will focus on sea level rise and its impacts on transportation and public infrastructure, and S. Tagliatela will focus on marine based industry.
J. Holland talked about geology and the physical environment that will impact the living environment. Her group is focusing primarily on the coastal community and coastal erosion.
R. Yust shared his group’s discussion about community impacts particularly on the identity of Old Saybrook as a beach town. They looked at how accessibility, transportation and recreation affect the community.
Director of Public Health Jim Monopoli joined R. Yust’s group, and they talked about public health and wastewater concerns. Also, they talked about the large geriatric population and how storm evacuations impact nursing homes and public health. For example, during Superstorm Sandy, residents from Apple Rehabilitation were evacuated to the town shelter at the Old Saybrook Senior High School.
J. Holland suggested the Committee consider a vulnerability assessment for the town.
VII. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 p.m. until the next regularly scheduled meeting of the Conservation Commission Sea Level Rise Climate Adaptation Committee on Thursday, August 28, 2014 at 3:30 p.m., Town Hall, 302 Main Street, 1st Floor Conference Room.
Respectfully Submitted,
Kathleen Noyes, Recording Clerk
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