Minutes of the Board of Finance meeting held on Tuesday, November 14, 2006 at 7:30 p.m. at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall.
Present: Regular Members: Mark Diebolt, Wayne Devoe, H. P. Garvin, III, Christopher Kerr, David Woolley
Alternate Members: Adam Burrows, Judy Read, Janet Sturges
Timothy C. Griswold, ex-officio
Absent: Regular Members: Andrew Russell
Alternate Members:
Guests: Bonnie A. Remsnyder, Selectwoman
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Mr. Diebolt called the meeting to order at 7:38 p.m. and said that Mr. Russell would not be present this evening. A motion was made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Mr. Woolley to have Mrs. Read vote for Mr. Russell in his absence. Motion carried. Mr. Diebolt wanted voting for a Board of Finance Chairperson added to the December 19th meeting agenda and requested a 7:00 p.m. start time for the next Board of Finance meeting to vote on the Board of Finance Chairman position before the regularly scheduled meeting at 7:30 pm.
Minutes of October 17, 2006
Minutes of the October 17th meeting were reviewed. There were several typographical errors noted. On page 3, second paragraph, third sentence, an extra “0” needs to be added to the amount of $475,000. On page 5, fifth paragraph, fourth sentence, add a period after the word “neighbor”, delete “as well as to” and start a new sentence with “It would”.
Since no other changes were noted, a motion was made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Mr. Woolley to approve the minutes as modified. Motion carried.
Chart of Accounts
The Chart of Accounts through the end of October was distributed and reviewed. Mr. Griswold pointed out the expenses listed under Town Hall, Info Technology, refer to the Applied Geographic invoices. On page 4, under the Land Use, the Planning Engineering line is over spent by $4,275, but Planning Income is $662 ahead of budget. Planning member, Mr. Pierson, is analyzing the billing back to applicants of engineering fees.
Board of Finance Meeting November 14, 2006
Carryovers
Within Capital Outlay – General Government, the Assessor/Tax Quality Data upgrade has been spent. Under Board and Commissions, Parks and Recreation, the Cross Lane pond dredging has been completed. The Public Works Capital Outlay projects includes road construction of Chadwick, Lee and Champlain Drives as well as the Hartford Avenue reconstruction and drainage project, which are presently in progress. Mr. Griswold commented that in reviewing the Carryovers for 2006-07, the requested carryover amounts are being expended on a timely basis. Mr. Griswold stated that the recycling bins have been ordered and should be received and delivered within the next few weeks.
Old Business
Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library Request: Mr. Griswold said that, during FY2006-2007 budget season, an increase of $10,000 was earmarked to underwrite the cost of a part-time development person to assist the Library in its fund raising activities. On October 3rd, the Library’s Board of Trustees hired such a person at $20 per hour. Mr. Griswold received a letter from the Director, Mary Fiorelli, requesting that 50% of the funds be released by the Town to cover her compensation for the first half of the fiscal year. There was an agreement to release the funds.
Rogers Lake Dam Repair: Mr. Garvin, Chairman of Old Lyme’s Flood and Erosion Commission, distributed a letter received from the State of CT DEP in response to his request for funding of the repairs to the Rogers Lake Dam. Mr. Garvin requested funding under the Flood and Erosion Control Board Program for repairs. The Town has retained the engineering firm of Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates of Chester. They have prepared a Preliminary Opinion of Probable Construction Costs, which was $130,000 to repair the dam and an additional $12,000 to construct the fishway exit structure. Jacobson has calculated the percentage of State funding, based on the lakefront property type linear footage, to be 36.77%. The State calculated the total lineal feet to be 28,413 lineal feet. State
ownership is 975 lineal feet, municipal ownership is 982 lineal feet and private ownership is 26,455 lineal feet. The State share of 36.8% can be used for engineering design and construction of dam repairs of the Rogers Lake Dam.
Board of Finance Meeting November 14, 2006
The funding would be conditioned on the State’s Bond Commission approval of the project. The Town would have to pay the costs and be reimbursed by the Flood and Erosion Control Board, based on the cost sharing ratio. The DEP will write a Bond Commission request for this project in the amount of $64,293, which is 36.8% of the construction cost ($130,000) and the engineering cost ($44,710).
After discussion, it was decided that since the weed control was split 50/50% with the Town of Lyme and the Rogers Lake Patrol is split 50/50%, therefore, the maintenance should be split 50/50% as well. Mr. Griswold will check with the Attorney General’s office to determine if Lyme could be forced to participate.
Budget Specialist Update: Mr. Woolley stated that he and Mr. Russell met with the Fire Department and discussed their list of items that will be included in the upcoming budget. Mr. Woolley, Mr. Russell and Mr. Garvin will have a second meeting scheduled for early December. Some of the items mentioned were the Quint truck, a fireboat and part-time clerk (10 hours/week) to manage paperwork.
New Business
Mr. Griswold distributed a Compensation Review for Non-Union Employees and Elected Officials. A meeting was scheduled for Saturday, December 2nd at 9:00 a.m. with the Compensation Committee to start working on the salary increases.
Selectman’s Report
Town Hall Expansion Meeting: Mr. Griswold stated that a Special Town Meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday, November 21st at 7:30 p.m.
Town Woods Park – Phase II: Mr. Griswold stated that the STEAP Grants in the amount of $325,000 each for Lyme and Old Lyme (totaling $650,000) for Phase II of the Town Woods Sports Facility came through. The Phase II (two softball/baseball fields) project will hopefully be going out to bid in the springtime.
Board of Finance Meeting November 14, 2006
Hartford Avenue Reconstruction and Water Main: The Hartford Avenue reconstruction is ongoing. An 8” water main is being installed from just south of Bocce Lane to the end of Hartford Avenue. Private land owners are submitting their checks for $2,000 each to connect if they so desire. Connecting will not change the status of their properties (from seasonal to year-round).
A motion was made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mr. Devoe and passed unanimously to adjourn the regularly scheduled meeting at 8:40 pm and enter into Executive Session to discuss the Public Works Contract.
A motion was made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mr. Devoe and passed unanimously to adjourn the Executive Session at 8:55pm.
Mr. Diebolt stated that the next Board of Finance meeting is scheduled at the Town Hall for Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 7:00 p.m., a half hour earlier to discuss and vote on the Board of Finance Chairperson
at the Town Hall.
A motion was then made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mr. Woolley and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 8:56 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Hayes-Finn
Secretary
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