Minutes of the Board of Finance meeting held on Tuesday, November 18, 2008 at 7:30 p.m. at Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall.
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UNAPPROVED
Present:~ Regular Members:~ Andrew Russell, Mark Diebolt,
H. P. Garvin, III, Christopher Kerr, David Woolley
Alternate Members:~ Judy Read, Ruth Roach, Janet Sturges
Timothy C. Griswold, ex-officio, Doris C. Johnson, Finance Administrator
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Absent:~~~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~ Wayne Devoe
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Alternate Members:~~
Guest: Gail Fuller, Chairperson, Sound View Beach Improvement Committee
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Mr. Russell called the meeting to order at 7:31~p.m.~stating that Mr. Devoe will not be present this evening. Therefore, a motion was made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Mr. Woolley to have Ms. Read vote for Mr. Devoe in his absence. Motion carried.
Minutes of October 21, 2008
Minutes of the October 21st meeting were reviewed.
There being no corrections noted, a motion was made by Mr. Garvin, seconded by Mr. Kerr and passed unanimously to approve the minutes as written. Motion carried.
Chart of Accounts dated September 30, 2008
The Chart of Accounts was distributed and reviewed.
Mrs. Johnson highlighted revenues and expenditures. The Selectman’s office part-time wages needs to be moved to an account above. Quarterly postage hasn’t been distributed to the individual departments yet. It was noted that the new line, Emergency Service Medical Expense, under Insurance is a new program where active Emergency Services personnel (Ambulance and Fire) can purchase the medical and dental coverage through the Town at 100% their own expense. The Senior Center Administration and Program represents the Director’s salary.
Board of Finance Meeting November 18, 2008
Mr. Russell stated that Sound View Beach Improvement engineering request needs to be added to the agenda. Therefore, a motion was made by Mr. Woolley, seconded by Ms. Read and passed unanimously to add the Sound View request to the agenda. Motion carried.
Mr. Griswold stated that the Sound View Beach Improvement Committee has been researching the pros and cons of building permanent bathrooms rather that the using port-a-potties. The bathrooms would be located on the northeast side of the Town parking lot. Mr. Griswold spoke with Gary Yuknat, of Shoreline Sanitation, and discussed the septic field and water table. Mr. Yuknat recommended talking with a consulting an engineer. The Committee is requesting up to $5,000 be available to pay for engineering costs. It was discussed having a holding tank along with a septic tank and leaching field. This would allow slow distribution of the grey water so it may be absorbed by the soil over an extended period of time. Mrs. Fuller explained that the DEP requires an engineering report in order
to move forward. Jerry Vowles, who runs the Carousel Shop, volunteered to oversee the facility during his business’ hours of operation.
A motion was made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mr. Woolley to approve up to $3,000 out of the parking lot fund for test holes and engineering reports.
New Business
Church Corner
A neighborhood meeting was held on November 6th to present the current design. The drainage work portion of the project would be performed prior to the July White Elephant Sale and the rest of the work would be performed after the White Elephant Sale. The cost of the project has been estimated by Rowley, Hendriks, our engineers, at $600,000 and the Town has been approved for a Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant of $425,000. Thus, the maximum net cost to the taxpayers would be $175,000. A formal Public Information Meeting will be held on December 15th and if approved by the Boards of Selectmen and finance, the matter would be presented at the Annual Town Meeting in January.
Board of Finance Meeting November 18, 2008
South Lyme Property Owner’s Resolution and Laserfiche Project
The Town of Old Lyme and the South Lyme Property Owners’ Association have settled their lawsuits. Part of the resolution provides for a registration process for all properties in the R-10 zone (1/4 acre) to determine if they are seasonal or year-round. It is anticipated that there are about 2,000 properties that could register.
The Land Use Department plans to send all 2,000 property owners the entire contents of their Building, Health, Zoning and ZBA files. Each property file varies in size based on the number of documents. Land Use would like to mail material by March 1, 2009. In order to be ready for the mailing, the laserfiche activity for the 2,000 properties must be completed by mid-February to provide time to produce the documentation and to process the mailing.
Mr. Griswold distributed a memo dated 14 November 2008 (attached) detailing a request for $30,000 and suggested a Special Town Meeting be held in early December.
A motion was made by Mr. Diebolt seconded by Mr. Garvin to recommend to a Special Town Meeting the transfer of $30,000 from the Project Coordinator salary line from Public Works to various Town budget lines to prepare for the registration process. So voted.
Old Business
Senior Center
Mr. Griswold stated that a meeting took place between with Mr. Paradis (Treasurer of the Lymes’ Senior Center), Mr. Russell, Mr. Woolley and Mrs. Johnson to discuss the possibility of the town of Lyme taking over the processing of payroll for the Senior Center Director. It was previously discussed that Old Lyme has been paying the Director so that the Senior Center Board would not have to undertake that task of spend money with a payroll service. The Senior Center board pays Old Lyme the salary amount plus FICA insurance. However, the Auditor for Old Lyme recommended that Old Lyme no longer pay the Director so that no one could infer that the Director is a full-time employee of Old Lyme.
In September, Mr. Griswold sent a letter to the Senior Center Board asking it to engage a payroll service after learning Lyme did not want to process the payroll for the director.
Board of Finance Meeting November 18, 2008
The meeting with Mr. Paradis was a second attempt to convince Lyme to process the payroll in order to save the Senior Center Board the estimated $1,000 for a payroll service. Since Lyme has refused a second time, the Board of Finance recommended Mr. Griswold write the Senior Center Board stating that, effective 01 January 2009, the Town of Old Lyme will no longer process the payroll for the Senior Center Director. In the meantime, the Board asked that until January, the director’s pay be paid via a separate check, rather than one check for the Social Service Coordinator and Senior Center Director pay.
Other Business
Mr. Russell stated that a Freedom of Information training meeting was held at the Town Hall on Monday, November 17th. It was very informative and well attended.
Selectman’s Report
Bus Barn: Anchor Engineering submitted an environmental report to the Town stating that the Bus Barn parcel at the Landfill “is not expected to pose any significant health effects on bus company employees or the students that they transport.” Mr. Griswold presented the report to superintendent Osga and discussed the report at the Leadership Meeting, where it received a favorable reception. Mr. Griswold and Mat Brown, P.E., of Anchor, presented the report to the Board of Education on 19 November. Mr. Griswold said Superintendent Osga suggested the Town build the Bus Barn facility (paving, office structure, fuel tank, fencing, etc.), and amortize the costs via a lease with the successful bus company starting in July 2010. The plan is to have the annual lease payment
less than $50,000 which is what the school is paying now. After some discussion, the Board of Education voted to stipulate the District 18 busses much be located at the proposed Four Mile River Road Bus Barn facility for at least two consecutive five-year contracts. The vote was seven in favor and two abstained. The ten-year term will enable the Town to recover its costs and once done, reduce the rent to a relatively small amount. Now the Town must secure all approvals and work with the district to finalize the layout of the bus Barn facility. Once this is done, the proposal can have a Request for Proposal prepared. The final construction can be built by 30 June 2010.
Board of Finance Meeting November 18, 2008
Public Works Garage Committee:
Architect Stephen Joncus will create a request for proposal (RFP) that will be available to interested contractors who they want to bid on the renovation of the Public Works Garage including roofing, siding, windows, doors, heating system, etc. The Committee opted to not replace the floor.
The next Board of Finance meeting will be held next Tuesday, December 16th at 7:30 p.m. at the Memorial Town Hall.
A motion was made by Mr. Diebolt, seconded by Mr. Kerr and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 9:27 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Hayes-Finn
Secretary
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