Minutes of the Board of Finance meeting held on Tuesday, March 30, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall Meeting Hall.
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~Present:~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~Andrew Russell, Christopher Kerr, Janet Sturges, David Woolley
Alternate Members:~ David Kelsey, Judy Read, Maggie Ward
Timothy C. Griswold, Ex-Officio
Nicole Stadjuhar, Finance Director
Absent:~~~~~~~~~~~ Regular Members:~ Wayne Devoe, H. P. Garvin, III
~~~~~~~~~Alternate Members:~ None
Guests: Mary Fiorelli, Director, Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library
John Collins, III, President, Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library
William Ridgway, Treasurer, Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library
Debra Petke, President, Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts
Mary Seidner, Director, Lyme Youth Service Bureau
Sue Jette, Lyme Youth
Skip Sibley, Selectman
Bonnie Reemsnyder, Selectwoman
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Mr. Russell called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.~ A motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Kerr to have Mr. Kelsey vote for Mr. Garvin in his absence. A motion was made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mrs. Sturges to have Ms. Read vote for Mr. Devoe in his absence. Motion carried.
A motion was made by Mr. Woolley, seconded by Mrs. Sturges to move the Minutes to the end of the meeting. Motion carried.
New Business
Senior Center 501(c)(3): Mrs. Stadjuhar explained that the Senior Center is not a 501(c)(3) and she is not sure if it is formally set up as a corporation. The Senior Center has a tax ID number but she believes it was obtained by the Center stating it was part of the Town of Old Lyme. The Town of Old Lyme does not want to have the Senior Center be part of the Town, so she will do more research on this matter.
Town Hall Phone System: Mr. Griswold stated that the Town Hall telephone system was purchased in 1998 or 1999 in advance of Y2K. It works reasonably well, but the manufacturer went out of business and parts will become difficult to obtain. A quote was obtained from Sonitrol to upgrade the phone system for about $1,700 or to replace it at $9,700. After discussion, it was agreed that replacement was a better choice, however the Board wanted more price estimates before committing to Sonitrol.
A motion was made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mr. Woolley to approve $9,700 (Capital – Gen. Govt.) for the Town Hall Phone System (Capital – Gen. Govt.), with the requirement to go out to bid. Motion Carried
Board of Finance Meeting March 30, 2010
Old Business
Parks and Recreation - Hains Park Bathroom: At a prior meeting, the Hains Park bathroom and bathhouse renovation was discussed but not voted on. Therefore, Ms. Read made a motion, seconded by Mr. Kerr to appropriate $15,000 to Capital – Gen. Govt. in FY 2010 for the Hains Park Bathhouse/bathroom renovations. Motion carried.
Mr. Russell requested a change in the agenda in order to accommodate this evening’s guests. Therefore, Mrs. Sturges made a motion, seconded by Mr. Woolley, to add to the PGN Library to the agenda as well as to move LYSB and the Lyme Academy up on the agenda. Motion carried.
Lyme Youth Service Bureau: Mrs. Seidner stated that Governor Rell issued her Deficit Mitigation Plan which includes taking $400,000 from the State’s Youth Service Bureaus’ Enhancement Grant This means a direct loss of $5,000 to the LYSB. In addition, she stated that, during the Social Service Director’s medical absence, LYSB readily stepped in to assist the town with the Holiday Giving Program and other family oriented assistance.
Mrs. Sturges made a motion, seconded by Mr. Woolley to appropriate $2,000 from the General Fund to the LYSB line (206-0610-0000) in FY 2010 to help with expenses incurred during the absence of the Social Service Director. A motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Woolley, to approve an additional $3,000 for the FY 2011 LYSB appropriation, increasing its appropriation from $66,000 to $69,000. Motion carried. Mr. Woolley, Mrs. Sturges, Mr. Kelsey and Ms. Read approved the motion. Mr. Kerr opposed the motion.
Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts: Mrs. Petke highlighted the Academy’s budget and the hardship that it is experiencing during these economic times. She explained that the College is an economic driver in town and, because the College is accredited, the Town has received State PILOT funding between $40,000 and $50,000 annually for several years. She requested the Board reconsider increasing the College’s support from $10,000 to $15,000.
After discussion, a motion was made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Ms. Read to allocate an additional $5,000 to the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts. Mrs. Sturges and Mrs. Read approved the motion and Mr. Woolley, Mr. Kelsey and Mr. Kerr opposed the motion. Motion did not carry.
Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library: Mr. Collins explained the benefits of the PGN Library to the Town. The Library is requesting $15,000 in additional funds for a total of $255,000. There was discussion about the use of the funds and the finances of the Library.
A motion was made by Ms. Read and seconded by Mrs. Sturges to increase the Library budget by $15,000 from $240,000 to $255,000. Ms. Read, Mrs. Sturges and Mr. Woolley approved the motion and Mr. Kelsey and Mr. Kerr opposed the motion. The motion carried.
Board of Finance Meeting March 30, 2010
Memorial Day Parade 2010 and 2011: There was discussion on the expenses incurred by the OLFD for the Memorial Day Parade. Bob Pierson, President of OLFD, said that the OLFD took over the parade from the American Legion years ago and that the Town funded $2,500 a year, which more than covered the expenses for several years. However, in the past three years, the $2,500 has not covered the expenses because there are more paid bands now and the bands have increased their charges. Last year the expenses were $5,214, leaving the Department to pay $2,714. The OLFD does not think it should have to pay for the parade expenses, other than for department expenses such as flowers. After discussion, it was decided that the Board of Selectmen needs to meet with the Fire Department to
thoroughly analyze the parade expenses and resolve this matter.
A motion was made by Mr. Kelsey, seconded by Mrs. Sturges to increase the FY 2011 Park and Rec – Memorial Day line from $2,500 to $4,000 for the parade. Motion was approved by Ms. Read, Mr. Kelsey and Mrs. Sturges. Mr. Woolley opposed the motion and Mr. Kerr abstained from the vote. Motion carried.
Mr. Woolley then made a motion to reduce the FY 2011 Fireworks line by $1,500 from $18,000 to $16,500 to support the extra $1,500 for the Memorial Day Parade and Ms. Read seconded the motion. Mr. Woolley, Mrs. Read, Mrs. Sturges and Mr. Kelsey supported the motion and Mr. Kerr opposed the motion. Motion carried.
Sound View Parking Lot Study: Mr. Sibley highlighted an alternative plan for Sound View Parking Lot and recommended that the Board approve funding a study of proposed improvements. There was discussion.
A motion was made by Mr. Woolley and seconded by Ms. Read to approve $2,500 in the FY 2011 Capital – Gen. Govt. budget for a study of the reconfiguration of the Town Parking Lot in Sound View. Motion carried.
Other Business
Rogers Lake Budget Request: The Rogers Lake Authority requested the Board to appropriate $9,000 to fund the hand pulling of weeds in Rogers Lake. The Authority is also requesting the Town of Lyme for an equal amount for a total of $18,000. The area proposed for weed pulling is in front of the rowing shell barn/Hains Park and near Picnic Island. Due to the lateness of the request, no action was taken.
Capital – General Governmant: The changes to Capital - General Government reflects the deletion of $5,000 for the Land Use - Plan of Development because it is in the FY 2010 Capital budget. New items included $9,700 for the Town Hall upgrade to the phone system and $2,500 for the Sound View Parking Lot study, both approved tonight. A motion was made was made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Mr. Kelsey to approve $158,650 for Capital - General Government. Motion carried.
Board of Finance Meeting March 30, 2010
Sound View Facilities: A motion was made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Ms. Read to add Park and Recreation Sound View Facilities to Old Business on the agenda. Motion carried. Because the Sound View Parking Lot Account will be closed, the account can no longer fund the expenses of the parking lot operation.
A motion was then made by Mr. Kerr, seconded by Ms. Read and passed unanimously to add $6,990 to the FY 2010 Park and Recreation Sound View Facilities line (204-0400-0404-032). Motion carried.
Flood & Erosion – Sheffield Brook Study: A motion was made by Mr. Woolley, seconded by Mr. Kelsey to add the Flood and Erosion discussion to the Agenda. Motion carried.
Mr. Woolley explained the flooding situation at the Sheffield Brook and the need for the $54,000 study in order to apply for FEMA funds. He requested the Board reconsider funding $19,000, which represents one-third of the engineering study (Old Lyme Shores and Old Colony to fund two-thirds).
A motion was made by Mr. Woolley to add $19,000 to Flood and Erosion (Capita)l. There was no second to the motion, therefore, motion died.
Wrap up
Mrs. Stadjuhar said the new amount for Total General Government is $7,582,629 and for Capital Outlay is $799,665. Combining Total General Government and Capital Outlay equals $8,382,294 and, when adding the Reg. Dist. 18 total of $22,718,749, the Total Budget $31,101,043. Mr. Griswold stated that the new mill rate will be 18.57, rounded to 18.6 mills. Mr. Russell thanked the Board members and staff for all their hard work.
Minutes of March 23rd : The minutes of March 23rd were reviewed.
There being no further corrections, a motion was made by Mr. Kelsey, seconded by Mr. Kerr, and passed unanimously to approve the minutes as written. Motion carried.
Mr. Russell stated that the Budget Hearing will be on April 19th at 7:30 PM in the Middle School Auditorium.
A motion was then made by Mrs. Sturges, seconded by Mr. Kerr and passed unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 10:00 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Michele Hayes-Finn
Secretary
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