Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Regular Meeting December 16, 2002
The Board of Selectmen held its regular meeting at 7:30 P.M. on Monday, December 16, 2002 at Memorial Town Hall Auditorium. Those present were First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Selectman Tom Bice and Selectman Skip Sibley.
1. Approval of Minutes:
Selectman Sibley made a motion to approve the minutes of December 2, 2002 as written. Selectman Bice seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
2. Communications:
None
3. Appointments:
None
4. Old Business:
a. Town Woods Park – Appoint Robert Dunn to Building Committee
When the Town Woods Park Building Committee was formed, there was one opening for a member of the Old Lyme Day Care which has since withdrawn its intention to build on the Town Woods property. The Committee is now comprised of Glynn McAraw and Roger Zito from Park & Rec., Director of Park & Rec Don Bugbee, Jerry Windsor and Dan Hagan from Lyme and Board of Finance member Gail Roth. Old Lyme resident Bob Dunn requested to fill the one remaining opening. He has been active and interested in the Town Woods Park and has the knowledge, inclination and the time to fill this position. Selectman Sibley stated he knew of others who are interested and knowledgeable in construction and should be considered. It was decided to get the names of interested citizens and consider them at the next meeting.
b. Hartford Avenue Task Force – Update
Selectman Bice reported that Ocean Spray has been sold and the purchase of another full block of Hartford Avenue will be concluded within the next couple of weeks. The Sound View Beach Association is in the process of purchasing the Emporium. The Task Force is coming to terms with the outline of the contents of the Planned Development District. Those ideas were transmitted to Linda Krause of CRERPA who is now in the process of preparing a first draft of a PDD that will be reviewed at subsequent meetings. At the last Task Force meeting it was agreed that, although the timeline originally proposed was not greater than one year from its origin in May, the work may be concluded by March.
c. Sound View Parking Committee - Update
The Sound View Parking Committee decided to draft a letter to parking lot owners and another for the residents of Sound View explaining changes that will be occurring next summer. Town Attorney Marylin Clarke is working on an ordinance to be presented at the Annual Town Meeting regarding the process for protesting a parking fine. The committee is working on more uniform signage in the beach area so there will not be conflicting information. The next meeting will be on January 9, 2003.
d. Adelphia Cable Advisory Committee – Update
Selectman Sibley reported that he attended an Adelphia Cable Advisory Committee meeting and was told that over $800,000 has been budgeted by Adelphia for DSL service in the local area. Norwich is completing an upgrade and has equipment that is no longer needed. This equipment will be used in Old Lyme to upgrade our service from 450 megahertz to 550 megahertz. This transition could take place within three to four months’ time. The Advisory Council recommended urging the DPUC to grant an extension of the franchise. Selectman Bice asked whether Old Lyme should agree to do this or does this put Old Lyme in an advantageous position of asking SNET for an offer? Selectman Sibley replied that it is contingent upon Adelphia given the extension and fulfilling its promises which should be in a written
form instead of verbal. Competitive enterprise is sometimes best. First Selectman Griswold spoke with a contact person from SNET who hopes to hear back by the end of the week whether the submitted business plan has been approved.
e. Affordable Housing – 102-1 Mile Creek Road - Update
Eric Fries has spoken with Geoscience Technical Services of Old Lyme to do preliminary work on the environmental aspects of the property. The analysis will cost $750 and will involve searching the DEP records and an investigation on site. If the results are promising, the Board of Finance will be requested to fund a second phase of survey, topographic and wetlands maps. This step will be followed by a variance request to the Zoning Board of Appeals.
5. New Business:
a. Visit with Rep. Elect Marilyn Guliano
Rep. Elect Marilyn Guliano visited the Old Lyme Town Hall and stated she will do some investigation on whether Hartford has any landfill closure funding. Also, she agreed to check on whether the impending tolls on the interstate highway will cause Connecticut to lose federal funds and what will be the financial consequences.
b. State Budget – Municipal Cuts – Impact to Old Lyme
In recent newspapers, it was reported that CCM indicated that Old Lyme might lose up to $93,000 in funding from the State of Connecticut. These funds are general revenue and will have to be recovered by a cutback in spending or use of the surplus.
c. L&M Hospital – Municipal Leaders’ Meeting
The Lawrence & Memorial Hospital is becoming more involved in a non-traditional way by being a strong supporter of the Breast Cancer Awareness Program. They are also playing a key role in the small pox issue by inoculating volunteer workers so they, as well as additional hospital staff and first responders in various communities, are prepared in case of an outbreak. New London High School and Fitch High School will be set up to inoculate up to 10,000 people per day.
d. Tree Commission – Planned Activities
The Tree Commission has completed the trimming of trees in the center of town. They will next trim trees along Brown’s Lane, Buttonball Road, Huntley Road, Mile Creek Road, Saunders Hollow Road, Rowland Road and Sill Lane. The goal is to have the branches lifted to 15 ft. above the road and to move the vegetation back to 10 ft. from the edge of the road.
e. Approval of 2003 Board of Selectmen Meeting Schedule
The 2003 schedule is very similar to the 2002 schedule. There is a question as to whether the meetings should be held consistently at 7:30 P.M. or rotate between afternoon and evening. Selectman Sibley stated that he preferred the meetings be held at 7:30 P.M. If there is a special occasion which makes it necessary to have an earlier meeting , Selectman Sibley could be flexible. First Selectman Griswold distributed the schedule. Selectman Bice made a motion to approve the schedule. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
6. Public Comment:
Selectman Bice stated that Skip Beebe and John Seckla voiced concerned about the proposed stop signs on Lyme Street near Library Lane. They are concerned the stop signs may cause a bottleneck on Lyme Street and this could hinder the passage of fire trucks. First Selectman Griswold said he would have one of the resident troopers speak with them about traffic control and sirens in this area.
Resident Jack Alexander stated that Adelphia is going to start with upgrading the node in the shore area in Old Lyme and will have the service available as each node is equipped. The time that the service will be available may be faster than four months. He feels that generating competition from SNET would be great.
Mr. Alexander responded to the question of the highway tolls by saying that the TSB decided at the last meeting they were not going to touch the tolls because of the loss of federal money. He feels that members of the CRRA should impress upon the budget cutters that the $26.4 million lost by Enron is being transferred to the towns in the form of tipping fees increases and that will be paid every year for the next 11 years. He reasons that the towns are already making an extra contribution of $26.4 million and that should be taken into consideration as cuts in and to the mid-Connecticut towns are being made.
7. Other Business:
The Fine Point Inspection LLC estimated $325 to do the inspection of the Roche property. The lead testing is an additional fee. Selectman Sibley suggested getting a contractor to estimate the cost of removing the asbestos and having the water tested.
8. Executive Session:
Discussion of possible real estate acquisitions.
9. Adjournment:
Selectman Sibley made a motion to adjourn at 8:16 P.M. The motion was seconded by Selectman Bice. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted,
Eileen Coffee, Clerk
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