The Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting at 4:00 P.M. on Monday, April 16, 2007 in Memorial Town Hall Auditorium. First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Selectman Skip Sibley and Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder were present.
Approval of Minutes: April 2, 2007
Selectwoman Reemsnyder noted that a correction should be made on page 3, item 5c to read that only First Selectman Griswold took the NIMS course in Old Saybrook; not all three Selectman. Selectman Sibley made a motion to approve the amended minutes. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Communications:
Letter from Neil Gottfried – OLFD & Fire Marshal Response
First Selectman Griswold read a letter from Neil Gottfried, owner of Marc Jewelers, in which he congratulated Fire Marshal David Roberge and the Old Lyme Fire Dept for dealing with the faulty sprinkler system at the Old Lyme Marketplace on March 27 and, thereby, preventing a more serious situation.
Appointments:
None
Old Business:
Town Woods Park – Phase II – Bid Results
First Selectman Griswold stated that bids were received from EDI Landscape LLC and Machnik Bros for phase II of the Town Woods Park. EDI's total bid was $703,398 and Machnik's total bid was $577,660. The bid packages were given to Volmer Engineering for their input and feedback is expected at the next Town Woods Building Committee meeting on Wednesday, April 18th.
Town Hall Expansion
Bid Results
First Selectman Griswold reported that seven contractors bid on the town hall expansion project. The base bids ranged from $2,859,000 from Rudolph Netsch Construction of Chester to $4,075,000 from Larosa. Three bids were below the town's cost estimate and four were above. When adding all the alternates, the two lowest bids were $2,940,250 (Netsch) and $3,241,340 (Secondino). The committee has conducted interviews with the two lowest bidders and will be making a final recommendation on April 26th, when the final drawings have been reviewed.
Short Term Borrowing
On April 17 First Selectman Griswold, Cathy Frank and John Forbis will receive bids on the $3,300,000 nine-month note, that will include the payoff of the existing $700,000 short-term note. The loan will fund construction and other costs, not counting grants that might come in on the project.
Project Timing
The project is expected to begin on May 3rd.
Alternate Office Space
Land Use, Building, Health, Fire Marshal and Park & Rec will relocate to the Marketplace office space formerly occupied by Merrill Lynch and the United Bank. The Probate Court and the Registrar's Office will be relocated at the end of April to the upper level of the library. Most night meetings will be held at Christ the King. Other meetings that occur during the daytime will be held at the library, Lyme Art Academy and the Senior Center. Selectwoman Reemsnyder recommended that citizens subscribe to the town website to be informed on meeting locations. A recording will be added to the telephone system informing the public about new phone numbers for those offices that are relocating. The mail will continue to be delivered to the town hall. The staff will be parking in the Speirs
Plumbing area.
Town Budget – Update & Budget Hearing-April 23 at 7:30 P.M. Middle School
The Board of Finance hearing to review the budget and answer questions will be held on Monday, April 23 at 7:30 P.M. in the Middle School. The budget increase for the mill rate is 0.4 from 17.8 to 18.2 mills, which represents an increase of 2.25%. The overall budget, the town and the school together, is an increase of 3.23% but, because of the growth in the grand list of .83%, the increase in the mill rate will be 2.25%. The town itself is 4.36% that includes additional items such as $100,000 toward a Fire Dept apparatus, $41,000 for the Fire Dept volunteer incentive plan, and $23,000 for a second police car.
Smart Power and Global Warming–Congregational Church–Saturday, April 14
First Selectman Griswold showed a chart and explained that Smart Power is a campaign encouraging the town to have 20% of its power coming from renewable energy by the year 2010. For each 100 households that sign up, the town will get a free kilowatt of photo voltaic cells on the building. A meeting was held at the Congregational Church about global warming, and First Selectman Griswold informed the guests about the town's participation in the Smart Power program.
New Business:
Formation of Town Woods Organic Pesticide Study Committee
First Selectman Griswold suggested the following names to form an organic pesticide study committee: Ellie Czarnowski, Bob Linde, Dave McCulloch, Phil Neaton and himself. Selectman Sibley suggested adding Tom Risom or a delegate from the WPCA and John Rhodes to the list. First Selectman Griswold thought that a representative from Lyme should be included.
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Certified Zoning Enforcement Technicians – Sue Bartlett & Kim Groves
First Selectman Griswold recognized Sue Bartlett and Kim Groves for achieving certified zoning enforcement technician status.
Public Comment:
None
Other Business:
Selectman Sibley read an invitation he received from Boy Scout Committee Chairman Jerry Graves to recognize Matthew J. Graves as an Eagle Scout at a Court of Honor on Saturday, May 5th at 2:00 P.M. at the Old Lyme First Congregational Church. The Board of Selectmen will prepare a proclamation to be presented to Matthew.
Selectwoman Reemsnyder stated that she traveled with the Old Lyme robotics team to Atlanta, Georgia where the team represented the town very well. She congratulated them on their hard work.
First Selectman Griswold reported that the emergency management personnel were ready for the nor'easter last Sunday. There was some flooding on Rte. 156 near Windward Lane. Rogers Lake and the beach areas were okay. An application for a hazardous mitigation grant will be submitted.
Selectman Sibley reported that the garage door has been installed and the roof has been replaced on the building at the Little League field.
8. Adjournment:
Selectman Sibley made a motion to adjourn the meeting at 5:15 P.M. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted,
Eileen Coffee, Clerk
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