Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Regular Meeting Monday, January 7, 2008
The Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting at 8:30 A.M. on Monday, January 7, 2008 at Christ the King Church. First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Selectman Skip Sibley and Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder were present.
1. Approval of Minutes: 17 December 2007
The minutes of December 17 were reviewed. Selectwoman Reemsnyder asked to have 3 items corrected/changed: item 5g, Police Staffing Committee, should be corrected to state that the Lieutenant asked to be on the Staffing Committee; item 6a should state that the ATV could hold up to 4 people, and that the Federation would like it to be an asset to the Police Department. First Selectman Griswold added that the Board came out of Executive Session at 9:50 PM and the meeting was adjourned at 9:51 PM. In the future Selectman Griswold will send his edits to the other Selectmen before the board meeting.
Selectman Sibley made a motion to accept the minutes as amended, Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
3. Communications: None
4. Appointments: None (Review January Appointments)
First Selectman Griswold stated that there are some committees have vacancies and recommendations will be discussed at the next meeting.
5. Old Business:
a. Town Hall Expansion – Status
Power will be disconnected to the Town Hall on Tuesday to allow for the installation of a new pole and a 3 phase power system. Selectman Sibley requested an updated accounting spreadsheet on the project. First Selectman Griswold will bring one to the next meeting. A discussion took place about the $200,000 grant for the renovation project, and the status of the Small Cities Grant application.
The north side of the roof has been shingled and work is progressing on the remaining areas.
b. Transfer Station – Status
First Selectman Griswold stated that the contractor should be able to start work on the Transfer Station in the second week of January. Anchor Engineering has provided an assessment of the site; one issue is that the entrance should be moved, but a utility pole is in the way. Removing it makes the span between poles too long, so a new pole has to be installed. Some work will need to be done on Four Mile River Road (a town road) to accommodate the new pole.
e. Landfill Closure – Material from Blinkers – Update
First Selectman Griswold has been in contact with Don Fortunato, the owner’s engineer, who agrees that all of the material should be removed. The DEP is also aware of the situation, and requires a special permit to move some of the material. Selectman Sibley suggested that the town send a letter to the owners with a deadline for the removal of the material, since it could hold up the completion of the landfill closure. If legal counsel needs to be engaged the town would benefit from having a record of the requested deadline.
f. Public Works Garage Committee – Update
The first meeting was December 20, the site was discussed and another meeting was scheduled for today at 4 pm. Ed Adanti has obtained plans from the state for a sand storage shed and the committee thinks the newer pole building could be used for off-season storage since it has electricity. The current building needs the roof repaired. The committee also discussed upgrading the interior and the lavatories. The site plan was discussed along with the possibility of including an open garage for the vehicles when they are not in use so they can be stored under cover. The garage could be located at the end of the yard, near the gas pumps and the office area. It could also be used to store police cars when they are not being used. Selectman Sibley asked about filling the vacancy in the Public Works Department,
and suggested that someone with basic mechanics skills should be hired.
g. Police Staffing Committee – Update
The committee had a meeting and discussed schedules, another meeting will be held on January 10 and scheduling issues will be discussed again. The committee feels that it is better to have more people on staff, with fewer people the police would become more reactive than proactive.
First Selectman Griswold reported that several other shoreline towns are also planning to increase their police staff. He would like to get someone who is already trained.
Selectwoman Reemsnyder asked if someone on the committee could call the other committee members when a meeting is cancelled. Some members did not know about last Thursday’s cancellation.
h. OLFD - Delivery of New Pumper/Hose Tender
First Selectman Griswold reported that a new Pumper/Hose Tender will coming in from Louisiana.
6. New Business:
a. Discontinuance of a Portion of Ben Franklin Rd. – Vote on Agreement
First Selectman Griswold stated that at last years annual town meeting it was agreed that when an agreement was drawn up that was satisfactory to the Selectmen; they would go forward with the discontinuance of a portion of Ben Franklin Rd. An agreement has been drawn up by Attorney Clarke and the Dagremond’s attorney. The agreement provides supervised access for townspeople for educational or historical purposes. The access would be controlled by the Selectmen’s office and would require advance notification of the owners. Selectman Sibley asked to have town historian Ned Phieffer look at the agreement also, to make sure it meets all the town’s requirements.
7. Public Comment:
Alice Burbank spoke about initiating tax relief for seniors in town. She acknowledged that there are local and state programs for lower income seniors, but would like to have seniors of middle income helped also. She pointed out that when a spouse dies income is reduced and some people may have difficulty staying in their homes. She would like to make sure that seniors are not forced to sell their homes because they can’t afford a tax increase. She proposed a tax relief program for all Old Lyme seniors aged 67 and up, with no income limit. The program would freeze assessments for owner occupied private residences. All properties would continue to be subject to the 5 year reassessment program, but residences of senior citizens 67 and older would be frozen at the 2006 assessments.
Seniors would continue to pay at the current tax rate on the assessment. Any improvements to the residences requiring a building permit would be factored into that stable assessment. She would like the seniors to retain the right to challenge increases in the 5 year reevaluation program. She suggested a way to compensate the town for lost income: when the property is transferred the then current assessment would become effective and the town would be reimbursed the difference between the 2 rates (a formula could be employed to calculate the amount). Since many seniors are property rich and cash poor, this would allow them to use some of the equity in their property.
Selectwoman Reemsnyder commented that they have asked for a committee on tax relief for seniors, but are having problems finding people to serve on it. She offered to send Mrs. Burbank an application. She stated that the town is restricted by the state in regards to this type of program, but feels that something should and could be done to help people. The town would also need to know what the impact would be on the budget, hence the need for a committee to investigate all the options. So far there are 2 people willing to serve on the committee; at least 2 more are needed.
First Selectman Griswold expressed concern about the impact on the other taxpayers if town income was reduced, and did not want to pass on the pain to other townspeople. However he thought that once the recapture program got going the monies would be replenished. He also pointed out that a group in Stonington proposed a similar program on a statewide basis a few years ago, so the concept has been discussed a lot.
9. Executive Session – none
10. Adjournment
Selectman Sibley moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:35, Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Hansen
Recording Secretary
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