Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Regular Meeting Monday, April 21, 2008
The Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting at 4:00 P.M. on Monday, April 21, 2008 at Christ the King Church. First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Selectman Skip Sibley and Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder were present.
1. ~Approval of Minutes: 7 April 2008 Regular Meeting, 9 April 2008 Special Meeting
The minutes of the Regular Meeting on 7 April 2008 were reviewed. Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to accept the minutes as presented and Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
The minutes of the Special Meeting on 9 April 2008 were reviewed. Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to accept the minutes as presented and Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
~~~~~~~~
2. ~Communications: None
~~~~~~~
3. ~Appointments: None
~~~~~~
4. ~Old Business:
~~~~~~~~a. Town Hall Expansion – Recommend Approval of $195,000 Appropriation to Board of Finance and to the Annual Town Budget Meeting
First Selectman Griswold reported that the work is progressing well. Public Works has installed dry wells for the gutters, the trim has been installed in the meeting hall and land use areas and carpeting has been installed on the second floor. Because of some cost overruns and some new items that were not included in the original budget, the Building Committee recommends an appropriation of $195,000 be approved to fund them.
John Forbis presented an update on the Town Hall expansion budget. The total budget is $4.4 million with construction costs of $3.0 million. Project cost reductions and contingency funds have been used to cover the following additional costs: asbestos removal ($25,000), note and bond transaction costs ($37,000), rent during construction ($10,000), engineering and consulting ($27,000) and change orders ($74,000) plus some smaller items. ~New items include an emergency generator ($23,000), photovoltaic system ($30,500), art restoration ($12,000) plus other smaller items. The requested $195,000 should be reduced to about $142,000 after grants and donations are received and will enable the completion of the project without having to defer items to a future fiscal year.
Selectman Sibley pointed out that the original contingency fund was less than 2% of the total budget, which is very low for a renovation project. A figure of 5% or $220,000 is more realistic and 10% ($440,000) is typical. ~He proposed increasing the $195,000 to $250,000 to provide a cushion and avoid having to ask for more in the future if additional unexpected expenses arise.
John Forbis suggested that, if an additional $250,000 is allocated, any amount spent over $195,000 should be approved by the Board of Selectmen. ~Selectman Sibley stated that the building committee should be the watchdog of the project and how the funds are spent.
Selectman Sibley made a motion to authorize the appropriation of an amount not to exceed $250,000 to fund expenses associated with the town hall expansion project, which will be recommended to the Board of Finance and to the Annual Town Budget Meeting. The funds shall come from the town’s undesignated surplus account. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
John Forbis agreed to inform the Selectmen if more than $195,000 needs to be spent.
~~~~~~~b. Transfer Station – Status
Paving has been completed and the contract is nearly finished. Two of the staff are being trained on the operation of the scale and they will train others. ~Mr. Gentile has taken a one-day certification course in Landfill Management and Mr. Rutty is already certified. ~Additional work has been done on the parking surface near the east wall which was very wet. ~21” of various grade rock material was added. Nutmeg has been a good firm to work with. First Selectman Griswold has talked to them about the landfill closure, which would be a separate bid. ~Local soil types (which would have lower transportation costs) are being evaluated in preparation for capping the landfill. Once the Transfer Station is completed the town will need to get clearance to operate from the DEP. Then the landfill can be capped. ~The Transfer
Station should be able to open on June 1 and there will be a town-wide mailing outlining the fees. There will be an extra person in the scale area to assist people. ~Recycle material will continue to be received for free or at appropriate fees.
Selectman Sibley suggested checking with the towns of Essex and/or East Lyme for advice on how to handle different (mixed) loads.
c. ~Landfill Closure – Material from Blinkers – Update
A large amount of the material was moved this morning and the rest will be moved tomorrow.
~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~ d. Church Corner – status
~~~~~~The Church Corner Committee, encouraged by the STEAP Grant approval, is finalizing the plans. Mrs. Sturges will speak to Christ the King Church about the overhead power lines going to the Monsignor’s residence. The utility company will be consulted about moving some of the utility poles back. The Historic District Commission’s suggestions have been accommodated, so the committee should be getting a Certificate of Appropriateness from them soon. ~Zoning will be consulted also. When it is time to do the drainage work and pave the area, the timing will be discussed with the Congregational Church in order to minimize interference with weddings and other events.
~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~e. ~Police Staffing Committee – Update
~~~~~~First Selectman Griswold reported that in the first part of May, a Review Board will interview the full and part-time police candidates and the candidates will take written exams. Then background checks, etc. will be done, so the candidate pool will be narrowed down before any expenses will occur. Some good candidates have applied. ~
~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~ f. Elderly Tax Relief Committee – Update
The committee met and Don Tapper brought a stack of papers detailing all of the tax abatement programs offered by towns in the state of CT. Selectwoman Reemsnyder stated that it was extremely helpful to see what other towns have done. A list of potentially eligible property owners is being generated. Renters needing assistance are handled by Sherry Meyer at the Senior Center. Selectman Sibley suggested having someone from the Board of Finance attend the next meeting.
~~~~~~~~g. Flood & Erosion Control Board – April meeting
The board had one meeting and will meet again tomorrow at 4:00 PM for a site walk. They will look at the outfalls of chronic problem areas. ~Representatives from Docko and from some of the beach associations will also attend.
5. ~New Business:
~~~~~~~~a. Baldwin Bridge Abutment Lease – Authority to sign
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to authorize Selectman Griswold to sign the agreement extending the lease from June 30, 2008 to June 30, 2018. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. ~SO VOTED.
Selectman Sibley asked to have the May 5 Board of Selectman meeting time changed from 7:30 PM to 7:30 AM.
~~~~~~~~
6. ~Public Comment: None
7. Other Business: None
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to go into Executive Session at 5:25 PM, Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
~~~~~
8. ~Executive Session
~~~~~~~~a. Personnel Matter
~~~~~~~~
9. Adjournment
The Board came out of Executive Session at
Respectfully submitted, ~
Martha Hansen
Recording Secretary
| 
