Old Lyme Board of Selectmen Unapproved
Regular Meeting Monday, March 2, 2009
The Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting at 7:30 P.M. on Monday, March 2, 2009 in the Meeting Hall at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall. First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Selectman Skip Sibley and Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder were present.
1. Approval of Minutes: 10 February 2009 (Regular)
The minutes of the regular meeting on February 10 were reviewed.
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to accept the minutes as presented and Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
2. Communications:
a. Lyme/Old Lyme Council of Churches – Community Outreach
The Selectman’s office received a letter from Rev. Rebecca Crosby of the Lyme/Old Lyme Churches, who is concerned about the increase in demand for assistance from area residents. She suggested creating a forum to include the churches and representatives from District 18, LYSB, and town and state social services. The forum would help to improve communications among the groups, help them exchange information and clarify the role of the churches. The selectman discussed the issue and agreed that it would be a good idea. In addition, a list of social services resources should be listed on the town’s Web site, once the process is complete.
b. Joseph Camean – CT Riverway Trail
A few months ago, Mr. Camean submitted an application to the DEP for a grant to do a feasibility study on the CT Riverway Trail project. The Town was supposed to be notified of a decision in January 2009. The town received a letter in February stating that, while the DEP was enthusiastically in favor of the study and the project, the Federal government was not allocating funds for this type of project at this time. The application will be reconsidered in September.
c. Timothy Londregan – Huntly Wind Cooperative
The Selectman’s office received a letter from Timothy Londregan asking for support for the Huntly Wind Cooperative, a renewable energy project which hopes to construct two windmill towers in or near the Lieutenant River basin behind the Hideaway restaurant. The project would have to be approved by Planning & Zoning as well as the CT Siting Council (similar to a cell phone tower). There would be public hearings during the process. The Town of Old Lyme is a member of the 20% by 2010 Clean Energy program. The Selectmen would like Mr. Londregan to attend a future Selectmen’s meeting to discuss the project and provide additional information.
3. Appointments:
a. William Dunbar (R) - Open Space Committee – 1 year term to January 2010
Selectman Sibley moved to appoint William Dunbar to the Open Space Committee for a 1 year term ending in January 2010. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
b. Patience Moll (R) – Tree Commission- Resigned as Regular Member
First Selectman Griswold received a letter from Pat Moll resigning as a regular member of the Tree Commission and asking to be appointed as an alternate member. She is out of town during a large part of the growing season.
c. Patience Moll (R) – Tree Commission – Alternate – 1 year term to January 2010
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to appoint Pat Moll as an alternate member of the Tree Commission for a 1 year term ending in January 2010. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
4. Old Business:
a. Town/School Budget – Status
The District 18 School Budget was presented to the Boards of Selectmen and Finance of Lyme and Old Lyme. District 18 is requesting a budget increase of 2%. Some positions are being eliminated and the budget does not include any expenses associated with the new High School. The town’s Grand List growth is very low, 0.13%, compared to last year’s figure of 0.6%. Tax collections are slightly less than last year. Old Lyme receives very little state aid (3.5% of total revenue), but we will not know until after the State budget is approved exactly how much we will receive. Other revenue sources will be flat or less than this year. First Selectman Griswold said the Town expenditures should be flat or perhaps slightly less than this year. The town will make some
changes to its health insurance plan to save money on premiums.
b. Bus Barn – Update
The last pile of earth is being moved and the site should be ready for the bus barn soon.
The Bus Barn building has been redesigned slightly (a larger meeting room, smaller dispatch room) at the request of the school district. The site plan must be approved by Inland Wetlands and Zoning and then the project will be brought to a town meeting for approval. The facility needs to be ready by July 1, 2010.
c. Church Corner Project – Update
The Town has received documentation from the engineer which will be sent to the DOT. The project should be sent to bid on March 18th.
d. Sound View Beach Board Formation Committee – First Meeting
The Committee had its first meeting and will be researching similar committees along the shoreline and in Rhode Island to find out what they have done. Selectwoman Reemsnyder asked about creating a bus ordinance for Sound View before the summer season begins. Large buses are too big for the roads in Sound View. Selectman Griswold will investigate the matter.
e. Public Works Garage Committee – RFP on 5 Mar 09
The Committee will meet this week and will hopefully receive the RFP for the work.
f. Sale of Old Police Cars
All of the bids have been received.
5. New Business:
a. State Rep. Lawrence Cafero – Budget Roundtable
A state budget roundtable was held by Representative Cafero. The state is expecting a deficit of about $1 billion this year and $3-4 billion for each of the next two years. The state is trying to find ways to fill the gap without raising taxes or cutting funds to the towns. The towns are giving a lot of feedback to the legislators. The state will be receiving $224 billion from the Federal Stimulus package for shovel-ready projects.
b. Resolution – Household Hazardous Waste Vendor
First Selectman Griswold stated that Veolia has more competitive pricing than the town’s previous hazardous waste vendor, Clean Harbors.
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to approve the resolution of Veolia as the town’s hazardous waste vendor. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
c. 2009 Girl Scout Week Proclamation
Selectwoman Reemsnyder read the Girl Scout Week Proclamation which recognizes the 97th anniversary of the founding of the Girl Scouts of America. First Selectman Griswold proclaimed the week of March 8, 2009, as Girl Scout Week.
d. LOLHS Girls Basketball – Coach Bugbee – Coach of the Year, Margaret Douglas – All-Shoreline First Team, Catherine Logan- All-Shoreline Second Team and Ali Wilkman – All-Shoreline Honorable Mention
The Selectmen congratulate Coach Bugbee, Margaret Douglas, Catherine Logan, and Ali Wilkman for their outstanding performance.
6. Public Comment - none
7. Other Business – none
8. Executive Session- None
9. Adjournment
Selectman Sibley moved and Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 8:44 P.M.
SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted,
Martha Hansen
Recording Secretary
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