Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Regular Meeting Monday, September 21, 2009
The Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting at 7:30 P.M. on Monday, September 21, 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: 8 September 2009
The minutes of the regular meeting on September 8 were reviewed.
Selectman Sibley moved to accept the minutes as presented. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
2. Communications
a. Attorney Clarke – Black Hall Club vs Black Hall Woods, LLC
First Selectman Griswold read a letter from Town Attorney Marylin Clarke that states the Black Hall Club has engaged Atty. Bill McCoy to handle the Black Hall Woods matters, following the death of Atty. Jim Mattern. Atty. McCoy stated that the Club intends to withdraw its count seeking to enforce the purchase and sale contract with Black Hall Woods, but will pursue the count concerning adverse possession. Since the Club is no longer interested in purchasing the Buttonball Rd. and Rte.156 properties, the Town would have to “go it alone”, at its sole expense. Without the benefit of the Club’s 50% investment, it is unlikely the Town would go it alone. Mr. Griswold has informed the Open Space Committee about this.
3. Appointments: None
4. Old Business:
a. Sound View Formation Committee – Recommendations
Frank Pappalardo gave the Selectmen a report on the recommendations of the Committee. Last winter, the Committee presented the Board of Selectmen with a list of about 10 items for improvement. The Committee has since reviewed how towns and cities with public beaches in Connecticut, along with some in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine, regulate their beaches. Most have some sort of management authority that can act immediately without going through another group. These authorities are usually part of the Public Works or the Park & Rec. Departments. The issues in Sound View are common issues for other beaches in Connecticut and elsewhere. The Committee recommends appointing a Sound View Beach Authority acting as an arm of the Town of Old Lyme, which would have
specific responsibilities and authority.
First Selectman Griswold stated that this was a good first step and said that the specific powers and type of authority would need to be spelled out for an ordinance. Sound View is different from the other beach communities in Old Lyme in that it has public roads. He recommended checking with the other beach organizations to make sure that everyone is comfortable with a proposed ordinance. He is not convinced that the proposed authority needs to be a board or a commission instead of a standing committee.
Mr. Pappalardo stated that he would like to see the current laws enforced, improved communications and interfacing with existing enforcement entities. Selectman Sibley stated that if the Sound View Committee wants to have an ordinance passed addressing these issues, the town would need some legal advice before proceeding.
Selectwoman Reemsnyder stated that there has been a Beach Improvement Committee which has worked on several problems informally, but she would like to see a more formal entity set up, with members appointed by the Board of Selectmen. She would like the Committee to begin working on creating an ordinance.
Paul Rowean, a member of the Old Lyme Shores Beach Association and Vice President of the Federation of Beaches, made some comments in support of the efforts of the Sound View Beach Formation Committee. He also stated that the other beach associations would not like to be under the control of a Sound View Beach authority and asked to have the role of a beach authority clarified. Frank Pappalardo responded that Sound View is a public beach with town roads, owned by the Town of Old Lyme. It is not like the other beach areas in town, which have private roads. Private beach associations would not be controlled by a Sound View Beach authority.
Mr. Griswold said the rest of the public comment will take place at the end of the meeting.
b. Bus Barn Project – Update
The bid package for the Bus Barn Project should be ready by the end of September. The project will then be advertised and bid packages will be available at the Town Hall.
c. Church Corner Project – Update
There was a meeting with the contractor to discuss the project. There was some difficulty with the composition of the road sub-base materials. A course of action was decided upon and the binder course of pavement should be put down within the next 9 days. The project should be finished in early November. Selectman Griswold also spoke with the ministers of the Congregational Church about the project.
d. Public Works Garage Renovation – Update
The steel is scheduled to be shipped on September 28 and the 45 day project is expected to start during the first week in October. The roof will be done first.
e. Bonding of Town Hall Debt – Timing
First Selectman Griswold, the Town’s finance advisor, and the Finance Director discussed the financial condition of the town with Standard & Poors, the bond rating agency. The Town will receive its rating next week. The bids on the bonds will be submitted on October 1 and the closing will be on October 15th. The funds will be escrowed until October 29, when the short-term note will be retired.
There will be a meeting of the Town Hall Building Committee soon. The project attorney and the architect are still working to resolve the contractor issues.
f. Duck River Bridge – Engineer’s Report
The Town’s engineer and other consultants, along with representatives from the DEP, looked at the bridge and discussed installing a liner in the existing drainage pipe, instead of installing a new box culvert. It would be less expensive and less disruptive to the road and to the tidal wetlands area, which is environmentally sensitive. The engineer is obtaining prices for the liner and installation.
g. Cell Tower Public Information Meeting
The Town has been contacted by two cell phone tower companies. T-Mobile wants to put 4 towers along the Amtrak corridor, 80 to 100 ft tall. These towers could support 1or 2 other carriers. The second proposal is from SBA Towers which puts up towers and then leases space to cell phone companies. The 180 ft. tower would be located on the Cross Lane Firehouse property and could handle about five carriers. The Town is trying to schedule an informal public information meeting with both companies present. All the towers and locations would have to be approved by the CT Siting Council, which would hold a public hearing for each proposal. If a tower were built on town property, the Town would receive income and could co-locate emergency communications equipment on the tower. The approval
process could take 12 – 18 months.
6. New Business:
a. High School Building Project – Fee Structure for Town Inspections
The Town received a letter from Russ Gomes, Chairman of the School Building Committee, asking whether the town would be charging fees in conjunction with the building project. There were minor fees charged on the last building project, which involved schools in Lyme and Old Lyme, because the burden to each town was equitable. This project will take place entirely in Old Lyme and our staff (Building, Health and Fire Marshal) will be performing all the inspections. The fee for a building permit averages close to 1% of the cost of the improvements. First Selectman Griswold asked the Building, Health and Fire Marshal officials to weigh in on the fee issue. They believe there would be 2-3 inspections per week over the project life of about 30 months. The trade’s people would
also have to pull permits ($15 fees) for certain things – framing, HVAC, plumbing, electric, etc. The Town is trying to come up with a fee arrangement for the project based on an assumed number of inspections, instead of assessing the standard the building permit fee.
Susan Fogliano, District 18 Board of Education Chairman, thanked the First Selectmen for his quick response to her request to address the Board. She stated that she respects the process that needs to occur. The Board of Education was recently able to refinance the bonding for the previous 4-school project for a savings of over $600,000 for the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme. She also stated that the short term borrowing rate for the High School project is 0.78 % interest, much less than was expected. The Board of Education, the school administration, the Building Committee and the contractors have worked very hard to keep costs down. Mrs. Fogliano asked that the Board of Selectmen do everything in its power to minimize the fees.
First Selectman Griswold said the Board of Selectmen is working on this matter and that it will come up with a fair arrangement. Selectman Sibley said that the Town of Lyme should be expected to partner in a fee arrangement, citing the Cross Lane water main fee the Town of Old Lyme was forced to pay to Lyme several years ago.
b. Estuary Council of Seniors – 35th Anniversary
First Selectman Griswold said he attended the 35th anniversary luncheon celebration at the Estuary Council of Seniors on September 10th. Sen. Stillman and area First Selectmen offered remarks to those assembled.
6. Public Comment:
Bill Folland had four comments. First, he thought the Sound View Formation Committee should conduct a public hearing in order to receive comments from residents. Second, he thought the discussion on the Town Meeting agenda item concerning unimproved roads was not well presented. Third, he would like the Board of Selectmen to update the citizens on the status of the expenditure of the $200,000 approved for the Town Hall expansion at a Special Town Meeting. He is particularly interested in the status of the photovoltaic system. Fourth, he asked the Board to obtain legal advice concerning possible fee waivers for the High School project. He believes the Board can only waive up to $100.
7. Other Business:
Selectwoman Reemsnyder commented that the agendas for the Board of Selectmen meetings of September 8 and 21 were not posted on the Town’s website. She also commented on the poor video quality when Board meetings are held on a sunny day. This has been discussed at length and a solution is to hold day meetings in the Conference Room.
8. Adjournment:
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved, Selectman Sibley seconded, to adjourn the meeting at 8:45 PM. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted, Martha Hansen
Recording Secretary
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