Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Regular Meeting: Monday, April 5, 2010
1. Executive Session – Selectman Sibley moved to go into Executive Session at
7:02 PM, seconded by First Selectman Griswold. SO VOTED. Atty. Kevin McTighe was invited into the Executive Session. Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to exit Executive Session at 7:20 PM, seconded by Selectman Sibley. SO VOTED. Selectman Sibley moved to consent to the Iovanna settlement, as discussed in Executive Session. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
The Board of Selectmen held a regular meeting at 7:30 PM on Monday, April 5, 2010 in the Meeting Hall at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall. First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Selectman Skip Sibley and Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder were present.
2. ~Approval of Minutes – February 12, 2010 and March 1, 2010
Selectman Sibley moved to accept the minutes of February 12, 2010. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED. Selectman Sibley moved to accept the minutes of March 1, 2010. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
3. Communications - none
4. Appointments - none
5. Old Business
a. Town Budget – First Selectman Griswold reported that the Board of Finance has finalized the budget for fiscal year 2011. A hearing is scheduled on April 19, 2010 at 7:30 PM in the Middle School. The Town Budget Meeting will be held on May 17, 2010 at 7:30 PM in the Middle School. First Selectman Griswold reviewed the budget stating that the general government portion of the budget ($7,582,629) is forecast to decrease by $127,421 (-1.65%). The Capital Budget ($799,665) will increase $15,265 (1.95%). The overall Government Budget of $8,382,294,000 will decrease $112,156 (-1.32%). First Selectman Griswold stated that he is not sure of the school budget number yet but there will be a slight increase. There is an increase in the enrollment of Lyme
students versus Old Lyme students, so Old Lyme's share of the school budget will decrease from 80.3% to 79.4%. The total School Budget will increase somewhere between $160,000 and $190,000, and First Selectmen Griswold will get the final number from the school. Following the five year revaluation, the Grand List has increased from $1,501,000,000 to $1,588,000,000 which is slightly under a 6% increase over last year. The mill rate for the upcoming fiscal year will be 18.6 which is down from 19.5 last year. First Selectman Griswold commended the Board of Finance on doing a superb job and thanked the spending agencies for being fair with their requests. First Selectman Griswold stated that the Town is forecasting a decrease in support from the State.
b. Bus Barn – First Selectman Griswold reported that work continues on the Bus Barn and it will be completed by July 1, 2010. A meeting was held on Friday, attended by the Engineer, the Contractor and the Committee. Decisions were finalized with respect to some elements of the design. In summary, the surface will be reduced in height by 9 inches. This will accommodate the drainage under the pavement and eliminate the need for the retaining wall near the building. Once Machnik Brothers begins to work the soil, we will know more about the cost of installing the drainage as the present material may be unsuitable for the underground drainage pipe. If the soil is unsuitable, we will plan accordingly. A modular building will be used, representing a savings of
$7,000.
c. Town Hall Expansion – First Selectman Griswold reported that the Connecticut Trust will present a Connecticut Preservation Award for the Town Hall renovation design to the Old Lyme Town and our architect, Paul Bailey. This will be done in Hartford on April 7th. First Selectman Griswold added that the Tree Commission received an Award of Excellence in Horticulture from the Federation of Garden Clubs of CT for the Town Hall landscaping.
First Selectman Griswold reported that an engineering firm has done preliminary work on evaluating the outstanding problems with the HVAC in the Town Hall.
d. Church Corner – First Selectman Griswold reported that a meeting was held on Friday with the contractor regarding the change orders. There will be another meeting on Friday, April 9, to propose an appropriate settlement with the contractor. Outstanding items are the blue stone sidewalks, three or four driveway aprons and the placement of two or three sections of curbing.
e. Open Space Committee to Become a Commission – First Selectman Griswold reported that there is a meeting scheduled for April 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM in the Town Hall Meeting Room with the various Land Use Commissions. They will review the Open Space Committee's proposal to become the Open Space Commission. Selectwoman Reemsnyder inquired if this will be presented at the Annual Town Meeting in May. First Selectman Griswold stated that he felt it could be. Selectman Sibley suggested that First Selectman Griswold send a letter to the various Boards and Commissions involved and provide a copy of the ordinance with the letter. This letter should state the importance of the meeting on April 22 and request their participation. First
Selectman Griswold stated that he would speak to Ms. Atwood and get this letter out to the Boards and Commissions. Selectwoman Reemsnyder inquired if the approval of this ordinance would require a hearing. First Selectman Griswold will get clarification.
f. T-Mobile Cell Tower Application – First Selectman Griswold stated that he had not recently heard anything from the CT Siting Council. He had seen copies of letters from lawyers talking about interveners such as the Black Hall Golf Club, which T-Mobile is challenging. First Selectman Griswold stated that the various hearings have been concluded. Selectman Sibley stated that the Board of Selectmen have sent a letter to the CT Siting Council informing them of the Town's zoning regulations and requesting that it take the regulations into consideration and abide by them. First Selectman Griswold stated that no feedback from this letter has been received. The CT Siting Council has a 90-day period to make its decision and this 90-day
period should be up in May. Selectman Sibley suggested that First Selectman Griswold telephone the CT Siting Council for an update.
g. Regional Probate Court Naming – First Selectman Griswold stated that he received three good name suggestions from the students at the High School for the new Probate Court: The Florence Griswold Probate Court, Ella Grasso Probate Court and the Hiram Bingham Probate Court. However, the other three town CEO’s were not enthusiastic about the names, so the name of the Regional Probate Court will be Regional Number 32 Probate District Court. First Selectman Griswold stated that he will find out why and how this name was chosen and also thank the students for their suggestions.
6. New Business
a. Rain and Flooding – First Selectman Griswold commended the Town's Emergency Management, Fire, Ambulance, Public Works and Police for doing an excellent job during the recent storms. Dave Roberge has submitted a preliminary summary to First Selectman Griswold. There were 400 phone calls asking for assistance or information, 120 referrals from Valley Shore and 260 households needing assistance. With good interagency cooperation, everything worked well. The State is compiling a Preliminary Damage Assessment (PDA). Once completed and certified by FEMA, the Governor will determine if the uninsured losses are great enough to meet the Federal thresholds for assistance. This should be determined next week. If President Obama
acknowledges a Federal Emergency Declaration then Federal resources will be available. These resources would likely be in the form of low interest loans. There will be a form on the Town's website for residents to fill out regarding flood damages. Additional information will be available on the Town's website. First Selectman Griswold reported that damage to Town assets was minimal.
b. State of CT Valley Shore CMED Designation – Selectman Sibley moved to designate Connecticut Valley Shore to be the recipient of the service credit of $2,207.10. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
7. Public Comment – Lina Tuck thanked the Board of Selectmen for sending the letter to the CT Siting Council asking them to consider the Town's regulations. She reported that there will be another meeting of the CT Siting Council on April 20, 2010 at Central Connecticut State University. Ms. Tuck stated that T-Mobile stated that they had not received anything from the Town regarding the Shore Landing Site and are still looking for information. Ms. Tuck urged the Board of Selectmen to send a representative to the meeting on April 20 at 1:00 PM.
Beth Cote of Fairway Lane spoke in regards to a flooding problem with the run off into her yard from the Black Hall Golf Course. Her well is contaminated and she requests that someone from the Town take a look at the problem. First Selectman Griswold will ask Ann Brown to do an inspection of the area in question and report back to him.
Paul Fuchs of Swanswood Lane requested that the Town be more pro-active with the outstanding issues of the proposed cell towers, especially with regard to adding Emergency Services equipment to the towers. He asked that updates be posted regularly on the Town's website. First Selectman Griswold reviewed the process and issues to date with the three proposed cell tower locations.
Lina Tuck stated that T-Mobile reported that it had not received specifications from the Town as to the height of the proposed tower with regard to the placement of Emergency Communication equipment. She asked that the Town have a representative at the next CT Siting Council hearing. Dave Roberge attended the most recent CT Siting Council hearing and the Selectmen will look to him for information.
Mary Jo Nosal of Swanswood Lane requested that the residents of the Town be kept informed of the process.
Selectman Sibley stated that it is important to speak to Dave Roberge and find out just where the Town is in the process so that we can move forward in a positive way. The goal is to be able to install Emergency Services equipment on a cell tower.
8. Other Business - none
9. Adjournment – Selectman Sibley moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:58 PM, Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted, ~
Mary Ellen Garbarino
Recording Secretary
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