Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Regular Meeting: Tuesday, 6 September 2011
The Board of Selectmen held a Regular Meeting at 4:00 PM on Tuesday, 6 September 2011 in the Meeting Hall of the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall. First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Selectman Skip Sibley and Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder were present.
1. Approval of Minutes:
Meeting of 13 August 2011 (Special Meeting)
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to accept the minutes of 13 August 2011 and Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Meeting of 15 August 2011 (Regular Meeting)
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to accept the minutes of 15 August 2011. Selectwoman Reemsnyder seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
2. Communications – NONE
3. Appointments – NONE
4. Old Business
a. Possible Formation of the Lower CT River Valley Council of Governments
(Linda Krause from CT River Estuary Regional Planning Agency)
Linda Krause, CT River Estuary Planning Agency (CRERPA) Executive Director, reviewed the history of CRERPA which was organized in 1967 and consists of 9 towns. At present, Old Lyme is also a member of the Lower CT Valley Selectmen’s Association (LCVSA), consisting of the same 9 towns and the CT River Council of Elected Officials (CRVCEO), consisting of 17 towns. The State of CT seeks to reduce the number of regional planning agencies from 15 to 5, or perhaps as many as 8. The 17 towns in the CRVCEO have two planning agencies: CRERPA (9 towns) and the Mid-State Planning Agency (8 towns). It has been suggested that the 17 towns voluntarily form a Council of Governments (COG) before the State of CT decides to place the 17 towns in COGs of its own choosing. A COG is a combination of
towns that work together to pool their resources and knowledge. At an earlier meeting of the CRVCEO, about two-thirds of the CEOs present voted to request the State’s Office of Policy and Management (OPM) to designate the two planning agencies a COG. In May, the Secretary of OPM re-designated the two planning agencies as the Lower CT River Valley Planning Agency.
By combining the two agencies, a new set of issues arise i.e. funding, staffing, form of government, the work program, the location, etc. Ms. Krause stated that presently there is a steering committee that is looking into how to deal with this merger. There was a discussion of what the cost and services the Town of Old Lyme will receive, as compared to present cost and services.
The Town of Old Lyme needs to decide if it should become a member of the to-be-formed Lower CT River Valley Council of Governments (17 towns). If the Selectmen are in favor of this, it would be necessary to obtain Town Meeting approval to have Old Lyme join the COG.
b. Duck River Culvert Update
First Selectman Griswold stated that Hurricane Irene did put a bit of a wrinkle in the progress on this project. He feels that by mid-September the job should be completed. Our engineers are tracking the progress daily.
5. New Business
a. Hurricane Irene
First Selectman Griswold stated that he was aware that some people in Town were frustrated because of the amount of time they were without power. However, with one-half of the State out of power, he felt that overall the restoration of power went along well.
Selectwoman Reemsnyder suggested that a wrap-up meeting be scheduled to review the process and decide how things could be improved for the future. One item that was brought to her attention is that the Town was charging residents a fee to bring storm debris to the landfill. Selectman Sibley suggested that two meetings be planned; one that was internally focused and one for the public. Selectman Sibley stated that 90% of the comments he has heard so far have been positive and only 10% have been negative. The Selectmen agreed that they need to obtain more information on the Town's responsibility with regard to a mandatory evacuation.
The Selectmen commended the utility crews (electric, phone and cable) who worked hard to get everything up and running. They also thanked David Roberge and the many staff members who basically lived in the EOC for several days during and after the storm. Also thanked were the many volunteers who helped the public to be more comfortable.
b. Sennheiser's 20 Year Commitment to CT
First Selectman Griswold stated that Sennheiser Corporation in Old Lyme just celebrated its 20th anniversary in the U.S. Established in 1945 in Wedemark, Germany, Sennheiser is the acknowledged world leader in microphone technology, RF-wireless and infrared sound transmission, headphone transducer technology, and in the development of active noise-cancellation. Sennheiser Electronic Corporation (SEC) is the U.S. wholly-owned subsidiary, with headquarters in Old Lyme. The Selectmen agreed that the Town is fortunate to have the headquarters located here and congratulated Sennheiser on its 20th anniversary.
c. 1911 Automobile Bridge Celebration
First Selectman Griswold reported that the 100 year celebration of the 1911 Automobile Bridge, which ran over the Connecticut River between Old Lyme and Old Saybrook, took place on August 24. There was an auto parade held with pre-1976 automobiles, an auto show and a luncheon at Dock and Dine in Old Saybrook.
According to local historian Tedd Levy, the 1911 parade was a remarkable event featuring some 500 decorated automobiles. Levy notes, moreover, that this was an extraordinary number considering there were only a total of 21,371 cars registered in the entire state of Connecticut at that time. In 1911, the number of cars in Old Saybrook (pop. 1,516) was 17, Old Lyme had 31, Deep River 45, Essex 30, Westbrook 21, and Chester 24. Thousands of people on both sides of the river attended this event in 1911.
The 1911 bridge was replaced in 1948 by the first Raymond E. Baldwin Bridge. That bridge was later was replaced, but kept the same name, in 1993 and was dedicated on May 28 of that year.
d. State's Plan to Relamp Stoplights with LED Lamps
First Selectman Griswold reported that the State will be replacing certain stop light bulbs with LED lamps in the near future.
e. Leukemia, Lymphoma, and Myeloma Awareness Month Proclamation
First Selectman Griswold reported that the month of September has been proclaimed Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month. He read the proclamation that the Town has endorsed.
"Blood cancers currently afflict more than 958,000 Americans with an estimated 137,000 new cases diagnosed each year. Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma will kill an estimated 54,000 people in the United States this year . . . . Now, therefore, be it resolved, that the Town of Old Lyme designates the month of September 2011 as Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma Awareness Month to enhance the understanding of blood related cancers and to encourage participation in voluntary activities to support education programs and the funding of research programs to find a cure for them."
6. Public Comment
Paul Rowean from Old Lyme Shores thanked the Selectmen for getting information out to the beaches thus keeping everyone informed before, during and after the storm. He agrees that the Town will benefit from having one or two follow-up meetings to review procedures used during Hurricane Irene. The Selectmen thanked the beach associations for their cooperation and commended the police for excellent police work to foil a robbery plan in the beach area during the storm.
Mary Jo Nosal from Old Lyme agreed with what Mr. Rowean stated and urged the Selectmen to consider assisting the Town residents with removing storm debris.
7. Other Business
Selectwoman Reemsnyder asked if the Town's stand on Hurricane debris pick-up had been altered. First Selectman Griswold stated that initially, there was no town wide pick-up planned but the Town lowered the fee structure at the Transfer Station for brush disposal by 50%. However, based on observation by Public Works that the amount of storm debris was smaller than expected, the Town is now not charging homeowners to dispose of brush at the Transfer Station and is picking up brush from properties along Town roads for free, if the brush is placed close to the road. The pick-up will be done over the next couple of weeks and the Town will get this information out to the public. The Town will also refund the 50% fees charged to homeowners if the homeowners provide their receipt(s).
Selectman Sibley stated that the Town still has to address the issue of snow plowing on private beach association roads. The Town has committed to plowing most private association roads this winter, but they will need to be prepared to make budget adjustments for the following fiscal year, depending on what the Board of Selectmen decides. This should be an agenda item for the next Board of Finance meeting. The Associations have all returned their fact sheets to the Town.
Selectman Sibley reported that he has created a rough draft of the blight ordinance and would like to review it at a future meeting.
The next Board of Selectmen's meeting will be held on Monday, 19 September at
7:30 PM in the Meeting Hall of the Old Lyme Town Hall.
9. Adjournment:
Selectwoman Reemsnyder moved to adjourn the meeting at 5:57 PM and Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted, ~
Mary Ellen Garbarino
Recording Secretary
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