Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Monday, 2 December 2013
Regular Meeting
The Board of Selectmen held a Regular Meeting at 7:30 PM 2 December 2013 in the Meeting Hall of the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall. First Selectwoman Bonnie Reemsnyder, Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal and Selectman Skip Sibley were present.
1. Approval of Minutes
Regular Meeting 18 November 2013
Selectman Sibley moved to approve the minutes of Regular Meeting 18 November 2013. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Special Meeting 25 November 2013
Selectwoman Nosal moved to approve the minutes of Special Meeting 25 November 2013. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Selectman Sibley moved to add to the Agenda the approval of minutes of Special Meeting 18 November 2013. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Special Meeting 18 November 2013
Selectman Sibley moved to approve the minutes of Special Meeting 18 November 2012. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
2. Communications
3. Appointments
4. Old Business
a. Bike Path / Sound View Improvements Information Session / Town Meeting
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that due to the fact that the DOT has requested a meeting with the Engineering Firm to firm up the cost amount for the project, she would recommend that the Information Session this Wednesday and the scheduled Special Town Meeting on 10 December be cancelled.
Selectwoman Nosal moved that the Special Town Meeting that is scheduled for 10 December be cancelled. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
b. Boathouse and Hains Park Improvements Committee
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that there are eleven applicants and the target is to have seven people on the Committee. They thanked everyone for their interest in the project. There was a discussion about moving forward with the selection process. Selectman Sibley will present his findings on how a selection process has been done in the past for other committees at the next Selectmen’s meeting.
c. Regional Shelter Municipal Agreement
Dave Roberge reviewed the Regional Shelter Municipal Agreement with special attention to how costs will be shared between participating communities. The Selectmen would like assurance that the expense to the Towns are being allocated fairly. Old Lyme is a small town compared to New London and to divide expenses equally would not be fair to Old Lyme. Selectman Sibley would like the following sentence inserted into the Agreement under #3. “These costs shall be allocated on a fair and equitable basis as determined and agreed to by the six participating municipalities.”
Selectman Sibley moved to approve the Regional Shelter Municipal Agreement with his (Selectman Sibley’s) amendment as read. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
5. New Business
a. 2014 Recycling Incentive Grant
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder stated that several months ago the Town received an email from Willimantic Waste who handles our recycling. The email stated that they were seeing a lot of integrated trash with the recycling from the Town. This was shared with the Community asking everyone to be more careful with the items placed in recycling but more education to residents is key. Cathy Frank attended a workshop about the Recycling Incentive Grant and had presented a summary of information received at the workshop to the Selectmen. The Grant application is due by 16 December and will require a Town Resolution Ordinance or a vote by the Board of Selectmen by 1 May 2014 committing to implementation of the unit based pricing program for solid waste. The Selectmen applauded Cathy in her efforts and support the
idea of applying for the Grant.
Selectman Sibley moved to authorize Cathy Frank and First Selectwoman Reemsnyder to proceed with the application for the 2014 Recycling Incentive Grant due by 16 December 2013. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Selectman Sibley would like Shoreline Sanitation to be aware of and offer advice on the Grant application.
b. Request for Waiver of Late Fees and Interest on Hartford Avenue Property
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder stated that there are four new owners of properties on Hartford Avenue. The properties were blighted and uninhabited for about ten years. Two of the new owners have requested that the Town consider waiving the late fees and the interest that has accumulated on these properties. For example, the interest and penalties on 58 Hartford Avenue are $4,843.90 and on 59 Swan Avenue they are $1,781.78. The properties have been closed on and the late fees and interest were not paid at the closing but have since been paid. There was a concern about how that process worked and will be investigated further. There was a discussion.
The Selectmen agreed that they will not waive the late fees and interest on these properties.
The Selectmen will talk to the Sound View Commission about what help the Selectmen can provide to help turn Sound View into a more vibrant community.
c. BOS Meeting Schedule Approval
The Selectmen reviewed the meeting schedule for 2014. Selectman Sibley would like to add to the document that these are Regular Meetings and that Special Meetings will be scheduled at the Selectmen’s discretion on an as-needed basis.
Selectman Sibley moved to accept the Board of Selectmen Schedule of Regular Meetings with the addition of the language stated previously. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
d. Town Employees’ Holiday Schedule Approval
Selectman Sibley moved to accept the Town Employees’ Holiday Schedule. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
6. Public Comment: None
7. Other Business
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder pointed out to the Selectmen that at their next meeting the Annual Town Meeting in January will be on the Agenda. Up for approval for part of the call at the Town Meeting would be the approval of the updated subdivision regulations that the Planning Commission has worked on. In order to feel comfortable putting this item on the call of the meeting Tom Metcalf will hopefully come to the next Selectmen’s meeting to present a summary of changes.
Selectwoman Nosal stated that the Selectmen will need to draft a Resolution allowing First Selectwoman Reemsnyder to sign the Agreement with the State to receive the Grant for the Sound View Improvements. Selectwoman Nosal will email a template for said Resolution to First Selectwoman Reemsnyder. This item will be placed on the next Board of Selectmen’s Meeting Agenda.
Selectman Sibley acknowledged the Lymes Youth Service Bureau who worked in conjunction with the Old Lyme Police Department in their recent efforts of the Holiday Food Drive.
Selectman Sibley stated that the Board of Selectmen at their last meeting made an appointment to the ZBA. Selectman Sibley read his statement asking it to be reflected in the minutes:
“At our last Board of Selectmen’s meeting on November 18 there was an appointment made for Karen Conniff to become a regular member of our ZBA. On the surface this did not appear to be an extraordinary agenda item. Seeing this ahead of our meeting, I did reach out to the Vice-Chair for her thoughts. I was surprised to find out that her recommendation, as well as the Chair’s, was being overruled. Because I did not have adequate time to research before the November 18 meeting, I feel compelled to offer further explanation of why I did not support Karen’s appointment. How we got to this situation in the first place is very interesting. Mary Stone has been a regular ZBA member serving the remainder of Joe St. Germain’s 4-year term. Even though she
was a regular member, she decided to run for another regular seat being vacated by Suzanne Stutts who is the former Chair. Following the November 5 election, Mary actually now was the holder of two seats. Having November 16 as the first day of the new municipal term, I now better understand the rush to get this done at our November 15 meeting. Further supporting the sense of urgency was actually seeing Karen being sworn in in the hallway right over there before our meeting even ended. I was happy to learn that at least Karen had submitted an application for ZBA even though it was done that same day. To the best of my memory, several Board of Selectmen firsts were accomplished that night. First the Board of Selectmen did not follow the recommendation of the then current Chair or even the Vice-Chair. I can’t ever recall doing that over my past 12 years of service as your Selectman. Secondly we did not move up the existing
alternate or consider one of the two newly elected ones. Rather we appointed someone totally new who appears to have zero attendance at any recent ZBA meetings. I can’t recall doing that one either. There were some notable discussion points following the motion that evening. Bonnie you mentioned that there was no political motivation to your actions – not sure you can convince me of that. Further, you added that it is your decision. I’m not disputing that although the actual decision actually rested with the entire Board, which does include me. Mary Jo, you mentioned that it was statutorily correct what the Board of Selectmen was doing and I am not disputing that either, but call to your attention how we historically have made appointments. In summary, my issue is not with the people involved here but rather the process that was followed. I know both Mary and Karen personally and feel they will do their best in serving on
the Zoning Board of Appeals. That said, I am concerned about the precedence we’ve set for future appointments and the apparent disregard for the Chair’s input. As we all realize, having enough volunteers to give up their time to serve is tough enough. I feel our actions have created a feeling of non-appreciation especially to those alternate members who patiently wait their turn for a chance to serve as a regular member. In my opinion, it is critically important that we as Selectmen foster an environment of teamwork with respect to all of our volunteers regardless of political affiliation. Respectfully submitted this day December 2, Skip Sibley, Old Lyme Selectman”
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder spoke to Selectman Sibley’s statement and explained her reasons for not accepting the Chair’s recommendation. The alternate at that time had not attended a meeting in eight months including August, September and October. Both the Chair and the Vice-Chair stated that it was urgent to make the appointment on that Monday night. The most important item is to appoint people who are going to be active participants on the Commissions and Boards. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder understands Selectman Sibley feeling’s on this matter and assured him that it was not a political move at all.
A discussion followed.
The next Board of Selectmen's Meeting is scheduled for 16 December at 7:30 PM.
8. Executive Session - NONE
9. Adjournment
Selectman Sibley moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:05 PM. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted,
~
Mary Ellen Garbarino
Recording Secretary
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