Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Monday, 7 July 2014
Regular Meeting
The Board of Selectmen held a Regular Meeting at 7:30 PM on 7 July 2014 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 16 June 2014
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder stated that the names of the CL&P representatives under 5.New Business should be Natalia not Natasha, and Samantha’s last name is Sojka.
Selectwoman Nosal moved to approve the minutes of Regular Meeting 16 June 2014 with First Selectwoman Reemsnyder’s changes. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
2. Communications – Letter from Karen Fallo
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder summarized a letter to the Board of Selectmen from Karen Fallo, a homeowner residing at 81 Swan Avenue. She wrote about an incident on 26 May which caused her concern for her safety and those of others who live at Sound View. She mentioned overcrowding and numerous fights in public areas and garbage being left behind by people. She also mentioned other incidences that happened over Memorial Day weekend. This letter will be attached to the minutes of this meeting. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder has responded to Karen telling her of what the Town is trying to do and what they will continue to do to lessen issues such as these.
3. Appointments
Peter Cable (D) – CT River Gateway – 2 year term to July 2016
Selectwoman Nosal moved to appoint Peter Cable to the CT River Gateway for a 2-year term expiring July 2016. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Suzanne Thompson (R) – CT River Gateway, Alternate – 2 year term to July 2016
Selectman Sibley moved to appoint Suzanne Thompson to the CT River Gateway as an Alternate for a 2-year term expiring July 2016. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Mary Miles (D) – Lymes Senior Center Board – 3 year term to July 2017
Bob Pierson (R) – Lymes Senior Center Board – 3 year term to July 2017
Diane Blackwell (R) – Lymes Senior Center Board – 3 year term to July 2017
Selectwoman Nosal moved to appoint Mary Miles, Bob Pierson and Diane Blackwell to the Lymes Senior Center Board each for a 3-year term expiring July 2017. Selectman Sibley seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Luisa Grogan (D) – WPCA Hearing Panel – 1 year term to July 2015
Robert DePianta (D) – WPCA Hearing Panel – 1 year term to July 2015
Roger Breunig (R) – WPCA Hearing Panel – 1 year term to July 2015
Selectman Sibley moved to appoint Luisa Grogan, Robert DePianta and Roger Breunig to the WPCA Hearing Panel each for a 1-year term expiring July 2015. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
4. Old Business
a. Pet Connections Request
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that she had met with Marilynn Clarke, Gary Smith and Glynn McAraw to review the request and proposal from Pet Connections to build a No-Kill Animal Shelter on Town land. Permission from the Town would need to be given to allow a building that would be maintained and overseen by a non-profit organization for the purpose of caring for stray animals and finding them homes. This proposed building would be located right next to the present Town-owned animal shelter. In order for Pet Connections to proceed, they would need to apply for a zoning permit which will likely be denied because it is within the setback and that would allow them to then go before the Zoning Board of Appeals to find out if they could proceed. A Final Agreement would need to be drawn up
between the Town and Pet Connections before anything could be built. Animal Control Officer Lynn Philemon wrote to the Selectmen telling them that she has worked with Pet Connections throughout the years and that they are a fantastic organization that always helped Animal Control when needed, and she is in total agreement of them building of a No-Kill Shelter next to Animal Control. Another letter came from Mary Ellen Garbarino in support of this endeavor. There were several others in the audience who were there to show support.
Selectman Sibley moved that the Board of Selectmen grant Pet Connections permission to move forward with their application to Zoning and if needed a subsequent application to the Zoning Board of Appeals to get the necessary approvals to proceed with this project. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
b. Boathouse Hains Park Improvements Update
Selectman Sibley reported that the Committee met on-site on 19 June. There was a walk-through with talks about all the options. People were able to get a feel and visualize how it would all be laid out. They are hopeful that the existing bathroom facility and the new one in the boathouse will be able to share the same septic system. The application has been sent to the State for a combined system. This would be a great cost savings to the Town. The building plans were submitted to Zoning for approval and as expected – they were denied. The Committee has filed an application to the Zoning Board of Appeals and this is on the Agenda for their 15 July meeting.
c. DEEP Parcel Sec. 8-24 Referral from Planning
Presently the DEEP owns a small triangular piece of land (less than one-third of an acre) which is to the north of Hall’s Road bordering the west of the Lt. River. At the north of the parcel is Town owned land. The DEEP wants to turn over this parcel to the Town at no cost. This would give the Town more space to access the Lt. River in that area. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that the Planning Commission has approved the referral of the acceptance of this parcel to a Town Meeting.
d. Beach Stipend Committee Appointments
This Committee is being formed in order to look at the practice of the Town giving private beach associations, as well as some other beach associations, a stipend each year. There have been over ten applicants so far. The Selectmen have chosen six applicants to serve: Richard Dakin from Roger’s Lake, Fred Callahan from Point of Woods, B. J. Bernblum from Edge Lea and also serves on the Board of Finance, Beth Cote from Fairway Lane, Keith Coakley from Fawn Trail, and Wendy Gavin from Rowland Road.
Selectman Sibley moved to appoint the aforementioned residents to serve on the Beach Stipend Committee. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
e. Route 156 Bikeway / Sound View Improvements Committee
Selectwoman Nosal reported that there was a meeting on 2 July and two new members John MacDonald and Jim Lampos were added to the Committee. A presentation of the project will be given at the Community Center in Sound View at the Business Breakfast Meeting on 16 July at 7:30 AM. The survey is still underway and residents in that area were notified.
f. WPCA Update
In May the WPCA voted to move ahead with the Regional Plan which will utilize the New London Wastewater Treatment Facility. The Town is working with the three chartered beach associations who had already begun the process. The WPCA arranged a meeting with the DEEP and this was followed up with another meeting with all the beach associations (the stakeholders) last week. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder felt that the meeting went well and this is moving forward.
g. Statewide Emergency Drill – June 23 Update
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported on the Statewide Emergency Drill which started at 8:00 AM on 23 June. Most of the departments were represented with the focus being to meet the needs of people needing transportation, having medical or ambulatory issues, and making sure that the Town was well-prepared in the case of a hurricane. Last Monday there was a recap done with the people who took part in the drill.
h. Special Town Meeting – July 29, 2014
The following items will be on the call for the Special Town Meeting at 7:30 PM on 29 July 2014 in the Meeting Hall of the Town Hall.
1. Acceptance of DEEP Parcel
2. Approve allocation of $30,000 for Rogers Lake Weed Study
5. New Business
a. Recommendation from Sound View Commission
The Sound View Commission sent a recommendation to the Selectmen to put a ban on coolers above a certain size at Sound View Beach. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder read the recommendation from the Commission. Officer Heinssen feels that it is a good suggestion but it may be difficult to enforce. He agreed that it is a big problem. A discussion followed.
Selectman Sibley moved to put a ban on coolers above a 5-quart size on Sound View Beach effective immediately. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
b. CT Trust for Historic Preservation Grant Opportunity / Halls Road
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that the CT Trust for Historic Preservation has Grant Opportunities. The Grant is up to $50,000 for each of five communities to plan a renovation that would preserve their historic area. Ruth Roach went to the workshop and felt that Old Lyme would be an excellent candidate. The application is due by next Tuesday.
6. Public Comment
Frank Pappalardo, Chairman of the Sound View Commission, thanked the Selectmen for following up on the Commission’s recommendation about limiting cooler size at Sound View Beach. He stated that Miami Beach does have a cooler pass system for their residents. There was a discussion about adding signage at the beach and the language that could be used about the restriction on cooler size.
Karen Fallo of 81 Swan Avenue, spoke about the letter that she sent to the Selectmen. She commended the Selectmen for their help in making improvements since she wrote the letter. She stated that the owners of Lennys on the Beach and the Pavilion stepped up and cooperated to help with the problems.
Scott Boulanger, Federation of Beaches and Miami Beach Association, stated that he was quite pleased that the Selectmen supported the recommendation of the Sound View Commission regarding the restriction of cooler size at Sound View Beach. He stated that Miami Beach would be willing to work with the Town on this issue and with that of littering which continues to be a large problem. He stated his concern about the Beach Stipend Committee not having enough people on it that come from associations that receive stipends.
Joel LaPenta of Miami Beach stated that Miami Beach has a different situation with regard to the need for a stipend from the Town. They have to pay for extra security caused from the spillage from Sound View Beach. He stated that he hoped that the public would be informed about any meetings.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder commented that all Committee meetings are published. The public is always welcome and public comment is most always allowed. There have been a lot of conversations about the history of the stipends and the reasoning for them. This will all be shared and the Board of Selectmen do not try to sneak things in under the radar. The Selectmen really believe in transparency and are very objective and keep all taxpayers in mind.
7. Other Business
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder congratulated the Lyme Old Lyme Class of 2014 who graduated on 20 June. Selectman Sibley’s last daughter graduated this year and she extended her best wishes to her.
The Selectmen will come up with a hearing date for ticket appeals after this meeting.
Selectman Sibley discussed a carryover item regarding a salt shed approved in the 2012-13 Budget in the amount of $75,000. Only a small part of this has been expended to-date. There is money in the budget and this needs to be done.
The Town just passed a policy on coolers and he asked if this would extend to White Sand Beach and Hains Park. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder will follow up with Don Bugbee on this to see if there is a problem.
Selectwoman Nosal reported that on 30 June she attended a workshop called “Complete Streets Leadership Roundtables” which was the first one in the State. This is an initiative in the State to develop policies on bikeways in the State. They are looking to have more of these workshops and she offered that the Town would consider hosting one.
Selectwoman Nosal reported that the construction on the Flat Rock Bridge has been delayed and will be delayed until May 2015. There was difficulty in getting utility companies to move overhead wires.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder spoke about the salt shed. The Town had to go to the Zoning Commission for a Change of Use because of the location of the Public Works Facility. This was approved two meetings ago and now the Town’s consulting engineer has worked on the application for the structure that will protect the salt. This should happen before next winter.
The next Board of Selectmen's Meeting is scheduled for Monday, 21 July 2014 at 7:30 PM.
8. Executive Session – NONE
9. Adjournment
Selectman Sibley moved to adjourn the meeting at 9:08 PM. Selectwoman Nosal seconded the motion. SO VOTED.
Respectfully submitted,
~
Mary Ellen Garbarino
Recording Secretary
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