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Board of Selectmen Minutes 06/01/2015
Old Lyme Board of Selectmen
Monday, 1 June 2015
Regular Meeting Minutes

The Board of Selectmen held a Regular Meeting at 7:30 PM on 1 June 2015 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.


Approval of Minutes: 18 May 2015
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder requested the following corrections to the minutes of 18 May 2015:
4a: Appointments - Insert Selectman Sibley made a  motion to appoint Paul Orzel.
5b: Old Business; Route 156 Bikeway/Sound View Improvements update – 3rd sentence. Representatives from the committee, along with contractor VHB will meet with DEEP on 5/20/15 to discuss concerns DEEP has with the park improvement’s impact on access to water resources.
6c: new Business; Outcome of Electricity Auction with World Energy – sentences 2 & 3.
The previous (not current) contract was with Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM) for 9.9 cents/kilowatt hour. The contract expired (not expires) in December and price went to (not would go) to 12 cents/kilowatt hour. On May 6th, all parties went to auction and settled on a new 24 month contract with World Energy and CCM for 8.58 cents/kilowatt hour. The contract begins in July 2015.  
8b: Other Business – 2nd sentence. She said that Jean (not Jan) Dailey…

Selectwoman Nosal moved to approve the minutes of 18 May 2015 with the changes noted. Selectman Sibley seconded. Motion passed.

Communication:  None
Appointments:  None

Old Business:
  • Boathouse Hains Park Improvements Update
Selectman Sibley reported that a brief meeting of the BHPIC took place on Thursday, May 28. This was a Special Meeting and there was one item on the agenda: to discuss additional architectural design work required in order to move forward with Boathouse design options 2a and 3a.
The BHPIC passed a motion to approve an amount not to exceed $7,000 for the additional design work. The next BHPIC meeting will take place on Thursday, June 11. Regular meetings are scheduled for the 2nd Thursday of each month.

  • Rte. 156 Bikeway/Sound View Improvements Update
Selectwoman Nosal reported that the SV Improvements Committee met earlier in the day. The Committee met previously with Marcy Balint at the Long Island Sound (LIS) Programs office. LIS had expressed concerns that a reduction in parking at Sound View would also reduce public access to the shore front. The Committee met at the LIS office to provide more information on public and private parking availability and to describe the Bikeway/Improvements project in more detail. A decision from LIS is expected within the week.
The bathroom facility will be costly with a limited funding available through the DOT grant budget.
The Committee has asked their engineer to look for possible cost reductions elsewhere in the project. They will also ask their architect to provide cost estimates, which are needed for a required Information Meeting scheduled for June 30.
The next Route 156/Sound View Improvements meeting is scheduled for June 8 at 4:30pm.

  • Town Budget Meeting Update
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that the following items were passed at the Annual Budget Meeting:  
  • Establishment of a Road Improvement Fund and a Town Building Improvement Fund
  • Adoption of the Budget for the new fiscal year
  • Agreement that taxes can be paid in two installments
  • Appropriation of an additional $37,500 for Emergency Management, needed because of the 2015 blizzard.
Not approved was an expenditure of $148,000 to complete a WPCA Coastal Wastewater Facilities Plan. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder has sent a letter to the DEEP regarding the failure to approve the funding, and has been consulting with the Town Attorney to determine the next step.

Selectman Sibley commented on the good attendance at the Town Meeting. He expressed surprise that many had voted against approving the budget for the new year. He said the Board of Finance Chair has scheduled a meeting with the Board of Finance and Selectmen to discuss the next step in regard to the Coastal Wastewater expenditure. He expressed concern that failure to pay could negatively impact the Town’s Bond rating.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder expects to have an answer from the Town Attorney for the joint meeting.
The Selectmen concurred that they would like to hear specific concerns from residents who voted against the budget for the new fiscal year



  • Memorial Day: Weekend/Parade
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder commented on the well attended Memorial Day Parade, citing Mervin Roberts’ Invocation, and student essays on What Memorial Day Means as especially memorable.
At a Sound View Commission meeting the day following Memorial Day, members expressed concerns about problems. The First Selectwoman stated the only policy change from prior years is that Rangers will not be issuing violations for alcohol possession or consumption this year. This was a recommendation from the State Police based on safety concerns for the Rangers. A recent incident involving two police officers underscored the need to consider Ranger safety. The two officers had to be transported to a hospital for injuries occurring during a DUI traffic stop.
Rangers will continue to check coolers, stop rough play on the beaches, issue parking tickets, and patrol the beaches, including Miami Beach.
She asked that residents call 911 or the local number 860 434 1986, which rolls over to the Westbrook Barracks, if they believe a police officer is needed.

Selectman Sibley, who also attended the Sound View Commission meeting, said members reported they had not observed the same level of police activity as in recent years. Residents  and Commission members believe there has been a change in the Town’s management of Sound View. He read aloud a letter sent to the Board of Selectmen by Sound View resident and Commission member Michaelle Pearson, and asked that it be included as part of these minutes:

Board of Selectmen
52 Lyme Street
Old Lyme, CT 06371 31st May, 2015

Dear Bonnie, Skip and Mary Jo,~
I am writing to express my concern at the apparent change in enforcement policy at Sound View.~
For the past several years, there had been a marked improvement in the atmosphere at the beach and on the streets of Sound View. By 2014, the perception of the area as a rowdy, anything-goes sort of place had largely given way to a more family-friendly and pedestrian-friendly vibe. Last year, both residents and visitors remarked on these improvements, and there was positive news coverage about the change in tone at Sound View.~
Specifically, the no-large-cooler policy and cooler alcohol checks cut down on drunken incidents and rowdy behavior on the sand, and also reduced the amount of garbage left behind at the end of the beach day. Closing the gates at Portland and Swan Avenues and targeted enforcement at stop signs made the roads safer for pedestrians walking to the beach.~
A tremendous amount of good will was generated by the kind of hands-on, community policing Sound View has had in the last few years. People were starting to say nice things about the area. The park project has generated much good will and families were beginning to feel safe taking their children to the beach without being subjected to drunken, rude and dangerous behaviors.
So what happened this year?~
The past two weekends have seen a swift return to the kind of rowdy, dangerous conditions that we haven’t seen in years. Stop signs and speed limits are ignored, and there have been altercations between pedestrians and drivers at stop signs, some of which turned physical. Blatant drinking, often by clearly underage persons, is now rampant on the streets, in the Town Lot and on the sand. Extremely rowdy games of tackle football, involving 200 lb. guys, are once again taking place over the heads and among the blankets of families with small children.~
When residents report these problems to the Police or Rangers they have been told that nothing could be done unless an incident occurs. Incidents are occurring, and being reported, but nothing is done. Does someone have to end up in the hospital before action will be taken? What about town liability for such an injury if it could have been prevented through enforcement of existing town policies? If any of these issues took place at White Sands or Town Woods, I am sure enforcement would be swift and sure. Why not at Sound View?
The good people of Sound View have fought long and hard to improve this area, and will not allow these gains to be lost through neglect. I urge you to quickly adapt the enforcement policies to the issues at hand, and work with our Resident Trooper, Police Officers and Rangers to make Sound View safe and attractive for families again, before it’s too late.
Sincerely,~
Michaelle Pearson

First Selectwoman Reemsnyder said keeping the area safe and keeping the Rangers safe remain the Town’s priorities.  She clarified that while Rangers will not deal directly with alcohol related problems, they will be calling a Police Officer to deal with the issues. She will be meeting with Miami Beach Association officers about Ranger responsibilities, and has requested a photo of the Miami Resident Pass, because Miami Beach residents are allowed to have coolers on their beach.
She also noted that there have been very few calls to the Police this year, and she has asked to see reports on an ongoing basis.

Selectwoman Nosal said she observed Rangers checking coolers over the weekend. She stressed the importance of written instructions for the Rangers, and concurred that it is important to document all incidents with phone calls to the police as needed.


New Business:
  • Neighborhood Assistance Act Grant Authorization
A Public Hearing took place in April on applications from the Florence Griswold Museum and Lyme Art Association for funding through the Neighborhood Assistance Act.  Selectman Sibley moved to authorize First Selectwoman Reemsnyder to sign Neighborhood Assistance Act documents on behalf of the Town. Selectwoman Nosal seconded. Motion passed.

  • JLUS Study Kickoff Meeting Recap
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder informed the Selectmen of a Joint Land Use Study on the Stone’s Ranch military facility located in East Lyme, Lyme, and Old Lyme. The Matrix Design Group has been contracted to perform the study which examines compatibility in 26 different areas. The purpose of the 15 month long study is to develop recommendations. A sample recommendation might be to adopt zoning that provides for a buffer between the facility and town land.
Federal funding covers the cost of the study, which is also supported through in-kind services from the three towns involved.

  • RiverCOG Economic Growth Strategy
RiverCOG is the agency formed through the merging of two regional planning agencies. The 17 RiverCOG towns have identified Economic Growth, Tourism, and GIS development as main areas of focus. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder recently served on the committee interviewing firms who will work with the towns to develop a growth strategy. A firm has been selected and progress will be reported on the RiverCOG website.

  • Recycling Grant Application
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder apprised the Selectmen of another opportunity for grant funding from the State for recycling efforts. The Town chose not to accept grant funds last year for a program that would have required a commitment to use Pay as You Throw bags in town. This new opportunity does not require that kind of commitment. Instead, it awards points for initiatives already underway in the Town and provides grant funding based upon that point system.
An application has been drafted and she will share it electronically with the Selectmen. The application is due by the end of the month. She would like to use the funds, if awarded, for educational materials.
Recycling reminders will also be inserted in tax bills this year.
The Selectmen hope to appoint a Solid Waste/Recycling Committee soon, and are looking for additional volunteers. The Committee will be charged with updating the Town Ordinance, among other things.

Selectwoman Nosal reminded the Selectmen of a Center School student hoping to promote recycling by rewarding students who attend a Center School picnic with their own personal water bottle with a prize voucher.

  • Millstone/FEMA exercise June 17
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder said a June 17 FEMA exercise will be unevaluated, not a graded exercise as in the past. Emergency Management Director David Roberge is expected to run the exercise, but the Deputy Director will run it if necessary. While Mr. Roberge is out of the office, Dick Morris is providing Fire Marshal coverage.

Public Comment:
Sandy Ziemba, owner of Bart’s parking at Sound View, and alternate member of the Sound View Commission, read a letter from Pavilion owner Frank Marratta, in which he cited a lack of beach patrols and cooler checks, as well as a failure of Rangers to enforce posted Rules in recent weeks.
She also read her own letter, citing lack of Rules enforcement and cooler checks, as well as speeding cars and motorcycles in recent weeks. She asked what has happened to the safety and well-being of our beach community.

Angelo Faenza, 61 Portland Avenue, said more police presence was needed over the Memorial Day weekend. He said Town Police Officer Tom Heinssen had a positive impact on the Sound View area, and would like to see a community police officer in charge of the Sound View area again.

Todd Machnik, Mile Creek Road, read documents pertaining to the WPCA, and provided those documents for these minutes.

I would like to speak to you about the direction that the town of Old Lyme, specifically the Water Pollution Control Authority, is following.
        First, a little history, The WPCA was authorized by ordinance vote on June 18, 1997 at a town meeting.  The title of the document is “An Ordinance Concerning the regulation and management of on-site sewage disposal systems”     Bullet points 1 thru 8 on page 1 of the town meeting approved ordinance are as follows 622015_23706_0.png As the title of the document specifies On-Site Septic Systems.
        I do not believe that the WPCA was given authorization for themselves, or to hire any firm to design off site sewers, pump stations, to negotiate with multiple towns and state agencies on our behalf.
        If the Town of Old Lyme WPCA is to enter into the sewer business, the existing ordinance needs to be amended or modified by town vote.
        On or about 2008, the court system decided that the town of Old Lyme could not classify towns as Seasonal or Year-round use.  That is to be decided by building amenities like central heat, insulation, year round potable water supple and the most difficult to get, a suitable septic system.
        It only took a little time for the chartered beach communities like Point O’ Woods to figure out that they had the legal right to form their own WPCAs. They then hired engineers specifically to prove that sewers were indicated.  The associations got D.E.P. consent orders and Clean Water Funds.  Ultimately, more homes qualify for year round use with no town involvement or risk required.
        As the number of WPCA communities grew, the Town WPCA rightfully and compliant with their own founding purpose, hired Woodward and Curran to come up with a possible plan to keep it local, “protecting the quality and quantity of the Town’s water resources.”
        This method also gave the folks seeking community sewers an alternative to a pipe to the Thames River.  
        After the study was completed, the DEEP said maybe, not really, need more money to study.  The Old Lyme WPCA, probably rightfully, said no more.  The town authorized $184,000 was spent.
        This is where things seemed to go off course.
        Currently, there is no groundwater testing or monitoring taking place.  For years, under Brian Curtis P.E. this data was used to prove that our septic systems were, as a whole, functioning properly.  Now we have new, town hired, experts.  The new theory is that septic pollution is stealthy and is able to outsmart our detection.  This seems absurd, the waste did not look so smart as the toilet flushed.
        White Sands Beach and Hawk’s Nest Beach seem to be a major component in the town’s plan to get into the sewer business.  There is no known failed water test or failed septic systems in either location.  Many residents have asked multiple times for scientific test results, none were forthcoming.  It seems that the money numbers don’t work without White Sands and Hawk’s Nest involved.
Reviewing Woodward & Curran’s contract dated April 2, 2013, Project background and scope, Last paragraph, “To provide detailed evaluation of local treatment and disposal”
The amount of this contract is $184,000, which is the amount approved by the town meeting.
This contract was signed by the principal of the engineering firm in April 2013 and was not signed by the 1st Selectperson until April 2015.  So this money was spent without an executed contract in place.
The Woodward & Curran contract, page 3 of 8 mentions insurance certificates.  Are these certificates in the town’s possession?  The town clerk, health department, or finance office does not have them.  Is the town listed as additionally insured?  What are the limits?  The WPCA chair is an insurance expert, may be in his sock drawer?
There are a couple possible explanations for the WPCA’s overspending. First is not paying attention as to what current account balances are, since there does not seem to be a contract for additional engineering, the costs just got away like shopping with someone else’s credit card. The second possibility is total disregard for accepted spending/budget practices that all other boards and commissions adhere to.  Either is unacceptable.
Last year at a Planning Commission meeting, it was explained by Mr. Ziemba that right now, as a convenience, the WPCA chooses to use the Board of Finance, Selectmen, Director of Finance, which means voters for all required WPCA money matters.  When the Old Lyme WPCA is in the sewer business, town money management will not be required.  Then the WPCA will assess fees, send bills, collect money on their own.  That means no oversight, probably statutory limits, but not voted on or regulated by townspeople.  I don’t think that this is going to work out for us if the current $145,000 misunderstanding is a sign of things to come.
Old Lyme is unique.  It is, I think, the most rural town along the Connecticut shoreline.  Ultimately the more rapid the installation of sewers, the more rapid our town will change.  
If the Town of Old Lyme WPCA is in charge, they, at a simple vote with a simple majority at a regular meeting can change the course of our fair town.Voting themselves paid positions as they see fit.  I asked that question of the WPCA Chair and was told as things move along WPCA members would probably be compensated for their work.  They could decide which is the next neighborhood that needs to be saved from non-existent widespread pollution.
The chartered communities that have chosen to pursue the sewer option have every legal right to do so.  If, under their management, there is no legal liability to the taxpayers outside the served areas. There would be no chance for creep or enlargement of the system. There is no upside for the Town of Old Lyme being in the sewer business. Thank you

Tim Griswold said he had 18 years of experience on the Board of Finance. He distributed a spreadsheet illustrating the Source & Use of Funds for the Wastewater project.
Mr. Griswold said his calculations showed a shortfall of $142,000, and called the dearth of information provided about the project and expenditures a disservice to townspeople.
He said more public information and input is needed.

Mervin Roberts, Duck River Lane, said he agreed with Tim Griswold and Todd Machnik. He read aloud from a document which he provided for these minutes.
OLD LYME WASTEWATER

Years ago homes here discharged their wastewater into cesspools.  A cesspool is a very primitive digester of septic waste.  Cesspools work, but now as we use much more water for bathing, laundry, garbage disposal, dishwashing and flushing toilets, we had to improve the cesspool.  Today it has morphed for most residences into a septic tank, compartmented, and connected to a leach field of perforated pipe that permits the water portion to re-enter the earth where digestion continues naturally.  Solids that float in the septic tank (called scum) and those that sink (called sludge) accumulate in the septic tank and periodically they are pumped out for further treatment elsewhere.  In Old Lyme, pump-outs are ordained to be performed not less frequently than once in seven years.  My home system accumulated two inches of scum and thirteen inches of sludge in about twenty years with an average of five people in residence.  Other septic systems in Old Lyme are pumped much more frequently.  
The pumped out wastewater and solids were then taken to a municipal lagoon facility where aerobic decomposition and evaporation and slow seepage into the soil further reduced pathogens, nutrients and volume.  The end product of these septic lagoons was then buried in landfills or incinerated.  It is virtually harmless.
Over the course of this last half-century, the process was modified by technology so that by 2000 the pump out material was rendered inert and compacted in Old Lyme in a filter press resulting in a dry product that was mostly cellulose.  The liquid that was extracted was then treated further in a municipal sewage plant.  Outside of Connecticut, in Massachusetts and Rhode Island for instance, this liquid is often used to irrigate forest land, but in Connecticut the DEP insists on still more treatment before they discharge it into streams that flow eventually into Long Island Sound.  
One might wonder why the DEP would insist on this wastewater treatment process in a sewage treatment plant and then dump the water in Long Island Sound, instead of injecting it back into upland forest soils or spray on forests to replenish our groundwater.  I think it is because they know that their treatment often leaves a product still not clean.  Amazing, because my septic tank and leach field are only about 100 feet from my dug well.  Generations of people have been drinking this well water for at least 150 years, and all of us have been healthy.  The sanitarians, registered and licensed by the Connecticut State Health Department, have never faulted my waste water treatment or my well water.
So one might ask why the DEP (or DEEP) wants studies to justify sewering of Old Lyme Septic Wastewater to New London for treatment, and then why would they dump that treated water into the Thames River and eventually to Long Island Sound?
I think I know.  First thing for the reader to know is that in my college years I took courses in sewage and sewerage at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.  These are the very same courses taken by Registered Sanitarians here in Connecticut.  Here in Connecticut, I served as a Councilor to the Governor for Marine Resources, and in Old Lyme variously as Conservation Commissioner, WPCA Commissioner, Shellfish Commissioner and for ten years as a Selectman. I first moved to Old Lyme in 1960.  At that time there was no DEP (now the DEEP).  Parks and Forests, Fish and Game, and others were consolidated sometime around 1970 and septic waste management was split up.  Discharges of more than 5000 gallons a day were assigned to the DEP and small residential units remained with the State Health Department, where the State Health Code governed.  
The Health Code was, and still is, enforced by appointed Health Directors who usually were local medical doctors.  Towns hired sanitarians who were formally educated in best practice before they were licensed as Registered Sanitarians (RS).  Some of these people were employed by the DEP, with the very same education and the very same license (RS).
Town-employed Registered Sanitarians working through local town medical doctors use the State Health Code as their authority.  They inspect restaurants, wells, and small septic systems as they were built and as they are operated.  They monitor failures and supervise repairs and modifications.  The system works.  The Health Code works for small residences and it depends on strict zoning enforcement.  The DEP was given statuary control over large discharges.  They have another set of rules and these seem to change from time to time.  There is, to my knowledge, no DEP equivalent to the State Health Code in print.  All I can rely on to evaluate their goals is what filtered down to me in these past thirty or so years.  Their primary initial task was with urban and industrial discharges, and sewers and treatment plants.
The first time I ran up against the DEP was when they told Old Saybrook that it was polluting the Connecticut River and Long Island Sound with improperly treated septic wastes.  They would build a sewage treatment plant in Old Saybrook and eventually discharge treated wastes into the Connecticut River somewhere near the railroad bridge. This plant would also handle waste from Westbrook and perhaps Clinton.  I was at that time the Old Lyme Shellfish Commission Chairman and by State law we had collected revenues from Connecticut River Oyster Harvesting Licenses amounting to several thousand dollars.  By law, this money did not go into the General Fund of the Town of Old Lyme, but was to be used by our Commission for the improvement and protection of the resource and for education.  
I went to see the point man for the DEP to learn about the planned discharge, since our oysters might be contaminated by their discharge.  I learned that the effluent would go into the river “through a diffuser, so it wouldn’t all come up in the same place.”  His exact words.
The Old Lyme Shellfish Commission paid the WLIS radio station in Old Saybrook several thousand dollars to broadcast messages urging the voters of Old Saybrook to reject this proposal at their referendum.  And they did reject it.  Then I heard from the State Election Board that I had violated a law, one that I didn’t know about, by spending municipal money to influence an election.  Fortunately, someone else discovered that another law exempted me because that law was only effective after the date of the referendum was published, and someone else had neglected to publish that date.
Later it turned out that they really didn’t need a treatment plant, and now they are doing something else.  But I learned how this State plan came into being.  Old Saybrook town fathers heard that there was State grant money available for studies of ground-water pollution.  Old Saybrook applied for the grant (and bear in mind this was for a study).  Old Saybrook got the money and then they were told they were polluting.  “But we haven’t even started the study,” they said.  Not necessary, you accepted the grant so you have acknowledged you are polluting and we are here from the government to help you.
Here in Old Lyme there are State Chartered Beach Associations and some of the charters clearly state that they may, at their expense, install sewer service.  As summer occupancy morphs into year round, and what was ten weeks of summer use becomes fifty two weeks, many of the systems, especially those buried in water and lacking leach fields, were getting help through the agency of “midnight plumbing” into streams like Sheffield Brook.  Many of these houses had their property cards marked for “Summer Occupancy Only”, but somehow that provision has been overturned.  Old Lyme Sanitarians have found and corrected nearly all these offending systems.  As the owners continue to use or rent their summer cottages all year, the small lots on high water tables cannot accommodate these loads.
There are now several ways to correct this problem.  They could sewerize their chartered beach associations land at their expense.  The law permits this – at their expense.  Or individuals could buy up nearby house lots to accommodate adequate septic systems at their expense.  Or they might use modern technology at their expense, except that the Connecticut State DEP does not permit modern technology for these residential applications.  
On an occasion when the Old Lyme Registered Sanitarian used such modern technology in full accordance with the State Health Department Health Code, “his Bible”, he was threatened by the DEP with revocation of his license to practice – which license was awarded to him by the State Health Department.  Perhaps you want to that paragraph again?
Or they could get the Town of Old Lyme to foot the bill for their decision to build small inexpensive summer cottages sixty or seventy years ago on high water table, often on filled tide-marsh land, often on postage stamp sized lots inadequate in area for proper septic systems including adequate leach fields and leach field reserve areas.  All at their own expense – unless the Town picks up the tab.  Incidentally many of these summer cottages have gotten larger over the decades with porches closed in to form bedrooms and other modifications.
Or they could get the DEP to force the Town to sewerize at Town expense even though ground water tests by recognized engineering firms show that there is no general pollution and that with application of the State Health Code, individual problems can be corrected at the owner’s expense.
It should be noted that the Town of Old Lyme adopted by unanimous vote a policy of sewer avoidance several decades ago.  This policy guided the Old Lyme WPCA for many years.  It was crafted by the world class engineering firm, Dames and Moore and monitored by Nathan Jacobson Associates of Chester, Connecticut.  The framework of this policy was established by none other than engineers and Registered Sanitarians of both the Connecticut DEP and the Connecticut Health Department.
Years later the DEP reversed itself and their representatives told us that what we were doing was all wrong and that we were polluting ourselves and also Long Island Sound.
In one written communication they said human waste was found in Long Island Sound off Point O’Woods about four miles east of the mouth of the Connecticut River.  They blamed failing septic systems in Point O’Woods.  They neglected to note that our Sanitarian found no such systems or discharges into Long Island Sound waters.  Our investigation confirmed the waste and established that it came after heavy rains near Middletown on the Connecticut River caused a combined storm water – sanitary sewer to clog the screens on their treatment plant and that in turn forced the plant operators to open their valves and screens and discharge storm debris and human waste directly into the river.  About two days later some of it got to Point O’Woods.
On another occasion, we were told that proof we were polluting was shown by the absence of migrating river herring in the Four Mile River.  What they neglected to note, although it is shown on the topographical maps, is that this river has dams on it too high for these fish to jump and there are no fish ladders.
Also, they stated that the coliform counts of Four Mile River water were high and this was proof positive of pollution.  Again they neglected to note that just upstream of Point O’Woods there was an active cow farm and wastes from these animals were generated and deposited nearby, constantly.  Coliforms are found in the guts of both cows and people.  
These lies from our State Government officials are but a small sample; but they were more than I could stomach and I quit my membership in the WPCA.
I conclude after fifty years of closely observing this Town,  that consultants can be paid to opine whatever the client pays them to opine.

Dennis Melluzzo, Portland Avenue, stated that the Connecticut Water Company has not finished the job it started in 1995. 20 years later, there are two streets (Portland and Swan) and an Alley (#2), still without year round water and fire protection. He said it is only 600 feet from Bocce Lane to the main water line on Shore Road. He has met with the CT Water Company, the Sound View Commission and the former Sanitarian on this matter. He is asking the Town to assist and intercede with the CT Water Company.
He plans to contact the Office of Consumer Counsel.

Janet Sturges, member of the Board of Finance, said she believes the current difficulty
[with the WPCA Wastewater expenditure] is due to a lack of communication. Decisions were made and money was spent, but the WPCA did not communicate with the Board of Finance. She said communication could have solved the problem.

Milton Allen, 28 year resident of Old Lyme, asked if it is possible to articulate who has the authority to commit that the Town is going to pay for something. He believes it should be elected officials, not appointed officials.

Other Business:
Selectwoman Nosal asked about progress on the Flat Rock Bridge. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder believes paving is about to begin and work should be completed soon.

Selectman Sibley reiterated the importance of communication from Mrs. Sturges’s comments.

First Selectwoman Reemsnyder said she is monitoring the State Budget process to determine the impact of the Resident State Trooper budget on the Town.

Executive Session:      None

Adjournment:
Selectmen Sibley moved to adjourn at 9:29pm. Selectwoman Nosal seconded.



Catherine Frank
2 June 2015