TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
REGULAR MEETING MINUTES
The Board of Selectman held a Regular Meeting at 7:30pm on November 7, 2016 in the Meeting Hall of the Old Lyme Memorial town Hall. First Selectman Reemsnyder, Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal and Selectman Skip Sibley were present.
1. Approval of Minutes: October 17, 2016 Regular Meeting Minutes; October 31, 2016 Special
Meeting minutes
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to approve the minutes of the October 17, 2016 Regular Meeting minutes. Motion passed.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Sibley, to approve the Special Meeting Minutes of the October 31, 2016. Motion passed.
2. Communication: None
3. Appointments: Nancy Hutchinson (U) – Zoning Board of Appeals, 5 year term vacated by Arthur Sibley, Sr.
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to approve the appointment of Nancy Hutchinson to the Zoning Board of Appeals for a 5 year term ending in November, 2019. Motion passed.
4. Old Business:
- Boathouse Hains Park Improvements
First Selectman Reemsnyder gave an update on the progress on the Boathouse. Work continues, the trusses and some of the columns have been put in place and they are currently working on the inside of the building.
The BHPI Committee is meeting this Thursday evening. In regards to the Boathouse lease, First Selectman Reemsnyder updated the BOS on progress to date. The Town Attorney has sent back a revised version of the lease which reflected the changes based on concerns expressed by the Parks & Rec Commission and notes she had made from her meeting with Ian Neviaser.
She met with Bob Dunn, Nigel Logan and Don Bugbee to update them on where they are with the lease. They felt the amendments to the lease reflected what had been discussed. She has also shared the revised lease with Ian Neviaser and discussed the changes. He pointed out a couple of concerns including; the maintenance of sidewalks and the one section that is ADA and needs to be cleared of snow when the building is in use and who is responsible for clearing it. Ian has shared this with his attorney as well and First Selectman Reemsnyder believes they are about 90% in agreement on the lease.
Selectman Sibley added he has spoken with Paul Gianquinto and he indicated he will be speaking with Scope Construction to make sure they will be on schedule for Dec. 1, so they can get the boats in for the winter.
He also shared the brochure that is on the website and available at the Town Hall for the Boathouse fundraising effort. He reported that to date they have received over 60 responses and received about $15,000, for a grand total of about $65,000. They have not had any regular meetings of the BHPI Fundraising Committee and will probably not meet again until after Thanksgiving and he will keep the BOS updated.
- Rte. 156 Bikeway/Sound View Improvements
First Selectman Reemsnyder gave an update on the meeting earlier Monday afternoon. The regular meetings of the Inspectors, Construction Crew and Committee members have started. Although they don’t have large crews, there is activity going on. The large concrete boxes (basins) are in the parking lot and other materials are expected to arrive soon. They will be starting on the West side of Hartford Ave. with some asphalt cutting and hope to see work continuing through November.
Selectwoman Nosal added they are working with WMC to get notifications out to residents. OL Sanitation has been notified and will pick up garbage on the other side of the street. The next construction meeting is Nov. 18th and the next committee meeting will be on Nov. 29th at 4:30PM at the Town Hall.
- Administrative Order/WPCA Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the meeting date has been rescheduled due to Election Day. The next meeting will be held on Nov. 9th at 7:30PM.
They will continue to review the changes to the plan with the goal to give Woodard and Curran the green light to submit the plan to the DEEP. They also hope to have the well evaluation scope of work costs updated as well.
- Ledge Light Health District
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has received a letter from the Department of Public Health notifying her that the Town of Old Lyme became official members of the LLHD effective November 1, 2016.
She is planning a meeting with the entire staff from offices of Land Use, Building and the Fire Marshall, as well as with some staff from LLHD on Nov. 17th to review the progress of the first two weeks and to address any concerns with processes.
Selectman Sibley asked what concerns have been raised. First Selectman Reemsnyder reported there was a concern about communication, procedures and time frames for receiving permits. She feels this meeting will be a good opportunity for team building, ironing out any changes to procedures and starting out on the right foot.
First Selectman Reemsnyder added she is working with the Town Attorney on the final settlement with the former Health Director and is waiting for a release document from him.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported that at the end of last week she signed the contract to install the sample lighting on Halls Road (4 lights – 2 manufacturers, 2 each), Lyme Street and McCurdy Ave. (12 lights – 2 manufactures, 6 each). She will keep the BOS apprised of when they will be installed.
She had a phone conference this morning with Tanko lighting regarding the Audit details. They have received the draft agreement and she and Tim Griswold are working with them on some of the language to ensure it reflects what they want.
Selectwoman Nosal asked how long the pilot project will be. First Selectman Reemsnyder replied, until they retrofit if they go forward. The question regarding what happens with the lights from the manufacturer they don’t choose will be determined as part of the contract costs.
Selectwoman Nosal also asked how they are planning to get feedback. First Selectman Reemsnyder reported they will have time between Dec. and Jan. to request feedback from the public via survey.
Selectman Sibley requested notification be made to the Historic District office to keep them informed.
First Selectman Reemsnyder updated the BOS on the progress of the redesign and changes in costs. The Committee has chosen Machnik Bros to complete the construction of the Academy Lane Fire Dock. This is a very specialized project and they meet all of the qualifications, they have experience and the specialized equipment required for the job.
Their quote is $187,000 along with engineering fees from Docko of $17,700.
Updated budget for this project:
$28,442 – carry over from FY 2013/2014
$125,000 – from this year capital funds
$153,442 – Total
There is remaining construction and administration costs of $5,183 plus they will want to add a contingency to both of those amounts.
With a 10% contingency the total costs would be: $212,841
With a 20% contingency the total cost would be: $233,328
Considering they currently have $153,442 in the budget, they are looking at requesting approval of an additional $60,000-80,000 depending on the amount of the contingency. Keith Neilson recommends a contingency of 10-25% on the construction. First Selectman Reemsnyder recommends they go with a 20% contingency on the construction. She will share Keith’s letter and the budget with the BOS so they can discuss this further and recommend an amount.
Selectwoman Nosal asked pending approval when construction would begin. First Selectman Reemsnyder stated if this was approved in January construction would begin in early spring, possibly March and it would likely be finished fairly quickly.
Selectman Sibley asked if Keith from Docko was working with the construction company to keep costs down. First Selectman Reemsnyder replied she thought he was and will follow-up with him.
5. New Business:
- Budget requests for FY 2018
First Selectman Reemsnyder noted that the BOS has received their budget request packets for the FY 2018 from the finance office. She wanted the selectmen to begin thinking about anything they would like added to the budget. She would like to see the Mile Creek bridge replacement added. The BOS also discussed adding playground equipment for Cross Lane and possibly a sidewalk fund. These items will be discussed further at future meetings.
First Selectman Reemsnyder gave an overview of the opening in the Old Lyme Police Department. There are currently two openings for police officers and we will be advertising for these positions. She wanted to begin a conversation to ensure they are all on the same page. She also shared that the State Police have recommended that they consider two troopers and four officers. The second trooper would only work nights, 5 days on and 3 days off on a rotating schedule. First Selectman Reemsnyder would like to maintain the one trooper and 6 officers they currently have and asked if anyone would like to hear more information on the recommendation made by the state police. The BOS discussed the coverage from this past summer and agree it was not adequate. They would like to hear more information on what data and experiences the recommendation is
based on. First Selectman Reemsnyder will contact the Commander of Troop F to see if he can and attend a future meeting.
- Halls Road Improvements Committee
First Selectman Reemsnyder shared the Halls Road Improvements Committee has had two resignations (there are currently 7 members) and are looking for members with experience in data collection, architecture, etc. They would welcome potential members to attend a meeting to see what it is all about.
Selectman Sibley recommended contacting UNH to see if there is anyone available to participate in the committee. This would be a good opportunity for collaboration and getting to know the needs of the College students who don’t have cars on campus.
First Selectman Reemsnyder announced there is the opportunity available to submit an application for the TAP grant. Applications are due to the RiverCOG by mid-November. The grant is available to all 17 towns and is a minimum of $500,000. Once all of the applications are in they will ask the 17 towns to prioritize the projects.
They will be applying for the grant and will be including sidewalks, lighting, more pedestrian/ bike access, safety, better access to public transportation (9Town transit) to assist the public with access to the Shore Line East and the New Haven area.
6. Public Comment: None
7. Other Business:
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone tomorrow is Election Day and to be sure to get out and vote.
She also announced she has received a draft of next year’s BOS meeting schedule and the employee holiday schedule. She noted that Michele has added the Town budget review meetings to the schedule. The BOS discussed the meeting schedule briefly in regards to the meeting scheduled for Monday July 3rd and agreed they should change the meeting to June 30th at 9:00AM due to the holiday. This will be added to the next agenda for approval so that everyone has time to review the schedule prior to voting on it.
Selectwoman Nosal shared the Girl Scouts Bronze Awards ceremony took place on October 23rd. Twelve Girl scouts were honored for completing a project on destroying stereo types. They also gathered cookies and shared them at Yale Children’s hospital where they made friends and then followed up with them.
Selectwoman Nosal shared the First Congregational Church will be holding a recognition of Harvest on November 21st at 7:00PM and they encourage participants to bring food donations for the shoreline soup kitchen. This is always well attended and choirs from local churches attend and it is really quite beautiful.
Selectwoman Nosal shared an email she received from the Emergency Management Director regarding the August Evacuation drill conducted by the Millstone Power Plant for the Town of Old Lyme. There were no findings, meaning the drill went very well and she noted that the whole state did a great job with no Level 1 or significant findings.
Selectman Sibley shared he had read an article on Lymeline on Surveying Work, and there was a letter by Greg Stroud from Southeast Coast regarding Historic Districts and defining them. He noted the latest version for Old Lyme is from the 70’s and needs to be updated. Selectman Sibley suggested they get some estimates and add this to the budget for this year. This could be a good stepping stone for getting Old Lyme on the Federal Register and could help with the defense of any large railroad bridges or any invasive type action.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she attended the Historic Meeting this morning to talk about updates on the railroad. She let them know she has sent out a letter to Sarah Fienberg, the FRA Administrator, noting some emails she has received regarding a negative impact on sales of Real Estate and requesting the bypass be taken off the plan. There was also discussion about finding the original documents that created the Historic District and what the boundaries of that district are.
First Selectman Reemsnyder will reach out to the Historic District Committee to see if they will need funds to complete a new survey.
8. Executive Session: None
9. Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to adjourn at 8:32 PM. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin
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