TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING AGENDA WITH RECORD OF VOTES
The Board of Selectman held a Regular Meeting at 7:30 pm on March 6, 2017 in the Meeting Hall of the Old Lyme Memorial town Hall. First Selectman Bonnie Reemsnyder, Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal and Selectman Skip Sibley were present.
February 22, 2017 Regular Meeting Minutes
Selectwoman Nosal requested the following change:
Page 4. 2nd paragraph, corrected spelling to read: (ex. Hookah pipes)
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to approve the minutes of the February 22, 2017 Regular Meeting as amended. Motion passed.
2. Communication: None
3. Appointments:
Ray Thompson (R) Halls Road Improvements Committee
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to appoint Ray Thompson to the Halls Road Improvements Committee. Motion passed.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Sibley, to move item 5 c. Osprey Festival up on the agenda. Motion passed.
First Selectman Reemsnyder gave an overview of the 2016 Osprey Festival held on June 18th from 10 am – 8 pm. It was a great success and they would like to repeat this again this year.
First Selectman Reemsnyder invited Mark Griswold, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Frank Pappalardo, Chairman of the Sound View Committee to discuss the 2017 Osprey Festival. Based on last year’s vendor feedback they would like to move the venue closer to the water and hold it in the Town Parking lot. They also plan to reduce the number of vendors from 60 to 40 and shorten the hours from 10 am –8 pm to 10 am – 6 pm. They provided the members of the BOS a site plan for this year’s festival. The key changes discussed were:
- The Town parking lot being closed for the day (part of the lot being closed prior to and after the festival due to the tent and generator)
- Alternate parking to make up for the Town Lot closure, possibly additional temporary permitting (ex. Gail’s Green and the Shoreline Church parking lot).
- Shuttle for visitors – possible golf cart to shuttle vendors
- Hartford Ave. will be open for the day
- Traffic Control – Information Coordination Cheat Sheet
Concerns/suggestions discussed included; overflow booths on the street (safety concern), the tent being there before and after (Fee issue – possibly the Town will absorb part of cost), Handicapped parking, Bike racks for bicycle parking, Barriers and Bump-outs and the location of the tent.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Sibley, to approve the draft plan presented to the BOS, contingent upon approval by the Fire Marshal and the approval of any other major changes approved by the BOS. Motion passed.
4. Old Business:
- Boathouse Hains Park Improvements
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported most of the work is completed, the electric service has been installed, the dirt has been smoothed out closest to Town Woods Road and some of the landscaping has been started. She gave a tour of the building to Region District 18 Superintendent, and the Athletic Director. There is still some painting to be completed, and they are still working on the security system and emergency lighting.
In regards to the lease, she has looked over the changes, made comments and forwarded this onto the Town Attorney for final review. She has sent this on to the Committee (Bob Dunn, Don Bugbee and Nigel Logan) who has been working on this for their review. First Selectman Reemsnyder will forward the final lease on to the Selectmen as soon as she receives it.
Paul Gianquinto has reached out to Sophie Marsh to get a price for the plaque and Sophie gave a price but indicated she will be making the plaque as a donation.
Selectman Sibley made the BOS aware that the students will be starting two weeks from today and asked if there was an official or temporary CO in place yet. First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has reached out to the Fire Marshall and he is working with the Building inspector to get this in place.
Selectman Sibley reported the Fundraising committee met last Tuesday and funds are still coming in and they have received an additional $30,000 with a total of $80,000. They have targeted the end of March to wind down their fundraising efforts, they may put a final reminder out in the press (Lymeline) for those who would like to donate who have not already done so.
They also discussed holding a Ribbon Cutting ceremony sometime in May on a Saturday, but they are having a hard time scheduling this. First Selectman Reemsnyder suggested maybe they could look at a Friday afternoon.
Selectman Sibley added they would like to put a plaque in place with all the names of the people who have donated. It was suggested this could possibly be put somewhere on the pavilion.
- Rte. 156 Bikeway/Sound View Improvements
First Selectman Reemsnyder noted that there was a meeting last week with WMC, B & W Paving and DOT to discuss the drainage issue. The suggested solution (change) includes putting a new section of pipe on the east side of Hartford Ave. (320 feet of 15” pipe – approx. $25,600 which includes everything)to connect the catch basin from Martino Ave. down to the last one on Hartford Ave. This will need to be approved by DOT and is covered under the contingency in the plan. This would keep the East and West sides separate and this would be beneficial and improve things.
First Selectman Reemsnyder added that B & W Paving has requested a six-day extension which would bring them to about May 15th. They are not sure they will get that because the schedule is very tight. The change will not affect their start date of March 13th and they feel they will still meet their timeline.
Selectwoman Nosal added that WMC has also looked for ways to offset costs and will be putting the new dry wells into the same place as the wells they have removed on the East side instead of digging new wells.
The next committee meeting will be on March 27th.
- Administrative Order/WPCA Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has heard back from the DEEP in regards to the plan submitted in December and they had a few questions and changes to the plan, none of which seemed substantial. DEEP stated that W&C should feel free to update the EIE and send in the draft for review. The process continues to move forward and she will forward the email onto the BOS.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone that the Safety Committee has recommended the BOS consider adopting a town wide no smoking policy. This has been presented to the Parks & Rec Commission and they support adopting a policy. Cathy Frank has printed out policies and bans from numerous other towns and communities for review. She also provided the BOS with a draft that the Safety Committee has put together and she read this to the BOS. The BOS went on to discuss the draft and recommended the following additions including; adding All Town Vehicles, specify 25’ from any building entrance, all beaches and designated smoking areas.
The BOS agree the draft is good with the above noted additions. First Selectman Reemsnyder will have Cathy add the changes and will then send it on to the Town Attorney for his review and recommendations. She will follow up with the BOS when she hears back from him so they can try to get this approved and in place before summer begins.
5. New Business:
- Update on new Resident Trooper selection process
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the Troop F interviews are scheduled for next week and they hope to make a selection before the end of March so they can transition by a target date of April 1st. She will keep the BOS updated as this progresses. She is not sure if Trooper Inglis will stay on for any period of time with the new Trooper.
- Cross Lane Playground – soil testing
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone that the findings of the soil samples will determine whether the ground is strong enough to support a playground at Cross Lane. She reported she had Dr. Clarence Welti meet with her and public works at Cross Lane to take samples. There was a visible water pond and public works was there to dig holes. They dug about 5 holes that were 5 feet deep and Dr. Welti was able to look at the ground under the soil. His report recommends removing 1 1’2 to 3 1/2 feet of the top ground and adding gravel and a heavy layer of top soil in order to be able to support a playground.
First Selectman Reemsnyder called Anna Reiter and the original plan did include removing about 1 ½ feet of the top soil and replacing it with gravel, however she doesn’t believe the removal of some of the trees was included. First Selectman Reemsnyder suggested that she would meet with Anna and the playground designer to review the report from Dr. Welti and go out to visit the site to discuss placement of the equipment. The original plan may work but if not they can discuss other options.
- Osprey Festival – moved up on the agenda
- LED Lights Pilot Program
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported that the LED lights have been installed. There are 6 lights that have been installed on McCurdy Road and 6 lights on Lyme Street have been installed (different manufacturers) and 4 lights (2 each manufacturers) on Halls Road. She has requested public works tie different color ribbons on the light poles (red & yellow) so people can identify the lights.
She is still working on questions for the survey and as soon as it is completed she will put it on Survey Monkey. Once completed she will put instructions on the Town Website so residents can provide feedback to assist with establishing which manufacturer they will use in the installation of all the streetlights. She anticipates full installation by the end of summer. She also reminded everyone of the savings this will provide to the Town and the lights will pay for themselves in less than 3 years.
Selectman Sibley added he recommends she make a special communication to the Historic Commission Chair for input.
- Girl Scout Week Proclamation
First Selectman Reemsnyder read the “Girl Scout Day Proclamation” Celebrating 105 years of Girl Scouting and proclaimed March 12, 2017 Girl Scout Day. The proclamation has been signed by all the members of the BOS and First Selectman Reemsnyder will make sure the Girl Scouts get a copy of the proclamation.
The full proclamation is attached to these minutes.
6. Public Comment: None
7. Other Business:
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she attended the Historic District Commission meeting at their request to acknowledge 18 years of service by Jim Bechtel who has resigned from the commission. He was presented with a Certificate of Achievement signed by the BOS for his many years of service.
First Selectman Reemsnyder also announced the Town Assessor Walter Kent, has submitted his resignation and will retire on April 21st after 38 years of service.
She is exploring other options for the Town Assessor in light of the state budget. She has had a conversation with the Assistant Assessor, area towns and the Council of Governments and is considering the possibility of shared services. This may be possible if the RiverCOG could hire someone full-time with benefits and they could contract for a specific number of hours. She will still advertise for a full-time assessor in case this does not work out. The BOS discussed having one full-time assessor shared between towns and agree this would provide the towns with consistent services versus having a part-time assessor who may be seeking full-time or piecing together jobs. She will keep the BOS posted as this progresses.
Selectwoman Nosal shared she was surprised by some of the communication on social media in regards to the pro-railroad comments that are out there. She feels it is very import they not let their guard down and continue to educate people on the impact the bypass will have on towns and communities along the route.
Selectman Sibley expressed his concern about the trees that need to come down at Hains Park now that the new Boathouse has been completed.
8. Executive Session: None
9. Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to adjourn at 9:11 pm. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin
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