TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
The Board of Selectman held a Regular Meeting at 7:30 pm on June 5, 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.
May 15, 2017 Regular Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Sibley, to approve the minutes of the May 15, 2017 meeting. Motion passed.
- Communication: None
- Appointments:
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder noted the following appointments were up for renewal and approval of the BOS.
Joan Bonvicin, (D) Lymes’ Senior Center Board, 3 yr. term ending Jul. 2020
Kathy Lockwood, (D) Lymes’ Senior Center Board, 3 yr. term ending Jul. 2020
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to approve Joan Bonvicin and Kathy Lockwood to the Lymes’ Senior Center Board. Motion passed.
Robert DePianta (D), WPCA Hearing Panel, 1 yr. term ending Jul. 2018 Luisa Grogan (D), WPCA Hearing Panel, 1 yr. term ending Jul. 2018 Roger Breunig (R), WPCA Hearing Panel, 1 yr. term ending Jul. 2018
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Sibley, to approve Robert DePianta, Luisa Grogan and Roger Breunig to the WPCA Hearing Panel. Motion passed.
Bonnie Reemsnyder (D), Ledge Light HD, 3 yr. term ending June 2020
A motion was made by, Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to approve Bonnie Reemsnyder to the Ledge Light HD. Motion passed.
4. Old Business:
- Boathouse Hains Park Improvements / Dedication Update
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported she went by there today and it looks like the landscaping is underway. The one thing holding up the completion is the original materials for the reinforced turf were damaged and they are waiting for the replacement to arrive.
The topsoil has been put down between the boathouse & Rte. 1 and between the boathouse & Town Woods and it looks like the only thing left to be done is to put the seed down.
She also reported she had received an email from John Flower stating he has extended the temporary C.O. several times (3) and is hesitant to extend it again. They currently have until the end of next week to complete all of the outside work.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported the lease between Region 18 and the Town of Old Lyme has been approved.
She has just received a draft of the Region 18 and the Old Lyme Rowing Association agreement and has given a copy to the Selectman and she will also share it with Parks & Rec. The Superintendent of school’s reports that it mirrors the agreement between the Town and Region 18. The Rowing Association has expressed some concerns and they will be sitting down to discuss and negotiate their terms. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder recommended the Selectmen review the draft and make a list of any comments or questions they have. The BOS discussed some of the differences including; the length of the lease, sole use of the property and the use of the property until 8pm the latest. They will review this again at a later meeting.
- Rte. 156 Bikeway/Sound View Improvements
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that B&W paving have completed the milling and paving. Initially this looked good, but after taking a closer look, Ed Adanti, the Public Works Superintendent has expressed a few concerns including the size of the stone that has risen to the surface and a few areas that look patched. They called the inspector and the DOT who met to walk the area to view the concerns along with a few of the residents. The DOT decided they would have a paving assessment team go down to take a look at the areas of concern. They were down there at the end of last week and she expects to receive their report tomorrow. She will then forward their findings onto B&W Paving in a letter asking how they will resolve the concerns. She will keep the BOS posted.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder noted there are only a few things left to be done including; marking the business parking spots, the final striping, decorative signs and banner poles, and the breakaway portion of the sign posts, all of which will be added to the punch list after the final walk through.
Selectwoman Nosal reported the committee met on May 8th and the next meeting is scheduled for June 26th.
She also added that there was a dip in the road where the water lines run across the road. This is where B&W patched the road because they didn’t have time to fix it due to the Holiday weekend but they are aware they will need to come back and fix it. She is also keeping a punch list, which includes hydro seed, drainage, the bike racks need to be installed and there is a loose post that needs to be fixed on Gail’s green. They have received some feedback from residents on the way the benches are facing which can be changed if they decide they want them changed.
Selectman Sibley asked if they had any idea on the final budget for the project yet. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported that the requisitions have been submitted regularly and they have been receiving consistent reimbursements. She believes they have a lot of savings on the project but anticipates they have used approximately $15,000 -20,000 of the contingency for the paving. She noted the inspector and contractors have kept track of all of the quantities of all of the materials used on the project.
- Administrative Order/WPCA Update
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported they are still working on the Amendment #3 final plan and the EIE to be submitted. Once submitted it will be published for a 30-day comment period. CT DEEP has already received some comments prior to it being published so they have an idea of the areas that will need to be addressed. She had a conference call with the Engineer and Chairman discussing how the process will go and figuring out the cost. They will be giving a PowerPoint presentation at the next WPCA meeting to talk about the various fees, including the user, connection and betterment fees (benefit assessment). She will leave it up to the WPCA to explain this further. There is a possibility they could
go to a Town Referendum in September however she and the Chairman are not in favor of rushing this so it may not be until early next spring (late April/early May).
The next meeting is next Tuesday and she requested that Rich Prendergast schedule a Task Force meeting to follow the WPCA meeting so they can be kept up to date.
She also reported she is working with the three beaches on the pump station agreement and hopes to be sharing that information with the BOS soon.
Selectman Sibley asked for clarification on the three types of fees (user, connection and betterment fees). First Selectwoman Reemsnyder added there are also sewer usage fees that are ongoing. The BOS also discussed the financial impact to the Town and the options (hiring an assessor, waiting to see if it is challenged); the goal to the cost of the project being charged to those benefiting from it; the connection fee not being straight forward; the cost to pay for the construction of the system, and the engineers feel the cost is still reasonable to be paid for by the users. They may want to discuss further considering hiring someone to come in and complete an analysis. The power point presentation should answer some of these questions.
Selectwoman Nosal asked if the private beaches have their own fees and First Selectwoman Reemsnyder replied yes that is part of their plan. She also asked who approved the fees the Associations or DEEP and the difference between the estimated costs.
Selectwoman Nosal also asked if there has been an agreement with the neighboring towns that they are ready to accept. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported it is her understanding that the three beaches have an understanding with New London and East Lyme and they are still working on Waterford. This still needs to be put in writing and formalized. The Town has not been included in the discussions but the Towns plan has been part of the discussions for capacity. There are still a lot of questions and hopefully more clarification will be coming.
- Town Budget Meeting Update
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported the budget passed as well as the tax payments being due for July 1st and January 1st. The BOF met following the vote to set the mill rate. The mill rate was set for 21.75 mills.
5. New Business:
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported this has taken a backseat for a while due to other things going on. She has reached out to the Zoning Enforcement officer, Building Official and Fire Marshall to revisit what they have put together. They have developed a good draft. She met with them last week to review it and made some suggestions for changes. Keith Rosenfeld will be making the changes based on comments made at the meeting. They will then meet again to review it with the changes and at that point she will forward the draft onto the selectmen for their review. She is hoping to have this ready if they have a Town meeting in late July or August.
- Academy Lane Fire Dock Update
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported the contractor has started work on the fire dock, they plan to put three sides of steel sheeting on the fire dock. The steel sheeting will be vibrated in (so it won’t be very noisy) to the level it needs to reach and everything is going very well. The completion date for the project is August 31st but Todd feels it will be done before that.
- Release of bond for Blackwell Lane Extension
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone they voted at a Town Meeting back on January 25, 2016 to accept Blackwell Lane as a town road. The Town required that part of the bond be held to ensure all of the required work was completed. She has spoken with Ed Adanti who has inspected the road and confirms all of the required work has been completed. She also received a letter from Tom Metcalf confirming everything looks fine and the planning commission is comfortable releasing the bond.
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to release the bond in the amount of $2,400.02 plus any accrued interest for the month of May to the developer. Motion passed.
6. Public Comment: None
7. Other Business:
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported the Memorial Day Parade was cancelled due to the weather. There was a Ceremony held at the Lyme Old Lyme Middle School which was very nice and well attended. She wants to especially thank the Veterans, the fire department and everyone for all of their hard work and dedication to this event.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported the Osprey Festival has been cancelled for this year due to challenges with the event coordinator keeping up with the vendors. However, they do plan to hold the festival next year.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported they were asked by LLHD Nurse Kris Magnussen if the Town would be willing to participate in conducting an exercise in mass dispensing of antibiotics (this is the first Town to conduct this exercise). There is a plan in place for residents to print and complete forms to bring to the designated area to receive antibiotics should there be a public outbreak of some kind. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder gave an overview of the plan and the process. The Town Hall employees and the Old Lyme Senior Center will be participating in the exercise tomorrow. Once the exercise is completed they will evaluate and make recommendations for any changes. She also added the benefits these exercises can have in preparing, should an incident arise in the future.
Selectwoman Nosal asked if there was any update on the FRA. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder reported she has not heard anything new and anticipates hearing a decision soon. She has a meeting this week that the DOT Commissioner will be at and will ask him if he has any news and why there is so much talk about an impending decision coming out soon. She will also reach out to Congressman Courtney to see if he has heard anything. The last she heard from Commissioner Redeker was that the ROD was not expected to include the bypass, but they were struggling with the wording.
8. Executive Session: None
9. Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to adjourn at 8:44 pm. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin
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