TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
The Board of Selectman held a Regular Meeting at 7:30 pm October 16, 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.
October 2, 2017 Regular Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Sibley, to approve the minutes of the October 2, 2017 regular meeting. Motion passed.
October 6, 2017 Special Meeting Minutes
Selectwoman Nosal requested the following change: To correct the spelling of October on the top of the page.
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to approve the minutes of the October 6, 2017 special meeting as amended. Motion passed.
- Communication: None
- Appointments: None
4. Old Business:
- Boathouse Hains Park Improvements Project
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has been emailing back and forth on the plans for the drainage project and removal of the brush and trees. She has also received a report that one of the wood docks may need to be moved because some of it may be on private property, but they are working on resolving this.
First Selectman Reemsnyder also reported she received word this evening that the bathrooms do not have water. This occurred once this summer and they thought it was due to the watering of the grass. The facilities manager will look into it tomorrow to see what is going on. She will keep it on the agenda, so she can report on it at the next meeting.
Selectman Sibley reported he has dropped all of the paperwork for the fundraiser to Nicole and will be meeting with her tomorrow to reconcile the $20.00 difference.
He has also submitted a list of all of the donors and the different levels of how they should appear on the plaque. He has also put several different calls into Sophie, but has not heard back from her yet. He also reported that a town resident has volunteered to pay for the plaque not to exceed $5,0000.
First Selectman Reemsnyder commented on how enlightening it was to see how many people contributed to the fundraiser. She also added she received a comment from a resident about the Bathroom Committee being made up of all men. She will make a suggestion to Parks & Rec about the possibly of adding a woman to the committee to ensure diversity.
- Rte. 156 Bikeway/Sound View Improvements
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the final walkthrough is scheduled for next Monday, October 23rd at 3:30PM. She drove down today and did not see the decorative signs up yet and the striping has not been done yet.
Selectwoman Nosal reported she received an email today that they will be down there on Friday to work on the punch list. She added that some of the decorative sign bases have been installed and Safety Linings (striping) will be there on Friday to plan the striping.
First Selectman Reemsnyder will reach out to Ed Adanti to see if he can be there Friday as well.
Selectman Sibley commented that he thought the re-paving job was far superior to the original job and it looks great.
- Cross Lane Playground Committee Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the committee met on October 4th to review the plans for the playground. They also reviewed the budget and they are working within the $198,000, with $11,000 of that being contingency. After meeting with Ed Adanti and discussing the soil removal and gravel being put in, it is his recommendation that they use Al Bond to do the excavation. The cost for this would be $5,000, which could come out of the contingency but would also reduce the cost of Sullivan paving. Ed Adanti will also coordinate the excavation and paving.
She also reported the equipment will not arrive until around Thanksgiving with installation taking place the week after. This allows enough time to have the interlocking floor surface installed.
The Junior Women’s League is continuing to do fundraising for the fencing. They have received a $2,000 donation and will be holding a Trivia Night Fundraiser at the Lyme Tavern tomorrow night.
- Update on Special BOS Meeting
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported it was a very collaborative meeting and they were able to review and discuss all of the changes Attorney Mike Carey made to the ordinance. Having the Selectmen, Keith Rosenfeld from Zoning, Fire Marshall, Dave Roberge and George Calkins from LLHD gave everyone an opportunity to ask questions and discuss the recommendations and changes made by the Attorney. She added she has not yet received the updated version and thanked the Selectmen for taking the time to work on this.
The BOS also discussed the recent state involvement taking place in New London in regard to the bamboo overgrowth on a private resident’s property and why the state was involved. First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she believes the state is involved because there is a state law on how bamboo can be grown in the state of CT.
First Selectman Reemsnyder stated she has given the updated version she received from Eric Callahan to the selectmen, with the caveat that this has not been shared with the three beaches yet. It has been shared with the Chairman of the WPCA and if the BOS feels this addresses their concerns, they will move forward and send it on to the three beaches.
She reminded everyone that on this pump house lease, they are leasing the land for the pump house that will serve the three beaches and eventually the Town. Once there is a lease that is acceptable to the BOS and the three beaches they will share with other Boards that have an interest, a public hearing and finally a Town meeting for final approval. The beaches are hoping this can be accomplished by the end of November, but she is not sure if this is reasonable.
First Selectman Reemsnyder asked the Selectmen to look over the updated version and let her know if they have any questions about the changes that were made, so she can pass them on.
5. New Business:
- LED light installation kickoff meeting
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she had a kick off meeting with Tanko and Red Thread to review the installation schedule for the LED lights.
They anticipate beginning the conversion possibly this Thursday but definitely by Monday, Oct. 23rd. She has received a map of where it will start and as they had requested it will begin in the Cross Lane area and they don’t anticipate the full installation taking longer than two weeks. Public notices will be posted on the Town website to let residents know where and when they will be in their areas and what is going on, along with a list of FAQs.
Once all of the LED lights are installed, they will receive the rate change, but it typically takes two or three billing cycles to see the change. Then they should receive the rebate in January or February. They will be setting up at Public Works and will have a dumpster for all the old lights to be recycled and the Town will receive an environmental certificate for recycling. They will also be putting stickers on all of the poles indicating they are municipality owned lights.
Selectwoman Nosal asked if the cost was the same for the new lights and what the process for replacing lights is if needed. First Selectman Reemsnyder replied the cost is the same and the lights are under warranty for the first year with no replacement costs. She also added that they have purchased a warranty program that will extend replacements saving them the cost of purchasing extra lights and it should be a quick replacement time. The committee made up of Tim Griswold and Chris Kerr agreed this was the best way to go.
Selectman Sibley added he would like to put a plug in for Hartford Ave. to see if it was possible to get them to look at the lights to see if they could provide them with guidance. First Selectman Reemsnyder reported this has been a conversation with Tanko but thinks that Red Thread may be a better way to go and she will reach out to them.
- REMINDER: Election Day November 7, 2017
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone that Election day is November 7th.
The next BOS meeting is on November 6th and they will have an Executive Session at 6:30PM prior to their regular meeting with the Open Space Commission. She will send out the Agenda and notices for the meeting.
6. Public Comment: None
7. Other Business:
First Selectman Reemsnyder shared with the Selectmen a letter she received from a resident on Library Lane expressing their concern about the debris from the fireworks after the Summer Festival with suggestions for future fireworks and will forward the emails onto the Selectmen
She feels this should be part of the future budget planning. Selectman Sibley suggested they speak with the current vendor to get their input on this as well.
First Selectman Reemsnyder gave an update on the letter they had received from the First Congregational Church regarding their request for tax exempt status. She forwarded the request on to the Town Attorney who recommended this request be forwarded to the Town Assessor who would then request the required documentation to determine if they are eligible for the tax abatement. This brought to mind that she had forwarded the senior housing requests to the BOF and the Attorney agreed that was appropriate for that situation.
8. Executive Session: None
9. Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectman Sibley, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to adjourn at 8:12 pm. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin
| 
