TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
Minutes
The Board of Selectman held a Regular Meeting at 4:00 pm April 2, 2018 in the Meeting Hall of the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall. First Selectman Bonnie Reemsnyder, Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal and Selectman Chris Kerr were present.
19 March 2018 -Regular Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to approve the minutes of the March 19, 2018 regular meeting. Motion passed.
2. Communication: None
3. Appointments: None
4. Old Business:
- Boathouse Hains Park Improvements Project
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she had no update at this time but expects to have an update on the driveway drainage soon.
- Rte. 156 Bikeway/Sound View Improvements
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she forwarded an email to Selectwoman Nosal from Jeff Exley from DOT acknowledging the one item left was to schedule the official inspection by the DOT and he will notify her when this has been completed.
First Selectman Reemsnyder added they are still working on finalizing the date for the celebration and hopes to have this firmed up by the next meeting.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the BOF had their last meeting, last Tuesday night and handed out a printout of the budget to date and gave a brief update of the preliminary budget for FY18/19 and compares the budget back to FY9/10. They are still waiting for the final numbers for Dist. #18 (estimated at $27 Million), the General Govt. shows an increase of 1.02%, salaries will be an increase of 3.33%, Capitol is decreased by 1.13% with a total budget of $36,957,916 which is a 1.66% increase from last year. She also reported that the net revenue needed to be raised by taxes is $34,586,918. This will increase the mill rate to 22.33 up from 21.75 which is an increase of 2.68%.
The BOS also discussed the remaining surplus, the decrease in revenues and commended the BOF on their work on the budget.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone the Budget Hearing is scheduled for April 16th at 7:30PM at the Town Hall and encourages people to join us so they can discuss the budget.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she forwarded an email she received from their Attorney, Michael Carey regarding his feedback on the comments and feedback she had sent him regarding the Blight Ordinance. The memo addresses many of the concerns and he feels some of the language can be tweaked while he disagrees with some of the concerns. She gave a few examples including; households with natural landscape may seem like blight to others, while the attorney thinks blight is typically neglect versus natural landscaping. She also pointed out the range of comments from strong support vs strict opposition. The BOS discussed how they would like to move forward with this and they decided they would like to be able to find the right mix of language and rules in the ordinance and not overreach. They would like to review the original ordinance
against the revised ordinance in July along with the officers (Building Official, Fire Marshall, Zoning) to see if they can find a middle ground and develop a less invasive document. Selectmen Kerr added he does not support the Blight Ordinance the way it is written and feels it is a liability issue. First Selectman Reemsnyder suggested the Selectmen review the ordinance again and send comments and recommendations for changes through email.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to move item 5.a. Estuary Transit District up on the agenda. Motion passed.
5.a. Estuary Transit District, Joe Comerford/John Forbis guests
First Selectman Reemsnyder invited Joe Comerford, Executive Director of the Estuary Transit District, and John Forbis, Old Lyme’s board representative, to address the BOS. They thanked First Selectman Reemsnyder and the Selectmen for taking the time to hear their update. John began by ensuring everyone the Estuary Transit District (9 Town Transit which provides direct routes & Dial a Ride) is in strong financial shape. Joe then gave an overview of the current challenges they are facing in light of state budget cuts. They are receiving 2% less in state funding than they received in FY14/15 and they have just found out that if there is no new revenue put into the State’s special
transportation fund, they will be looking at a 15% cut in state funding effective July 1st. This decrease will unfortunately result in cuts in services, having a devastating impact on the riders who depend on this transportation to get to and from work and do not have an alternate affordable source of transportation. They are hoping that funding will be made available through the legislative process, possibly through moving money into the special transportation fund from car sales taxes, which isn’t a complete fix but would solve the problem for the next two years. There is also another bill out there that includes raising the gas tax, tire fees and car taxes but at this time they do not know where the support is on these options. They also discussed the role federal funding plays in their budget, the possibility of an increase in gas taxes and how the toll study could impact funding. They are planning to have public hearings to prepare for the cuts
in the event they take place. They feel it is important to get feedback from the current riders to see where to cut service with the least negative impact if the state funding cuts go through. They are also encouraging riders and towns to send letters of support to their legislators.
- Police Services Options Committee
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported at their last meeting they discussed the questions they would be asking the Chief of Police from East Lyme when they meet with him on Tuesday, April 3rd at 7:30pm. They also discussed having a police presence at the schools during both the morning arrival and afternoon dismissals.
First Selectman Reemsnyder also reported she received news that the Troop F Commander is being replaced. She does not have the name of the new Commander yet but will keep the Selectmen updated.
- Private Parking Lots – 2018 Permit Fees
First Selectman Reemsnyder distributed a spreadsheet to the Selectmen giving an overview of the income from the parking fees and tickets over the past seven years and noted some of the reasons (loss of spaces & reserved spaces for residents) for increases and decreases over the years. She reported they currently bring in a total of $6,060 from the permitted parking lots and if they increased the annual fee by $5 per space, the total would $7,070 in revenue for this year. The BOS discussed this further and agree to a $5 per space increase. First Selectwoman Reemsnyder will be sending out the applications for permits and will note the increase in cost for this year.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to increase the Permitted Parking Lot annual fee to $35 per parking space. Motion passed.
5. New Business:
- Estuary Transit District, Joe Comerford/John Forbis guests – Moved up on the Agenda
- Midsummer Festival Fireworks vs. Laser Light Show
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded the Selectmen of their conversation at a previous meeting regarding the possibility of having a laser light show set to music instead of fireworks due to the debris issues. The BOS discussed this further including different venues and costs. The Selectmen agree they would prefer to go with traditional fireworks. First Selectman Reemsnyder will schedule the fireworks and work with public works for their support with cleaning up the debris.
- Region #18 Budget Hearing Tonight
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded the Selectmen that the Region #18 Budget Hearing is tonight at 6:30pm at the Middle School.
6. Public Comment: None
7. Other Business:
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone that this Friday at 9AM is the “Donate Life” flag raising ceremony with an introduction by Richard Jones, MD Organ Donation Champion and a Presentations by Caroline Rochon, MD on “Lets Talk about Living Donations”. The program is sponsored by Hartford Hospital, Mentoring Corps for Community Development (MCCD) and the Town of Old Lyme in an effort to raise awareness to organ donation.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone there will be a Blood Drive at the Old Lyme Town Hall on Wednesday, April 4th 11AM – 4:30PM.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has heard from Katie Huffman the Director of Phoebe Griffin Noyes Library and they are beginning to set up public meetings and tours. They have scheduled the first for April 15th at the Library and it will include a tour.
Selectwoman Nosal reported she is working with Ed Adanti to see if he can have garbage bags available for residents who walk for exercise on Four Mile River Road and have volunteered to pick up stray trash while they are walking.
8. Executive Session: None
9. Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to adjourn at 5:39 pm. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin
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