Skip Navigation
This table is used for column layout.
Board of Selectmen Minutes 09/17/2018


TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES


The Board of Selectman held a Regular Meeting at 4:00 pm September 17, 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.

  • Approval of Minutes:
20 August 2018 -Regular Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to approve the minutes of the August 20, 2018 regular meeting as amended. Motion passed.
4 September 2018 -Regular Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Selectman Kerr, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to approve the September 4, 2018 regular meeting minutes. Motion passed.
2. Communication:  None
3.  Appointments:
Doris Johnson (R) -   Lyme Senior Center – 3-year term exp. July 2021
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to appoint Doris Johnson to the Lyme Senior Center Board. Motion passed.
Howard Margules (D) - Halls Road Improvements Committee
A motion was made by Selectman Kerr, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to appoint Howard Margules to the Halls Road Improvements Committee. Motion passed.
David Evers (R) - Board of Assessments Appeals, alt. exp. Jan. 2020
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported that the current regular members (3) of the Board of Assessments Appeals are elected to the Board. However, after doing some research she has found that alternates may be approved by the BOS. She recommends appointing two alternates (minority representation) with alternating two-year terms, so the board has options in case of absences by board members.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to appoint David Evers to the Board of Assessments Appeals as an alternate. Motion passed.
Brendan McKeever (D) – Park & Rec commission – 3-year term exp. July 2020
First Selectman Reemsnyder will follow up on this appointment and report back at the next meeting. She reported it was brought to her attention there was a question as to party affiliation and she needs to make sure that the “Rule of Representation” is being followed and noted this has nothing to do with Brendan’s qualifications or wanting to serve on this commission.
4.   Old Business:
  • Haines Park Bathrooms Committee
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the first meeting is scheduled for tomorrow. The agenda includes; Introductions, review of the process/history to date, discussion on how to proceed and completing member forms for the committee.
She will keep this on the agenda, so she can provide the selectmen with regular updates on their progress.



  • Sanitation/Recycling RFP – Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the pre-bid mandatory meeting was held on Friday, Sept. 4th. There was a good turn out with representatives from approximately eight companies in attendance. They handed out documents that would be helpful for completing the RFP along with a map of the town, a list of private and town roads along with the garbage and recycling schedule. There were some good questions asked and answered. She also reviewed the time-line with the next step being questions due on Sept. 21st., questions and answers will be posted on the website Sept. 28th and bids due on Oct. 12th.

  • Historic Survey Cte. Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported they held their kick-off meeting on Sept. 6th with members of the Historic Survey Committee, Heritage Consultants (company completing survey) and Mary Dunne, the Executive Director of State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO). They reviewed the priorities for which areas they wanted to focus on and reviewed a map of the Town of Old Lyme. They also discussed they will not be able to include all of the historic properties in this survey but would like to have the rest of them surveyed in the future. Mary Dunne let them know that once they have completed this survey they could apply for a second grant to survey properties not included in this survey.
First Selectman Reemsnyder added that there were several guests at the meeting including residents from Old Lyme that wanted to make sure that properties they were aware of were included in the survey as well as guests from out of town. The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 25th at 10 am and Heritage Consultant will review their list with the committee and discuss the suggested properties to be included in the survey and tweak as needed.

  • Pump Station Lease & Solar Lease Hearing
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the Public Hearing for the Pump Station lease and Solar lease will be held on Sept. 19th at the Lyme Old Lyme Middle School with the Pump Station Lease at 7 pm and the Solar Lease at 7:30 pm.
She (as well as the selectmen) reported she has received an email from Frank Pappalardo, Chairman of the Sound View Commission with a list of questions regarding the lease. She has sent parts of this to the Town Attorney for a response and spoke with him today and expects an email following up. She reviewed the questions posed by Mr. Pappalardo and the Selectmen discussed responses. First Selectman Reemsnyder also discussed the legal description of the alleyways and a history of their formation.

Selectman Kerr reported in regard to the Solar Lease, Eversource has given an extension on the due date of the3 applications to Oct. 7th.

  • School Resource Officer for Region 18 – Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has not received the final agreement from the Town Attorney yet and once she does she will forward it on to the selectmen and the superintendent.

  • Special Town Meeting Schedule
First Selectman Reemsnyder reviewed the CALL of the Special Town Meeting scheduled for Sept. 24th at 7 pm at the Lyme Old Lyme Middle School.
  • Approval of Lease of Town Parking lot for Pump Station
  • Approval of Lease of Landfill for solar farm
First Selectman Reemsnyder read the” Warning of Town of Old Lyme Special Town Meeting”:
The Board of Selectman of the Town of Old Lyme hereby gives warning that a Special Town Meeting will be held on September 24, 2018 at 7:30 PM in the Auditorium in the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School, 53 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, Connecticut, to consider and act upon the following:

  • A Proposed Lease of a portion of the Town-owned property at 72 Portland Avenue, Old Lyme, CT, including access rights to the Leased Area, to the Miami Beach Association, the Old Lyme Shores Beach Association, and the Old Colony Beach Association, and to each of their respective Water Pollution Control Authorities (the “Tenants”), for an initial term of forty years from its Commencement Date, for the purpose of the construction, operation, and maintenance of a sanitary sewage pump station, underground piping, and related facilities by the Tenants. Proposed Lease Terms and a Map showing the proposed lease area is available through the WPCA page of the Town website (www.oldlyme-ct.gov), and available for review in the Town Clerk’s or Selectman’s Offices of Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall.
  • A Resolution:
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN MEETING OF THE TOWN OF OLD LYME that the First Selectman, on terms and conditions deemed by the Board of Selectmen to be commercially reasonable and in the best interests of the Town, and subject to the approval of the Town Attorney as to legality and form, is authorized to negotiate and enter into a memorandum of agreement and subsequent lease for an initial term of up to twenty-five years with a solar energy generation firm legally qualified to produce and distribute solar energy in the State of Connecticut for the purpose of allowing the tenant to install, own and operate solar photovoltaic generation equipment (“Solar Facilities”) on some or all of the capped portion of the former landfill on the Town-owned property at 109 Four Mile River Road in Old Lyme, CT,  together with and for the term of the lease: (i) an easement over, across and through Town Property outside the leased area as reasonably necessary to allow the tenant, its employees, invitees, agents, contractors and subcontractors to access the leased property and the Solar Facilities by vehicle, foot or otherwise, in such location(s) as shall be reasonably determined by mutual written agreement of the Board of Selectmen and the tenant; and (ii) an easement on Town Property outside the leased area, as reasonably necessary for the sole purpose of servicing the Solar Facilities, to build, maintain, upgrade, install and relocate electrical lines, conduits, and disconnects running to and from the Solar Facilities and other eequipment and communication facilities, including without limitation utility meters and switches, transformers, inverters, disconnects, reclosers, poles and switchboards, all of which shall be reasonably needed to operate the Solar Facilities, and all of which shall be located where reasonably determined by mutual written agreement of the Board Selectmen and the tenant; and (iii) the right, license and privilege to use, as reasonably necessary, up to fifteen thousand (15,000) square feet of Town Property outside the leased area  as a temporary workspace for the placement and storage of equipment and materials during the construction and the removal of the Solar Facilities, the specific location of such temporary workspace to be agreed upon by mutual consent of the Selectmen and the tenant prior to construction of the Solar Facilities.

A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to approve the CALL of the Town Meeting. Motion passed.


5.   New Business:
  • Recommendation from Harbor Mgmt. on Lt. River RFP
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has received an email from Steve Ross, Chairman of the Harbor Management Commission on their recommendation for award of the Lt. River RFP. After consulting with Geoff Steadman who wrote the RFP and reviewing the bids, the HMC recommends awarding the bid to Docko, Inc. The committee has had extensive discussions regarding the five bids they received ranging from $16,100 - $79,964. Docko was the lowest bid and meets all of the RFP requirements. Keith Neilson of Docko Inc. is known to the Harbor Mgmt. as a qualified engineer and for the work he did on the Academy Lane Fire Dock.
First Selectman Reemsnyder let the selectmen know any comments or concerns they have can be taken into consideration when they develop the contract.
A motion was made by Selectman Kerr, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to accept the recommendation made by the Harbor Management Commission. Motion passed.

6.   Public Comment:


Sophie Diamond from 8 McCurdy Road addressed the BOS regarding the need for sidewalks on McCurdy Road which is an extension of Lyme Street.
She gave an overview of four main points (included in a letter sent to First Selectman Reemsnyder) that she would like to address: 1. Speed limit – she would like to see the speed limit reduced to 20 mph due to the high traffic of cars, bikes and pedestrians. 2. She would like to see sidewalks put in on at least one side of the road (cemetery side). Maintenance should not be a large expense because the Town already owns the machines. 3. Having sidewalks would offer the option of a “Walking School Bus” – If sidewalks were put in kids could be encouraged to walk to school. 4.She would like to see an Idling Ordinance put in place for the Town of Old Lyme. A lot of trucks (UPS, etc.) idle on Bittersweet Lane during the lunch break and it is disruptive to this neighborhood as well as to pedestrians trying to walk by them.

First Selectman Reemsnyder thanked Sophie for coming to the meeting and articulating her concerns. She also supports extending the sidewalks down McCurdy Road and will have this conversation during budget season.
Selectwoman Nosal supports a study on having sidewalks put in on McCurdy Road.

7.   Other Business:
Selectwoman Nosal asked for an update on the cameras for Sound View. First Selectman Reemsnyder reported that the money is still in the budget for this and she has been working with Eversource to resolve were they can put the cameras on the poles. She will continue to follow-up with Eversource until she gets an answer.

Selectwoman Nosal gave an update on the outstanding items on the Sound View Project check list. She reported that the Inspector from WMC reported B&W Paving was sending their landscaper over to Hartford Ave. on Sept. 11th but has not received an update on this yet. She also reported that the inspector has revised the books and sent them to DOT for the final review and is hoping to hear something on that soon.

Selectwoman Nosal thanked the town for getting information out to the community regarding the car break-ins that took place over the Labor Day week-end.
First Selectman Reemsnyder thanked Selectwoman Nosal for making her aware of this and she has had conversations with the police about it and are considering have a banner made to put up across Halls Road when the space is available. She also added that there had been car break-ins over in Groton, Essex and Old Saybrook and there had also been reports of stolen cars. She reminded everyone to lock their cars, remove their belongings and not leave the keys in the car.

8.   Executive Session: None

9.   Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to adjourn at 5:52 pm. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin