TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES
The Board of Selectmen held a Regular Meeting at 7:30 pm on October 1, 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.
17 September 2018 -Regular Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to approve the September 17, 2018 regular meeting minutes. Motion passed.
2. Communication: None
3. Appointments:
Brendan McKeever (R) - Park & Rec Comm – 3-year term exp. Jan. 2020
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported that after further research she found that on a commission with seven members there can be up to five members of the same party.
A motion was made by Selectman Kerr, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to appoint Brendan McKeever to the Park & Rec Commission for a 3-year term expiring Jan. 2020. Motion passed.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to add item 4. f. Landfill - Solar Farm to the agenda. Motion passed.
4. Old Business:
- Hains Park Bathrooms – Committee
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has no update since the last meeting. The committee will be meeting on Friday and she will have an update at the next meeting.
- Sanitation/Recycling RFP – Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the committee met last week to review the questions submitted and prepared and posted the answers. The deadline for RFP submissions is on October 12th at 2 pm and opening of the bids will follow.
- Historic Survey Cte. Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the committee met last week to review a list that was submitted by the consultants. The committee narrowed down the list to homes within the boundaries, eliminated some that have already been surveyed and added a few that they had not included and sent the revised list back to the consultants. They will be meeting with the consultants this week to review and finalize the list. Work should begin once the list is finalized and they will provide the committee with regular updates. The surveyors will have identification stating they are working for the Town of OL and will not go on private property without permission.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded the selectmen that they are able to apply for an additional grant to complete a survey of homes not on this survey along with an archeological survey once this survey is completed.
- School Resource Officer for Region 18 – Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she is still working on the job description and Memorandum of Understanding Agreement with Region 18 for a School Resource officer (SRO) for all of the schools including Mile Creek and Lyme Consolidated. She met with Sergeant Devine from the CT State Police who supervises the OL Resident Trooper and
during their discussion he indicated the State Police do not agree with the Town of Lyme swearing in an OL officer to serve in Lyme because this may be a legal matter.
The Police Services Options committee will be meeting tomorrow evening at 6pm and the CT State Police Commander will be doing a presentation. She will ask questions regarding any legal issues with the SRO being sworn in by the Town of Lyme along with how the Town of Lyme not being a part of the Resident Trooper program may impact their support. The alternative would be to have a State Trooper as an SRO and that is highly expensive. She will keep the selectmen posted and asked if they had any comments they would like conveyed.
- Special Town Meeting update
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the Special Town Meeting was very well attended. The Leasing of the Town Parking Lot (72 Portland Ave.) for a Pump Station was approved overwhelmingly after the presentation and questions The Leasing of the landfill for a Solar Farm was also approved after several questions. She thanked everyone for taking the time and expressing their interest in the projects going on in town.
- Solar Farm on the Landfill
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she has been in contact with James Schwartz from Independent Solar regarding the comments from the Town Attorney on the land lease and hasn’t heard back from him yet. She also reported she has been contacted by three other people (one resident, Sunlight Solar Energy) interested in bidding on this project. She is aware that in order to be eligible for the ZREC grant they need to apply by Oct. 7th. After hearing some of the concerns expressed at the Special Town Meeting she is wondering if they should do an RFP for the Solar Farm on the landfill. She went on to give an overview of the two current bids they have to date. She also added the amount of time they have been working on this and some of the outreach she has done to explore interested companies.
The BOS discussed the RFP, going out to bid, not having the lease yet, and the possibility of losing the ZREC grant this year and the possibility of it not being available next year. First Selectman Reemsnyder feels they need to do their due diligence and she will reach out to the companies that have expressed interest and see what their alternatives are for the ZREC grant. She will keep the selectmen updated on her progress.
5. New Business:
- Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) Proposal for Economic Development Commission (EDC)
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported that during the committee’s work on the Halls Road Improvement project they reached out to CERC to explore what opportunities may be available for this project. During their conversations they felt this may be more relevant to the Towns EDC. The EDC has reached out to CERC to see what they could do, and they have received a proposal for $44,140 for both the EDC and Halls Road Improvements.
First Selectman Reemsnyder gave each of the selectmen a copy of the proposal and gave a brief overview of what it entails. The EDC is very interested in doing this and CERC will be attending the Oct. 15th BOS meeting to discuss the proposal and answer questions. They are also interested in attending the Oct. 16th BOF meeting if they can get on the agenda. She asked the selectmen to review the proposal for further discussion at the next meeting.
- Local Bridge Program – Funding Update
First Selectman Reemsnyder gave a funding update on the local bridge program. She received a letter from the State of CT letting her know that the Town has been approved for their application for funding the Mile Creek Road bridge over the Black Hall River. They have been approved for up to $427,400 and it is good for 50% of eligible project costs. This is based on the application submitted by their engineers for the estimated costs of the project. First Selectman Reemsnyder will sign the letter accepting the funds for the project and send this into the state.
First Selectman Reemsnyder also reported they were approved for an additional grant of $345,800 for the Grass Hill Road bridge. The engineer feels the bridge is now safe after the emergency repairs but thinks that one of the reasons they received the funding is because the bridge is functionally obsolete. She feels this is worthy of further conversation
and re-evaluation of the bridge by the engineer. The BOS further discussed making the BOF aware, exploring why the state feels the bridge is functionally obsolete and having the expense of having two bridge projects at once.
- October: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded everyone that October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and thanked everyone who works in the field and with fundraising for research and with making every day treatments more manageable. She also added there is a display in the Town Hall with information and resources available along with the quilt given to them.
6. Public Comment: None
First Selectman Reemsnyder welcomed Mary Biekert from The Day newspaper who will be covering the BOS meetings.
7. Other Business:
First Selectman Reemsnyder noted she had received a question from Selectwoman Nosal regarding figures on crimes in Old Lyme and East Lyme that she saw on an online news website. She asked if the figures made sense as they appeared to be higher than she thought they were. First Selectman Reemsnyder agreed and reached out to Troop F who sent her the actual statistics which she shared with Selectwoman Nosal showing the figures were indeed much lower.
Selectwoman Nosal asked if they can consider having further discussions on extending the sidewalks from Lyme St. down to the McCurdy Road cemetery when they begin budget season discussions. First Selectman Reemsnyder replied yes, they can, and they will need to find the time to do this.
Selectwoman Nosal asked it there were any major issues in town due to the torrential rains last week. First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she was in touch with the State Police that evening and they had no reports of major damage. There was some buildup of water on Cross Lane, but it cleared up quickly. Public works found some drainage issues down on White Sand Beach that were problematic to some of the residents. Public works dug up a pipe that had corroded and will replace it once the water recedes. She also commended Public Works and the Director for their prompt response to addressing issues as they arise.
Selectwoman Nosal shared that Ledge Light Health District will be holding a drive-thru flu shot clinic at the New London High School on October 14th from noon to 2pm. This was advertised on News and Announcements and preregistration is available online.
8. Executive Session: None
9. Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to adjourn at 8:45 pm. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin
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