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Board of Selectmen Minutes 03/18/2019
TOWN OF OLD LYME
BOARD OF SELECTMEN
MEETING MINUTES


The Board of Selectmen held a Regular Meeting at 4:00 pm on March 18, 2019 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:
4 March 2019 -Regular Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to approve the March 4, 2019 Regular meeting minutes. Motion passed.
  • Communication:  
  • Appointments:
Erik Olsen (D) – Sound View Connectivity Grant Cte.
A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to appoint Erik Olsen to the Sound View Connectivity Comm.  Motion passed.

A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to add the appointment of John Curtis to the Halls Road Improvement Committee to the agenda.  Motion passed.

John Curtis - Halls Road Improvement Committee

A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to appoint John Curtis to the Halls Road Improvement Committee.  Motion passed.

A motion was made by Selectman Kerr, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to add item 5.E. Discussion of Permitting Fees to the agenda and move it to this point on the agenda.  Motion passed.

5.E. Discussion of Permitting Fees
First Selectman Reemsnyder invited Building Official, Mark Wayland to join the meeting to discuss with the selectmen his recommendation to adjust the building fees. He gave an overview of the current fees and structure. He pointed out the fees have not been adjusted since the 1990’s. He reviewed the proposal he has submitted and gave an overview of the building permitting process along with the costs and fees included in each permit, the revised inspection cost list and the building permit evaluation schedule. He also gave an overview of the research he conducted on other surrounding town’s fees. He is recommending the BOS approve an increase to the building permit fees to; $25 for the first $1,000 and $12 for each additional $1,000 to put them more in line with other towns and standards.

A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to approve the permitting fee increases as recommended by Mark Wayland, Building Official, effective July 1, 2019.  Motion passed.

  • Old Business: Project Updates
  • Hains Park Bathrooms Committee
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported they are still waiting for a price for the plans from the architect.
  • MC and Grassy Hill Road Bridges
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the bids are due for the Mile Creek Road Bridge on March 28th. She also reported the Grassy Hill Road Bridge will be at a standstill until the new fiscal year begins, when they have a budget to begin the design.
  • Community Connectivity Grant
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported Selectwoman Nosal has emailed the committee members with a date for the initial meeting and will post the meeting when she receives confirmation from the members.

b.      FY 2020 Budget
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported they continue to work through the budget process and had a lot of guests at their last meeting including; LYSB, the Library, Open Space Comm., EDC and the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts (LACFA).
The Finance Director has put together a projection of where the budget stands to date and she shared this with the selectmen (this does not include the $90,000 request from LACFA). The current projection shows a 2.67% increase which would raise the mill rate from 21.91 to 22.44. She also noted they have not discussed capital projects yet and have some challenging expenses to address including; tennis and basketball courts at Cross Lane, increased health care costs, increased sanitation costs, Board of Assessment Appeals, use of surplus and the $90,000 request from LACFA. The BOS went on to discuss the Director of Parks and Recs request for an increase in hours, noted the Board of Ed has scheduled a public meeting to discuss the new pre-school program, rebuilding the basketball and tennis courts at Cross Lane and the increase in sanitation fees. The BOS will continue to discuss these challenges at their next budget meeting and agree they would like to see the budget come in under 2%.

  • Municipal Training Workshop – April 10th
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the Economic Development Commission (EDC) has been working with the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) and will be hosting a free Municipal Training Session on April 10th at 6:00 PM. The training is designed to help municipal boards and commission members understand what roles they play in economic development, how they can work together and best practices. She also added there is an online survey participant are asked to complete ahead of time to assist with the development of the presentation for Old Lyme.
First Selectman Reemsnyder announced the BOF approved the request from the EDC made at the last meeting for $8,075 to work with CERC in this fiscal year, and an additional $44,000 in next year’s budget to host a SWOT analysis to bring all stakeholders in the Old Lyme community together to discuss economic growth in Old Lyme and to conduct surveys of both residents and businesses in town.

  • Amendments to Solid Waste ordinance
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the changes discussed at the last meeting have been included in the updated revised version she sent to the selectmen. She reviewed the changes and reported the final version is ready to go to a Town Meeting. The BOS set a tentative date of April 2nd for the public hearing for the Amendments to the Solid Waste Ordinance. She will put together a PowerPoint presentation highlighting the changes between the old and new ordinance and will share this with the selectmen when completed.

  • Special Town Meeting items – draft
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported she is holding off on scheduling the meeting for April 16th because there may be a delay with the Open Space land purchase agreement which needs to be approved and recommended by the BOS prior to the Town Meeting. The agenda may remain the same, but they may need to approve an additional appropriation for sanitation cost increases.
  • Citizen of the Year
  • Cell Tower Lease
  • Amendments to Solid Waste Ordinance
  • Open Space
  • Appropriation for $85K – Health Insurance
She also reported the new sanitation changes are being included in the newsletter and on News and Announcements to make residents aware of the new vendor. She will also bring this information to the Town Meeting.


5.   New Business:
  • Discussion re: Property at 88 Hartford Ave.
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported that it was her intention to discuss the property for sale at 88 Hartford Ave. however she just spoke with Frank Noe, who let her know he had signed a 3-year lease/purchase agreement. She added she had gone to look at the property but felt it would be a challenge to get restrooms in there, one of the additional buildings included was just for storage and she was unable to get inside the apartment. She also noted the property is only assessed at $690,000. The BOS agree this would have been a good investment for the Town and hope that the person leasing/purchasing the property will put something in that will benefit the community. First Selectman Reemsnyder will also touch base with Frank Pappalardo the Chairman of the Sound View Commission.

  • Fees for Private Parking Lot Permits – Summer 2019
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded the selectmen there are currently nine private permitted parking lots (one of which belongs to the Town) that range in size form 17- 44 spaces. She gave an overview of the costs from 2002 to the present and noted the last increase was in 2012 and suggested increasing the price from $30 a space to $35 per space. The BOS discussed signage, posting the beach rules and recommending someone be available during parking hours. After further discussion the BOS agree with the increase in price to $35 per space and will put this information in the letter that will be going out.

A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to increase the private permitted parking lot fee to $35 per parking space for the summer of 2019.  Motion passed.

  • Fees for Beach Stickers
First Selectman Reemsnyder reminded the selectmen of their conversation at a previous meeting regarding changing the beach passes from stickers to a hanger for the car mirror which can be transferred from one car to another. The BOS discussed increasing fees, limiting passes to two per family, a replacement fee, keeping senior fees the same and adding an active military fee. After further discussion the BOS agreed to the following fees; residents $25 for the first pass and $40 for the second pass with a replacement fee of $40, seniors and active military members would pay a reduced fee of $20 for the first pass.

A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to approve the fees for the 2019 beach passes as follows; residents $25 for the first pass and $40 for the second pass and a replacement fee of $40, seniors and active military members $20.  Motion passed.

A motion was made by Selectwoman Nosal, seconded by Selectman Kerr, to define seniors as age 62 or older for the purpose of beach passes.  Motion passed.

  • Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts Budget
First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the Lyme Academy College of Fine Arts (LACFA) attended the last budget meeting and requested their annual $12,500 budget along with an additional one-time budget of $90,000. She reminded the BOS that the Town has supported the College each year with a $12,500 budget payable in two payments of $6,250 in January and July. She also gave an overview of the affiliation with University of New Haven (UNH) and their pending disaffiliation with UNH and the many challenges the College is facing in trying to remain open. Also discussed was the current January payment to LACFA of $6,250 and if it should be sent.
After an in-depth discussion of the current status and future of the College the BOS agreed that the annual budget of $12,500 should only be paid if the College was offering classes in the fall and in regard to the additional onetime $90,000 request, they are not in favor of this without a plan in place. They also decided to get further input from the auditors and possibly legal before issuing the Jan. 2019 payment of $6,250 even though this has already been approved and is already in the budget and will discuss this further at their next meeting. First Selectman Reemsnyder will share their conversation with the BOF so they are aware of their thoughts.

6.   Public Comment: None

7.   Other Business:
First Selectman Reemsnyder shared the update she received from Tom Gotowka, their representative with LLHD. She added she wanted to publicly recognize Tom’s great work and his regular communication with her before and after meetings and will email his updates to the selectmen going forward.

First Selectman Reemsnyder reported the Halls Road Improvements Committee has developed a “Frequently asked Questions and Answers” and are working on getting them widely distributed.

First Selectman Reemsnyder reported they have been assigned a new Resident Trooper, Gregory Hunter, who comes from Westbrook with 12 years’ experience and will begin around April 1st.
She also reported the Police Services Committee will be meeting at least one more time and feels they should have a committee who discusses police services regularly and meets at least quarterly.

8.   Executive Session:

9.   Adjournment:
A motion was made by Selectman Kerr, seconded by Selectwoman Nosal, to adjourn at 5:58 pm. Motion passed.
Respectfully submitted,
Patti Broedlin