Sound View Commission
Meeting Minutes — Unapproved
27 August, 2012
Sound View Community Center, 7.30 pm
Present: Frank Pappalardo (Chair), Joann Reis Lishing, Michaelle Pearson (Secretary), David Kelsey, Russ Carlo (Alternate), Frank Maratta (alternate - early departure 7.45)
Also present: Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal (ex officio); OLPD Officer Thomas Heinssen, members of the public. Absent: Harry Plaut, Joseph Camean (Alternate)
7.35p Meeting called to order by Chairman Frank Pappalardo.
Mr. Pappalardo seated Alternate Russ Carlo for the absent Harry Plaut.
7.36p Joann Lishing moved to approve July minutes. Seconded by Russ Carlo. Motion carried.
7.37 David Kelsey moved to table minutes from special meeting until Joseph Camean could be present to clarify his comments. Motion carried. Special meeting minutes tabled.
7.49p Correspondence: Lindsey Maratta (letter to be attached as pdf) J.R. Healy and Michele Zito, both of Swan Avenue, and Paul and Mary Pfau of Portland Avenue wrote commending the Commission for its work.
7.54: Public Comment:
Sandy Ziemba, parking lot owner, Swan Avenue, asked why the Town Lot lowers its rates in parking rates in a seemingly random fashion, which undermines the private lots, because the fluctuations in pricing are confusing. The prices should be set so people will know what to expect before they arrive. Ms. Ziemba also asked about the protocol for closing/opening the gates at Portland and Swan Avenues.
Angelo Grasso, parking lot owner, Swan Avenue, agreed that the town shouldn’t be undercutting the private lots. He commended the police foot patrol, but thought they could be more present toward the end of the day, rather than just the morning. Mr. Grasso also suggested there be signage prohibiting alcohol consumption in the parking lots.
John Topalis, Pizza Plus, Shore Rd: asked if the town had ever considered installing public restrooms at the beach. People often ask for bathrooms at his restaurant.
Stephanie Livesey, Pavilion Bar/Swan Avenue resident, asked about the restroom/park proposal, saying the project will have to go through a lot of approvals. Can we still get the amenities like kiosks and public bathrooms without obtaining the grant?
Melissa Corto, Lenny’s Bar: Asked about the qualifications of those advising the town government; research and studies.
Lenny Corto, Sr., Lenny’s Bar: asked how the Commission members are appointed. Mr. Pappalardo said appointments are reviewed on a yearly basis, as terms expire. Same as all other Town Commissions. David Kelsey explained that Commission members serve at the pleasure of the Selectmen. A Commission doesn’t have the authority to impose policies. It advises the Board of Selectmen, which enacts the policies. Mr. Pappalardo said, the Commission is not a Sound View Redevelopment Commission The charge of the Commission is not big, broad-stroke policies. Policy decisions are not made here, recommendations are, based on input from the community. We have three primary focuses here: public safety, public access and Sound View as an asset to the town.
Melissa Corto asked why there was no public comment at the Special meeting of 8/10. Mr. Pappalardo explained that there had been a lengthy public comment section, lasting several hours, at the Selectmen’s meeting the previous Monday, which remanded the decision to the Sound View Commission for a recommendation. The Commission took those public comments into account. The special meeting was solely for the Commission members to discuss the requested recommendation to the Board of Selectmen.
Dino DiNino: I recommend that if we don’t get this grant, the businesses put pressure on Town Hall to get public bathrooms done.
Heidi DiNino asked about the conclusion of the parking fees. She agreed that parking should not be free, but thought that $25 was too much.
Lori May, Hartford Ave, stated that she lives near the stop sign in the middle of the Hartford Avenue street parking. In past years, she had not been able to get out of her driveway due to traffic issues, and regularly saw underage kids drinking openly on the street, and carrying bottles to the beach. She stated that the traffic and behavior have both been much improved this year due to the new parking and increased police presence. Ms. May said that she supported businesses in the area, and urged the businesses and residents to work together.
8.51pm: Grant update:
Frank Pappalardo: The park and restroom proposal has been studied and discussed for a number of years: flush toilets, better facilities, picnic areas. A budget request was made for a consultant to come in and devise several plans. The Commission chose the plan that provided the most parking, plus a bike path from Smiths Neck Road to the town parking lot, plus a picnic area and restrooms.
Then the “rumor mill” went to work all over town. Last week, a person approached me to speak out against the playground with swing sets they heard had been proposed for the parking lot. That’s not what will be there. Nothing like that was even considered. There will be bike racks, picnic tables, etc. This is a major undertaking for the town. As part of the plan, we are talking about kiosk (meter) parking for both the lot and on-street parking. Rates can be adjusted for street, parking lot, weather, time of day, etc. The kiosks are an integral part of the project. We have submitted a grant proposal to the State. It was unanimously approved by all 9 Towns in our District. The state engineering department said this was one of the best proposals they had ever seen. We received preliminary approval from
the State. The funding will be for 80% of the grant. The remainder will be revenues from the parking. Money will also be saved by eliminating parking attendants.
When the grant comes to fruition, we can discuss what shape the actual proposal will take.
We spoke about making Sound View a destination. How do we attract people to the Sound View area? We start by making it safe, accessible and family-friendly. Then we host events to draw interested people to the area: Chowder fest, art exhibits, craft fairs, jazz festival, etc. Right now, there is no place to hold any of these kinds of events, except a ragged parking lot with porta-potties. We’ve talked with the Academy about an art festival here. That can really help extend the season for everyone. The grant is part of an entire process with DOT that includes alternate transportation, bike path/pedestrian path. Out of the 600K, the flush toilets alone cost over $250K. Because of the high water table in the parking lot, the DEEP will only approve a zero-discharge composting toilet system, like those in use at Harkness
and Gillette Castle. The parking meter kiosks are about 12K apiece, @36K. There will be a 9 town transit link. All the shoreline communities have access to 9 town transit with bike racks.
Ms. Corto: But the plan cuts cuts parking spaces.
Tom Larsen, 256 Shore Rd: If you take out 30 spots, can 30 spots go elsewhere? How about the across the church lot?
Frank Pappalardo: The lot across the street from the church has a deed caveat that it not be used for beach parking. Right now we have a bunch of private parking lots that aren’t full.
We have been looking at how we can market Sound View. CT Tourism has a great system for marketing. Right now we can’t take advantage of that because we don’t have a destination. The beach will always be popular to an extent, but we don’t have a destination-- a package of targeted marketing. Ogunquit, Niantic, Westerly, Noank have all gone through this process.
There will be a series of informational meetings for the public to learn more about the proposal. One at the Community Center in September, then another in October at Town Hall. When the grant is approved, the project will go to referendum and the entire town will vote on it.
There were multiple questions from the floor asking how quickly can this be implemented, with general consensus that it needed to be done by Memorial Day. Mr. Pappalardo agreed that time was of the essence, and explained that the kiosks and toilet facilities are pre-fab, and the grading and engineering could be fast-tracked, but we must wait for the approval of the grant before we can hold a town meeting to approve the project. The Commission will try to speed the process by holding the informational meetings as soon as possible, so questions will be answered and people will be ready to vote when the time comes. We could also ask for an emergency appropriation. In the last 5 years, there has been a tremendous change in the attitude of the Town toward Sound View. The Board of Selectmen are now attuned to what happens down
here and people in the rest of the community are becoming aware of the improvements to the area.
9.32pm: Beachfront Update: There have been questions regarding a sunken mooring buoy in the middle of the swim area, marked by floating milk jugs. Harry Plaut checked it, and will remove it at season’s end, when he has use of a larger boat.
9.34: Budget Update: Miami Passthru fence should be more aesthetically appealing. Miami Beach has agreed to supply the labor.
9.14 Motion to Adjourn
Russ Carlo motioned to adjourn.
Joann Lishing seconded. Motion carried. Meeting adjourned.
Next meeting Monday, 9/24/12 at the Shoreline Community Center on Hartford Ave.
Michaelle Pearson,
Secretary
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