Minutes of the Town of Old Lyme WPCA meeting
Held on February 14, 2019, in the meeting hall of the Memorial Town Hall
In attendance: Chairman Rich Prendergast, Vice-Chair Donna Bednar, Frank Chan, Dimitri Tolchinski, Rob McCarthy.
Absent: Doug Wilkinson, Sal Cancelliere, Andrea Lombard (excused); Joe Carpentino, Steve Cinami.
Also in attendance: First Selectwoman Reemsnyder and 1 townsperson.
Call to Order
The meeting was called to order at 7:32 p.m.
Approval of January minutes
Motion by D. Tolchinski to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2018 meeting. Second by F. Chan. Discussion: none. Motion carries unanimously.
Chairman’s Report
Record of decision has been drafted – it is 60 pages long. Very large digital size, so it was put on the Google drive, sent links to committee members. The record of decision is the response from public and government agencies that reviewed the plan. It includes facts and figures and adjustments that were made. Ends the public comment period. Now that it is finalized, state will send memo, or order, recommending what to do. Chairman Prendergast asked Woodard & Curran to look it over.
Budget Update and Expenses
D. Wilkinson was not in attendance. No report. No invoices. On track to not go over budget. Using carryover money for Hawk’s Nest Beach water testing.
Correspondence
Carlos Esguerra of DEEP sent an email confirming that record of decision was ready. The file is 40 MB and can’t be emailed. Will be made public when finalized though state. Printed copy will be available in selectman’s office.
Old Business
Groundwater Study for area known as HNB. December test results sent out just before last meeting. Chairman Prendergast would like committee members to look at them before we post on town website.
Inter Municipal Agreements (IMAs) with neighboring towns: Chairman Prendergast is communicating with the Town of Waterford. They want us to talk to them about developing an IMA. Previous discussions were with New London and East Lyme. EL and NL both said they would adopt similar IMAs with the Town that they did with the private beach associations. Chairman Prendergast also was in conversation with a leader of one of the private beach association’s WPCA who was concerned that we are not doing IMA with them or joining their IMA with City of NL. Reminded him City of NL requested this. The private beach associations IMA states they have capacity they need, with mechanisms to add more capacity which would cost more. Also, specific line that says not allowed to add volume to anyone not named in agreement. Sound View cannot be added.
East Lyme has same language. Agreement to share resources in town with private beach associations (pump house, pipes, etc.) D. Tolchinski said private beach associations got order before Town was involved. Supposed to finish in 2016. Because Town doing same as beaches, should be all together. Chairman Prendergast said in that case that all 3 private beach associations, New London, and Town have to agree. Don’t need to make any decisions tonight, just giving update. Might ask lawyers to get involved. Town is about half volume of what private beach association volume is. Point O’ Woods got capacity from the State, so they didn’t have to change agreement and didn’t pay buy-in fee. They are operating on contract written between NL and State. Private beach associations legally didn’t have to negotiate with Waterford. Chairman Prendergast would like to build a model with options and compare to our plan. Need to be confident in cost before we go to referendum.
New Business
Zoning change to allow building pump house in flood zone. Copy passed out. Scott Boulanger who owns land for the backup pump site, which happens to be next to the town’s property, asked zoning to repeal~Sections 4.4.6.5f(i) and (ii). ~That repeal will have the effect of changing Section 4.4.6.6c because 4.4.6.6c references Paragraph 4.4.6.5f of the Old Lyme Zoning Regulations.~Chairman Prendergast reviewed the language. March 11 will be an open comment session on these proposed changes. Discussion followed. D. Tolchinski asked if there is technology to prevent pollution from the pump house and are there
comparable systems proven to withstand floods in surrounding areas? Yes, in Rhode Island, Long Island, and Cape Cod. R. McCarthy stated it is inherently necessary to put systems in low areas which are flood zones. Engineers know this and can design systems to withstand issues. Putting pump house in higher ground has its own problems. If there is a severe flood, there will be more of an issue with septic and houses that already exist in flood zone. One idea is to write a letter to zoning.
Chairman Prendergast made a motion that the WPCA write a letter to the Old Lyme Zoning Commission regarding the petition to repeal by Scott Boulanger, specifically the sections regarding flood zones and community sewage disposal systems. Either amend or repeal zoning regulations. Second by D. Bednar. Discussion: D. Tolchinski suggested to add some sentences about what engineering can do. Chairman Prendergast will be persuasive in writing. Vote: Motion carries unanimously.
Announcement: Donna Bednar will be moving to Boston area, so she will be stepping down from the WPCA in the spring or early summer. New vice-chair will need to be elected. Will need to make nominations at future meeting. Related to this, S. Cinami is currently an alternate member, could vote him in as full member, and see if any others want to join as alternate. There was also a discussion regarding how many members the WPCA should have, and if this should be adjusted.
Public Comment
Laurence Osowiecki, 72 Columbus Ave: It was stated Scott’s property is the secondary site for the pump house, his understanding is that Scott wants that to be primary site. People of Old Lyme approved 72 Portland Ave. as the site. Second comment is on letter that you are proposing to draft, would advise holding off until you can consult with attorneys and State. Opens a can of worms and major conflict of interest.
First Selectwoman Reemsnyder: Would like to thank Donna for her hard work on WPCA. Will be a big loss. Believes there is a town ordinance that proscribes how many members the committee has to have. Need to make recommendation to Board of Selectman to make change, may have to go to town meeting.
Chairman Prendergast responds: Regarding Mr. Boulanger’s property, he spoke with Scott, who told him it’s a backup. So whether he makes it primary or not, he told Chairman Prendergast directly, and Chairman Prendergast has never known him to be dishonest. From Town WPCA point of view, our shared resources have been proven to be less expensive than if we do separate. How do we do this in the most efficient and cost-effective way. D. Bednar says lawyers will have legal opinion. We made a motion to write the letter, can’t change that. Zoning Commission are elected officials, don’t have to listen to us. R. McCarthy says ultimately, zoning change is not just for Boulanger property, but town will have to go for variance if zoning doesn’t change. Also, affects public water, we are negotiating with CT Water for upgrades. Plans
that we submitted, and they submitted, needed to have a backup. Scott’s property was the backup.
Adjournment
Motion to adjourn by D. Tolchinksi. Second by D. Bednar. Discussion: none. Motion carries unanimously
The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Datum, WPCA Clerk
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