Minutes of the Town of Old Lyme WPCA Meeting
October 10, 2017 at 7:30 at the Old Lyme Memorial Town Hall Mezzanine conference room
In attendance: Chairman Rich Prendergast, Sal Cancelliere, Dmitri Tolchinski, Donna Bednar, Andrea Lombard, Doug Wilkinson, Steve Cinami (alternate), Joe Carpentino (late)
Absent: Frank Chan and Rob McCarthy.
Also present were approximately 24 residents, and First Selectwoman Reemsnyder, who arrived part way through the meeting.
Chairman Prendergast called to meeting order at: 7:32 p.m. and appointed~alternate S. Cinami as a voting member.
Approval of the September Minutes: Motion by D. Wilkinson to approve the minutes of the September meeting. Second by D. Bednar. Discussion: Did First Selectwoman Reemsnyder say WPCA members would be able to look at the lease before it is signed? Amend the minutes to reflect in public comment section First Selectwoman mentioned that the land lease for the pump house location will be reviewed by the WPCA prior to being signed. Add Frank Chan to attendance list. Motion approved unanimously with these two changes.
Chairman’s Report:
- Meeting with CT Water. A meeting was held on September 14 with CT Water, Chairman Prendergast, First Selectwoman Reemsnyder and Rob Ross, superintendent of CT Water company. Learned that water system in area of Sound View is mix of new and old. The company is in favor of putting in new water lines when sewers are put in. They will write a letter of intent, but Chairman Prendergast does not have it yet.
- Cooperation with private beach associations. Chairman Prendergast met together with the town attorney and First Selectwoman Reemsnyder with private beach WPCAs on September 22. Some edits still need to made to the lease agreement - hope to finalize this week. As far as signing the document, WPCA will voice concerns and give to First Selectwoman. If we don’t share costs and put up our own pump station, there will be significantly higher costs to both sides. A number of steps have to be taken – town had to present the idea of leasing the land to the planning board, which was done on 9/14. Their role is to approve long term strategy. Town is going through additional steps. Everything needs to be in place before going to town meeting. From WPCA hopefully make recommendation to support or not support
agreement, but it is up to the Selectman’s office to make final decision based on best needs of the town.
Joe Carpentino joined the meeting at 7:55 p.m.
Chairman Prendergast says the goal is to be a proportional partner depending on volume. Chairman Prendergast will let beach associations know that he will be reaching out to other town WPCAs.
Budget Update and Expenses: No bills received this month. No changes from last month.
Correspondence: None received.
Old Business:
Hawks Nest draft water testing plan update: Chairman Prendergast reviewed the revised plan from Woodard and Curran. He suggested we send the plan to the DEEP and see what they say. Then we can dispute if we disagree. Right now, not making any progress. We’re not going to determine as a committee tonight what adjustments need be made. D. Bednar wants to clarify that there are 2 phases to the study. First phase to determine water flow, then determine where there are gaps in the information. DEEP will have experts tell us where to put the wells. Hawks Nest is separate timeline from Sound View. Will be testing for multiple years
MOTION: D. Wilkinson makes a motion that the WPCA submit the draft to the DEEP. Seconded by A. Lombard. Discussion. How many new wells? At least 5-6. We budgeted for 13 wells. Or are we monitoring existing wells? Bare minimum, 3 wells, one in each sub-area. Motion carries unanimously.
Benefit assessment evaluation discussion:
Chairman Prendergast distributed a revised draft copy of EDU (equivalent dwelling unit) determination spreadsheet. Original EDUs were based on number of buildings. New method uses average building square footage. Properties that don’t have buildings are “0” Then it is sorted by size of square feet. It lowers the cost for a house that is small. Raises the cost for big houses. Pros and cons of doing it this way. A. Lombard had a suggestion to go to task group to have discussion instead of having discussion in meetings. D. Tolchinski says it is very complicated question and the WPCA needs to be careful to make decision based on size of building (a written statement from D. Tolchinski regarding this issue is attached to these minutes.)
MOTION: D. Wilkinson makes a motion that the WPCA creates a task group of 3-4 people appointed by chairman to study EDU methodology and come back to the board with a recommendation. Seconded by A. Lombard. Discussion: S. Cinami suggests there should be a time frame. Task group will be driven by the chairperson. Will get an update at each meeting. Chairman Prendergast thinks 3-4 people might not be enough. Perhaps 4 with an alternate. D. Wilkinson says the group needs to be focused. Motion not amended. S. Cancelliere wants to clarify for the public that this is strictly related to Sound View Beaches, not private beach associations. Motion carries unanimously.
New Business: No new business.
Public Comment:
Dan Tricario, 41 Hartford Ave. Listened to discussion of EDUs how many people on task force live in Sound View. If not, why wasn’t public invited to participate?
Brian Cornell, 310 Portland Ave, Sound View. Don’t know how many seasonal water lines are in the area. Is CT water interested in doing lines same time as sewers? Would they be replacing seasonal water lines, or just updating or adding new ones?
Fred Guidobono, 42 Portland Ave. The location of pump station will be on Pond Road. That is in a FEMA flood zone area. Is that OK with the town?
Rich Avezzie, 11 Swan Ave. When talking about EDUs, either gallons per day or gallons per month 200-250 per day 7500 gallons per month. Has to relate with flow. In city of Hartford, they have a multiplier - there is a chart for new customers with water main fee, frontage feed, sewer charge fee.
Dan Tricario. At last meeting asked about pump station will supposedly have public restrooms. Will be used by customers who use public beaches and parkin public parking lot. Who will pay for flow by people using public bathrooms? Will town accept responsibility?
Dave Mitchell, 64 Columbus Ave. Have been listening for past few months. Urge chairman to get task force together and move swiftly to make recommendations. Need to make some way for those who disagree to ask for exception. No perfect method. Look at distribution of property sizes between Hawks Nest and Sound View – is it a small bell curve of distribution.
Chairman Prendergast responded to public comments. CT Water is replacing seasonal water lines. Old and broken. Not going to replace brand new pipes. We know pump house will be in flood zone. Will be fortified to withstand flooding. Trying to fairly apply standards. EDUs are complicated. Going to be a compromise. Town will pay for public bathrooms – right now we pay for porta-potties. EDUs will be assessed to public bathrooms.
MOTION: Motion to adjourn: D. Tolchinski made a motion to adjourn. Seconded by A. Lombard. Motion carries unanimously. Meeting adjourned at 9:03 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Jennifer Datum, WPCA Clerk
ATTACHMENT: written statement from WPCA member Dmitri Tolchinski
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