OLS BEACH ASSOCIATION AUTUMN MEETING
SEPTEMBER 10, 2016
OLD LYME MIDDLE SCHOOL
Called to order at 10:00 am
Attendees
Board Members: Matt Merritt, Jay Moynihan, Joe Halloran, Patrick Burns
Officers: President Paul Yellen, Treasurer and Tax Collector Sheila DeLutrie and Secretary Maura Graml
Absent Board Members: Polly Merritt, John Cunningham, Tom Annulli
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Drainage and Sheffield Brook Project – Patrick Burns
The Sheffield Brook project consists of two segments- the Lower Culvert Replacement and Upper Brook Restoration which will be delayed until 2017. The lower portion replacement will begin in October 2016.
Project Funding: The Upper Brook Restoration will be funded by a grant of 900K from the Federal Government and the Lower Culvert Replacement with a 300K grant from HUD. This project is being undertaken to help out with the 10 year storm flood. There are 32 homes affected and this undertaking will reduce that number down to 3. Old Colony Beach (OCB) is the permittee on this project. However, Pat Burns will make sure that this project is engineered to the benefit of OLS. There are plans to run sleeves underneath the Brook for future sewers and water.
OLS received a notice of violation from CT DEEP. They have recognized that we have added to the top of the jetty more than once. In order to resolve this notice, we have included modifications to take the jetty back to its 2002 height. This is a state mandated requirement. The location of the jetty will remain the same.
Questions/Comments from Residents
Will the HUD grant and Federal grant cover the entire cost of the project?
Bids currently range from 260K to 400K. OCB will make the decision as to who will get the contract for the job. 214K has been spent so far. OLSBA’s maximum exposure is 50K even if 400K is spent.
Miami Beach is having difficulty with people who egress to their property from Sound View.
They have been allowed to add a fence to slow this egress of non-residents. If OLS agrees to lower the jetty, can we work with the town and add a better fence to slow egress?
Currently there is a fence between OLS and OCB that slows down traffic. The Board was not aware of the Miami Beach fence and will look into addressing a fence.
Why are we still going with the manual Weir boards vs. the automated system?
CT DEEP required that the twin pipes be installed in a flat area. During surges water will come back up the pipes. The CT DEEP likes that the Weir boards allow for water to go north and south. The Association would like to see the letter that states this from the DEEP.
Why is there a delay on the upper portion of the Brook?
The Federal Government has delayed it. No specific reason given.
If pipe is level, will it emerge from the ground sooner than it does now?
Pipe is below the high tide mark- shoaling covers the pipe. The pipe will emerge 30 to 40 feet closer to homes. The pipe will be at the same elevation that it is today.
Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) – Joe Halloran
When are we getting sewers? DEEP has given us an extension of 12/31/2019 to stop polluting the sound. We asked for this extension as we knew we would not make the original deadline put in place.
We need approvals and agreements to start this project. The Environmental Impact Evaluation was done. Our proposal as to why we are asking for sewers was sent out but is now stuck in the DEEP and other state agencies awaiting review.
Approvals are still needed from the surrounding towns to carry our sewage through their pipes. Easements to have sewers cross private and public property are still being considered. The town of OL came to us and asked us to put the pump station in Soundview. We agreed but OL delayed. However, we have since come up with a draft of a land lease for this pump and met with Bonnie Reemsnyder. This proposal needs to go through lawyers, etc. and a town meeting will be held to discuss this and hold a vote. The town meeting is the most critical element to getting this project done. OLSBA Members need to attend the meeting and vote. We will have an internal communication to get out the vote. Email blasts and notices will be posted. Please look for them in the coming weeks and months.
Questions/Comments from Residents
Why does the town of Old Lyme want the pump station on their property?
The town of OL also has a consent order from the DEEP to stop polluting LI Sound and put in sewers. The town of OL is proceeding with a two pronged approach. First, Hawks Nest does not want sewers and would like more testing to determine if they need them. Second,
Soundview is compelled to get sewers by the DEEP, hence the pump station on town property. Why pay a land lease? We cannot have the pump station on our property- our members do not want it. Once the town of OL comes in, they will share in the cost of the
lease.
OLSBA thought this project would have been completed by now. However, the completion date has been moved further out. Has the WPCA explored if there is an increased cost for the project because of these delays due to the Town of OL and others? If so, is there a way to recoup these costs from the town or others that have delayed us through litigation, etc.? Also, is there any way to insulate OLSBA from increasing costs going forward such as insurance, etc.?
We have not looked into whether costs of the underlying project have increased. The WPCA will look into ways to protect us from and recoup increased costs. However, the WPCA has been able to decrease the costs of certain aspects of the project through cost sharing with other beaches. Soundview wants a bath house and they cannot have it without the sewers.
The two sleeves under Sheffield Brook- where are they going?
Fuss and O’Neil are the civil engineers we have hired. They have determined that these will be above the sea wall.
Who asked for an extension?
OLS asked for the extension because we could not meet the original date due to incomplete design work. There is still about 1 to 1.5 years of design work left to do.
Recreation and Beach Security – Christopher Merritt
Christopher is a Senior guard. The OLSBA Security consists of 2 senior guards, 2 seasoned guards, as well as 3 first year guards.
The security team felt there were very few problems with people not following the rules this year.
The guards were given a “guard chair” which allowed them to be readily accessible to residents if necessary. Their responsibilities included, but were not limited to, the sweeping and cleaning of the stairs and ramps, trimming the property near the wall on Billow Road, aiding police and paramedics who entered OLSBA. The senior guards assisted with the beach kayak rack set up and Fourth of July events. In addition, they painted the barriers, ran the recreation program and the movies. As an aside, the movies were cancelled twice due to wind and they are currently looking into a more suitable place to relocate the movie screen to in order to avoid this issue in the future.
The guards greeted residents and visitors to OLSBA for 8 weeks on Saturdays and Sundays. They estimated that they turned away between 30 to 50 cars on busy weekends and remained strict on speed control by reminding all visitors of the 15 mph speed limit.
Next summer 6 of the 7 current guards will be back. The Security Budget for 2016 was $17K ($10,838 for payroll and $5k for the professional guards). This reflects a savings over last year of about $5K.
Polly Merritt has put together a spreadsheet of all the duties entailed in being the head of security. It is a tremendous consumption of family and beach time. The BOG is looking at a way to redesign the responsibilities of this position over the winter and spring. Polly would like to continue in her role as head of security but she needs help. Any ideas for solutions as well as anyone who would like to volunteer to help, please contact the BOG.
Town Reimbursement could go down due to our spending less on security.
George Finley – Beach Conditions
The beach was in good shape despite winter and spring floods. 22 tons of logs were removed as well as seaweed. The Seaspray Road area of the beach will require some change. It has very coarse sand and shells which make it unacceptable. George had hoped to have some of the gravelly sand removed this past spring but due to the violations on the jetty, we would have needed a permit and a land survey. Therefore, it was not done at that time but he hopes to have permits in place for May 2017 to allow for the sand removal as well as bull dozing of that area. The entire beach will need to be groomed at this time. If anyone has any ideas for this course sand/shell usage or removal, please let us know.
Please remove the boats and kayaks before the end of the season and before any storms. All moorings not previously inspected must be out by December 2016.
Summer Social Events Committee – Julia Nixon
Custom napkins and mug sales funded the Fourth of July events
OLSBA 2017 Parade will be Saturday, July 1st with a rain date of July 2nd. Patriotic friendly dogs and scooters are two new categories for 2107.
Ladies Brunch will be held at The Old Lyme Inn on Thursday, July 20th at 10 am
Carousel Night for OLSBA will be held on August 5th at 6 pm
Old Lyme Beach Shores Party will be held on Saturday, August 12th from 7 to 9 pm
Snow Plowing – Paul Yellen
Paul is negotiating with our current vendor for another 3 year contract. There were very few complaints. Please remember to park cars off the road during snowfall and remove barrels, etc. which could impede the snow plow.
Website – Paul Yellen on Behalf of John Cunningham
The website is https://oldlymeshores.org
The new, secure web hosting has been working great.
Please register on the website to create your own account. As of now, we only have 15 registered members.
Maggie Nixon Caron has volunteered to be our social media manager. Please follow us on social media for updates:
@olsct (Twitter), @olsbact (Instagram) and oldlymeshoresbeach (Facebook)
Look for the addition of a Web store for OLSBA branded items, the online OLSBA Directory, Private content areas for sensitive data and more WPCA content and updates.
John is still seeking volunteers to help with website postings, content, updates, etc. Please contact him at john.cunningham@comcast.net
Budget Report – Sheila DeLutrie
82 of all the due taxes have been collected as of this meeting date.
OLSBA is on track with spending. However, there could be extra beach costs over the coming winter.
Thank you to Julia for her fundraising for the beach festivities – there is money is in the budget for next year’s events.
Traffic and Road Safety – Jay Moynihan
Elements were added this season to enhance traffic safety- mailings were sent, guards distributed handouts, recommendations were made that contractors follow our rules of the road.
Additional enhancements for next year- mailings to owners before the 2017 season begins, expand this mailing to real estate agents, FedEx, UPS, and vendors who enter OLSBA.
OLSBA will be adding two free standing signs at two intersections Billow and Belaire and Brightwater and Sea Lane to the middle of these areas which will say “SLOW”.
There will also be the addition of painted letters on all four roads as well as Belaire that says “Stop Ahead”.
The Stop Signs at Seaspray and Belaire will be moved back several feet.
The BOG will also be sending a letter to other beach associations to see what they are doing about speed and traffic control.
It all still comes down to individuals and how they drive. Our Speed Limit is 15 MPH.
Questions/Comments from Residents
There is nothing being done to address the other 9 months concerning speeding.
It is felt that the biggest speeding areas are the four roads from Rt. 156 to the Stop sign. We need to be more proactive with the speeding. Speed humps not bumps.
Golf Carts – Matt Merritt
GOLF CARTS ARE BANNED AT OLSBA.
In an effort to eliminate golf carts all together, OLSBA has tried to minimize them. Guards had carts removed when they were parked at the end of the roads.
Enforcement actions to be developed
Questions/Comments from Residents
It was asked why not send the letter explaining that golf carts are illegal at OLS to all
members and not just to those that have golf carts?
The BOG agreed and a letter will go out to all residents concerning this ban on golf carts.
Member Concerns/Other business
There needs to be Hammer Law enforcement and the BOG will be sending out reminders before the 2017 Season concerning this.
Motion made to adjourn this meeting by Jim Zanavich and seconded by Anne Conway. Meeting adjourned at 11:40 am.
Respectfully submitted by Maura Graml, Secretary.