OLS BEACH ASSOCIATION AUTUMN MEETING
SEPTEMBER 16, 2017
OLD LYME MIDDLE SCHOOL
Called to order at 10:00 am
Attendees: Paul Yellen, Tom Annulli, Joe Halloran, John Cunningham, Sheila DeLutrie, Maura Graml
Absent: Polly Merritt-Maglio, Jay Moynihan, Matt Merritt, Patrick Burns
Welcome and Introduce BOG Members – Paul Yellen
Many thanks to all of the members who make the beach run smoothly throughout the summer months.
This summer was filled with successful summer events. Next year the Fourth of July events will be held on June 30th. The Hammer Law will go into effect on June 29, 2018. All work must be completed on or before this date. During the winter months, please remind contractors and vendors to keep their vehicles off the road. In addition, all kayaks, paddleboards, etc. must be removed from the beach before the end of the season.
Final Drainage/Sheffield Brook Update-Paul Yellen
Paul stated that the upper Sheffield Brook project is going very well. There are some issues the nearby residents have regarding when the port-a-let will be removed, etc. These must be worked out between the residents and the contractors, etc. as this is not an OLSBA matter.
It is important that OCB and OLS maintain an aggressive maintenance plan to control over growth of vegetation. The new twin 36 inch pipes were not installed at original pitch of the previous pipes. Therefore, they are filling with sand that needs to be cleared periodically. In addition, there are problems with the design of the remediation to the brook, the location and amount of rocks at the jetty and the overall construction. We are trying to get these issues resolved with OCB and the engineering firm. The jetty is too low which may be in violation with the DEEP. This is an ongoing project with still more work to be done. Greg Symon stated that he spoke with Doug Whelan and that he is on top of the contractors and has held back money to get the work fixed and completed. OLSBA will not sign off on this project until it is completed correctly. Julia Nixon asked if there is a timetable for completion of this project and who is doing the maintenance over the winter? A contract has been signed with a vendor to oversee maintenance. LuAnne Grennan asked about removal of the rocks from the jetty. They were removed and taken to the other side of the jetty and will be replaced by the contractor. New rocks will be brought in and the jetty will be raised. Those who lived in the original flood plain that has been remediated can apply for reduced flood insurance rates.
WPCA Update- Joe Halloran
Joe stated that the DEEP-Environmental Impact Evaluation should have taken 6 months but has been 18 months. There is no final approval on this yet as administrative details need to be worked out. He is hopeful to have approval within 4 to 6 weeks.
Status of the three contracts with various towns:
East Lyme-We need to contract with them for a pump station for waste water and conveyance. This contract is still in progress. This may take several more months to finalize.
New London is in the final stage of the approval process. This contract will then need to be signed by the mayor.
Old Lyme-Joe stated that the WPCA has made significant progress and is negotiating the land lease in Soundview for our pump station. He feels the town and the beaches are very close to agreeing on the details. The town of Old Lyme wants the right to use the pump station when they join the sewer project. This will defray the cost of the force main pipe and the pump station by about 20 to 30 percent or approximately $1.8 million dollars. There are meetings the week of September 18th with the Board of Selectman, the Board of Finance, and we hope to have approval for a town vote in October 2017. This is a town vote and we will be sending out an email blast as to when/if this will occur so we can have as many members attend this meeting to vote. If this land lease is approved by the town, the WPCA can apply for the Clean Water Fund and start the design plan which will take approximately 12 to 18 months. The actual construction will take between 12 to 18 months.
Greg Symon stated that the town of Old Lyme will not be motivated to approve this. Greg was at the Sound View sewer information meeting in August which estimates sewers for Sound View by 2023. We were thinking we would have sewers by 2017. This is a complicated matter dealing with federal, state, town and other municipalities and he feels that this is a full time job. He suggested that the WPCA hire a professional consultant who is connected to all of these agencies. We need a professional to move this forward to help us. He would like to divorce this project from the town. We can make the town use our pump station in the future and the WPCA would be the manager of this person hired. Kathy Costelloe agreed that we need someone to navigate the politics of this project and we should divorce ourselves from the town. Kathy then asked if this referendum does not pass and we do not get a land lease agreement, what is Plan B?
Joe stated that Plan B would be to continue the project without the town and apply for Clean Water Funds with the pump station on a resident’s property in OLSBA. The town would be able to join us later.
Kathy Merritt asked why the WPCA cannot divorce from the town and how can they can they continue to hold us up as we are under a consent decree from the DEEP to install sewers to stop polluting the Sound? Joe stated that we have been mandated by the State of CT to work with the town of Old Lyme.
Julia Nixon stated that based on what has happened in Florida, what if we lose power at pump station? The project cost is a lot more than we thought several years ago so where is the stop gap on the money? Joe stated that there will be a back- up generator that will have a 2 supply of fuel. The money was not addressed.
Bill DeRosa stated that every year there is a new obstacle to this project which impedes our progress. He feels the town of Old Lyme will not help us. We as a community need to decide to change our tactics and hire someone to show we are serious. Bill thinks this back and forth with the town can and will last another 10 years. What can we do differently to get some pressure on the town? Could it be as simple as hiring a professional to navigate the different levels of government? Joe again indicated that we would implement Plan B if we do not receive approval from the town for the land lease and apply for Clean Water Funds with the pump station on a resident’s property in OLSBA.
The other beaches do not want to hire a professional.
Paul Graml stated that the WPCA has two major issues. The land lease and whether or not town will ever hook up Soundview. Would they give us a land lease if they are never going to use the pump station? Have they said they will give us a land lease? Joe replied that the WPCA is negotiating with the town in good faith. They are meeting with the town the week of September 18th.
Another member of OLSBA stated that the water pipes are corroded, old and leaking. Is there a plan to do the water without the sewers? Joe answered there is no plan to do water independent of the entire infrastructure project.
Joe listed what is included in the project- 16 fire hydrants, storm drainage improvements, new roads, year round water service, and average costs of individual hook up for sewers and water, and buy in fees to New London and East Lyme. Current estimated cost is $2600 a year per resident for 20 years with the Clean Water Fund loans at 2% interest.
This cost does not include the town of Old Lyme participating.
Ann Conway asked to have the results of the referendum emailed to the residents.
Kathy Costelloe reiterated that the vote that is to occur in October is strictly for the land lease. After the result of this vote, we can make a decision on how to move forward. Joe agreed.
If this land lease is not voted on until spring, we will still apply for the Clean Water Fund and we will go to Plan B.
Can seasonal residents vote? Yes- this is a town vote to be held at a town meeting.
Dede DeRosa clarified that this so called “vote” is a town meeting. We need to get this meeting on the calendar and pack the meeting with residents to get the land lease approved.
Kathy Costelloe also stated that she would like to see some help in the management of this project. Can we do this without the other beaches? Joe stated that the other beaches do not want to hire a consultant and if OLSBA hired someone the other beaches would benefit from our expenditure.
Greg Symon asked if there is still a possibility to hire someone with the other beaches? Joe said that yes, we can push harder to get the other beaches to agree.
Mark Phelan asked if our engineering firm can add an expeditor for our project? Yes, we have been using Fuss and O’Neill to expedite our process with the state.
We still owe Fuss and O’Neill 200K which we will be able to pay once the Clean Water Fund is realized.
Security- Paul Yellen
There were 7 rotating beach guards this year. There were few conflicts including coolers, soda cans, alcohol and stopping at the gates. If a volley ball net is put up by renters it must be taken down during the day and can be put up after 6. Overall, the guards posted at the jetty were successful. We will re-evaluate if we will have them again next year and will consider adding professional guards to the gates in early June.
The OLSBA guards will start on June 23rd of next year.
Beach Maintenance Update-
Our contractor is working hard to keep our beach clean and maintained. A large amount of grading was done to improve the quality of sand. Both movement of sand and removal of shells was done this season.
We will be looking at the schedule for next year to determine how much cleaning is necessary based on tides, etc.
The posts on the beach are used to identify the outflow of the two drainage pipes. If these pipes get blocked, the water will not flow and back up. This results in flooding for some of our residents. These posts will stay for the winter so the volunteers who dig the pipes out can easily find them. We are looking into GPS for identification in the future. This has been the fourth attempt to mark these pipes.
There is no final design for the fence between OCB and OLSBA. We are hoping to install the fence in the fall or over the winter.
OLS Website Update- John Cunningham
We have implemented more behind the scenes infrastructure to improve the flow and transparency of information for the beach association. This includes implementing the following cloud services to support the Board of Governors, the WPCA, and the Community:
- Google for Business – Shared document editing (word processing, spreadsheets, and more)
- Google Groups – Provides opportunity for online conversations within the community, without having to wait until board or association meetings
- Google Mail – Implements email addresses for all officers and board of governors members with an @oldlymeshores.org email address for association business
- Quickbooks Online – Cloud based accounting system with full features that enhance our financial management and reporting capabilities
- Slack – Cloud based messaging platform that integrates with Google for Business and Quickbooks Online to provide much more efficient communication amongst association officers and board members.
There are two new sections on the website which will allow residents to Get Involved: · Discussion Boards – implemented with Google Groups to facilitate online conversations. Groups have been set up for the following areas: Beach, WPCA, Traffic Safety, Security, Drainage, Communications, Meetings, and an Open Forum · Call for Participation – Content and communications through the website is only as good as the community participation in creating it. If you have skills and motivation to contribute, we could use help in the following areas: Photographer, Graphic Artist, Directory Manager, Beach Historian, and Features Editor.
WPCA section is being built out now. Please be patient. Much of the work to date pertains to negotiating terms with other entities. It’s probably best that we not post information in public while those negotiations are in progress.
John has implemented emails for all BOG members. You can directly email BOG members by utilizing the envelope icon from the About > Board of Governors web page. There is also private messaging behind the scenes between BOG members.
John is also constructing a document repository for all to look at when we conclude the political and contracting phase of the WPCA project.
With the budget and accounting in the cloud, we should be able to generate weekly PDF reports and post to the website for review.
The BOG is doing everything possible to make information available to members. You can go to the website and register. Please do this and get involved. www.oldlymeshores.org or www.oldlymeshores.net will redirect to our site.
Summer Actions for Traffic -Tom Annulli
Slow cones were successful.
Going to evaluate in early spring where the wooden barriers will be placed.
Budget/Expenses Update- Sheila DeLutrie
83% of taxes collected to date. If you need a copy of your bill, please email Sheila. Budget-with the exception of security-all lines are within budget. 24K has been spent on Security which goes through June 2018. We are 7K over budget for security. However, as agreed upon at the spring meeting, this will come out of the reserves. OLSBA has approximately 100K in reserves.
Questions/Comment from Membership
None
Adjournment
Motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 11:16 am by Paul Graml and seconded by Greg Symon.
Minutes respectfully submitted by Maura Graml, Secretary.