Old Lyme Shores OLSBA Meeting Saturday
June 23, 2018 10:00 am
Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School
Attendees-Paul Yellen, Matt Merritt, Maura Graml, Tom Annulli, John Cunningham, Polly Merritt-Maglio, Joe Halloran
Absent-Jay Moynihan, Pat Burns, Norm Yester
Called to order at 10:07 am
Welcome and Introductions-Paul Yellen
OLSBA Family Members Memorial Moment of Silence
Donations to the OLSBA-Maura Graml
The BOG recognized the generous donation of the Walsh family. Board games and a new movie screen were purchased.
Sheffield Brook-Restoration Project-Paul Yellen
Sheffield Brook and the flood plain associated with the brook were re-engineered over the winter and this project is now successfully completed.
WPCA- Joe Halloran
There has been significant progress over the winter. The WPCA met with DEEP and received approval for the three beaches-Old Lyme Shores, Old Colony and Miami Beach, to continue the sewer project without the town of Old Lyme.
The WPCA has a signed agreement with New London and anticipates a signed agreement with East Lyme by the end of this month. DEEP issued an administrative order to East Lyme to accept our sewage. The WPCA is still waiting for a signed agreement with Waterford but they do not need this to apply for the Clean Water funds. Once we get these funds, we will have the money to proceed into the second phase of the project which is design. This will take approximately 12 to 18 months. The Department of Transportation announced that a portion of Rt. 156 is going to be repaved in the Summer 2019. Our goal is to have the sewer pipes put into road during this time which will save us money later.
Once the WPCA had the signed agreement with New London, the town of Old Lyme acknowledged, for the first time, that they would agree to a land lease only contract for the pump station in the parking lot of Soundview. Old Lyme agreed that the lease would stand on its own merits and not be tied to the requirement that Soundview have sewers as well. This agreement provides for the three beaches to construct a pump station and allows for Soundview and Hawk’s Nest Beach to tie in at a latter date. A town meeting was held on June 18, 2018 to resolve issues on the pump station land lease and we are waiting for further updates. The town meeting required for approval of the lease is tentatively scheduled for August 2018.
Hawk’s Nest Beach is still not approved for sewers and requires further testing.
Diane Duhaime questioned terms of the lease with the town. Joe replied that we will be financing 200K for the lease at 2 percent interest over 20 years. Renewal will be at the virtually the same rate every 20 years and can be renewed 7 times. Barbara Beal asked when are we going to get sewers? Joe replied we should have the Clean Water funds by September 2018. It will then be between 12 and 18 months for the design work and about 18 months for construction. Approximately 3 Years. Charlie Beal asked if there are any more events going on in the town that need to be voted on. There will need to be a referendum for approval and bonding for sewers for Soundview which does not affect us. There will also need to be a town meeting to accept the land lease. If either of these is rejected, we will continue with a pump station in OLS. We have had an agreement with a homeowner in OLS since 2013. If they are accepted, we will put the pump station in the parking lot in Soundview.
Recreation and Security-Polly Merritt-Maglio
OLSBA will be adding new guard positions. They will be stationed at the gate, the end of jetty, and at the beach. There will always be 2 guards at the gate. The open road for the Fourth of July holiday will be Billow Road. Polly thanked Richard Gilland for his 6 years of service to OLS and recognized Catherine Pettit as the new head guard. Movies on the beach will begin next Friday, June 29th and the recreation program will start on July 2nd.Roger Zito asked if we are eliminating all private security. Polly said for Memorial Weekend and Labor Day weekend we will hire a professional security firm.
Beach Conditions- Paul Yellen
There are ongoing sand projects, including sifting, grading, and moving it around within approved limits and DEEP compliance. The swim lines are in and the raft will be going in shortly. Please do not set up your chairs, etc. before the beach cleaning occurs. Town noise ordinances prevent us from cleaning too early. Ledge Light is doing water sampling at the end of Billow Road on a weekly basis. We need to continue to remove the seaweed to avoid having our beach closed.
There are racks for kayaks, canoes, etc. at the end of Billow. Please use them. Please do not abandon your property on the beach. For larger boats, etc., please get a mooring. George Finley has information about moorings. Tom Annulli has stickers for names and addresses to identify your kayaks in the event that they are swept offshore. Mary Ellen Phelan asked if there is money available to remove the shells from the beach. Tom Annulli said that we are looking into this. Sally Howley is concerned about divots in the roads. These are being addressed and we will have Anton Paving here to fix several of them.
Summer Social Events-Julia Nixon
The Parade with be held at 10 am on June 30, 2018
Ladies Brunch will be held on July 19, 2018 at The Old Lyme Inn
Carousel Night will be held on August 4, 2018
Second trash pick-up will begin on Thursday, June 28th. Please put all trash into the proper receptacle. Trash left in bags outside of the barrels will not be picked up.
Snow Plowing-Paul Yellen
No complaints over the past winter concerning the plowing but there was lawn damage to two homeowners which was addressed.
Web Site and Social Media for the Future-John Cunningham
John has been updating the website to allow for more transparency and to make communication more efficient. He is always looking for volunteers to help with all of this. Please contact John if you would like to help with social media postings, website updates, etc.
Traffic and Road Safety-Tom Annulli
Traffic cones will be used again this year. Tom addressed the question of why we are not getting speed bumps at this time. Our roads are uneven and not wide enough for speed bumps currently. In addition, our roads will not physically support the weight of speed tables the way they are currently constructed. Janet Roman Ryan asked if OLSBA will we address the trees that hang over the road. These trees are on private property. The property owners will be contacted. Roger Zito stated that our roads are very narrow due to resident’s lawns encroaching upon the road. Anne Conway asked that all people driving motor vehicles in OLS please be more cautious when travelling the side roads -15 mph is still too fast.
Golf Carts are not legal to use within the confines of OLSBA. If you are operating a cart, please stop. Violators will be notified and fined.
Budget Report-Paul Yellen
Financial Review Committee has been formed consisting of Paul Yellen, Matt Merritt, Tom Annulli and John Cunningham. OLSBA is moving forward using QuickBooks, etc. to be more transparent to the membership. Monthly financial reports will be forthcoming.
Tom Annulli presented the Actual Budget. There is approximately $24,336 in the Capitol One Checking account, $119,000 in the Capitol One Savings Account and $30,000 in the Capital Improvement account.
The mill rate will remain the same. It is currently 2.7 The town of Old Lyme will be giving OLSBA only 4K again this year due to state budget cuts.
A motion made to approve the 2018-2019 budget by Mark Phelan and seconded by Anne Conway. The vote was taken, and the budget passed as presented. In addition, a motion made by Amy Wininger and seconded by Rick Duhaime to keep the mill rate at 2.7. The vote was taken, and the motion passed.
Nominations Committees and Elections of Officers and BOG Members-Tom Annulli
Matt Merritt was nominated for President. Tom Annulli was nominated for Vice President. Maura Graml was nominated for Secretary and Norm Yester was nominated as Treasurer.
Pat Burns, Polly Merritt-Maglio, Joe Halloran, John Cunningham, Brian Even, Jay Moynihan made up the Slate of Candidates for the BOG. This Slate was presented to the membership.
A motion was made by Diane Duhaime to accept this Slate and Mary Jane Plant seconded this motion. A vote was taken, and the motion passed.
Tom Annulli acknowledged Paul Yellen’s service to OLSBA and thanked him for it.
A motion was made to adjourn the meeting by Anne Conway, seconded by Paul Graml and the meeting adjourned at 11:46 am.
Minutes Respectfully Submitted by Maura Graml, Secretary.