Dear OLS Community, May, 2019
I hope this letter finds you well as we begin the 2019 beach season. It has been a very busy “off-season” and your dedicated board members have been working on several exciting projects. I wanted to give you an update of several things that have been happening over the winter, which will be discussed further at the Spring Meeting on June 15th.
Sewers/WPCA:
Joe Halloran, along with his dedicated WPCA team, continue to move this project forward. Over the past several months the WPCA has attended dozens of various meetings with Town officials of East Lyme, Waterford and Old Lyme, the DEEP, Fuss & O’Neil, lawyers, etc. Several very important steps have been taken this winter. This is an abbreviated list, which Joe will expand on during our Spring meeting:
1. April – closed on the loan for the CWF (Clean Water Funds).
2. Storm-Drain test pits have been dug on each street (they will be re-seeded with topsoil).
3. Design phase has begun.
4. Zoning change needed for the pump station is moving forward.
The light at the end of this very long tunnel is now in sight. Joe will prepare a more detailed presentation at the Spring Meeting (June 15th). The following are some of the documents associated with the sewer project which are on our website. I believe you will find the “FAQ” document is particularly informative.
Financials:
Treasurer Norm Yester and his office staff took over control of our finances as of last June. Norm, with the assistance and hard work from Tom Annulli and John Cunningham, have taken our financials to a new level through automated QuickBooks. As a result, all bills are being paid regularly and on time, W-2’s were issued in early January, our tax exempt status is being enforced, and the financial reporting is both timely and accurate.
Secretary:
Maura Graml has resigned her position as Secretary to focus on yet another chapter of her life. Maura has been our Secretary longer than anyone could have hoped, and it goes without saying that her dedication over the past several years’ is a clear illustration of her commitment to our beach community. Thank you Maura….we will all miss your hard work and participation at our meetings.
I am pleased to tell you that Joanne Gilland has accepted the role of our new *Secretary. Joanne has been at OLS for most of her life, and like Maura, she is very professional and knowledgeable and we look forward to working with her. Thank you Maura and welcome Joanne.
*OLSBA bylaws require a majority quorum vote from the board to formally appoint our Secretary, which was held AND passed at the March 23rd BOG meeting.
Beach Cleaning & Maintenance:
As you may have noticed, there was a good sized “ski slope” on the beach this winter. This was done in the fall because of the excessive build-up of sand on the most-western part of the beach. This build-up, brought in by storm surge, nearly covered the seawall and high jetty rendering them useless. Furthermore, while the high jetty was nearly covered with this sand, incoming tides were threatening the integrity of Sheffield Brook. We have removed (at no cost to OLS) nearly 50 truckloads of excess sand. This Spring the beach will undergo a complete re-grading, as we have secured the required DEEP permit allowing this work to be done.
Another improvement that took place was the replacement of the western most storm-drain pipe on the beach. With the anticipation of new storm pipes being installed as part of the sewer project, we did our best over the years to patch and repair these pipes. However, continuing this approach was no longer feasible. The buried, corrugated pipe has failed in several areas, which prevented storm water to drain from the lower beach roads. Thanks to George Finley and Patrick Burns, who have regularly dug out the blockage in these pipes during storms, the flooding has been minimal.
Boat Registration:
You may have noticed that there were no abandoned boats left on the beach this year. Every year a dozen or so boats remained on the beach, which is dangerous and impedes our efforts to properly clean the beach in the Spring. We removed the abandoned boats and took them up to the ball field. We ask that the owners of these boats promptly make arrangements to remove them from the field. Please note: boat’s are NOT PERMITTED to be stored anywhere on the beach before May 15th. Access to these areas are necessary during the beach grading process. Beginning this year, all homeowners wishing to store their boats on the beach for the season will be required to register each boat and will then be given a registration sticker, which were provided to us by the Coast Guard and will identify the boat owners’ contact information. Registration is free and can easily be done in just a few minutes by completing the “Boat Registration” form which can be found on the main page of this site. Boat Registration Form
Beach cleaning:
In our ongoing efforts to hold our vendors & contractors accountable for both quality and cost of their services, we now have options available (for the first time) for our beach cleaning services. While we have been relatively pleased with our cleaning services in the past, we did run into some problems last summer. Therefore, we have signed a contract with a new company for our beach cleaning this year….Anthony’s Property Services out of Old Saybrook. APS has been servicing several beaches in Old Saybrook for years and his clients have highly recommended his services. As the result of several conversations and meetings with Anthony, the board was confident that APS was capable for the job. Special thanks to George Finley for keeping an eye on our beach year-round and alerting the board of any problems.
Security:
Newly elected board member, Frank Meaney has volunteered to oversee the guards this year. Frank has already taken a proactive approach to implementing the changes for this year. While there were no major security issues last season, there were several “internal” issues which needed to be addressed. The new changes will improve the overall quality and management of our security, and will include implementing a firm and consistent schedule, better communication between the guards, a mobile time-card app., along with “down-time” duties for the guards. This year, the guards will also be responsible for monitoring raft activity. Frank has asked that any security related questions/concerns be addressed to him at (203)525-6777.
Website:
Thanks to John Cunningham, we have both a beautiful and user-friendly website. Our goal is to increase the communication between your board and our Association by utilizing our website on a more frequent basis. During the off-season, we have made exciting changes to our site and have uploaded important information concerning our beach community including updates, answers to commonly asked questions, schedule of activities, beach policies & rules, meeting notices and minutes, homeowner directory, etc. We will be updating the site on a regular basis with various notices and current “happenings”. We trust you will find the site useful and we invite you to visit the site on a regular basis.
We are currently looking at several online “pay-button” options. The goal is to offer homeowner’s an option to pay their Association taxes/dues securely online as an alternative to mailing in their payment. We anticipate by offering this option, it will reduce the length of time it has traditionally taken for payment’s to be processed and lower the amount of outstanding dues owed. Our goal is to have this option in place to present at our Spring meeting.
Rental Agent:
An OLS mainstay has come to an end. After 27 years, Connie Grey has decided to retire her position as the OLS rental agent. Connie’s commitment and dedication over her many years has provided renters and homeowners with the service and integrity of the highest level. Renter’s, don’t worry…..Connie will be passing her baton off to Kerry Eagan of 50 Brightwater. Kerry is a seasoned realtor with Berkshire Hathaway in West Hartford and has worked in various shoreline communities. Welcome Kerry, we’re happy to have you in this role. Kerry can be reached at (860)212-9368.
Buy-a-Brick:
In our continued efforts to enhance our beach community, we will be embarking on an exciting project. Thanks to MaryKate Reynolds, who has volunteered to lead this project, we hope to achieve something that will be a first at our beach which will have a long and lasting impression for generations to come. You have most likely seen these fundraising projects at various sites like hospitals, hotel, schools, churches, etc. We have an opportunity to utilize this program…..and that’s during the design phase of the sewer project. This program will allow us to upgrade our beach entrances at the end of each of the four roads between the benches and the seawall. We have been in contact with contractors, suppliers and engravers who have come out and taken measurements, ect. More on this at the Spring meeting.
Miscellaneous / Other:
Lobster Bake: Many people have mentioned if we could bring back the lobster bake on the beach that we used to have years ago. Absolutely! Mary Howley has volunteered to organize this and will present the details at our spring meeting.
Refuse Collection:
Beginning July 1st, the Town will be picking up trash (blue barrels) only once a week instead of twice a week. Please inform renter’s checking out on Saturday to NOT bring out the barrel when they leave….new renters are to bring out the barrel on Monday.
I hope to see you all at the Spring meeting….Saturday, June 15th, 10:00am at the Old Lyme Middle School.
Sincerely,
Matt Merritt
President – OLSBA