THE MINUTES OF THE APRIL 22, 2021 WPCA MEETING ARE PROVIDED BELOW. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS ARE PROVIDED IN THE LINK/ATTACHMENT AFTER THE MINUTES.
Link to minutes–> WPCA Meeting Minutes 4-22-2021
OLSBA – WPCA
MEETING MINUTES – Unapproved Draft
When: April 22, 2021 7:30PM
Where: Virtual Meeting via Zoom/Teleconference
The meeting was called to order at 7:33pm by Joe Halloran, WPCA Chairman.
WPCA members present: Joe Halloran, Al Roy, Dede DeRosa, Tom Annuilli, John Cunningham, Matt Merritt (ex-officio). Absent: Bob Palazzo, Patrick Burns.
In addition, approximately 17 OLS Residents were on the call.
Meeting Minutes
A motion was made by Tom Annuilli to accept the minutes of the March 25, 2021 WPCA meeting. Al Roy seconded the motion and the minutes were unanimously approved.
Treasurer’s Report
Tom Annuilli reviewed the March balance sheet and income statement in detail and provided the committee with the most recent bank statements for review. Tom also reported an inadvertent accrual error on the February balance sheet that has been corrected. All three statements are attached to these minutes.
Dede DeRosa provided an update on the efforts to document and strengthen the WPCA’s Internal Controls in preparation for significant increases in financial activity during construction. Dede and Tom have developed a draft of the payment workflow, current controls and proposed additional controls. It is a complex process given the role of the state and the collaboration with the other beaches. Industry best practices are being used as a guide to ensure that appropriate checks and balances are in place. We expect to have a draft document ready for Board review at next month’s meeting.
Joe Halloran reported that the BOG approved three recommendations from the WPCA at the most recent BOG Meeting:
-The transfer of $15K to Old Colony maintained reserve fund for Shared Infrastructure
-The change of Bond Counsel from Robinson & Cole to Shipman & Goodwin
-Approved Matt Merritt to sign Clean Water Fund documents on behalf of OLS
Tom Annuilli requested the Board to accept his Treasurer’s Report/Statements. Dede DeRosa made the motion to approve, Al Roy seconded and the motion was approved unanimously.
Shared Infrastructure Update – Pump House and Force Main
DEEP officially approved the bid package including our request for sole sourcing. On 4/19/2021, bid solicitation began with advertisements in The Courant, The Day, Dodge Reports and other internet based construction bid sites. Bids are requested by the end of May and per State of CT standards we are directed to accept the “lowest cost, responsible bidder”. Following identification of the preferred bidder a thorough due-diligence process will be conducted. It is still expected that construction on Rt 156 will commence in late-August with a continued eye towards coordination with the Dept. of Transportation on road re-paving.
The Clean Water Fund (CWF) application for construction funding still needs to be submitted and approved by the State. We are awaiting input/approvals from AMTRAK and flood management approval from DEEP. These approvals are in process and should not negatively affect our timetable.
The Town of Old Lyme continues to work with New London and East Lyme to be officially included in the Inter-Municipal agreements along with OLS, Old Colony and Miami beaches.
Old Lyme Shores Project Update
VMS (the contractor for Connecticut Water Co.) is in the process of adding topsoil and reseeding resident’s lawns affected by the installation of new laterals last fall.
The stormwater drainage plan is under review by DEEP.
OLS and Old Colony submitted their bid documents to DEEP at the same time and have each received 25 comments that are being reviewed and will be responded to. Once finalized, the bids will be solicited in a similar fashion as the Shared Infrastructure Project. Construction work is expected to begin within the OLS boundaries some time in September according to our current timetable.
The OLS Clean Water Fund application requires 6 easements from residents for road reconstruction. Matt Merritt has contacted the impacted residents and has received one signed easement to date.
Wells
The funding application on behalf of well owners to assist with lateral connections to CT Water and well abandonment was reviewed by the Dept. of Health and passed along to PURA for their review. CT Water is a co-applicant with OLS as the State requires the funding request to come from a Utility. As this process moves forward, we will need to circle back with all well-owners to confirm and approve the plan for their property.
Technology/Website Update
Al Roy and John Cunningham have established the necessary infrastructure to store and archive all our WPCA documents, and are in the process of uploading a large number of files. This data archive will contain documentation related to all phases of the sewer project including the Design, Construction, and Operations Phases. Over time, information sharing capability will be streamlined due to the ability to provide links to requested documents. These improvements will support our internal financial controls and provide additional transparency to OLS residents.
New and revised postings are now available on the WPCA website:
WPCA History – Formation of the OLSBA Water Pollution Control Authority
Update: Information for Private Well Owners – Revised
Updated Links to OLS Bid Documents
Your WPCA will soon begin to use the email service MailChimp to send WPCA-related email messages such as meeting notices and agendas, along with any important updates. So, instead of getting an email from Joanne, you will soon see emails coming from an official WPCA account.
Correspondence
Three emails were received this month:
4/7/2021 from Pat Farrell, 310 Billow Road. He is working to obtain approval to build on a vacant lot and is requesting to add his property as an EDU for sewers.
Per our Engineer: “If the property is not already in the Sewer Service Area from the EIE/ROD, it should not be provided a sewer lateral. The petitioner will need to go through all boards and commissions to obtain buildable lot status to even consider adding a lateral through OLSBA WPCA. Each situation will be different but there will be restrictive language included in the Clean Water Fund Agreement that could jeopardize funding if not followed. If/when the lot is considered buildable and has changed status then the applicant can formally apply to the WPCA to be added to the Sewer Service Area.”
This item will be added to our construction issues log for future follow up.
4/18/2021 from Jon Sahlin, 69 Seaspray Rd. Wondering if there is an update to construction timing in OLS due to a couple of off-season rental weeks.
As reported earlier in the meeting, construction will not begin before September but we do not yet have a firm schedule. Information will be provided to residents as soon as we can confirm a schedule.
4/17/2021 from Jay Moynihan, 10 Billow Road. Requesting the most recent F&O Invoices from February 1, 2021 thru April 30, 2021, inclusive.
The WPCA fully intends to honor this information request. The invoices have been uploaded and can be accessed through our website oldlymeshores.org or by clicking on the link provided below:
Response: Info Request – April 17, 2021
Please continue to submit your questions at lease 24 hours in advance of the WPCA meetings to Dede DeRosa at dderosa518@gmail.com
Resident Comments
Kathi Stickley reported that there is an extreme amount of rocks, tar and debris on the upper streets as a result of the CT Water construction. Beth Howley also noted a concern about the debris on lower Seaspray. Matt Merritt has contacted VMS and the Town of Old Lyme and is working to get the streets cleaned before the summer.
Joe Halloran made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Tom Annuilli seconded.
Meeting was adjourned at 8:30pm.
THE NEXT SCHEDULED WPCA MEETING WILL BE MAY 27TH AT 7:30PM VIA ZOOM.
Link to WPCA Financial Statements –> Draft WPCA March 2021 Statements