Link to meeting minutes –> WPCA Meeting Minutes – February 16, 2022
OLSBA – WPCA
MEETING MINUTES
When: February 16, 2022
Where: Virtual Meeting via Zoom/Teleconference
The meeting was called to order at 7:33pm by Al Roy, WPCA Chairman.
WPCA Members present: Al Roy, Dede DeRosa, Tom Annulli, John Cunningham, Bob Palazzo, Matt Merritt (ex-officio). Absent: Sue Mahoney
An additional 21 OLS residents were on the call.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Tom Annulli made a motion to approve the minutes from the 11/18/2021 meeting, John Cunningham seconded the motion. Minutes were approved.
TREASURERS REPORT
Tom Annulli, WPCA Treasurer, reviewed the end-January Balance Sheet and Income Statement. There were no major expenses as the project remains on hold while options for moving forward are analyzed. Tom also reviewed a statement of project liabilities reflecting the total cost OLS would need to pay back to the state should the project not move forward. This represents $4250 per household. Tom will be regularly producing this statement along with the other Financial exhibits. The WPCA has committed to holding the line on any additional WPCA expenditures while project options are being evaluated. The Financial Statements are attached to these minutes.
Dede DeRosa made a motion to accept the Treasurer’s report. The motion was seconded and the report was accepted into the record.
SEWER PROJECT STATUS
Project Deferral: Working with DEEP and CT Treasury, we were able to negotiate a one-year deferral on the loan repayment scheduled to commence in Q1 2022. This provides time for Washington to roll out their infrastructure programs (hopefully by mid-year) and determine whether our project may benefit substantially enough to proceed.
Approach to developing options for association vote: Project Options Committee kick-off 2/12/22; this sub group of the WPCA will develop project options in a methodical process-based manner: Objectives, Risks, Benefits, Financial Model, Establish Timeline, etc.; Comprehensive update planned for Annual Spring Meeting although we don’t expect to have full financial information for the Spring Meeting in order to finalize a decision.
Stakeholders Meetings/Cost Sharing Agreement Update: - The current focus is on possible new funding sources, grants or earmarks, not loans; Early collaboration with CT Infrastructure Funding czar; Exploring possible use of a lobbyist to secure funding (earmark?) in addition to federally managed funding programs - The Cost Sharing Agreement (CSA) is still in first stages of revisions; it is being updated to reflect the current consortium (the 3 beaches and Town of Old Lyme) and to better define operational requirements, terms and conditions once the sewer system is operational; this is a lower priority activity given the current status of the project but is being worked on in parallel with other activities. The revised CSA will be reviewed with the full WPCA then BOG prior to independent (OLSBA) review by counsel.
Legislative discussions regarding funding: Ongoing collaboration with elected state and federal officials; focus on increased direct funding (not loans) from established programs and from any new infrastructure programs that may roll out later this year
BOG Exploration of alternatives: Looking at possible alternative means for meeting the intent of the current consent order. This excludes both the current deigned plan for sewers and the options outlined years ago in the (link) Wastewater Facilities Study (e.g., community treatment facility, mini treatment sites, etc.). This initiative further demonstrates OLSBA due diligence in seeking a financially viable means for correcting wastewater management deficiencies within our association. Matt Merritt reported that the BOG also hired an outside counsel to review OLS liabilities under various agreements we are party to if the project does not go forward. While we remain hopeful that we can close the funding gap there is language in the consent decree that states the mandate would not apply if the “project becomes burdensome or no longer cost effective”.
MISCELLANEOUS UPDATES
Since we are in a re-evaluation phase with the project, the WPCA has decided to schedule quarterly meetings in 2022. If the pace of activity increases and/or the Chair deems additional meeting(s) are needed, a special meeting meeting will be scheduled and announced at least one week in advance of the meeting date. Meeting schedules and agendas are all posted on the website.
2022 WPCA Regular Board Meetings
February 16 at 7:30pm
May 19 at 7:30pm
August 18 at 7:30pm
November 17 at 7:30pm
Website privacy has become a concern that the BOG will be looking at. In the interest of transparency we are publishing many documents, contracts, etc. to the website. We want OLS residents to have timely access to information but we also want to properly control public access. A simple solution may be to require a logon ID for OLS residents.
CORRESPONDENCE
No correspondence received this month.
RESIDENT COMMENTS
Kathy Olsen asked who is on the subcommittee looking at project options.
Al Roy responded that the group is made up of WPCA members: John Cunningham, Tom Annuilli, Dede DeRosa. Again, the purpose is to pull information together to bring to the WPCA, BOG and the entire membership.
Paul Yellen noted that the WPCA needs to be fully aware of the FOIA and Open Meeting statutes of the State of CT especially if we limit access to the website. Al acknowledged that we are aware of the laws and will work to satisfy all information requests.
Bill Randazzo questioned why we would be willing to give up half of the Gorton Ave. property for a Bioxide station if we are not part of the project. Al responded that we are still working with the assumption that the project will move forward until we exhaust all funding possibilities at which point we would reevaluate our position.
Luanne Grennan asked about the status of Rte. 156 repaving and whether the DOT is still coordinating with us. Al responded that there was quite a bit of discussion with the State and the DOT last fall and so far they are holding off on paving as the sewer project is still on the table. However, at some point the timing might become an issue.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:17 pm.
The next WPCA Meeting is scheduled for May 19, 2022 at 7:30PM via Zoom.
Link to Financial Statements –> WPCA January 2022