TO: Members of the Old Lyme Shores Beach Association
FROM: Paul J. Yellen, President OLSBA BOG
RE: Letter From State of Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection Commissioner Katherine Dykes
DATE: December 20, 2024
Greetings from Old Lyme Shores:
At this week’s Special Board of Governors meeting, I was appointed as President of the BOG to fill the remainder of the term of office left vacant by the resignation of former President Diane Duhaime. I thank her for her leadership, her dedication and the drive she showed us during her term in office. It is my intention to do my best to move our organization onward into 2025, continue ongoing successful projects and urge our membership forward regarding the much-debated sewer project with the assistance of our WPCA. I’ve stated before that I personally view the sewer project as mostly a WPCA project with assistance from the BOG as needed.
On December 17th the WPCA received a letter from the State of Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP) Commissioner Katherine Dykes regarding the regional wastewater project. I have attached the letter here and it is posted on our website as well for your information. The letter is very serious and is very specific to the other beaches and the Town of Old Lyme regarding their next steps. (The beaches have formally advertised for bids for their portion of the project this week.) The letter also addresses our lack of a formal vote to increase our project spending and the potential repercussions and enforcement actions that lack of a vote could result in for us.
At our meeting on Wednesday, I was authorized to reach out to our primary contact at DEEP to discuss the letter from the State of Connecticut DEEP, its meaning and to attempt to schedule a formal meeting between us and the DEEP. During the meeting we plan to outline our strategies to move forward prior to their stated deadline of March 15, 2025, the restrictions placed on our actions by our charter and to determine if there are any options available to us not outlined in the letter. Also, a majority vote of the BOG will allow us to potentially schedule a secret vote, tabulated by an independent, unbiased firm, before February 15, 2025 in time to meet the DEEP deadline if we do not have any flexibility after discussions with the DEEP. The voting mechanism will comply with our charter and, as mentioned above, could take place during the month of February.
We will keep you informed with information, facts and frequent communications on this process. Prior to any vote I would advocate for a remote “Zoom” public hearing on the project, but that decision likely rests with the BOG and/or WPCA. Please feel free to contact any member of the BOG, the WPCA or myself with any questions, suggestions or positive input that may be helpful to us. You may email either of these:
Thank you and your entire Board of Governors wish you and your families a happy and healthy holiday season!