MEETING OF JANUARY 2, 2008

EAST LYME BOARD OF SELECTMEN

EAST LYME TOWN HALL

UPPER MEETING ROOM

7:30 P.M.

PRESENT:    Paul Formica, Andrew McKirdy, John Hogan, Pam Rowe, Rose Ann Hardy, Rob Wilson

Mr. Formica called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m.

1a.       Pledge of Allegiance:

Esther Williams, East Lyme Town Clerk, led the Pledge of Allegiance

1b.       Additional Agenda & Consent Calendar Items:

There were no additional Agenda & Consent Calendar Items

1c.       Delegations:

Mr. Formica led a moment of silence to honor Wesley W. Jezierski, the Town’s long time upstanding tree warden, who passed away recently.

John Drabik, 18 Drabik Road, stated that he recently received a telephone call for a survey for the Town of East Lyme.  He assumes that it was for the planning department.  He thinks that a grade schooler could have done a better job.  He doesn’t understand how the Town couldn’t afford to keep the dump open but would pay for that survey.  He also felt that all of the questions were leading.

Joe Mingo, 397 Boston Post Road, stated that they had established a special account for memorial trees, and it is located on the Town’s website under the Public Works Department.  Mr. Jezierski served this Town for many years for no pay, and he thinks that we should find some money to plant a tree in honor of his many years of service.  Most towns pay their Tree Wardens, but he served at no charge.  Also, he wanted to let the Town people know, that if someone does pass their loved ones can donate money to public works for a tree.

Ron Rando, 134 Boston Post Road stated that he had not planned on coming, but he is concerned about our past First Selectman’s appointment to the Water and Sewer Commission.  He is upset because he and John Drabik fought against the Boardwalk and they weren’t able to speak, and Mr. Fraser messed that up, and they also were against the addition to the Flanders Fire Department and that was messed up.  He also wanted to talk about the 6000 square feet of the High School gym floor that is being replaced.  He had spoken against the drying of the floor initially and now they are wasting more money on it.  The money for the Boardwalk was taxpayer money, and it was spent foolishly.  He also is concerned that there was a man on the Conservation Commission who was not re-appointed.  Joe Mingo talks a lot, but he is no dummy, he has good ideas whether everyone likes them or not, and the Board of Selectmen have a man on the Board who tried to do away with Delegations.  Mr. Mingo is qualified for the job, and he shouldn’t be taken off because someone doesn’t like him.

Mike Schulz, Lovers Lane, stated that at the last meeting he talked of getting volunteers for voting purposes, and he also wanted to know if the people they were currently using were getting paid.  He wanted to know if it is mandatory to pay those people.  The answer is supposed to come back to him this evening.  Mr. McKirdy thought they were supposed to be paid to make them accountable.  Mr. Formica is the only one on the Board of Selectmen who is paid, so does that make everyone else on the Board not accountable?  The primaries are going to cost the Town about $12,000.00.  They don’t have to have the same people work all day.  Also, he discussed the longevity pay of the Town’s employees.  Mr. McKirdy and Mrs. Hardy are forming a committee to look into that, but he doesn’t think there should be any longevity pay.  The Town pays their employees a salary and benefits, and they don’t need any additional pay, and if they are going to have longevity they should treat everyone equally because they are all important.

Mary Cahill, 37 Indianola Road stated that she has been on the Water and Sewer Commission for 26 years and she worked under Wayne Fraser, she hates to speak against Mr. Rando and Mr. Drabik because they usually agree on a lot, but they are split on Mr. Fraser.  There is no person in Town as qualified as Mr. Fraser.  The elections are over, and the Board needs to pick the most qualifed people to serve, and she applauds Mr. Fraser’s appointment to the Water and Sewer Commission

1d.       Approval of Minutes, Meeting of December 19, 2007

Motion (1)      Ms. Rowe moved to approve the minutes of the Meeting of December 19, 2007 as submitted

Seconded by Mr. Hogan.

There was no discussion.

Motion Passed 5-0.

Mr. Wilson abstained.

1e.       Consent Calendar

Motion (2)      Mr. Hogan moved to approve the Consent Calendar in the amount of $621.95 for the meeting of January 2, 2008

Seconded by Ms. Hardy.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

2.         New Business

2a.       Reappointment of Radiological Defense Officers (2)

Motion (3)      Mr. Wilson moved to re-appoint Stephen L. Jackson of 10 Mayfield Terrace, East Lyme, CT and Christopher Taylor of 1 Old Stone Way, Niantic, CT as Radiological Defense Officers through January 2, 2012.

Seconded by Mr. Hogan.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

2b        High School Gym Floor Update – J. Burkhardt – TBC

Jerry Burkhardt, the Chairman of the Town Building Committee, stated that they had decided to replace 6000 square feet out of a total of 10,000 square feet. Basically they are going to replace the entire basketball court.  The wood arrived today from Wisconsin, and it has been put in the gym, and it needs to acclimate to the environment.  He talked to the installer, and they are confident that it will be done by February 1^st.  There was a delay in getting the wood, but they are well under way.

Ms. Hardy asked if there was a warranty on this floor.

Mr. Burkhardt stated that the other floor was there for 40 years, but the contractor will not give them any guarantees against buckling because they are using the existing sub floor.

Ms. Hardy asked if a problem is likely to occur in new wood.

Mr. Burkhardt stated that they are trying to minimize any problems by replacing that entire area, and they are not anticipating any problems.  The wood will be acclimated to the environment, and they are keeping the moisture down below 10%.  They have been getting readings around 6% so there shouldn’t be a problem

Ms. Hardy asked what part is under warranty.

Mr. Burkhardt stated that there is no warranty at all unless the wood is defective or the installation is defective, but there is no warranty against buckling.

Ms. Hardy asked what the difference in cost would be to replace the entire floor.

Mr. Burkhardt stated that this contractor is charging them $75,000 to rip out the floor and replace the floor for 6000 square feet.  That is 60% of what it would be to replace the whole thing.

Ms. Hardy stated that she is concerned that there is no warranty and if it doesn’t work, they are stuck.

Mr. Burkhardt stated if the wood is installed improperly or if the wood has defects there would be a warranty.  His original answer that there was no warranty was based on swelling and buckling due to change in humidity.  Each board is fastened every foot so they should be fine.

Mr. Wilson asked if there was a bleacher issue they maybe some people don’t understand.

Mr. Burkhardt stated that yes the bleachers they have now are not handicapped accessible.  The part that they are not replacing is under the bleachers.  There was no damage to the floor under the bleachers, they are looking into replacing the bleachers but there are no quotes yet.  When they do get that information they will pass it on.

Mr. Formica asked if the bleachers are removed to replace the floor under them then they cannot be reinstalled.

Mr. Burkhardt stated no they could not be reinstalled.

Mr. Wilson stated that the bleachers could not be grandfathered in if they are taken out.  He goes to gyms all over southeastern Connecticut, and the other school’s do not look like ours.  He thinks the Board of Education needs to look at replacing those bleachers.  Also, he wanted to know if Mr. Burkhardt had discussed with the Athletic Director the marking on the floor, and whether or not they would include coaching boxes and volleyball markings.  This Gym should be up to date with 2008.

Mr. Burkhardt stated that he had spoken with the Athletic Director and the Superintendent of Schools, and the lines will be regulation and will satisfy the present needs.

Ms. Hardy stated that she would prefer the whole floor be replaced and wondered why that issue hadn’t been explained previously.

Mr. Burkhardt stated that enough people had expressed an interest in their replacement and that is why they are now looking into it.

Ms. Hardy stated that she thought the taxpayers would prefer to be told this.  She has had several people talk to her asking why we aren’t replacing the whole floor.  She thinks taxpayers should have been given a choice.

Mr. Formica stated that he has had conversation with the Superintendent and the bleachers are on the Board of Educations Wish List for Capital Items.

2c.       IRS MILEAGE RATE 2008

Mr. Formica stated that the Finance Director has advised them that the new IRS Mileage Rate is 50.5 cents per mile.  Our current Town Handbook states our rate at 40.5 cents per mile.  He is concerned that we are not meeting the IRS rate.

Ms. Hardy stated that the previous Board of Selectmen had determined that we would follow the IRS rate.

Mr. Wilson stated that they had been down this road before and he thinks Ms. Hardy is correct.  East Lyme was way behind at one time but we did catch up.  He thinks the Town should stay with the IRS.  He thinks it was under Mr. Fraser that this was done.

Mr. Formica stated that the current handbook does not reflect this.

Motion (4)      Mr. McKirdy moved to the set the mileage rate the same as the IRS Mileage Rate

Seconded by Mr. Wilson.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

2d.       Special Appropriation $25,000 – Assessor Appraisals for Reval Contestments

Donna Bekech, East Lyme Assessor, stated that there was money left in their reval account, and they are asking to transfer that money for the defense of court cases as the cases are proceeding, and they are hoping to come to the end of that by June of this year.  Any money not used will go back to the General Fund.  She and the Town Attorney have looked at the schedule, and they are estimating that this amount will take care of the rest of the court cases.  They want to make sure the money is in place.

Mr. Wilson asked for an update

Ms. Bekech stated that there have been 24 appeals, and there are 23 left.  They are still doing Special Meetings and pre-trials.  The residentials are done, and the commercials are underway.  They are just waiting on the Court.

Motion (5)      Ms. Rowe moved to appropriate and transfer $25,000.00 from undesignated fund balance to an account to be established, titled, Assessment Court Costs – related to tax appeals.

Seconded by Mr. Wilson.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

2e.       Sign Call – Special Town Meeting 1/16/08

Motion (6)      Mr. McKirdy moved the following call:

TOWN OF EAST LYME

NOTICE OF SPECIAL TOWN MEETING

Notice is hereby given of a Special Town Meeting to be held on Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at East Lyme Town Hall Upper Meeting Room at 7:15 p.m. to consider and take action on the following:

1.                  Special Appropriation - $40,000 – Public Safety Legal Services

2.                  Special Appropriation - $25,000 – Assessor’s Appraisals for Reval Contestments

3.                  Any other business that may come before the meeting.

Dated at East Lyme, CT this 2^nd day of January, 2008.

Seconded by Mr. Hogan.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

3.         Unfinished Business

3a.       Budget Procedure and Meeting Schedule

Mr. Formica stated that at the last meeting they had asked for dates for meetings for budget reviews, and he has provided them with a list.

The Finance Director indicated that they would be having the larger departments at the beginning of the review and the smaller departments later.

Ms. Hardy and Mr. Wilson stated that they would not be available on January 20^th, but Mr. Wilson stated that they could just see where we are at that point.

Mr. Formica stated that they will go forward with the scheduled dates, and he will get a list of which departments are coming on what dates.

3b.       Appointments

Motion (7)      Mr. McKirdy moved to appoint Robert J. Sullivan, III, 1 Mallard Circle, East Lyme, CT to the Town Building Committee, to serve through January 2, 2012.

Seconded by Ms. Hardy.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

Motion (8)      Mr. McKirdy moved to appoint Charles Reluga, 10 Bronson Street, Niantic, CT to Conservation Commission to serve through January 2, 2012.

Seconded by Mr. Wilson.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

Motion (9)      Mr. Hogan moved to appoint Laurie Corona, 10 Brockett Road, Niantic, CT as an Alternate Member of the Conservation Commission to fill the balance of an unexpired term through January 4, 2010

Seconded by Mr. Wilson.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

Motion (10)    Ms. Rowe moved to appoint Keith Hall, 35 Webster Road, East Lyme, CT and Phyllis Berger, 32 West Pattagansett Road, Niantic, CT as Alternate Members of the Conservation Commission to serve through January 2, 2012.

Seconded by Mr. Wilson.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

4.                  Communications

There were no Communications

5.                  Information and Reports

5a.       Ex-Officio

Mr. Mckirdy stated that none of his boards met over the Holidays.

Mr. Wilson stated that there was a special meeting of Park and Recreation to assess the new design of the Hole in the Wall Building.  It will be for maintenance, lifeguards, and there will be men’s and women’s changing rooms. 

Mr. Formica stated that they are getting that building put together through grants,  and it will showcase the talent of the Public Works department, and will also show how to manage stormwater and will be a great upgrade.

Mr. Wilson stated that Bill Scheer was present and he brought the roofing material and the siding material, and this is a really good thing.

5b        First Selectman’s Report

Mr. Formica stated that he had met with the Auditor, the Chairman of the Board of Finance, and the Finance Director to flush out some problems with the audit.  They are coming from different areas, such as changes in the Finance Department, change in banks, and payroll procedure changes.  There are some open items that weren’t done in the finance office that need to be done.  They have hired the Auditor to come in and get caught up and to manage the bank reconcilliations.

They have also been discussing better ways to upgrade the quality of the budget cycle and the presentation of that to the taxpayers.

The website has changed hosts, if you look at the site you will see that some of the agendas are old, and that is because one person was responsible for entering all of that information, now the department heads can do it themselves.  That plan is going forward and will be a good upgrade.

There will be a Press Release soon discussing The Home for the Holidays contest.  Some Town employees went out and looked at the displays around Town and the winners were the McPartlins of 132 North Bride Brook Road, they won a $50.00 gift certicate for Park and Recreation, and they also won lunch with the First Selectman.

There were 20 or 30 different trip contracts signed by Cathy Wilson of the Commission on Aging.  Mr. Formica designated her as a signer on just those specific contracts.  As a safeguard, the contracts must be attached to the purchase orders when they are submitted.

In the near future it may be feasible to have a separate Conservation Commission and a separate Inland/Wetlands Commission.  There are a number of people who would like to serve, and Mr. Formica would like some feedback on that.

He noticed in the Ledge Light contract that there is to be an Annual Operating Review at the end of the year.  He asked the Assistant Director of Ledge Light to do that with him and it will be done in a week or two.  He thought they did a good job with the Superintendant of School regarding the recent illness outbreak at the Middle School.  He commended Mr. Smotas on how that was handled.

Mr. Formica attended the inauguration of 2 new Mashantucket Tribal Members today at the Mashantucket museum.  It was very ceremonial, and he would recommend anyone go to see their sense of history.

In response to the comments on Wayne Fraser’s appointment to the Water and Sewer Commission, Mr. Fraser has a large amount of experience and was previously a representative to the Southeastern Regional Water Authority, and if we are to solve any water problems we need his experience.

In response to Mr. Schulz, they would like to implement some kind of senior tax credit and would like people to volunteer in exchange for the credit.  He is not sure how that will work with the people at the polls, but he will get an answer for him.

Ms. Hardy thanked Mr. Formica for such a complete report.  She stated that the previous Board looked into Senior Tax Credits.  She also suggested that Mr. Mingo’s suggestion be added to the next agenda regarding the tree for Mr. Jezierski.  She would also like a report from the Registrars of Voters on the use of volunteers.  There are problems with it being a 16 hour workday for not much money.  They are hard pressed to get people.

Mr. Wilson stated that the Town of Groton recently discussed the length of delegations and the amount of time people are allowed to speak.  Groton couldn’t find a Town without a time limit, so it seems that everyone has that except East Lyme.

6.                  Public Comment

Ron Rando stated that he backs Ms. Hardy on the Gym Floor issue.  They are only replacing 60% of the floor and then they are going to talk about the bleachers being replaced.  If they take those bleachers out later something could get dropped on the new part of the floor.  He thinks it should be done right and complete now.  He also wanted to know why the Town couldn’t try to solve some of the reval cases on their own.  We spend a lot of money on legal fees, and we need to cut our expenditures. 

Mike Schulz stated that he is concerned with the Gym Floor as to whether or not there is concrete under it, and if that concrete has water in it.  There are means to determine if moisture has been removed, and he would like confirmation from Mr. Burkhardt that those things were done.

Pat Larkin, Oak Hill Drive stated that it doesn’t seem as if there is good communication between the Boards.  If the Board of Education is already looking into replacing the bleachers and they are not communicating that to the Building Committee and the Board of Selectmen.  It will cost a lot of money in the future to band aid this project.

7.                  Selectmen’s Response

Mr. Formica stated that the $40,000 for Public Safety Legal Services was because that budget was underfunded, and they overspent.  He thinks it was a good point regarding trying to negotiate some of the reval appeals themselves.  As far as the bleachers, we had the money to do that because we had saved money on the roof replacement, and the previous Board of Selectment agreed to bond the money.  As far as he knows, all of the moisture was removed from the floor already, but it should be looked into.

Mr. Wilson stated that they did dehumidify a section of the floor, and they did put probes in the old floor, and had a tracking system with water in the tracks and they got that out.  He doesn’t believe anyone went in thinking that the bleachers were going to be replaced.  Most of the interior of the floor had huge amounts of humidity.  The playing surface will be brand new.  He doesn’t think anyone want to do anything half way.

Mr. Formica said that Mr. Mingo has been a long time public servant and he is suing the Conservation Commission, therefore there was a conflict of interest to have him as a member of that Commission and that is why he was not re-appointed.  They would surely like to count on him for his expertise in the future.

Mr. Hogan stated that the telephone survey was being done as part of the Plan of Conservation and Development, and the money was allocated for that in the last budget.  The questions were put together by a consulting firm used in other towns in Connecticut and he reviewed those questions and thought they were relevant to East Lyme. 

Motion (11)    Mr. Wilson moved to adjourn the January 2, 2008 meeting of the Board of Selectment at 8:50 a.m.

Seconded by Mr. McKirdy.

There was no discussion.

Motion passed 6-0.

Respectfully Submitted,

Karen Miller Galbo

Recording Secretary