Selectmen Postpone Move for Vote on Sewers in Old Lyme, Demand Clarity on Costs
Francisco Uranga
OLD LYME — The Board of Selectmen discussed Monday the idea
of calling a second
referendum on the sewer project in the town’s beach neighborhood, but
held off making a decision pending additional clarity on costs.
Selectman Jim Lampos, who owns a house in the neighborhood,
Sound View, and has taken a lead in the discussions, said that before
scheduling a new referendum on September 9, he wanted to have a cost-sharing
agreement in place that would define how the costs would be divvied up among
the town’s beach residents and private beach associations, and for the Miami
Beach Association to have bids in hand on planned work.
“I just don’t see how we can move it to a referendum without
having these numbers,” Lampos said. “To me, that’s unrealistic.”
Lampos also expressed concern about recent news that East
Lyme would be requesting an expansion of the New London wastewater treatment
plant. The installation of sewers in Old Lyme would require wastewater to pass
through East Lyme to the New London plant. That likely would put Old Lyme on
the hook for a portion of the expansion costs.
First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker and Selectwoman Jude Read
agreed with Lampos to a pause before making a decision.
Shoemaker had drawn up a tentative timeline to include a
Board of Selectmen meeting on August 4 to decide whether to move forward with
the referendum, following a presentation by Old Lyme Water and Pollution
Control Authority chair Steve Cinami. On August 18, there would be an
informational meeting for towns people at Lyme-Old Lyme High School. A Board of
Finance meeting was scheduled for August 19 to decide whether to support the
proposal. A special town meeting on Sept 2 would be held to call a referendum,
which would then be held on September 9 in the Middle School gym.
The roadmap was left in limbo after Monday’s meeting.
The sewer project is in response to an order from
state to clean up contamination of the groundwater at the town’s beaches —
Sound View and Area B and three private beach associations—Old Colony Club, Old
Lyme Shores and Miami Beach.
Old Lyme residents approved borrowing $9.5 million budget
for Sound View and Area B by a 2019 referendum.
But after initial
bids in 2021 exceeded the budget, DEEP committed to covering up to
half of the project cost through grants and forgivable loans from the Clean
Water Fund.
The new bids received this year came in $7.6 million higher
than originally budgeted for Sound View and Area B. Although DEEP would cover
half of the total amount, the town must vote in a new referendum on the total
budget increase.
Cinami estimated the annual payments would reach $1,900 per
equivalent dwelling unit — the measure of a “typical” dwelling in the area, an
increase from last
August’s estimate of less than $1,400. That amount does not include
other associated costs, such as annual operating and maintenance costs and a
one-time connection to the sewer network.
These calculations were questioned at the meeting, both by
the selectmen and the public.
Uncertainty about costs
Lampos pointed out that Old Lyme Shores had not yet gone out
for bids, so it should be assumed that it would not be part of the project. He
said that Miami Beach was expected to receive bids by August 12, and that would
determine whether it would be in or out.
Lampos told CT Examiner that without Old Lyme Shores and
Miami Beach, the project would become unaffordable, so it was crucial to have
that information before calling a referendum.
Regarding the cost-sharing agreement and the ordinance to
implement it, Lampos doubted its approval before the September 9 referendum.
Shoemaker said at the meeting that they had received a draft
of the cost-sharing agreement a few minutes earlier but had not yet had time to
review it.
Lampos mentioned a story published Sunday in The
Day, which reported that East Lyme wanted the New London wastewater
treatment plant to be expanded by 50%, at an estimated cost of between $50
million and $70 million. Until that can be completed, East Lyme is debating an
indefinite moratorium on new sewer connections for projects involving more than
20 homes.
While East Lyme produces about 770,000 gallons of wastewater
per day, Old Lyme and the beach associations signed an agreement in
2024 with New London that calls for about 120,000 gallons per day to be
treated, with the possibility of expanding to an additional 130,000 gallons.
Lampos said he had asked the WPCA chair to calculate the
cost of operation and maintenance, considering possible expansions, but he had
never received the figures. He also said he had asked for other alternatives to
be evaluated, such as pumping the wastewater to Old Saybrook, Essex, Clinton or
Westbrook, but that those ideas had not been considered.
“Now they tell us it’s too late in the game. We have to move
forward with this,” Lampos said. “If it’s affordable, it has to be done. And
certainly there’s pressure from the state.”
Lampos was cautious, however, about calling a referendum.
“It’s an option, but it’s an option with consequences, too.
DEEP wants us to move forward with this,” Lampos said. “A lot of people want to
take on the state and I’m trying to find that middle ground of acting
responsibly, acting in good faith, but having real numbers and not just pushing
this through for the sake of pushing it through because it’s going to have
permanent consequences and permanent expenses.”
Lampos’ concerns were echoed with complaints from residents
at the meeting.
Sebastian Mangiafico, a Sound View resident, questioned the
lack of cost clarity.
“How can anyone vote on anything without having all the
numbers in front of it?” Mangiafico said.
Other residents complained about a lack of transparency,
particularly from the Old Lyme Sewer Shared Sewer Project Alliance, a group
formed by the chartered private beach associations, which does not make its
meeting minutes public. Some residents said they were making decisions about
the project behind
closed doors.
Dennis Meluzzo, a Soundview resident and WPCA member, asked
that the Board of Selectmen review the original decision to put the cost solely
on beach residents.
“We fund your schools; you should be funding our sewers,”
Malluzzo said. “You have a chance to rectify this conflict between the beach
people and the town.”
Melluzzo was referring to the school improvement project,
which cost $57 million and was the biggest driver of the increase
in town expenses and taxes this year.
The beach area was one of the neighborhoods in town that saw
the biggest
jumps in property values in the 2024 town reassessment, so some
homeowners saw significant increases in their taxes this year.
Remove Cinami?
At the end of the meeting, during the selectmen’s debate,
Shoemaker mentioned that they had received letters from residents complaining
about Cinami’s manners and lack of professionalism. Several called for his
removal, she said.
At one recent WPCA meeting he clashed with Shoemaker over
her participation in the proceedings — and later earned a warning from the
Board of Selectmen. Cinami apologized at the time.
Shoemaker raised the question, but both Read and Lampos said
they were against removing Cinami as chair.
Finally, Shomaker proposed to have a conversation with
Cinami.
“Sometimes the conversation between the chair and one-to-one
with the person settles things or they come to a compromise and the person
resigns because they just can’t serve on that board anymore,” Shoemaker said.
“That’s okay. Sometimes that’s what has to happen.”
Developer eyes large-scale mixed-use redevelopment of MassMutual office complex in Enfield
The vacant MassMutual office complex off Interstate 91 in
Enfield could get new life as a sprawling mixed-use multifamily development.
A Branford-based development group that recently purchased
the 65.5-acre office campus, at 100 Bright Meadow Blvd., has submitted an
informal master plan to redevelop the site into a mix of apartments, townhomes
and amenity and commercial space.
The plan is scheduled to be introduced to the Enfield
Planning and Zoning Commission during a meeting scheduled for July 24.
MB Financial Group in May paid $3.99 million for the office
complex, which had been on the market since early 2018, when MassMutual
announced plans to move about 1,500 jobs to Springfield.
A master plan submitted to the town breaks down the campus
property into four lots.
Lot 2 would include 307 apartments. A 472,536-square-foot
office property containing three connected buildings would be repurposed into
178 apartments; another new building would be erected with 129 apartments. The
apartments would offer a mix of one- and two-bedroom units. Lot 2 would also
contain 12,000 square feet of commercial space, nearly 50,000 square feet of
storage and amenity space, and 1,571 parking spaces.
Lot 3 would include 62 townhouse residences with 158 parking
spaces.
Lot 4 would include 107 townhouse residences with 233
parking spaces.
Lot 1 currently has a day care that would stay on-site.
The master plan shows various amenities, including
pickleball courts, pools and a clubhouse. An existing 452,298-square-foot
parking garage would remain on-site.
MassMutual bought the property from Phoenix Home Life
Insurance Co. for roughly $27 million in 2004, and then completed a $38 million
renovation in 2014.
MB Financial has been an active developer in Connecticut. In
December, the firm paid $3.75 million for WWE’s former Stamford headquarters, a
90,000-square-foot, six-story building, which it plans to convert into
apartments.
It also has several active multifamily developments in
Clinton, Stratford, Southington and Bridgeport.
South Windsor High School campus plan could move forward in phases, with courts and parking first
SOUTH WINDSOR — A
long-stalled plan to upgrade the campus of South
Windsor High School could move forward in two phases, with the turf
field centerpiece to come second.
The
Board of Education previously requested discussion of the project at
the Town Council's July 7 meeting, but council members postponed discussion to
their next regular meeting while waiting for an updated cost
estimate.
Lisa Maneeley, chairwoman of the Board of Education,
submitted a letter to the Town Council dated July 16 detailing adjustments
to the
campus improvements project, now planned as two separate
phases. Maneeley said the $2.15 million "phase one" would cover
construction of tennis and pickleball courts along with their associated
parking required
by the Planning and Zoning Commission, and "phase two" would
include the lighted multipurpose turf field and traffic improvements, as the
courts must be relocated first.
"By putting forward a $2.15 million project, rather
than a $8.9 million project, we believe we are acting in the best interest of
both the school community and the South Windsor taxpayer," Maneeley said.
The high school campus improvements project was first
presented to the Board of Education in October 2023, after which the Board
of Education requested the Town Council hold a March 2024 referendum to approve
$7.56 million in bonding to fund it. In January 2024, the
Town Council voted 5-4 against setting the referendum date.
The Board of Education secured PZC approval for the
project in April 2024 and again asked the Town Council in December 2024 to hold
a March referendum for the project, then estimated to cost $8.67 million. The
Town Council again rejected the referendum in an identical vote in January
2025.
Maneeley said in her July 16 letter that although the Board
of Education would not like to delay the campus improvements further, as the
board has pushed for the project since 2023, school officials recognize that
the Town Council plans to include several million-dollar bond referendum
questions on this November's ballot.
"Given these competing financial demands, we are
concerned that placing all of these items on a single referendum may overwhelm
taxpayers," Maneeley said.
Alongside proposed
charter revisions, other questions that could appear on the ballot include
$9.35 million in bonding for repairs and code compliance at the Parks and
Recreation facility in the former Orchard Hill Elementary School and a separate
$2 million for open space acquisition.
The ballot could also include a question for up to $15.2
million in bonding for upgrades to the Water Pollution Control Authority's
three largest pump stations at Clark Street, Benedict Drive, and Pleasant
Valley Road, though officials have said those bonds would be paid for through
user fees rather than the town's debt service.
After Mayor Audrey Delnicki read Maneeley's letter into
the record Monday night, none of the council members discussed the matter
further but agreed to pass forward a consensus on the referendum.
In contrast, the Town Council gave its consensus in support
of the
Parks and Recreation facility referendum after a lengthy discussion
Monday night, following another long discussion at the council's July 7
meeting.
The $9.35 million project proposed by the town's Public
Building Commission would address accessibility and code compliance issues
at the
former Orchard Hill school at 350 Foster St., now the permanent home of the
Parks and Recreation Department, as well as a potential roof replacement. An
earlier, more expensive iteration of the project would have expanded
the facilities to be more akin to that of a community center, but the Town
Council requested it be scaled down to necessities.
Debate over the project between town staff, members of the
Public Building Commission, and some Town Council members has centered around
whether the roof replacement is necessary based on current conditions, as
cutting it could reduce the project cost by $2 million.
An argument over duties and obligations of the school
district and the Town Manager dominated the bulk of the nearly two-hour
discussion Monday night, but Town Council members also proposed to explain on
the ballot what other improvements to the Parks and Recreation facility
could be conducted with the bonding if the town determined that the building's
roof did not need replacement.
No date has been set yet for the bond referendum votes, but
municipalities have until Sept. 5 to approve any questions that will appear on
the November election ballot unless otherwise specifically allowed by state
law.