Connecticut River Estuary Regional Planning Agency

Minutes

December 1, 2008

 

Attendance:

Chester:                Sally Murray

Clinton:                 ------

Deep River:          Rob Wylie

Essex:                   Bob Laundy

Killingworth:        Jere Adametz, Pat Smulders

Lyme:                   Ning Rich, Frank Skwarek

Old Lyme:            Jane Marsh

Old Saybrook:      Dick Tietjen, Karen Jo Marcolini                                                                                                        

Westbrook

Staff:                     Linda Krause, Torrance Downes, Jean Davies, Janice Ehle-Meyer

                              Dorothy Papp       

Guests:                  Joe Wollack, CPA, LBWR&G

                             Carla Iezzi, ConnDot

                       

I.            The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Chairman Edgerton immediately after the CRERPA holiday gathering.  Bob Laundy, Essex Planning representative, was introduced to the Board by the Chairman.  A roll call ensued.

 

II.   Minutes 

          Chairman Edgerton asked for a motion to approve the minutes of October 6th.  Ning Rich made the motion to approve and Jere Adametz seconded the motion.  All were in favor.                              Karen Marcolini made the motion to approve the minutes of November 3rd. Ning Rich seconded the motion.  All were in favor.                               

 

III.          Correspondence:  There was no correspondence

 

IV.          Audit Report:  Joe Wollack, CPA, presented the Financial Statements and Supplementary Information Report to the Board.  Joe also distributed two letters to the board; one outlining his firm’s responsibility concerning the statements, and the other addressing internal controls at the Agency.  He proceeded to discuss the contents of the report and urged each member of the Board to read it in depth.  If any questions should arise, he asked that the Board members call him directly.  He noted two cursory issues, a timing issue and an insurance company billing issue.  Both items have been resolved. A discussion of the report followed.

      Motion to accept the Audit Report was made by Ning Rich and seconded by Sally Murray.  All were in favor.        

 

V.   Treasurer’s Report:  There was no Treasurer’s report.

             Linda noted that the Treasurer was having surgery, and Dorothy had just returned from  vacation.

            Linda reviewed the budget request process made to the towns for 2009 and explained how the assessments were determined.  She asked that the next assessments be made with the 2007 population figures and that each town’s per capita remains the same.

        Sally Murray made the motion to accept and Karen Marcolini seconded the motion.  All were in favor.    

 

VI. Transportation Matters   

       Certification Review: Linda reported that the Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration review was held on November 18th..  This all-day review was conducted at CRERPA Headquarters. The purpose of the review, which is held every four years, is to make certain that compliance with federal transportation planning requirements are met.

        Linda explained to the FHA how CRERPA is different from the other RPA’s.  She also described the past issues with the ETD and is hopeful a resolution is imminent.

        Kim Morton, interim Executive Director, of the ETD spoke at the review.

       Bill Peace, Old Saybrook Selectman and previous DOT engineer, did an exceptional job reporting on why we don’t use Federal funds.  He stated that the system isn’t working. He noted the recent completion of the North Main Street road extension undertaken by the town of Old Saybrook, adding 20+ parking spaces to the commuter lot at the train station. The project was completed in a timely manner for a fraction of the money that DOT earmarked for the project.

      Selectmen Phil Miller, Tim Griswold, Ralph Eno and Rich Cabral also spoke about the frustration and reiterated similar issues to the one Bill mentioned. They expressed their frustration with the delays in dealing with DOT and FHA issues.

      Linda commended the entire staff on doing an outstanding job in handling the all-day review.

       Linda attended a similar meeting at SCROG in New Haven on the 20th.

      ETD:  There has been no announcement regarding the new executive director for ETD.  Linda said that a management firm has been hired and that the present interim Director will be staying on thru January.

 

VII.   Staff Report:  Linda reported several members of the staff have been sick.

 

  VIII Referrals

Killingworth: Proposal:  Zoning Regulation:  Retirement housing subdivision (Age 55 years and over).  Purpose:  Preservation of rural character and water supply while providing for over 55 developments. Proposed regulation permits variation of conventional subdivisions to provide for over 55 housing while promoting open space.

              A discussion period commenced. Jane Marsh noted that there is a minimal frontage requirement for this project and further suggested that in bad economic times it might be more suitable to develop a subdivision rather than a 55 and older project.

              Marsh made the motion that the staff of CRERPA work with the Killingworth Zoning Commission and Cathy Jefferson on the proposal.  The motion was seconded by Frank Skwarek.  Jere Adametz recused himself from the vote.  All others were in favor.

 

IX. Old Business: 

 

      1. Regional Plan.  There will be upcoming meetings to discuss the Plan on December 16th in    Westbrook and on January 27th in Old Saybrook.  Each town will be sent information on   the proposed meetings.

      2. Any Other Item:

            Janice reported on the status of the collections stating that the November 8th electronics    collection was the largest one yet.  HHW had 14 collections and is now approaching a      higher count per collection.  She further stated that a new contract will be negotiated and            that several maintenance items are being addressed.

            Several board members inquired about advertising of the dates of the collections. All        dates are on the CRERPA web page.        

Other Old Business:

      Gateway Commission: Torrance showed an aerial view of the Ofinoski property and reported that the Gateway Commission has agreed to donate fifty thousand dollars towards the purchase of the property. $1million is the asking price for the property.  He said that a grant from the DEP was received for $484,000. The property is in Chester and would be used for passive recreation.

      The Gateway Commission held a workshop on wind turbines.  The purpose of the workshop was to explain how wind turbines work.  Existing regulations might have to be tweaked; however, most of Connecticut is not suitable for the turbines. Gateway will continue to follow up.

      CRVCEO:  This organization is comprised of the 17 towns in the Connecticut River Valley.  Phil Miller, First Selectman in Essex, is the Chair.  The next meeting is on January 28th in the newly renovated Old Lyme Town Hall and will address the concerns of the selectmen such as the function and purpose of the organization. Linda will be facilitator at this meeting.  Another subject to be discussed is regionalism.

        In February, the Deputy Commissioner of the DEP will talk.  There is a great deal of pressure to do more on a regional basis. 

 

VIII. Adjournment

        Motion to adjourn was made by Ning Rich and seconded by Bob Laundy.  All were in favor.

        The meeting was adjourned by unanimous vote at 9:40 p.m.

 

 Respectfully Submitted,

 

 Pat Anthony

 CRERPA Staff