CONNECTICUT RIVER ESTUARY REGIONAL PLANNING AGENCY

Minutes

May 5, 2010

Attendees:

Jere Adametz, Killingworth

Lee Bridgewater, Westbrook

Robert Laundy, Essex

Jane Marsh, Old Lyme

Sally Murray, Chester

William Neale, Westbrook

Ning Rich, Lyme

Richard Tietjen, Old Saybrook

Stephanie Warren, Killingworth

Rob Wylie, Deep River

CRERPA: Linda Krause, Dorothy Papp, Pat Anthony

1. Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Vice Chairman Jane Marsh at CRERPA Headquarters, Old Saybrook CT.

2. Approval of Minutes: Motion to approve the April minutes was made by Ning Rich and seconded by Rob Wylie. All were in favor

3. Budget: Dorothy reviewed the cash flow report and the receivables. After a brief discussion Jane made the motion to accept the report as presented, seconded by Bill Neale. All were in favor.

2010-11 Proposed Budget: Dorothy explained the difficulty in preparing due to the uncertainty of funding. Linda explained that last Friday Sen. Genuario said there would be $150,000 available for the regional planning agencies. CRERPA is expecting a check for $14,000, which would be our share of the $150,000. There is a proposed bill for a hotel tax increase in order to get additional revenue. This bill has passed the House, but not the Senate. As of January 2011, 3% will be added to the hotel tax, 1/3 would go to the municipalities paying the taxes and 2/3 would go into the regional hotel account to be distributed to the regional planning agencies in the State. The projected amount to CRERPA for first year would be $111,000, and the second year, $222,000.

Town dues will stay at current levels. ESF grant money was expected this year but we’ve received only a few thousand dollars. The MOU has now been signed and we anticipate receiving $77,000 over the next two years.

DEMHS: CRERPA has been designated as the lead agency for REPT. $150,000 over a two-year period is expected.

A budget of $66,000 has been proposed for a Boat Counting Grant, but it has not yet been approved. An estimated six part time employees will be hired to count boats at key locations based on precise criteria.

The Gateway Commission will no longer be funding Tidewater Institute through CRERPA.

Transportation: The State has not made the determination that the MPO will receive $232,320; however we are expecting this funding will be approved.

Torrance is following up on the Natural Hazards Mitigation grant application, and we expect to hear from the State shortly.

Other grant possibilities are being explored; one is a forestry grant which would come from the Dept. of Agriculture as well as a small grant from RC&D.

On the expense side there is a proposed increase in salaries of 4%. There is a rumor that the building has been sold. CRERPA’s lease is up in November. Linda had been hoping to extend the lease by one year while the status of regional boundaries was studied.

On the expenditure side, personnel costs are the biggest item. If new programs are started, there will be a need for additional employees. Both the boat counting and administration of DEMHS Region 2 will require new people. Other expenditures are not significantly increased in the proposed budget.

It was agreed to revisit the budget at the June meeting to see if more information is available by that time.

4. Correspondence:

Linda distributed two memos that she asked the Board members to review. Each was addressed to OPM Secretary Robert Genuario. One memorandum was on the subject of meeting the criteria for redesignation of planning regions by the OPM Secretary (Connecticut General Statute’s 16a-4ca). The other memorandum was a request for assistance and approval in combining planning regions. The memos will go out to the chief elected officials of the seventeen town CRVCEO for comments before being sent on to OPM.

Linda mentioned that she has been asked to be a speaker at an upcoming Rockfall symposium in October. The topic is regional character.

She also discussed the proposed land swap made by Steve Rocco in Haddam. Much correspondence has been received by CRERPA concerning the swap. There are two days left to see if this proposal is approved. Senator Daily introduced the legislation for the swap.

5. Staff Report: At the request of Ralph Eno, Torrance is working as zoning officer on a limited basis for the Town of Lyme. He is filling in for the regular zoning officer who has a conflict of interest on this application.

6. Committees/Liaisons:

Referrals: Durham: Application made by Durham P&Z. New section to replace existing section. Proposal allows for more control of home occupations. Specific prohibitions were included. Torrance suggested that the controls on home occupations over existing regulations would be more protective to Killingworth.

Deep River: Application of Kevin Strain dba Long Wolf Raceway for a commercial go-cart raceway, proposed as a special exception use in R-80 districts by special exceptions as sited. Concerns: No standard for limiting lighting impact and description of operation as it relates to potential ground/surface water contamination. Members observed that the 300 foot buffer to residential property would not attenuate potential noise. While go-carts can be made less noisy, the noise is generally part of the driving experience.

Sally Murray made the motion that CRERPA not support the changes as written. Lee Bridgewater seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Old Saybrook: Applicant is River Sound Development, aka “The Preserve”. Proposal is to suspend the one year filing deadline for final subdivision plans while appeals of related decisions are pending, including decision of the Old Saybrook IWWC. It was noted that the appeal period could be extended almost indefinitely, by new appeals. The text refers to “related decisions”, with no definition of “related”. Circumstances in an area can change over time, and new factors may affect a subdivision design. The applicant will have the benefit of the approval, but will not be assessed for individual lots, not will a bond for improvements need to be posted. Bill Neale made the motion that it had a negative intermunicipal impact, by freezing a decision in time, while not allowing for new circumstances. Ning Rich seconded the motion. All were in favor.

Jane Marsh made the motion to accept the Durham application for more control of home occupations as it had no negative municipal impact. Sally Murray seconded the motion. All were in favor.

7. Business:

Any other item: Sally Murray made the motion to appoint Joe Wollack as the CRERPA auditor for the current fiscal year. Ning Rich seconded the motion. All were in favor.

8. New Business:

Vice Chairman Marsh extended the appreciation of the CRERPA Board to Frank Skwarek for his many years of devoted service. It was recommended that a small token of gratitude be given to Frank. Jane made the motion that Linda handle the selection of a suitable gift. Jere seconded the motion. All were in favor.

9. Adjournment: Motion to adjourn was made by Bill Neale and seconded by Lee Bridgewater. All were in favor. The meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Pat Anthony, Clerk