741 Colonel Ledyard Highway  
Ledyard, Connecticut 06339  
TOWN OF LEDYARD  
Water Pollution Control Authority  
Meeting Minutes  
Chairman  
Ed Lynch  
Regular Meeting  
Tuesday, September 24, 2024  
6:30 PM  
Council Chambers - Hybrid  
I.  
CALL TO ORDER  
Chairman Lynch called the regular meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.  
II.  
ROLL CALL  
Board Member Terry Jones  
Present  
Board Member Stanley Juber  
Alternate Member Jeremy Norris  
Board Member Monir Tewfik  
Board Member Edmond Lynch  
Alternate Member James A. Ball  
Board Member Sharon Wadecki  
Alternate Member Tony Capon  
Excused  
Also in attendance was April Brunelle, Town Council (via Zoom).  
III.  
IV.  
APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES  
Jim Ball and Jeremy Norris were appointed as voting members.  
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE  
V.  
1.  
RESIDENTS & PROPERTY OWNERS COMMENTS  
Residents and Property Owners.  
Michelle O'Dell 18A Naomi Drive, Ledyard CT.  
Ms. O'Dell said that her tenant at this address reported a problem with the hot water heater. Ms.  
O'Dell said she called a contractor to inspect the hot water heater, but no issues were found. The  
tenant was still complaining that there was no hot water, so Ms. O'Dell called a plumber for a  
second opinion. The plumber found a leak under the mobile home and rectified it immediately.  
When she received the monthly bill it was significantly higher than her usual amount. Ms. O'Dell  
asked the WPCA for relief on her water bill. Chairman Lynch asked how long the leak was  
occurring, she answered approximately four days. Ms. O'Dell called Groton Utilities, and they  
directed her to attend the WPCA meeting. The contact at GU said they would let Chairman  
Lynch know that she would be attending the meeting. Chairman Lynch asked how much the  
billing invoice was, Ms. O'Dell answered $477.00. Chairman Lynch said the struggle is that  
water needs to be paid for and it's tough to have to pass this cost down to ratepayers. Chairman  
Lynch offered to talk to Tina Daniels, Groton Utilities Customer Service General Manager to  
arrange a payment plan. Ms. O'Dell said she likes to pay all her bills on time with no overhead,  
she would rather receive a deduction than a payment plan. Chairman Lynch said that they could  
take off the cost of water that went into the sewer line but since there is septic at that address it  
wouldn't help her situation. Chairman Lynch explained that Capital fund reserved for costs such  
as painting tanks and replacing meters would have to be used to pay for her water. Ms. O'Dell  
agreed that she would not expect other ratepayers to have to pay her bill, she was hoping that the  
WPCA had money set aside for incidents such as this. Chairman Lynch said there is a device  
sold on Amazon for $120.00 that attaches to the water line and will shut off the water flow if it  
senses a leak. Ms. O'Dell said she would speak with Ms. Daniels.  
Mark Lopez, 1026 Long Cove Road.  
Although “1026 Long Cove Road” was added to the agenda under Old Business (# 2), Chairman Lynch  
said Mr. Lopez could speak now instead of waiting until later in the meeting. Mr. Lopez said that GU  
changed his meter stating that his old meter was outdated and put a logger in place to track water  
usage. Since the installment of the new meter Mr. Lopez said the water usage is back down to  
normal usage, which is between 800-5,600 gallons. The latest invoice was 500 gallons compared to  
the previous month of 83,650 gallons. Chairman Lynch asked if the leak was found, Mr. Lopez  
replied "there is no leak". Chairman Lynch asked Mr. Duarte if the meter that was pulled was  
inspected, he answered yes, and that it was found to be 100% in working order. Mr. Duarte added  
that the logger is showing normal usage. Chairman Lynch asked if he is on sewer, Mr. Lopez  
answered no. Mr. Lopez asked if the WPCA would make a relief decision tonight or if he should  
come back next month. Chairman Lynch answered that he would like to keep the logger in place  
longer and review the data log. Mr. Lopez thanked the Authority and said he would return next  
month in October.  
The WPCA discussed possible changes to the rate structure to assist people in these unusually  
high-water usage circumstances. Mr. Ball suggested charging commercial usage in these instances,  
which would be a policy change. It was asked if the WPCA policy changes requires Town Council  
approval, it was answered no. As it stands now, customers pay $2.88 per 100 gallons for usage over  
23,000 gallons, which is almost triple the normal rate. Mr. Ball said that charging the commercial  
rate instead would still cover the costs for the water purchased by the WPCA but would also give the  
customers some relief, the other Commissioners agreed. Chairman Lynch will ask Ms. Daniels to  
calculate costs for these two customers using the commercial rate.  
ACTION ITEMS:  
Ask Ms. Daniels to calculate costs for 18A Naomi Drive and 1026 Long Cove Road using the  
commercial rate.  
Mr. Jones said he would review the current WPCA relief policy.  
VI.  
1.  
REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
Motion to APPROVE Regular Meeting Minutes from August 27, 2024, as written.  
Amend as follows:  
Under Resident and Property Owners:  
The Masonry company is spelled two different ways "Acranom" and "Acronom". The correct  
spelling is "Acranom".  
Under Operations report:  
Change sentence:  
"The water is being tracked from Groton Utilities but not on tracked on the Ledyard side, GU is  
starting to track those areas now"  
to:  
"The water is being tracked from Groton Utilities but not reported to Ledyard. Ledyard is  
starting to track those areas now".  
APPROVED AND SO DECLARED  
Terry Jones  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Edmond Lynch  
SECONDER:  
6
2
Jones Juber Norris Tewfik Lynch Ball  
Wadecki Capon  
AYE  
EXCUSED  
VII. COMMUNICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE  
Operations Report.  
1.  
Chairman Lynch asked about the relocation of the hydrant on Colby Drive. Mr. Duarte confirmed  
that it didn't need to be moved.  
GU assisted a customer on Fox Hollow Road with repairing a leak, on the customer owned  
portion of the water service. The water service had been leaking for some time before being  
noticed by the customer. Mr. Duarte said the leak was approximately three feet away from the  
foundation of the house, the customer was very diligent and quickly completed the necessary  
repairs.  
Chairman Lynch asked about the progress of the repair on Route 12 near the Preston Bridge. Mr.  
Duarte reported that the repair is 95% completed, it passed the pressure test, it's being  
chlorinated, and samples are being collected.  
GU monitoring of the Ledyard Multi use bike path continues, as well as supporting the  
contractor with shut‐offs or mark‐outs needed to move the project along. Assisted with the  
relocation of hydrant #206 at Colonel Ledyard Highway.  
Last month GU scheduled a few shutdowns with all master meter users, to assure all bypass lines  
are holding shut. The shutdown was conducted at their lowest usage, which was late at night.  
DISCUSSED  
RESULT:  
Service Correspondence.  
Aged Reports/Finance.  
2.  
3.  
Chairman Lynch read an email from Ian Stammel, Assistant Finance Director:  
"There are still a number of adjustments that still need to be done before I can provide year end  
reports. I believe all FY24 bills have been paid but the CNR contributions still need to be done,  
Sewer employee benefits need to calculated and pulled out of the general fund and expensed in  
the sewer fund, and fixed assets need to assessed so the annual depreciation amount can be  
booked just to name a few things. All of these should likely be completed by your October  
meeting and I can provide unaudited year end numbers then. Thanks for your patience. It is a  
very busy time of year".  
Year to Date Water/Sewer Report.  
4.  
5.  
PSR - Steve Banks.  
The report did not properly display in the agenda packet. No comments.  
VIII. OLD BUSINESS  
Review of Trail/Sewer line continued - progress report.  
1.  
Chairman Lynch reported the following:  
Steve Masalin, Public Works Director submitted payment for the Gerber April and May  
invoices.  
The engineering is completed on Phase III (High School to Pennywise) and Gerber is currently  
estimating the cost. The WPCA should receive the estimate soon. The ARPA cutoff is on  
December 31, 2024.  
DISCUSSED  
RESULT:  
Lead Survey Review and Grant Submittal - update.  
2.  
Chairman Lynch said that the DPH approved the WPCA's application. There is a public hearing on  
September 25, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. which Chairman Lynch registered to attend. The grant would  
cover 25% to 50% of the cost. Chairman Lynch will also meet with GU regarding the grant. GU  
must submit the final plan to the DPH by the end of October.  
DISCUSSED  
RESULT:  
Lakeside Association Agreement.  
Review any quote received to date.  
3.  
4.  
No update. Still waiting on a cost estimate.  
1026 Long Cove Road.  
Discussed previously under agenda item "Residents and Property Owners".  
DISCUSSED  
RESULT:  
Any Other Old Business to Come Before the Commission.  
None.  
5.  
IX.  
NEW BUSINESS  
Emergency Plan status from Groton Utilities.  
1.  
2.  
Department of Public Health Grant.  
Chairman Lynch will have more information after the public hearing on September 25, 2025.  
DISCUSSED  
RESULT:  
New Gerber Installation estimate - Phase III.  
3.  
4.  
Chairman Lynch hopes to have this information soon.  
DISCUSSED  
RESULT:  
Any Other New Business to Come Before the Commission.  
Motion to APPROVE payment to Groton Utilities invoice #0024239, dated August 30, 2024, in  
the amount of $5,441.62 for lead inventory.  
Chairman Lynch said the push is to submit the plan to the State by the end of October.  
APPROVED AND SO DECLARED  
Edmond Lynch  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Stanley Juber  
SECONDER:  
6
2
Jones Juber Norris Tewfik Lynch Ball  
Wadecki Capon  
AYE  
EXCUSED  
Motion to APPROVE payment to Weston & Samson invoice #9240160, dated September 17,  
2024, in the amount of $66,125.00 for Professional Services through August 23, 2024.  
Chairman Lynch explained that this invoice is for the design completion for Phase III which will  
then allow Gerber to complete an estimate.  
APPROVED AND SO DECLARED  
Edmond Lynch  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Stanley Juber  
SECONDER:  
6
2
Jones Juber Norris Tewfik Lynch Ball  
Wadecki Capon  
AYE  
EXCUSED  
X.  
ADJOURNMENT  
Motion to ADJOURN the Regular Meeting at 7:35 p.m.  
APPROVED AND SO DECLARED  
Edmond Lynch  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Stanley Juber  
SECONDER:  
6
2
Jones Juber Norris Tewfik Lynch Ball  
Wadecki Capon  
AYE  
EXCUSED  
DISCLAIMER: Although we try to be timely and accurate these are not official records of the  
Town.