741 Colonel Ledyard Highway

Ledyard, Connecticut 06339

TOWN OF LEDYARD

Water Pollution Control Authority

Meeting Minutes

Chairman

Ed Lynch

Regular Meeting

Tuesday, January 27, 2026

6:30 PM

Council Chambers - Hybrid

CALL TO ORDER

The Regular Meeting was called to order by Chairman Lynch at 6:31 p.m.

II.

ROLL CALL

Board Member Terry Jones

Present

Board Member Sharon Wadecki

Board Member Edmond Lynch

Board Member Stanley Juber

Board Member Monir Tewfik

Alternate Member Tony Capon

Alternate Member James A. Ball

Alternate Member Jeremy Norris

Excused

Late

Also in attendance was Councilor James Thompson as the Authority's Liaison.

Mr. Jones was present via Zoom.

Mr. Norris was present at 6:36 p.m.

III.

APPOINTMENT OF ALTERNATES

Mr. Norris was appointed as a voting member at 6:36 p.m.

IV.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

RESIDENTS & PROPERTY OWNERS COMMENTS

None.

VI.

REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion to APPROVE the Regular Meeting Minutes from December 16, 2025, as written.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Sharon Wadecki

RESULT:

MOVER:

Edmond Lynch

SECONDER:

Jones Wadecki Lynch

AYE

Juber Tewfik Capon Ball

EXCUSED

VII. COMMUNICATIONS AND CORRESPONDENCE

Operations Report.

Chairman Lynch gave a recap of the Groton Utilities meeting he attended on January 22, 2025.

He said the meeting started with verifying the notification procedure for water main breaks and

emergencies. The WPCA members do not need to be notified but dispatch and the Mayors'

Office will be notified. Once the Mayor's Office is notified Steve Masalin, Public Works

Director will be informed. A notice of the break will be posted on the Town's website. Chairman

Lynch said if there is a road closure there would be a notification sent through Everbridge.

"Call before you dig" tickets involving sewer lines will need to be handled by Steve Banks,

WPCA Director, since he has access to all the drawings.

New sewer installations will be the developer's responsibility, but the WPCA will need to

oversee inspections and approve the installations.

There was a total hydrant replacement in Gales Ferry at a cost of $8,000. Chairman Lynch

requested that GU compile an inventory of Ledyard hydrants and their current condition. The

hydrant inventory will be required to build both immediate and long-term replacement plans.

The Thompson Street Project is complete except for replacement of the 10-inch valve which will

not be replaced until spring.

Chairman Lynch said he received communication from a developer who is interested in putting

in an 80 condominiums/apartment unit South of the Sunoco Station on Route 12. Chairman

Lynch told the developer the first step is to coordinate the development of any sewer connections

with Weston & Sampson.

Chairman Lynch shared a list of all the repairs that were completed in the past few years in the

Highlands subdivision. Chairman Lynch said the repairs to Powder Horn Lane and

Meetinghouse Lane were becoming significant. Ms. Wadecki said that Meetinghouse Lane needs

to be a priority, stating that the project will be very expensive, possibly requiring Town bonds.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Service Correspondence.

Chairman Lynch said that an economical solution for determining Cashman water use would be

placing a Sonic Flow meter on the 6-inch line that connects the hydrants. Having meters on these

two hydrants will enable the water usage to be billable. Chairman Lynch is in the process of

obtaining a quote for the meters.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Aged Reports/Finance.

Chairman Lynch said it appears as if the billing side is doing well and had no further comments.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Year to Date Water/Sewer Report.

Mr. Jones said there is an income line in the water budget titled "water miscellaneous" for an

estimated $3,000 which has a YTD of $13,436, and he asked specifically what this line is for.

Ms.Wadecki answered that it is for customers that are tying into the system. Mr. Jones pointed

out that there is also a line for new connections. Chairman Lynch will confirm with the Finance

Department what exactly the water miscellaneous line is for.

ACTION ITEM:

Ask Ian Stammel, Assistant Finance Director, what exactly the water budget titled "water

miscellaneous" is used for.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

PSR - Steve Banks.

Chairman Lynch expressed concern about the blowers dropping out. Steve Banks, WPCA

Supervisor, reported that the blowers are being adjusted. No other comments on the PSR report.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Email communication from Matt Bonin, Finance Director.

Chairman Lynch reported that he had a meeting with Ian Stammel, Assistant Finance Director

and made some clarifications to statements made during the last meeting.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Low Pressure Grinding Pump Specification Sheet.

Chairman Lynch said he added the grinding pump specification sheet to the agenda just to have

it on record. The pump in the specification manual is the one that will be standardized for

connections to the low pressure sewer line.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

VIII. OLD BUSINESS

Status of Lead Survey - Finance and Town Council meeting vote results.

Chairman Lynch gave a brief background, the WPCA authorized the Mayor to focus on Arcadis.

The quote given by Arcadis was for $220,000. Chairman Lynch said the quote details described

work that has been previously completed by Groton Utilities at a cost of approximately

$119,000. He added that the number of unknowns stated by Arcadis (1,2000) was incorrect in

their quote, the actual unknown is less than half of that amount. The As-built drawings for

several of the unknowns were located and are being reviewed by GU. There will be a follow up

meeting in order to determine GU's role in the lead survey completion study.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Draft policy addressing un-metered service leaks.

Chairman Lynch read a portion of Mr. Jones initial draft policy "the homeowner is responsible

for any service line from the curb stop shut off valve to their home". Chairman Lynch said that

meters in the basement are not being metered and the homeowners also need to be informed that

if a leak is discovered between the curb stop and their meter, they would be responsible for

repairs. Mr. Jones agreed and said that Chairman Lynch's thoughts on discovered leaks need to

be married with his initial draft policy. Chairman Lynch shared that Groton Utilities has dealt

with this same issue in the past. Mr. Norris asked if the homeowner could be given the option to

either fix the leak or pay for the meter to be moved. Ms. Wadecki said that is a possible solution.

Mr. Jones will draft a policy to be reviewed and voted on at a later date.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

FY 27 Sewer/Water Budget Work Sheets.

Sewer Budget -

Chairman Lynch said there are some unknowns on the sewer budget. There will be a 1.5%

increase due to medical and a 4% increase was implemented on July 1, 2025. Chairman Lynch

asked Mr. Banks and Mr. Stammel if any further increases need to be made on the sewer budget

and he was told no. Chairman Lynch said that the sewer budget looks ready to approve, he asked

the Commissioners to review the budget and be ready to vote on it during the February meeting.

Water Budget -

Chairman Lynch said the Mayor and the Finance Director have proposed hiring a part time

Technical Administrator. Mr. Jones said he would like the Authority to review the job

description and Chairman Lynch said he would also like the Authority to be involved in the

reviewing of applicant's qualifications. Mr. Jones iterated that the Technical Administrator

would work for the WPCA not the Town.

Chairman Lynch had a meeting with Mr. Stammel and reviewed their discussion with the

Commissioners. Mr. Stammel said the WPCA is losing money and Mr. Stammel recommended

ideally a 15% increase but no less than a 10% increase. The impact of a 15% increase to the

customer would be in the range of an additional $3.00 to $4.00 per month. Mr. Stammel added

that there hasn't been a surplus in five years. Chairman Lynch said the other issue is GU's

increase proposed 4% increase from October to January and a 6% increase after that. The actual

increase in January was 11% not 6%. Gu will have an additional 5% increase in July.

Chairman Lynch said to keep a balanced budget there needs to be an increase of 1.4 million

dollars, which would be approximately a 13% increase.

Mr. Norris asked if the increase could be carried out on an incremental basis. Ms. Wadecki said

the WPCA has tried increments in the past and it didn't work well.

Ms. Wadecki said there would have to be a public hearing. Mr. Norris suggested providing the

rate payers with a billing model.

Chairman Lynch said a 10% increase needs to be put in place. Ms. Wadecki said the WPCA

can't control most of the costs in the budget.

Chairman Lynch said $2,500 a month can be saved by switch to electronic billing. Ms. Wadecki

said electronic billing should be requested but not required.

Ms. Wadecki said charging service fees could help with the budget.

Chairman Lynch said the Commissioners can discuss further the water budget and rate increase

at the next meeting when all the Commissioners are present.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Any Other Old Business to Come Before the Authority.

None.

IX.

NEW BUSINESS

Election of Officers.

Chairman Lynch said he received a letter from Roxanne Maher, Administrative Assistant to the

Town Council for reappointments for Terry Jones, Stan Juber and Jeremy Norris, whose terms

expire on April 11, 2026. Chairman Lynch said if these Commissioners want to stay on the

Authority he would complete their recommendations. Mr. Jones and Mr. Norris confirmed

staying on the WCPA.

Motion to KEEP the current slate of Ed Lynch as Chairman, Sharon Wadecki as

Vice-Chairperson, and Tony Capon as Secretary.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Tony Capon

RESULT:

MOVER:

Sharon Wadecki

SECONDER:

Jones Norris Wadecki Lynch

Juber Tewfik Capon Ball

AYE

EXCUSED

Any Other New Business to Come Before the Authority.

None.

ADJOURNMENT

Motion to ADJOURN the Regular Meeting at 7:48 p.m

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Sharon Wadecki

RESULT:

MOVER:

Edmond Lynch

SECONDER:

Jones Wadecki Lynch

AYE

Juber Tewfik Capon Ball

EXCUSED

DISCLAIMER: Although we try to be timely and accurate these are not official records of the

Town.