741 Colonel Ledyard Highway

Ledyard, Connecticut 06339-1551

(860) 464-3203

TOWN OF LEDYARD

Town Council

council@ledyardct.org

Meeting Minutes

Chairman Kevin J.

Dombrowski

Regular Meeting

Wednesday, May 10, 2023

7:00 PM

Town Hall Council Chambers

In-Person: Council Chambers Town Hall Annex

Remote: Information noted below:

Join Zoom Meeting from your Computer, Smart Phone or Tablet:

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Only: Telephone: +1 646 558 8656; Meeting ID: 894 2650 6456; Passcode: 773602

CALL TO ORDER

IC.hairman Dombrowski called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. at the Council Chambers,

Town Hall Annex Building.

Chairman Dombrowski welcomed all to the Hybrid Meeting. He stated for the members

of the Town Council and the Public who were participating via video conference that the

remote meeting information was available on the Agenda that was posted on the Town’s

Website - Granicus-Legistar Meeting Portal.

II.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

ROLL CALL

III.

Chairman Kevin Dombrowski

Councilor Bill Saums

Present:

Councilor Andra Ingalls

Councilor Gary Paul

Councilor Mary K. McGrattan

Councilor S. Naomi Rodriguez

Councilor Whit Irwin

Councilor John Marshall

Councilor Tim Ryan

Excused:

IV.

PRESENTATIONS

None.

RESIDENT & PROPERTY OWNERS (COMMENTS LIMITED TO THREE (3)

MINUTES

None.

VI.

COMMITTEE COMMISSION AND BOARD REPORTS

None.

VII. COMMENTS OF TOWN COUNCILORS

Councilor Paul thanked Resident Ms. Hilary Evans for her donation of two VIP Taylor Swift

Concert Tickets to the Ledyard Music Boosters to auction off as a fundraiser. He stated the

tickets were $5.00 and that people could purchase the tickets at LedyardMusic.com and

following the on-line instructions. He stated the Drawing would be held on May 17, 2023 at

5:55 p.m. for the May 20, 2023 Concert that will held at Gillet Stadium. He stated as of 8:00

a.m. this morning they have raised $13,000. He stated during her time in Ledyard Ms. Evans

has been an active member of the community volunteering her time to serve on the Planning

& Zoning Commission, the Ledyard Housing Authority and on the Conservation

Commission. He stated Ms. Evans wanted to do something inspiring and helpful for the

community before leaving Ledyard this June to return back to her home state of Tennessee.

He again thanked Ms. Evans for her very generous donation and for her service to the town,

and he wished her a safe and healthy move back home.

Ms. Evans thanked Councilor Paul for mentioning the Taylor Swift Concert Tickets

Fundraiser for the Music Boosters. She noted that there was still seven-days left before the

raffle is called. She stated that she enjoyed volunteering to serve the town and she thanked

Administrative Assistant Roxanne Maher for the support she provided to the town’s

volunteers.

VIII. REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

MOTION to approve the Town Council Regular Meeting Minutes of April 26, 2023.

Moved by Councilor Irwin, seconded by Councilor Rodriguez

VOTE: 7- 0 Approved and so declared

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Whit Irwin

RESULT:

MOVER:

S. Naomi Rodriguez

SECONDER:

Dombrowski, Saums, Ingalls, Paul, McGrattan, Rodriguez, and Irwin

Marshall, and Ryan

AYE:

EXCUSED:

IX.

COMMUNICATIONS

Communications List May 10, 2023

Chairman Dombrowski stated a Communications List has been provided. He noted there

were no referrals listed.

REFERALS

XI.

COUNCIL SUB COMMITTEE, LIAISON REPORTS

Administration Committee

.1.

Councilor Ingalls stated the Administration Committee met earlier this evening and

forwarded the following items to the Town Council for action at the May 24, 2023 meeting:

(1) Reappointment to the Housing Authority; and (2) Updated Job Description for the

Director of Parks, Recreation and Senior Citizens Department.

RESULT:

Community Relations Committee

.2.

.3.

Councilor Paul stated the Community Relations Committee has not met since the last Town

Council meeting. He noted the Committee would be meeting on May 17, 2023 and he

welcomed residents to attend.

RESULT:

Finance Committee

Councilor Saums stated the Finance Committee met on May 3, 2023 and he noted in

addition to the one item on tonight’s Agenda that the Committee also discussed the

following: (1) American Rescue Plan Act Funding (ARPA) - Councilor Saums noted that

Finance Director Matthew Bonin explained that according to ARPA rules, the Federal

Treasury definition of “Obligated Funds” meant “An order has been placed for property

and services, or contracts, or some awards were made”. He stated just saying that the funds

were going to be used for a particular project, was not considered “Obligated” and that it did

not meet the Treasury’s definition. He stated for the funds to be obligated the town had to

have contracts or purchase orders in place; (2) ARPA Projects List Review - The Finance

Committee discussed an updated ARPA Projects List provided by Finance Director Matthew

Bonin, and noted that of the $4.3 million received, $1.1 million has been spent on 13

completed projects with $30,000 left over to be reallocated to other projects. The Committee

also noted that there were now 15 projects in progress, and only 9 not started yet; (3) Board

of Education Roof Projects - The Finance Committee took no action on the request for a bid

waiver to STV Construction for the oversight of the school roof project, because the

Permanent Municipal Building Committee (PMBC) planned to start the bid process over

again. The Committee removed the Bid Waiver Request from its agenda until new bids were

received; (4) Nip Bottle Surcharge Revenue - Public Act No.21-58 “An Act Concerning

Solid Waste Management” - “Resolution Regarding Revenues Received from Beverage

Container Surcharges - The Finance Committee continued to discuss the $13,048.20

Ledyard received from the State’s Nip Bottle Surcharge, noting that the $13,048.20 equated

to approximately 260,964 nip bottles, or 17 nips bottles per resident per day sold in Ledyard

during the past six-months. Councilor Saums noted that during the recent Earth Day cleanup,

the Vajdos family collected over 500 nip bottles from one section of one road in Ledyard. He

stated Councilor Ingalls has initiated communication with the Ledyard Beautification

Committee to organize another roadside cleanup in November, and to collect nip bottles for

delivery to Hartford to shine a light on this failed piece of legislation; (5) Fiscal Year

2023/2024 Budget - The Annual Town Meeting regarding the proposed Budget would be

held on Monday, May 15, 2023 at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, and would adjourned

to a Referendum on the voting machines the following day (Tuesday, May 16, 2023). All

polling locations would be voting at the Council Chambers, Town Hall Annex; (6)

Remembrance of Conor Irwin - The Finance Committee, the Mayor, and the Finance

Director wore green in memory of Conor Irwin, who would have turned 21 years old on May

3, 2023.

RESULT:

Land Use/Planning/Public Works Committee

.4.

Councilor Paul stated the LUPPW Committee met on May 1, 2023 and continued their work to

update the List of Administrative Control of Town-Owned and Town-Leased Property. He stated

the Committee hoped to complete their work within the next month to forward to the Town

Council for action.

RESULT:

Economic Development Commission

Councilor Paul stated the EDC met on May 2, 2023 and he noted that they were getting the

Businesses together to begin to shoot footage on June 14, 2023 for the Marketing Video.

Councilor Ingalls questioned whether the Marketing Video the EDC was producing would

include town events such as capturing the Farmers’ Market. Councilor Paul stated the video

would have six-segments that would cover an array of things such as businesses and events, etc.

XII. REPORT OF THE MAYOR

REPORT OF THE MAYOR:

Mayor Allyn, III, reported on the following: (1) Public Act No. 21-58 “An Act Concerning

Solid Waste Management” - “Resolution Regarding Revenues Received from Beverage

Container Surcharges” - Nip Bottle Surcharge Disbursement - Mayor Allyn stated that

there was a plan to take the Nip Bottles to the Capital in Hartford for the next Legislative

Session. He stated he would share this Plan with Southeastern Connecticut Council of

Governments (SCCOG) at their May 24, 2023 meeting to obtain regional support. He

stated they would like to bring a tremendous number of bags full of Nip Bottles to

Hartford to show the impact just in Southeastern Connecticut; (2) Senate Bill 1242 “Solid

Waste Management Disposal” - Mayor Allyn stated Southeastern Connecticut Council of

Governments (SCCOG) has created a Solid Waste Task Force, noting that he would be

serving as the Chairman. He stated the objective was to develop a Plan for waste

products such as Organics, Plastics, Extended Producers Responsibility (EPR) for certain

packaging such as Vacuum Packaging, and Energy Opportunities. He stated that SCCOG

believed that Trash to Energy has a place in all of this, especially with the State looking

to annually haul 800,000 - 900,000 tons of waste out of Connecticut to landfills in different

states such as Pennsylvania and Ohio, etc., noting that this was not a solution. He stated as

Chairman of the Solid Waste Task Force that his role would include interfacing with the

State, Connecticut Conference of Municipalities (CCM), and Southeastern Regional

Resource Recovery Authority (SCRRRA) to produce a Report at the end of November,

2023; (3) Eversource Emergency Response Planning Meeting - Mayor Allyn stated he

attended the Annual Meeting which was held in preparation for Hurricane Season. He stated

Eversource was doing a good job to prepare in the event of a hurricane, noting they have

brough back the “Make Safe Plan of Action” which involved sending out Tree Crews with

Lineman Crews to cut clear trees from the power lines and to keep moving; (4) Connecticut

Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) Housing Plan - Mayor Allyn stated he attended the

CHFA Housing Plan Presentation. He stated the Report included a link where residents

could provide comments regarding the Housing Plan which included the Affordable Housing

Action Items. He stated that he that he would forward the Report to the Town Council

Office, noting that the. Public Comment Period was open until May 22, 2023; (5) Kings

Corner Manor Senior Housing Facility Improvement Project - Mayor Allyn stated he

attended a meeting on May 4, 2023 at the Kings Corner Manor with Housing Director

Colleen Lauer and the Contractors to review a potential Change Order at the Facility. He

stated because it was a small issue, that rather than have the Senior Housing Authority

absorb the $20,000 cost for the Change Order, that the Public Works Department would do

the job. He stated by the Public Works Department taking on the small Change Order that it

would not take funding away from the construction work that they wanted to accomplish at

the Senior Housing Facility. He stated because the Senior Housing Authority was a

stand-alone agency and was not an agency of the town they typically do not get involved.

However, he stated in this case it was important to the residents that they were able to have

the work that was planned/anticipated completed; (6) Zoning Enforcement Officer - Mayor

Allyn stated the new Zoning Enforcement Officer Mr. Alex Samalot began on May 1, 2023.

He stated Mr. Samalot was currently enrolled in the Connecticut Association of Zoning

Enforcement (CAZEO) Certification Program. He stated because he was not already

CAZEO Certified that he would be working under the guidance of Land Use Director Juliet

Hodge. He stated Ms. Samalot has begun to take on the List of the Blighted Properties and

Junk/Unregistered motor vehicle cases; (7) Connecticut Conference of Municipalities

(CCM) Legislative Meeting - Mayor Allyn stated today he attended the CCM Legislative

Meeting noting the following: (a) State Budget negotiations were underway, with

28-days remaining in the Legislative Session. Both the Governor’s Budget and the

Democrats Budget were flat funded. He stated the Republican provided a Budget for the

first time in a long time which included a substantial increase in Education Cost Sharing

(ECS) Funding. He stated that he has complained to the State Legislature that Flat

Funding to Municipalities during an inflationary environment, such as what we were

currently experiencing, was not actually Flat Funded; (b) Early Voting Bill - Mayor

Allyn explained the House approved an Early Voting Bill that included the following:

14-Days of advanced Early Voting for General Elections; 7-Days advanced Early Voting for

Local and Congressional Primary Elections; 4-Days advanced Early Voting for Presidential

Primaries and Special Elections. Mayor Allyn stated there would be No Early Voting for

Budget and Town Referendums, noting that this was good news explaining that based on

Ledyard’s Town Charter pertaining to their local budget process, that they could not make

early voting happen. He stated the State has set aside $8 Million to fund the entire State for

the 2-weeks of Early Voting. He explained Municipal Registrars and Town Clerks were

required to prepare and submit to the State a budget showing how many Poll Workers

would be working during the Early Voting Days (including Saturdays & Sundays); (c)

Changes to Auto Assessments - Mayor Allyn explained the Legislature was looking to use

the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) and then a straight-line deprecation after

that. However, he stated they realized those numbers would not work and that they were now

looking to start off at 90% of MSRP and then a straight-line depreciation year after year and

doing away with the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Book Value; (d)

Legal Notice Bill - Mayor Allyn stated the Legal Notice Bill came out of Committee Joint

Favorable and was still on track; (e) Reduce Interest Rate on Delinquent Taxes - Mayor

Allyn stated currently the Interest Rate of Delinquent Taxes was set a 18% annually (1.5%

per month). The Legislature was considering reducing that to 12% annually (1% per month;

(f) Housing Bills included a Fair Share Plan which would require a percentage of Affordable

Housing in Every Town - Mayor Allyn stated under this Bill that if the town did not meet the

percentage requirement that they would be required to pay up front for the construction of

Affordable Housing, noting that Municipalities did not want to be in the construction

business; (g) Raised Bill 1213 “Reformulation of the Pequot Fund” - Mayor Allyn stated this

current year represented the single lowest year of the Pequot Funding distribution. He

explained that the State was only distributing about 15% of the money collected to

Municipalities and that the State was retaining the remaining 85%. He stated Senator Cathy

Osten’s proposed Raised Bill 1213 would flip the percentage of the distribution to provide

85% of the Pequot Funding to the Municipalities and the State would retain the remaining

15%. He stated per the proposed Bill that the percentage distribution could only be changed

in the case of extreme fiscal duress for the State. He stated that he hoped the Bill would be

approved and that he appreciated the work Senator Osten has done; (h) House Bill 5917 -

Automated Traffic Enforcement associated with School Zones, Pedestrian Zones and Traffic

Lights - Mayor Allyn explained that this would involve the use of radar detectors and

cameras to automatically generate an Infraction and mail it to the Registered Vehicle Owner;

(8) Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) Program - Mayor Allyn stated today

the Town received a notice from the DOT regarding Federal Traffic Safety Funding. He

stated the Report provided data for the four-year period of 2018- 2022 as follows: Montville

4 Fatal Accidents; East Lyme 5 Fatal Accidents; Preston 5 Fatal Accidents; Waterford 5

Fatal Accidents; Ledyard 8 Fatal Accidents; North Stonington 11 Fatal Accidents;

Stonington 14 Fatal Accidents; Colchester 15 Fatal Accidents. He stated this data was not

unlike what was happening throughout the State. He stated he met with Police Chief Rich

today to talk about directing some of the Federal Traffic Safety funding toward some of

enforcement, noting that people were driving under the influence, driving faster, driving

more reckless, and driving distracted.

Questions to the Mayor -

Councilor Ingalls addressed the Federal Traffic Safety Funding and she questioned whether

the Report provided any data for the four years prior to 2018 to see if the numbers were

increasing. Mayor Allyn stated that the Report did not provide any data prior to 2018, but

that DOT Commissioner Garrett T. Eucalitto stated that all the statics were climbing due

to more distracted driving, faster driving, less consideration for other drivers, and driving

in neighborhoods. Mayor Allyn stated recently Ledyard had someone driving 65-miles

per hour in a residential neighborhood.

The Town Council and Mayor Allyn discussed Traffic Safety noting that people were

blatantly violating motor vehicle laws by being on their phones, not stopping at stop

signs or stopping at traffic lights before making the “Right on Red”, driving excessively

fast, etc.

Chairman Dombrowski stated since the horrific April 21, 2023 Gold Star Bridge fatal

accident that there have been two fatal accidents on Buddington Road noting that both

the accidents were head on collisions because the people were driving on the wrong side

of the road.

RESULT:

XIII. OLD BUSINESS

None

XIV. NEW BUSINESS

Finance Committee

MOTION to appropriate $9,500 to Account #21020301-57300-G0015 (Fire Marshall - New

Equipment - State Grant).

In addition, authorize the expenditure of up to $9,500 for the purchase of three 800 MHz radios

for Emergency Management.

The funding source for this project is the Town of Ledyard’s FY 2023 Nuclear Safety

Emergency Program Funding Allocation (2023-47).

Moved by Councilor Saums, seconded by Councilor Ingalls

Discussion: Councilor Saums stated the town has already applied for and received this Nuclear

Safety grant funding. He stated tonight’s action was to appropriate and authorize the spending of

the grant funding to purchase three 800 MHz radios for Emergency Management.

Mayor Allyn, III, explained that the State was moving to the 800 MHz radios (Tri-BAN), which

would allow everyone in the state to communicate with each other. He stated this project has

been in-process for about ten-years. He stated Director of Emergency Management Jim Mann

has received approval from DEMIS Region 4 to use these funds to purchase the radios.

VOTE: 7 - 0 Approved and so declared

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Bill Saums

RESULT:

MOVER:

Andra Ingalls

SECONDER:

Dombrowski, Saums, Ingalls, Paul, McGrattan, Rodriguez, and Irwin

Marshall, and Ryan

AYE:

EXCUSED:

General Business

Discuss Work Session Items as time permits.

None.

XV. ADJOURNMENT