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
