741 Colonel Ledyard Highway

Ledyard, Connecticut 06339

TOWN OF LEDYARD

Historic District Commission

Meeting Minutes

Chairman Ty Lamb

Regular Meeting

Monday, April 15, 2024

7:00 PM

Town Hall Annex -Hybrid Format

CALL TO ORDER

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Lamb at 7:00 p.m.

This meeting was not recorded due to technical difficulties.

II.

ROLL CALL

Commissioner William Barnes

Commissioner Douglas Kelley

Chairman Ty Lamb

Present

Commissioner Kelly Lamb

Alternate Member Karen Parkinson

Commissioner Ammie Chittim

Excused

Alternate Member Vincent Godino

Alternate Member Kenneth Geer

Non-voting

Steve Martic, Agricultural Commissioner was also present.

III.

IV.

APPOINTMENTS OF ALTERNATES

Karen Parkinson was appointed as a voting member for the meeting.

RESIDENTS AND PROPERTY OWNERS

None.

REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Motion to APPROVE Regular Meeting Minutes from March 18, 2024, as written.

Approved as amended:

Switch Karen Parkinson and Kelly Lamb titles.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

William Barnes

RESULT:

MOVER:

Douglas Kelley

SECONDER:

Barnes Kelley Lamb Lamb Parkinson

Chittim

AYE

EXCUSED

VI.

TOWN COUNCIL LIAISON REPORT

Town Council Liaison - Councilor Tim Ryan.

Tim Ryan, Town Councilor was attending the Town Public Hearing Budget.

VII. CHAIRMAN REPORT

General Report.

Mr. Geer participated in the One Room Schoolhouse visit with teachers and students. The

students learned what an outhouse was, they asked very good questions. Ed Lamb was there to

tell the students that he was part of the one room schoolhouse on Lambtown Road.

Great start to the various construction projects.

Strategic plans - Continue to work with volunteers and with visions of where to go in 2024.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Financial Reports.

Chairman Lamb discussed current balances for the following accounts:

Sawmill Donation Account - No changes since last month.

ARPA - $37,000.00 remaining.

NLH Donation Account - YTD report 4-04-24 distributions are included.

VIII. CORRESPONDENCE

None this month.

IX.

COMMITTEE REPORTS

Sawmill Committee - Mr. Barnes.

Sawmill race work that was contracted has started. Mr. Geer’s work was described as excellent,

there should be no issues for many years to come. Photographs were shared with social media to

show progress.

Water is getting inside the Sawmill.

Need discussions as to whether a permit with the State is needed. The Sawmill is a Registered

Dam.

Closing the pen stock, lining of the pen stock discussions are tomorrow. Need to have an RFP to

continue. Failure of the pipe was the top priority. There are two vendors regarding the

engineering of the repair. Mr. Godino suggested hiring the company who alerted the

Commission regarding the dam safety to assist in writing the RFP.

Possibly use ARPA funds if the project is too extensive and/or takes too long.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Nathan Lester House - Mr. Kelley.

Work on the East side of the NLH will begin imminently, following a full review with the

chosen contractor, Quiet Corner Restoration.

The current state of the building has been documented. Removal of the collection from the area

of the work indoors is complete. A section of the barn is available for short-term storage of

construction equipment if needed.

An Application for a Certificate of Appropriateness has been prepared in advance of proposed

addition to new exterior doors to the front of the barn.

Proposed Work:

Add Functional Doors to barn opening facing drive in keeping with traditional style,

construction, and appropriate function. This addition is requested due to:

Secure grounds keeping equipment which is visible and accessible to the public.

Prevent weather damage to said equipment and interior of barn.

Present a tidier appearance in keeping with historic and public property by providing the ability

to hide away modern equipment and refuge Bins.

Mr. Godino asked if Matt Frederick, Quiet Corner contacted Mr. Kelly. Mr. Godino was able to

confirm that the project will be started on Wednesday, April 16, 2024.

Calendar of events - Chairman Lamb asked if the events could be made more public. Sharon

Finlayson, Nathan Lester House Caretaker is the holder of the calendar.

Ledyard event magazine - Ms. Parkinson asked if the Historic Commission put any information

in the town magazine? Possibly advertise the summer hours of the Sawmill and the Nathan

Lester House sites.

Weston History and Culture Center - Chairman Lamb suggested that Mr. Kelly visits the

Center's website to pick a date (a weekend date would be best) to visit.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Research/Preservation - Ammie Chittim.

The pollinator garden excavation will begin soon. The outlining is being set up. Ms. Erikson has

a plan of grafting some apple trees. She may be reaching out to Ms. Parkinson for more

information.

Ms. Parkinson is the point of contact for the Site walk. Roadmap to transfer.

Ms. Parkinson has reached out to CT Preservation and attended a walk with the previous Land

Use Committee. Weather was an issue because of mud and flooded areas. Need to arrange

another site walk with the new Land Use Committee members. Ms. Parkinson will reach out to

Roxanne Mayer, Administrative Assistant to the Town Council to schedule a date and time.

Asking for volunteers to assist in a spring clean-up.

Ms. Parkinson rerouted the trail and moved the bog bridge because of the large fallen tree.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Center School - Mr. Geer.

Four kindergarten classrooms visited the school. Discussion was had about what daily activities

occurred when the schools were in operation.

The opportunity was lost to have the Schoolhouse open to the public during the food truck event

this last weekend.

The window project has been completed and the windows turned out great.

The chalk board will need a carpentry project to make it look like it fits. The board is very large

and the eraser tray is missing.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

Social Media - Kelly Lamb.

Updates of the projects and photographs.

Ms. Lamb asked all members to be mindful of events and projects and to send her the

information and pictures to be posted on social media.

Chairman Lamb has historical pictures to post in the future.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

OLD BUSINESS

Any Other Old Business to come before the Commission.

There was a question on how long the side repairs will take. Mr. Kelly believes they will be

completed in a month. Lead remediation is the first step for the project.

Mr. Godino stated that Tim Crandle handled projects in the past. There was no certification as to

what was done with the materials, need to be more aware.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

XI.

NEW BUSINESS

Motion to APPROVE a Public Hearing date of May 20, 2024, at 6:45 p.m. (prior to the Regular

Meeting) to receive comments both written and oral for a Certificate of Appropriateness

regarding the addition of a period door on the barn of the Nathan Lester House.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Ty Lamb

RESULT:

MOVER:

William Barnes

SECONDER:

AYE

Barnes Kelley Lamb Lamb Parkinson

Chittim

EXCUSED

Any Other New Business to come before the Commission.

Mr. Kelly offered the tenants fencing that he is not using. He will assist the tenants with setting

up the fencing behind the carriage shed. The goal is to make it appear as period appropriate as

possible. This area is the tenant’s space. In the past the children played in the driveway, this area

would be safer.

Now that all the dirt and rocks are moved for the Sawmill project the next step is to lower the

bridge. Beth Ackley who performed the structural assessment will review more.

There was a new Cashman proposal submitted. The article was in the newspaper. More to

follow.

DISCUSSED

RESULT:

XII. ADJOURNMENT

Motion to ADJOURN the Regular Meeting at 7:52 p.m.

APPROVED AND SO DECLARED

Karen Parkinson

RESULT:

MOVER:

Douglas Kelley

SECONDER:

Barnes Kelley Lamb Lamb Parkinson

Chittim

AYE

EXCUSED

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

Town.