Amston Lake District
Board of Directors Meeting Agenda
March 17th, 2010 7:00 p.m.
ALIA Clubhouse, 16 Wood Acres Road, Amston, 06231
A. Roll Call of Officers and Directors
Present: D. O’Brien, President, R. DeCormier, Treasurer, S. Martin, Clerk, L. Hennebury, D. Moorcroft
Absent: J. Connor, M. Paul, VP, D. Martin, S. Forgue
Others: C. Wool
B. Call to Order 7:08 pm
C. Recognition of Guests, Residents and Property Owners’ Petitions
Dave Wigfield-220 Lakeside Dr., Lebanon –Red Cedar Lake
Trying to get all Lebanon lakes together to work on getting seasonal to opt to year round
Not pleased with new tax assessments; (10) homes want to go year round on Red Cedar Lake
Basing their argument for approval on Lebanon new cluster housing zoning laws
Lynn Mika – 27 Ames Rd., Hebron – ALIA
Wants to speak regarding ALIA at Annual Meeting; please add them to the agenda; please copy Lynn Mika and Drew Gibson
Presented new design idea for amstonlake.org website to change the website to show Tax Board as separate from ALIA
(J. Connor arrived at 7:17 pm)
Mike Smith – 197 Deepwood Drive, Hebron
Discussion on barley straw – residents on Hebron side liked the results from installing it; worried about stakes in water – to be discussed later in agenda
Kevin Grady, 199 Deepwood Drive, Hebron
Outfall at 193 Deepwood has increased – storm water runoff; staked bales worked best, onion bags with Reggie were so-so, some fell apart; worried that we need to use more and not less barley straw; provided pictures for Board to view; waited too long to install last year; first year with stakes and D. Martin took 3 or 4 hours and was done; thought hauling away was not very labor intensive
(D. Martin arrived at 7:26 pm)
Opposite 136 Deepwood Drive – Turner Drive is dumping leaves, and has become fertilizer compost heap for entire neighborhood – has mentioned in past and has gotten worse – people dumped holiday trees there; D. Martin agreed that many are using empty lots as dump – corner of Stafford and Deepwood is also now a dump; send letter to those in immediate proximity of areas and ask residents not to dump; D. O’Brien asked Kevin to bring before George Knoecklein for discussion on April 1st at Lake Monitoring Report Meeting; D. O’Brien – we should contact property owner and ask if can put up NO DUMPING signs; he will get info from Eileen Curtin
(M. Paul arrived at 7:35 pm) – send info regarding owner of Spafford/Deepwood
Andrew Rodriguez, 34 Hillsdale Rd, Hebron
Looking for work if any is available to help around lake and wanted to introduce himself; does not have his own insurance
Evan Nicotera, 8 Turner Rd., Hebron
Interested in providing labor for clean up of rights-of-way, etc.; D. O’Brien acknowledged his email was received in response to RFP request in paper
D. Approval of Previous Meeting Minutes
Motion to approve by M. Paul, Second by J. Connor, Unanimous approval
E. Receive and Act Upon Clerk’s Report
a. Lebanon Town Taxes – showed map of owned properties and year round properties
b. Clerk’s Expenses for Reimbursement to Treasurer for Oct ’09 to March ’10 ($42.20)
c. Town of Hebron – requesting we archive our documents – add $750 to budget; give it consideration and consider thinking about storage facility archiving
F. Presentation of Correspondence and Communication
See attached list
G. Receive President’s Report
Nothing to report
H. Receive Treasurer’s Report
R. DeCormier – we are now doing “government reporting” instead of business reporting; see attached report; made an accounting error – page 5 of 5 at end of report has $7500 dollar misstatement; indebted to last year by about $240, leaving $750 in Lebanon Road fund for balance of year; took overage of spend from 2009 budget
I. Receive Tax Collector’s Report
D. O’Brien read Eileen Curtin’s report to the Board – see attached; we had selected 5 years late and more than $1000 owed as criteria for tax sale; L. Hennebury to write an email to Eileen Curtin asking for clarification on the possible tax sale list and liens and whether or not back taxes are collected when property is sold; need more info to make a decision
J. Consider and Act Upon Standing and Special Committees’ Reports
1. Dam – D. Moorcroft – monitor dam cracks in spillway to make sure don’t get worse due to voids; Duck Pond – sand bagged to stop water from going thru the sides of the dam and coming out side walls of spillway; wants to get a semi-impervious material to place over sand bags; weir boards have been adjusted to keep water from hitting the bottom of the Duck Pond Dam; D. Martin – since new weir gate was installed, the lake has consistently been 2 to 5” higher than before, maybe the increased volume is placing more pressure on the dam; Water too low is bad for lake but water too high places too much pressure on the dam and we should be aware of it
2. Storm Drains – D. O’Brien – H6 Cove was dredged; waiting for 175 cubic yards of removed material to be taken by Hebron to use to cover an athletic field in Hebron and will discuss with Dr. Knoecklein at April 3, 2010 meeting; permit for Northeast Cove for Lebanon – take the State permit to Lebanon on a Wetlands application – D. Martin will research what is required; can remove up to 675 (change to 6000 requested by D. O’Brien) cubic yards total (inc. H6 volume); L. Hennebury worried about Southeast Cove status filled with leaves; will email her questions to the Board since she will not be able to attend April 3 meeting
3. Lebanon Sewer Project – D. Martin – will be first sewers in Lebanon; bond resolution drafted for $6.5 million including interest and financing cost; have completed 8 of 20 steps required to get this completed; PZC approved project unanimously on Monday night, Finance Committee is on board and understands consequences if project is not completed; concerned with “one year ordinance”; April 1st Public Hearing at Town Hall – sent out 400 Certified Letters to Lebanon residents/property owners; need to adopt resolution to fund project; April 8/9 is Finance Committee vote and must be approved or project will stop; then to Selectmen for approval; 99% sure 2 out of 3 will approve and 3rd might; May 3rd Town Meeting – referendum in 2nd or third week of May; first public info meeting is tomorrow, 3/18 at Lyman Memorial HS; the details people want are not available yet regarding assessment amounts, etc.; all must be done on short term borrowing and move to long term borrowing when project is completed; anticipating hooking up all existing properties with houses on them – about (400) homes; assessment is unknown and impact on Lebanon taxes is not known; can get outside funds if bond resolution is approved; if not, cannot get outside monies and town must pay for project; R. DeCormier wants to know why town cannot take over roads and pave them and own them once sewers are installed; cost would be at least $2 MM; Per D. Martin, the sole purpose of this project is to resolve existing pollution problems, not to allow for additional development; D. Moorcroft wondered if absentee ballots would be accepted for the referendum; eligible to participate if you pay taxes or if you are a resident in another town – D. Martin will investigate; requested that Carl Wool put up sign boards asking people to complete and submit the income study documents
4. Drinking Water – S. Martin – Price increase of 9 to 12% to occur over three years as per letter sent by CT Water; public hearings are all over 30 mile away; R. DeCormier thinks we should write letters to CT Water if not attending public hearings which are all over 30 miles away
5. Boats & Rafts – L. Mika – Boat Lottery document posted and she and S. Forgue contacted all who had boat slips last year;
6. Weeds – M. Paul – did we return contract to ACT? Yes, received and permit in process for follow up treatment
7. Communications – R. DeCormier – 224 people in announce group online, Spring Newsletter discussion; if we mail by April 7th, will allow Boat Lottery drawing to be done at April Board Meeting, till need to make decisions – he opposes sending them in the mail and there are better ways to distribute it; place in post office, grocery store, available on Memorial Day at Clubhouse, put in email and website; what is deadline for submission? R. DeCormier can have it printed in two days; M. Paul – not even ½ of residents are on the Announce Group List; thought we agreed to mail it this last time and bring newsletter distribution to the Annual Meeting for vote; get plan and get it done; passes have to go with newsletter too; all agreed, except R. DeCormier who thinks mailing is too expensive and a waste of money; we should sell advertising too; L. Mika to send out details
8. Ordinances – M. Paul – nothing to report
9. Security – J. Connor – nothing to report; C. Wool kicked homeless person out of Main Beach parking lot who was sleeping in his pickup truck there
10. Lebanon Roads – D. Martin – will talk with Brett/BSA more about road repairs; want this committee to drive the budget more than in past; condition of the roads was pretty good and they stood up really well over the winter, better than in past; budget proposed for snow plowing and restocking the emergency fund - $12,000 for snow and $ 8,000 for contingencies; three incidents, 18 Cove Rd, L. Sabia, drainage ditch – he tried to fill it in, C. Wool stopped him and the pipe now has been raised by frost and water and needs to be repaired; Pelletier built a house on Andrews St. – their digging has caused water to gush up from everywhere; builder has offered to install a pipe and drainage culvert; want soil scientist to come out and verify there are no wetlands; builder is Frank Halle; anyone want to do site walk with Dave Martin? Meeting with him again in next couple of days; documented in email; Ray Bourque owns year round home opposite this house; sewage has backed up a couple of times, sent him after Pelletier to get resolution; this happens when there is development – water goes to weird places due to high water table in Lebanon. Will need to add $400 for sand to budget; Lebanon is cheap on amount of sand spread on our side of the lake (which is good) and Hebron dumps tons of sand on their side which flows right into lake and feeds the algae; bring up at annual meeting to discuss what we will request; Brett Harlow – some towns using liquified salt and only needs to be applied once and will save money
K. Receive Lake Management Reports
1. Caretakers’ Report - C. Wool – see attached – need to stuff onion bags and get them installed in early April; suggesting distribution of boat passes on three weekends and July 4th; maybe do two days at the clubhouse and not at Carl and Joanne’s house; add an extra day besides July 4th but not three; L. Hennebury – needs to be more to the contingency plan; make passes available through the Security people at the beaches; J. Connor will address a new process; needs to be determined ASAP so can get in to newsletter; bring articles for newsletter to April 3rd meeting so we can decide on newsletter before Lake Monitoring meeting; J. Wool does Carl’s paperwork and she has set up a procedure system on all vendors, certificates of insurance, correspondence, sign lettering, etc.; dealt mainly with D. O’Brien in the past; Board has changed direction, should she continue to do the work she has been with schedules for Security, monthly work meetings, etc; task list has been created but they do not understand what direction they are supposed to move in; had a schedule so could do things in down time but now he is not in charge of his hours; how do we keep everything on a level so all can be done in a timely manner? Need to know what we want Carl to do and when to do it so he can get going and does not end up with too much at once; has log of all tasks down to ½ hour; Board reviewed and approved several tasks on C. Wool’s list; call D. O’Brien in emergency situations; L. Hennebury wants to know if can place the info in a table format so easier to read; please present a list each month so Board can see status and make additional approvals
2. Lake Health Coordinator – D. O’Brien – April 3rd, meeting with Dr. Knoecklein at clubhouse from 3:00 to 5:00 pm; S. Martin asked question regarding fact that Lake Manager cannot be a Board member statement in bylaws; per J. Connor. coordinator not same as manager as per IRS tax rules; not a conflict of monetary interest
L. Act on Remaining Items of Agenda….Old Business…
1. Beach Closure Signs and Beach Closure Procedures – move to next meeting
2. Review Draft Budget for 2010-2011 – D.O’Brien: done for now; want flexibility in spending so can shift as needed based on prioritized needs which may be changing; will leave funding in lake health account and use for dam if needed; (add “The board would need to call a special district meeting to seek approval of the residents before moving funds between categories” per D. O’Brien); D. Martin - less to spend on Lebanon roads this year since so much done in past two years
3. Invasive Plants Signs: Installation and Costs – much to be decided; sizes, number of signs and how will we present them? See CIRMA note about July 4th and illegal fireworks not allowed; print fines, etc.
4. ALD Self Help Document – move to next month
M. New Business……Discussion and Possible Action
1. Purpose of Duck Pond Discussion - move to next month
2. 2009 Lake Monitoring Report – to be reviewed on April 3rd at George Knoecklein Meeting
3. Dredging Schedule Conversation – requested by Scott Forgue – he asked to move to next month
4. Lebanon Roads – Policies and Procedures – M. Paul – email from C. Wool, phone message, etc regarding Andrews St.; we do not have any policies and procedures to enforce any penalties or remediation; S. Martin - need CIRMA info to determine what we are required to do; put together a series of questions about what we want to know and D. O’Brien will take them to CIRMA for responses; we have liability for roads and need to watch over them as a Board – responsibility does not belong solely to Lebanon residents; R. DeCormier needs project scope for snowplowing for vendor bids.
Motion to go to Executive Session by S. Martin; second by D. Moorcroft at 9:55 pm; unanimous approval
5. Robinson & Cole Legal Discussion re: Lebanon Sewer Installation
Possibly related to litigation –reviewed letter drafted to DEP
Employee discussion
Motion to close executive session made by M. Paul; Second by L. Hennebury
Unanimous approval
N. Prepare Agenda for Next Meeting – move items as noted above to next month’s agenda
O. Adjournment
Motion to adjourn made by J. Connor; Second by M. Paul
Unanimous approval
Respectfully submitted by,
Sherri-Ann Martin, Clerk
Amston Lake Tax District
**NOTE: Changes in bold red will be voted on to approve the minutes at the next meeting in April. The changes were requested after the minutes were posted at the Hebron Town Hall. Thank you.