To mark the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, the Lyme Public Library is hosting a Moon Landing Family Trivia Contest, Saturday, July 20, at 2 p.m.. Family/friends will compete on teams of up to five people. Space is limited to 7 teams.
Prizes will be awarded and refreshments will be served.
Call 860-434-2272 to register or email programreg@lymepl.org.
Children under 12 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.
Java Groove will get those toes tappin’ and feet movin’, Saturday, July 20, at the Lyme Ambulance Association’s Summer BarBQue.
The Lyme Ambulance Association hosts its traditional Summer Bar-B-Que and (music you can) Dance (to) on Saturday, July 20, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Chester’s BarBQue will be smoking pork at the event.
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash.
Doors will open at 5 p.m. at the Hamburg Fire Station, 213 Hamburg Rd, Lyme.
Chester’s Barbecue will be smoking pork on site, and providing sides.
There will be live music by Java Groove.
Tickets can be purchased in advance for adults at $20 and children under 10 at $10 by calling 860-434-5667.
Tickets at the door will be $25 for adults.
Visit www.LymeAmbulanceAssociation.
The Moodus Fife and Drum Corps proudly marched in the Muster in a prior year. (File photo)
DEEP RIVER — The largest gathering of Fife and Drum Corps is upon us.
The annual Deep River Ancient Muster (DRAM) is the third weekend of July at Devitt’s field in Deep River Center. This year the DRAM has been designated as the United States National Muster! The event consists of a “tattoo” on Friday evening at 7 p.m., which showcases selected corps. The tattoo featured the Deep River Juniors Fife and Drum Corps, The Company of Fifers and Drummers Junior Camp –featuring the Music of Roy Watrous. Other notable corps were also showcased that evening.
Beginning on Saturday morning at 11 a.m., the 50+ corps will parade through downtown Deep River. The parade will start at Kurtland Street and proceed down Main Street commencing at Devitt’s Field. At the conclusion of the parade each corps will march onto the muster field and perform a selection of their choice. The corps performances will take the remainder of the day.
All are welcome to come down to the muster field, check out the vendors, listen to music, enjoy some great food. The event is open to the public.
Find more information at: deepriverancientmuster.com
To the Editor:
Thank you for your coverage of the Sound View sewer project. Property owners in Sound View should be aware of their potential obligation for the construction, operation, and maintenance of this system.
According to the WPCA slide presentation, the “typical average house of 1 EDU (1,242 square feet)” would be charged a “$6,000 connection fee plus a $25,007 betterment assessment” for a total of $31,007.
The per EDU assessment will be calculated on a sliding scale. Thus a 2,500 square foot house would be charged for 2 EDUs. In my case, my house was built in 2009, with a compliant septic system that cost me $30,000. My home did not need any zoning variances to be built, and the town limited me to a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath house based on the septic capacity of the lot. The EDUs however are based on square footage of the home, not bathrooms or typical occupancy, which are also metrics allowed by state guidelines. My EDU calculation comes to 2.5, thus my betterment assessment comes to $62,500. Along with the $6,000 connection fee, my total assessment comes to $68,500. This doesn’t include the actual cost of connecting to the main, which estimated at $100 per linear foot brings me into the neighborhood of $80,000.
All this for a newly built home with a state of the art septic system.
Furthermore, these per EDU cost estimates have been quickly escalating, and there is no assurance that they will not go higher. The referendum is for the bond issue only–the cost per homeowner is not fixed by the current agreement. As the town has made it clear that 100% of the town’s share of the sewer project will be paid by the residents of Sound View only, and all future costs will also be passed on in full to these homeowners, the exposure of Sound View property owners is unlimited.
Finally, in the likelihood that other beach communities down the line such as White Sands require sewers, or the potential Halls Road developments, Sound View homeowners have received no assurance that they will not also be on the hook for those. We have been told that these will be considered on a “project by project” basis, and the costs for those potential sewer projects may be paid by the town as a whole, thus obligating Sound View property owners not only to pay 100% of the town’s share at Sound View, but also a share of the costs for projects elsewhere in town.
The concern of Sound View residents is well founded.
Sincerely,
Jim Lampos,
Old Lyme.
OLD LYME — Sentiments were strong at the Coastal Wastewater Project public update on Tuesday, July 16, as members of the Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) presented plans to replace individual septic tanks with sewer systems in the Sound View Beach neighborhood. The sewage is to be pumped through East Lyme and Waterford to New London’s treatment facility.
Around 100 residents, many from Sound View and neighboring beach communities, listened to a slide presentation by WPCA chairman Richard Prendergast, followed by a question and answer session that ran until 9 p.m. The presentation, which includes cost estimates and a timeline, can be viewed at this link on the Town of Old Lyme website.
Members of the WPCA, who are volunteers appointed by Old Lyme Board of Selectmen, stayed behind after the meeting to answer additional questions and encouraged residents to contact them via email links given on the Town of Old Lyme website.
Prendergast and WPCA members explained the history of septic system studies along the shoreline, state statutes governing the use of Clean Water Act funds, administrative orders from the state’s Department of Public Health (DPH) and Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), and the 2016 finding of a Public Health Nuisance by the Town of Old Lyme Department of Health. This progression of events requires the town to move forward with either plans to address the waste water pollution or continue with state-approved studies to figure out a solution.
The problem is density-based — if sewage is to be treated through a septic system and leach field, DPH recommends about four times the undisturbed, well-draining yard space that is typical in beach communities. Multiple inadequate lots create a community pollution problem that regulatory agencies require towns to address.
The neighboring chartered private beach associations of Old Lyme Shores, Old Colony, Miami Beach, which — unlike Sound View Beach — have the authority to negotiate with New London on sewage capacity, have been moving forward with self-financing of sewer systems and design plans.
Prendergast explained that although the Hawks Nest Beach community has been approved by state agencies for additional study, the long-term expectation is that inadequate waste water treatment systems will be fixed. Future actions decided for Hawks Nest will not be added to Sound View Beach costs.
While it is proposed that ratepayers using the system will bear the expense of connection and installation, which they can repay over time based on 2 percent financing, the Town of Old Lyme is the responsible entity to bond $9.5 million to fund the Sound View Beach project. The total cost of the project will be offset in part, by the combination of a Clean Water Fund state grant of 25 percent, a donation by Connecticut Water Company of a portion of pipes and materials, and careful design of the system, reducing the actual cost to $7.4 million according to the WPCA.
Costs related to the chartered beach associations are not included in the town bond.
The assessment formula is explained in the WPCA’s June 10, 2019 Minutes, which can be read at this link. At a minimum, each dwelling in the project zone will pay a $6,000 connection fee. Long-term project installation costs are covered by the “betterment fee,” which can be paid over 20 years with 2 percent financing. This fee would be $15,000 for the typical small house, $25,000 for the typical average-sized house of 1,242 sq. ft. and more for larger homes or multi-unit dwellings. Users also would pay an annual sewer use fee, which was listed at $430 in WPCA’s presentation.
Residents in the project area will not have the option to opt in or out of sewer lines — existing septic tanks will be removed or collapsed and leach fields converted. Prendergast pointed out that this would free up yard space for parking and other activities since these would damage the functioning leach field required for a septic system. Property owners also would no longer have the liability or expense of repairing a failed septic system, which can cost $10,000 or more, or having their septic tank pumped out at a minimum of every three to five years.
The majority of comments and questions Tuesday evening revolved around sharing of costs between the project area and the rest of town. While Prendergast said the WPCA felt that it had developed the most economically viable proposal for the Town of Old Lyme, Frank Pappalardo summarized the sentiments of several in the audience, saying, “This is a town public works project that will benefit the town, why should the three streets on Sound View Beach be expected to pay for it all?”
“We’re not a private beach association, why should we be singled out to pay?,” said Robin Duffield, whose husband’s grandfather built their Sound View Beach home in the early 1950s. “It’s like taxation without representation. If they did the same 20-year loan at 2 percent and divided it among all households in town, it would be very little money per house. Instead, it’s going to cost three streets worth of people $50,000, on average, per household, and the rest of town pays absolutely nothing.”
Duffield, who lives in Killingworth and serves on that town’s public health committee, explained after Tuesday’s meeting that similar septic systems in Rogers Lake and other areas of town would also need to be addressed.
“Rogers Lake could be next, anyone who lives along the estuaries or marshes, they all have similar septic systems. It’s setting a precedent for dividing parts of town and putting the bill on them completely,” she said. “They are putting the bill on people who they feel can afford it.”
This was the second of two public presentations by the WPCA before the planned town referendum, which was set July 17 by the board of selectmen. Voting will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 13, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., at Cross Lane Fire Station.
Information about absentee ballots will be available from the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office next week either by visiting the office in person or calling 860-434-1605, ext.220.