Category Archives: Town Hall

Old Lyme Tree Commission Celebrates Arbor Day with ‘Spring Seedling Giveaway’

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Old Lyme Tree Commission members gather to pot tree seedlings in preparation for Saturday’s Spring Seedling Giveaway. From left to right are Emily Griswold, Anne Bing, chairman Joanne DiCamillo, Fred Behringer, Joan Flynn, and ‘Hydrangeas Galore ‘ owner Mark Comstock. Missing from the photo is the commission’s Clerk/Secretary Martha Hansen, who joined the event. Commission members, who were unable to attend the ‘Potting Day’, are Peter Edmonstone and Michael Gaffey. All photos by SuzanneThompson.

OLD LYME — The Old Lyme (OL) Tree Commission welcomes all town residents to come and pick up native tree seedlings to plant in their yards. The Commission’s first ‘Tree Seedling Giveaway’ will be held Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. at Old Lyme’s Memorial Town Hall.

Residents can select up to three trees – a choice of either White Dogwood or Eastern Redbud for a flowering tree, a choice of either Sugar Maple or Scarlet Oak, which grow well in some shade, and an evergreen.

Old Lyme Tree Commission members worked hard to pot the tree seedlings at ‘The Kingsville Grower’ ready for Saturday’s event.

The plants were purchased from the Arbor Day Foundation while the pots and soil were donated by Mark and Belkys Comstock, owners of The Kingsville Grower in Old Lyme, where commissioners potted up the seedlings earlier this week. 

“We need to start a new generation of trees,” said Joanne DiCamillo, OL Tree Commission Chair. “Over the years, diseases, insect pests, drought, climate change and roadside salt have all taken their toll. We had to take down a lot of old trees that had died.”

Old Lyme Tree Commission member Fred Behringer (left) was clearly enjoying the commission’s combined potting effort. Meanwhile, ‘Hydrangeas Galore’ Mark Comstock, center right, demonstrates potting techniques to Joanne DiCamillo (right foreground) while Emily Griswold (right, at rear) completes a potting task.

Since 2018, the town has taken down 148 trees and the commission planted 10 trees, according to DiCamillo. So the Commission decided to enlist the community’s help to plant more trees. And then fortuitously, Mark Comstock showed up at one of their monthly meetings and offered to help with materials and to provide a spot to pot up the seedlings.

DiCamillo continued, “We need new cover in the Town of Old Lyme, with residents helping us by planting the trees of the future in their yards now. That will really be helpful.” 

It was a busy day of seedling potting for Tree Commission members.

The commission researched the best place to purchase the tree seedlings and decided on the Arbor Day Foundation. The Old Lyme Board of Selectmen then endorsed the commission’s proposal to spend $450.00 of its budget on the trees.

“We agreed that purchasing 250 seedling trees would be more practical and enable us to give them away to the Old Lyme community, as opposed to charging a fee for them,” explained DiCamillo.

She added, “Keeping in mind our primary goal to ‘Plant Native,’ we selected five native species that would be wonderful sources of food and shelter for wildlife, songbirds, bees, deer, squirrels, butterflies, and so on. We focused on trees that we thought would appeal to homeowners, and eventually provide color, beauty and shade to their property and become an asset to our town’s landscape.” 

The Tree Commission will provide written instructions with the plants at the ‘Giveaway’ on Saturday.

The Arbor Day Foundation recommends that residents, who take the potted seedlings, should get them into the ground as rapidly as possible, ideally in a garden border or bed where they can nurture it. Avoid direct sunshine areas. Gently spread out the roots, do not plant the tree too deeply, keep the soil moist but not waterlogged. Mulch around the seedling is also very important so that the tree’s roots do not dry out. 

Plan to water the trees regularly throughout this summer and well into the fall. Young trees and shrubs need regular watering for at least two years after planting.

“Rain or shine, we will be there,” said DiCamillo. 

‘View across ‘The Kingsville Grower’ at146 Neck Rd., where the potting day took place. The nursery is on the border of Old Lyme and Lyme – look for the ‘Hydrangeas Galore’ sign.

The Old Lyme Tree Commission is very grateful to the Comstocks, who made their nursery available to members to pot the seedlings. Comstock also provided advice and materials. Comstock grew up in Ivoryton but subsequently moved out of state. He returned to Connecticut about 10 years ago with his wife and young son to open his current business. Comstock also is well known in the world of bonsai for growing pre-bonsai specimens.

Stop by to see Comstock’s plants at the nursery at 146 Neck Rd. and watch for more information about The Kingsville Grower/Hydrangeas Galore in future LymeLine.com coverage.

Recommendations for Management, Use of 36-1 Buttonball Property Accepted by Old Lyme Board of Selectmen

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View of Horseneck Creek from the Buttonball Open Space near its confluence with the Black Hall River. Photo taken April 18, 2023 and submitted by the 36-1 Buttonball Road Property Committee.

Editor’s Note: The following statement has been agreed by the members of the 36-1 Buttonball Rd. Property Committee in order to let the Old Lyme community know the positive outcomes from the committee’s efforts. The committee itself has now been dissolved.

OLD LYME — At the April 3 Old Lyme Board of Selectmen’s meeting, the board voted unanimously to accept the 36-1 Buttonball Rd. Property Committee’s recommendations for the Buttonball Rd property.

This set of recommendations was a result of the committee’s extensive work since last July to understand the issues involved in the Old Lyme Harbor Management Commission’s desire to install a dock for access to the Black Hall River for small watercraft.

On March 14, the 36-1 Buttonball Rd. Property Committee voted unanimously to forward their detailed recommendations to the board of selectmen.

A key point of the recommendation is that the Harbor Management and Open Space Commissions work together to manage the property. With the acceptance of the recommendation by the board of selectmen, the Harbor Management Commission has now been given the go-ahead to pursue installation of a dock.

Preliminary view of proposed dock for access to Horseneck Creek. Image furnished by Old Lyme Harbor Management Commission.

There were concerns about whether there was sufficient depth for watercraft in both Horseneck Creek and the Black Hall River. A hydrographic survey indicated that the waters are navigable except during extreme low tides. Signs will be posted to warn boaters to pay attention to the tides.

This summer, the Open Space Commission’s goal is to establish a trail at the edge of the marsh, along with protection for the marsh.The property is already open to the public with both parking and temporary signage in place.

As this is a small and relatively fragile area, visitors are asked to be mindful of the natural environment, stay on existing trails and observe posted signs.

Asked how he felt the efforts of the 36-1 Buttonball Rd. Property Committee had worked out, Committee Chairman Fred Behringer said, “Involving the expertise and capabilities of both commissions will provide the best possible outcome for the community.”

State Senators Join Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz in Old Lyme to Celebrate Receipt of Over $12 Million in Grants to Improve School Air Quality

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State Senator Martha Marx speaks during the press conference held Tuesday in front of Center School in Old Lyme to celebrate release of over $12 million in grants from the state of Connecticut to support improved air quality. Standing alongside Sen. Marx is Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz. Also in attendance are, from left to right, State Sen Norm Needleman, LOL Middle School Principal Mark Ambruso, Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold, Lyme First Selectman David Lahm, Region 18 Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser, Lyme School teacher (and sister of Martha Marx) Mary Dargie, and Old Lyme Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker.

OLD LYME — On Tuesday morning, April 18, State Senator Martha Marx (D-New London), whose district includes Old Lyme, and State Senator Norm Needleman (D-Essex), whose district includes Lyme, joined Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, Region 18 Schools Superintendent Ian Neviaser, and Lyme and Old Lyme local leaders at Center School in Old Lyme to celebrate the state’s approved release of $12.009 million in grant funding to support improved air quality in Lyme-Old Lyme (LOL) schools.

Region 18 Schools, located in Lyme and Old Lyme, will receive three grants, each supporting air quality improvements and upgrades in local schools, through the HVAC Indoor Air Quality Grant Program for Public Schools. Lyme Consolidated School will receive $3.051 million, Center School $2.719 million and LOL Middle School $6.24 million.

These funds can be used to replace, upgrade, or repair boilers and other heating and ventilation components; replacing controls and technology systems related to HVAC operations; installing or upgrading air conditioning or ventilation systems; and other similar work approved by the Department of Administrative Services.

“It is very exciting that Region 18 is one of the first districts to get this grant funding,” said Sen. Marx. “I still remember the stories of the challenges educators and parents faced and fought through during COVID, and that hard work cannot be forgotten. So let’s try and do this for a lot of schools and bring positive change to our classrooms. The kids, educators and staff deserve this; everyone deserves a safe working and learning environment,”

“We learned firsthand through the school of hard knocks the importance of air quality,” said Sen. Needleman. “It was a hard way to learn, but I’m glad we’re on track, and I think we need to upgrade all of our schools throughout the state to make sure our kids and our teachers have a safe environment to work and learn.”

“This is a major investment in school infrastructure, in the health of our children and students and in the health of our teachers and staff who work there,” said Lt. Gov. Bysiewicz. “This is a really big and important investment. It’s also an investment in job creation; Our friends in the building trades such as plumbers and pipefitters will be on site working at schools across our state. There will be a lot of folks in Lyme and Old Lyme doing this important work.”

“We hope to begin construction on this project in the next several months and complete it within the next year or two,” said Superintendent Neviaser. “It is not just for one school but for four schools, and we’re really appreciative of all the hard work already put into it. We look forward to completing this project on time and under budget.”

State Senator Norm Needleman addresses those gathered to celebrate the release of grants from the state to improve air quality in LOL Schools.

In 2022, the General Assembly voted to create the Indoor Air Quality Grant Program, as part of an effort to improve ventilation and air conditions in schools statewide. Local and regional boards of education and regional education service centers can use those funds to make valuable improvements. Municipalities are responsible to provide matching grants to fund work not covered by grants.

Eligible schools and districts are those found to have the greatest need for indoor air quality improvements; factors considered include school HVAC system age, air quality issues at the school and overall school building age and condition.

Along with creating that program, the state additionally invested in a pipeline training system for HVAC work and strict standards for inspection and evaluation of HVAC on an accelerated schedule compared to previous state law.

In November 2022, Old Lyme voters approved $57.5 million in bonding for renovations and updates to local schools, with projects including updates to HVAC, air conditioning and ventilation at four Lyme regional schools that had last been renovated roughly two decades prior.

In past interviews, Neviaser said these projects included applying for the state grant program for air quality improvements as a significant issue was their age; some Region 18 schools have systems dating back to the 1960s, he said.

Editor’s Note: This article is based on a press release issued by the Press Office of Senators Marx and Needleman.

Letter to the Editor: ‘Heartsick’ Over Defeat of Halls Rd. Overlay Proposal; Need Officials, ‘Who Look at Big Picture with Creativity Instead of Negativity’

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To the Editor:

We were both heartsick that the proposal by the Halls Road Improvement Committee was defeated and that two members of the committee failed to vote. 

Our wonderful village needs both more local shops and restaurants so that we don’t have to go across the bridge to Saybrook.  We would welcome a bakery and other shops.   

Apartments for residents are another priority.  Many friends of ours want to move out of their larger homes and want to remain in Old Lyme.  Younger residents who can’t afford high priced homes would welcome this affordable option.   

Currently, our refugee family, The Popals, are looking for a three bedroom apartment so that their children can remain in Old Lyme attending our fine school.  There is nothing available for them. 

As someone who walks around Old Lyme frequently,  I notice the dilapidated buildings around The Hideaway.  Newer shops and restaurants would attract customers.   Apartment rents would provide another source of revenue for the projects as well as giving property tax revenue for Old Lyme.  

We were particularly saddened that the immediate reaction was to vote down the proposal because of a lack of an adequate septic system  instead of opting to look at solutions. We want to have officials who look at the big picture with creativity instead of negativity.  How can we make Old Lyme a wonderful place for residents to live in the future? We need to focus on how an acceptable septic plan can be designed and implemented. 

I hope that new proposals offered by the Halls Road Committee will be heard with constructive thoughts.  Edie and her committee have worked on this plan for more than three years asking for opinions from residents.  It is time for the board to approve the Halls Road Plans, which include necessary plans for septic meeting State standards required.  

With hope …

Sincerely,

Bill and Sandra Rueb,
Old Lyme.

Op-Ed: Old Lyme Zoning Commission’s Vote Against Halls Road Overlay District Proposal is Potentially a Vote “for Decay”

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“We owe it to ourselves and to those who come after us to … meet the challenges of our own time. If we do not, we will have voted for decay“

On March 27, the Old Lyme Zoning Commission voted 3-2 in favor of the Halls Road Overlay District (HROD) proposal, with two alternate members casting the negative votes. Because the Planning Commission had previously given the proposal a “negative referral,” a vote of 4-1 was required for passage, and the measure failed. 

The problems the HROD was designed to address still exist. We believe the proposal is a viable response to those challenges, and that its rejection was a set-back for Old Lyme. 

The new overlay district would have created an alternative to the commercial-only C30-S zoning along Halls Road, while leaving that older zoning intact. The HROD was aimed at promoting the creation of a walkable, bike-able, mixed-use shopping street along Halls Road—a new town center for Old Lyme that took as its model Lyme Street in its centuries-long role as a living, mixed-use town center. 

The HROD is a significant piece of zoning regulation. It takes some effort to understand how it works, and to comprehend the implications of its detailed requirements. Those of us who worked on it spent years talking with local residents, business owners, property owners, town officials, regional regulators, developers, and land use lawyers to create the document we presented to Planning and to Zoning. After hundreds of hours, we understood it well. 

Planning took a few hours to consider it, and flatly refused to allow HRIC the opportunity to answer any of their questions. The Zoning Commission held two public hearings totaling a few hours, then held its final vote after two more hours of deliberation in which no new fact or evidence of any kind was allowed to be introduced, even by Commission members. From the comments in each body’s final deliberations, it is clear that several of the participants had only the vaguest understanding (and sometimes a total misunderstanding) of the document. This was not a reasonable way to arrive at a good decision on a measure of this importance to Old Lyme’s future. 

HROD was an attempt to meet the changes now shaping our economy, and to secure our town’s main business district in that new environment. Failing to pass HROD does not make those changes go away. It just leaves us relying on 1950s approaches to 2030s conditions. 

Without HROD, there will be no one to bid against those who see Halls Road as a truck stop. There have been three proposals for gas stations/convenience stores in the last couple of years, and no proposals to build anything else. 

Without HROD, there will be no mixed-use, walkable town center where people can live, work, shop, and enjoy the sort of human contact the Internet can never provide. 

Without HROD, smaller-scale housing—if it comes at all—will be spread over the few remaining open acres, dotted here and there, and we will lose the opportunity to create a vibrant, living, mixed-use neighborhood in the heart of our town. 

Without HROD, our main shopping district will lose the support that a mixed-use neighborhood provides for retail—the pedestrian traffic and walk-in trade that makes such neighborhoods the one bright spot in retail investment. 

Times are changing, as they always do. In the middle of the last century Old Lyme made radical zoning changes to meet the future they saw then. We owe it to ourselves and to those who come after us to do likewise and meet the challenges of our own time. If we do not, we will have voted for decay.