Category Archives: Town Hall

Nosal Again Raises Resolution Against Racism at Old Lyme BOS Meeting, Griswold Agrees to Further Review But With No Agreement to Sign

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OLD LYME — At the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen’s (OL BOS) meeting, Monday, Dec. 7, Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal again raised the issue of the board signing a Resolution stating Racism is a Public Health Crisis (see draft at the end of this article.) She ultimately received a commitment from First Selectman Timothy Griswold that he would look at the wording of the Resolution again, but no agreement to sign it.

Pointing out that she had been requesting this since August (see LymeLine.com reports of the Sept. 8 OL BOS meeting and the Sept. 22 OL BOS meeting), she informed the board that the Old Saybrook Board of Selectmen (BOS) had now approved the Resolution that she had previously presented.

First Selectman Timothy Griswold expressed surprise at the Old Saybrook BOS decision.

Explaining that the resolution is, “a framework for the town,” Nosal continued, “[It requires us] to look at everything with racial equity. I think because we are white people, we think everything is fine.”

Noting the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities is supporting the Resolution, which has already been approved by numerous towns in the state, Nosal commented, “As white people, we are not trained to think something is happening because it doesn’t happen to us. Data supports the fact that our systems support certain people but not everybody.”

Then, urging the board to make a decision, she said, “We need to move forward. It takes courage,” adding, “I’m asking us again to do the right thing. It takes political courage to do this. To ignore this, it boggles my mind.”

Nosal informed the board that she believed the next legislative session will take up the resolution, and said she felt, “It would be helpful for [State Rep.] Devin Carney to have our experiences.”  She stated firmly, “I’m here to help.”

Griswold agreed to look at the Resolution again, but commented, “I don’t have a whole lot of time,” adding, “I’m not comfortable with some of the things it’s setting us up to do … I’m not comfortable with the language.”

He concluded, “We’ll look at it again,” noting that Nosal was, “persistent.”

***

The following is the original DRAFT Resolution that Nosal presented for discussion. She has since offered other versions of the document with amended wording.

WHEREAS, racism is a social system with multiple dimensions: individual racism that is interpersonal and/or internalized or systemic racism that is institutional or structural, and is a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks;

WHEREAS race is a social construct with no biological basis; 

WHEREAS racism unfairly disadvantages specific individuals and communities, while unfairly giving advantages to other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources; 

WHEREAS racism is a root cause of poverty and constricts economic mobility; 

WHEREAS racism causes persistent discrimination and disparate outcomes in many areas of life, including housing, education, employment, and criminal justice, and is itself a social determinant of health; 

WHEREAS racism and segregation have exacerbated a health divide resulting in people of color in Connecticut bearing a disproportionate burden of illness and mortality including COVID-19 infection and death, heart disease, diabetes, and infant mortality; 

WHEREAS Black, Native American, Asian and Latino residents are more likely to experience poor health outcomes as a consequence of inequities in economic stability, education, physical environment, food, and access to health care and these inequities are, themselves, a result of racism; 

WHEREAS more than 100 studies have linked racism to worse health outcomes; and 

WHEREAS the collective prosperity and wellbeing of TOWN depends upon equitable access to opportunity for every resident regardless of the color of their skin: 

Now, therefore, be it Resolved, that the TOWN Board of Selectmen

(1) Assert that racism is a public health crisis affecting our town and all of Connecticut; 

(2) Work to progress as an equity and justice-oriented organization, by continuing to identify specific activities to enhance diversity and to ensure antiracism principles across our leadership, staffing and contracting;

(3) Promote equity through all policies approved by the Board of Selectmen and enhance educational efforts aimed at understanding, addressing and dismantling racism and how it affects the delivery of human and social services, economic development and public safety;

(4) Improve the quality of the data our town collects and the analysis of that data—it is not enough to assume that an initiative is producing its intended outcome, qualitative and quantitative data should be used to assess inequities in impact and continuously improve;

(5) Continue to advocate locally for relevant policies that improve health in communities of color, and support local, state, regional, and federal initiatives that advance efforts to dismantle systemic racism;

(6) Further work to solidify alliances and partnerships with other organizations that are confronting racism and encourage other local, state, regional, and national entities to recognize racism as a public health crisis;

(7) Support community efforts to amplify issues of racism and engage actively and authentically with communities of color wherever they live; and

(8) Identify clear goals and objectives, including periodic reports to the Board of Selectmen, to assess progress and capitalize on opportunities to further advance racial equity.

 

 

 

 

Old Lyme’s Kindness Committee Launches Holiday Decorating Contest for Home Exteriors

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Who will win the inaugural Holiday Decorating Contest launched by Old Lyme’s Kindness Committee? Photo by James Wheeler on Unsplash.

OLD LYME — In an innovative response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Old Lyme Kindness Committee is hosting a holiday decorating contest to spread cheer and joy in a socially-distanced manner throughout the town.

Old Lyme residents are invited to participate by decorating the outside of their homes, following the directions below.

A list of all participating homes will be maintained on the Town of Old Lyme website so that the public can drive by and enjoy the decorations. Naturally, residents are welcome to decorate for whichever holiday you celebrate.

It is hoped participants will have fun decorating their homes and all residents will look forward to driving around town to check out the displays.

Entering the Contest:

To participate in the contest, email selectmansoffice@oldlyme-ct.gov and provide your street address. Residents must register to enter the contest by Thursday, Dec. 10, and have their decorations in place by that date to be included.

Voting:

Voting will be held online from Dec. 16 through Dec. 30. The top three winners in terms of votes received will be announced shortly after voting ends.

Prizes:

The Hangry Goose, The Chocolate Shell, and The Bowerbird have each generously donated a $20 gift certificate as contest prizes. The first place winner will choose the gift certificate of their preference, the second place winner will follow suit, and then the third place winner will receive the remaining gift certificate.

With Increase in COVID Cases, Old Lyme Town Hall Now Open for Business by Appointment Only

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OLD LYME — 2:25pm UPDATE: Since we published this report, we have learned that Old Lyme Town Hall has moved to an appointment-only system — no walk-ins will be allowed.

At Monday night’s board of selectmen meeting, First Selectman Timothy Griswold informed his fellow board members that in light of the rapidly increasing number of COVID-19 cases in town, a greeter would be in place by the end of this week to meet people entering the town hall.

He said the intent is, “to engage a greater push to have people make appointments [before coming to town hall], make sure the person needed is here, reduce walk-ins and discourage stopping in.”

Griswold hopes to encourage as many people as possible to do their business with town hall by phone or email, or to make an appointment in advance to see the required person in town hall. Noting the number of people in town hall would be limited going forward, he mentioned the greeter would keep a log of people entering town hall with the person’s name, “time in and time out,” which would be helpful if contact tracing were required at any point.

Griswold said the town had seen ” an acceleration” of cases from 28 in early October to 44 by Nov. 3 and yesterday, to 89. [The latest number reported from yesterday is 95.] He noted that there is, “not a good synchronization,” between the numbers reported by the state and the information given directly to the town by Ledge Light Health Department.

Griswold said he had taken this matter up on the most recent Governor’s call and was still following up on the issue to try and achieve some resolution.

Grswold also reported that Old Lyme Emergency Director David Roberge and Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal were now working on protocols to establish “a process as to what to do,” in case, “a town employee is exposed or comes down with COVID.”

Selectman Cristopher Kerr mentioned he had been in both Essex and Deep River Town Halls that day and both had similar procedures in place for when you entered town hall. He noted they also both had separate doors for entering and exiting. Nosal queried whether that could be implemented in Old Lyme Town Hall too, saying, “I like simple stuff to separate people.” Kerr agreed, adding, “Yes, don’t complicate it”

Griswold stressed that there now is a high need, “to impress upon our fellow citizens,” that the number of people in town hall must be reduced. He concluded saying, “We don’t know how long this will last.”

 

 

Voter Participation Extremely High in Presidential Election in Both Lyme (88%), Old Lyme (91%)

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LYME/OLD LYME — At the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen’s meeting held Monday, Nov.16, Old Lyme First Selectman Timothy Griswold reported that there are 5,933 registered voters in Old Lyme and 5,408 voters cast ballots for the President/Vice President, which equates to a participation rate of 91 percent.

As a comparison, Griswold noted 5,364 votes were cast for Joe Courtney in the Congressional House election. Griswold reported the remaining offices drew voter participation rates in the “high 80s to low 90s [percent]”

In his most recent Selectman’s Update, he reported there were 2,641 absentee ballots cast, which equate to 44.5 percent of the total.

Griswold also commented at the Selectmen’s meeting that the board needs to consider whether to make the change of voting location to Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School as a permanent one. He said, “It would have been disastrous at Cross Lane [voting location]” for this election, which had such a high turnout, but noted, “We wouldn’t have to have all voting at the schools.”

Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal asked whether voting for primaries would be at the middle school.

Griswold responded that the board needs to review options and make a plan since the current motion in effect in Old Lyme only approves use of the middle school through the end of the year and the Governor’s COVID Executive Order expires Feb. 9, 2021.

Lyme Town Clerk Linda Winzer announced that of the 2,012 voters on the election roll, 1,774 voted representing 88 percent of the total.  The number of absentee ballots issued in that town was 811 representing 40 percent of the votes cast.

Cable Leaves Old Lyme Zoning Commission After 15-Year Tenure, 10 as Chairman

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Outgoing Old Lyme Zoning Commission member Jane Cable, who has served on the commission since 2005 and as chairman since since 2010. File photo.

OLD LYME — At the end of a lengthy and somewhat exasperating (due to some Zoom issues) Old Lyme Zoning Commission meeting held virtually on Monday, Nov. 9, Chairman Paul Orzel asked if members had anything additional they wished to say before the meeting adjourned.

Orzel then said he, in fact, had something to say since he wanted to take a moment to highlight that it was Jane Cable’s final meeting as a member of the commission.

He noted she had served on the commission since 2005 and been chairman since 2010 adding emphatically, “We are going to miss you. You have been a tremendous mentor and inspiration …”

Cable then interrupted Orzel, quipping, “… and a pain in the butt!” but he continued, adding, “I can’t thank you enough,” and observing, [After leaving the commission,] you might be out of the picture but you won’t be off our radar.”

Alternate commission member Michael Barnes explained to Cable, “My interaction with you a while back made me want to get on the zoning commission,” but he now expressed sincere regret that she was leaving, saying he recognized, “Your knowledge is immense.”

Cable graciously acknowledged, “The Commission has to change,” and then added enthusiastically, “And I’m joining the [Old Lyme] Ethics Commission!”

Describing herself as a “frequent flyer” at zoning commission meetings, Old Lyme Selectwoman Mary Jo Nosal spoke warmly of her relationship with Cable. She noted, “You have mentored me … thanks to you, I’ve learned so much.”

Nosal said, “You’ve left an extraordinary mark on the zoning commission.” and then she held up a sign — even though she was seated in her own home looking at a computer screen — that read, “Thank you, Jane!” (See photo at left.)

Expanding on the sign’s message, Nosal then concluded with the heartfelt words, which seemed to sum up the feelings of all the commission members, saying, “Thank you for sharing your time and talents with us.”

Here at LymeLine.com, we will add our own words of thanks to Jane for her outstanding service to the Old Lyme Zoning Commission and all the support she has given us over the years.