Category Archives: Letters

Letter to the Editor: Danenhower Disrespected Due Process on Zoning Commission, Elect Alternate Fogliano to Full Term

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To The Editor:

Sloan Danenhower wants us to see him as a local hero for his strident opposition to the Halls Road Overlay District (HROD) proposal. To be clear – as a member of the public, his opposition was an appropriate part of the public discourse that he had every right to express.

However, as documented in the minutes of the HROD public hearing on January 15th of this year, Mr. Danenhower, while sitting at the Zoning Commission table, stepped away to speak as a member of the public in opposition to the application.

That behavior, at best, demonstrated a lack of understanding of the role of the Zoning Commission, abandonment of his responsibilities as a Zoning Commission member, and disrespect for the fair due process afforded to all applicants. At worst, had this been a private application, it could have subjected the Town to costly litigation.

Mr. Danenhower can’t have it both ways. The Town needs Zoning Commission members who possess the judgment and temperament needed to handle controversial matters appropriately. Michael Fogliano brings those qualities to the Zoning Commission as an alternate. We now have the opportunity to elect him to a full five-year term. 

Sincerely,

Betsy Groth,
Old Lyme.

Letter to the Editor: When Voting Nov. 4, Remember Old Lyme Board of Finance D’s, R’s Disagree Deeply on Town Surplus Fund’s Use

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To the Editor:

Old Lyme’s Board of Finance (BOF) performs a critical function in setting our level of taxation. One of the determining factors is how much to withdraw annually from the town’s Undesignated Fund Balance (the Surplus), basically our “savings account” not tied to particular expenditures but available for future needs. There has developed a serious disagreement on this issue between David Kelsey and the other Republicans on the BOF on the one hand, and Kim Thompson and the other Democrats on the other. Based on the BOF’s meeting minutes from last spring, it is clear that the position of Mr. Kelsey et al. was to maintain the maximum surplus in order to save for a rainy day. Mrs. Thompson and the other Democrats believed that, with the budget increase caused by the Region 18 bonds and the tax burden imposed on many residents by the revaluation, the rainy day was here and, therefore, the town should withdraw as much from the Surplus as was prudent in order to mitigate the burden on Old Lyme’s taxpayers.

According to the BOF minutes of March 25, an accountant from the town’s auditing firm advised the board that the Surplus as of June 30, 2024 was $14,402,328, representing 35.15% of expenditures. She also stated that “bond rating agencies like to see 15% to 25% and that she typically sees 12% to 15%.”

At the BOF meeting on April 8, 2025, after the Democrats argued for a substantial withdrawal from the Surplus, Mr. Kelsey made a motion to withdraw a mere $400,000. The three Republicans on the BOF voted in favor; the three Democrats against. Additional motions followed at this meeting and the following one on April 15, when Mr. Kelsey moved to withdraw $600,000. This was approved by the Republicans and rejected by the Democrats. Mr. Bernblum recommended a withdrawal of $1 million, which would leave the estimated 2025 Surplus at 29.2% of the proposed budget. Finally, confronted with a deadlock and an upcoming Town Meeting, the BOF approved a withdrawal of $800,000. 

Given this history, there can be no doubt where Mr. Kelsey and the other Republicans stand on the Surplus: keep it as high as possible. Conversely, Mrs. Thompson and the other Democrats would like to return as much to the taxpayers as is prudent without impairing the town’s bond rating or its ability to meet future financial obligations. 

Please decide which policy you prefer when voting on November 4.

Sincerely,

Joseph ‘Gil’ Soucie,
Old Lyme.

Letter to the Editor: Response by Then-Selectwoman Shoemaker Leads to Support for her Current First Selectman Challenger, Mesham

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To the Editor:

“A paltry stipend” that is paid to an elected official should not determine whether that official answers a phone call from his constituent: yet this is the thinking of the current “CEO” of Old Lyme. When needing some help with a town road flooding problem approximately two years ago, this was the response I received [from then-Selectwoman Shoemaker] which ran counter to everything I thought an elected official should do or say.

I will be voting for Mr. Mesham and not for the present office holder whose philosophy totally contradicts my seemingly naive and idealistic view of what a public servant should be.

I urge other Old Lymers to do the same.

Sincerely,

Alice Burbank,
Old Lyme.

Letter to the Editor: Don’t Reelect HROD Advocates Shoemaker, Lampos; Vote Row B

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Dear Editor:

The Halls Road Overlay District or HROD was fortunately defeated by the Old Lyme Zoning Commission, but only after the majority of Old Lyme voters and taxpayers made their voices known. The battle cry was: Overlay – NO WAY. Yay!

HROD would have allowed huge buildings for mixed-use housing, retail, and restaurants to be built with multi-story parking garages along the front of Halls Road. The whole scheme was an absurd attempt of a few people to forever alter Old Lyme’s character.

The fact that this proposal ever made it by the Town’s Planning Commission is staggering at best. What is more, the HROD proposal paid no attention to three main problems:

A. Halls Road is a State Road, not a town road and is the alternate traffic route through Old Lyme when I-95 backs up, a common occurrence. Traffic problems would become untenable.

B. There is not sufficient aquifer water for wells along Halls Road to support such development volume. This could lead to water quality issues for existing property owners.

C. There is not sufficient land present on Halls Road to provide adequate septic systems to make such growth feasible. This would lead to sewers being required and where would that take the town?

As a former owner (40%) of the Old Lyme shopping center for 20 years, I am very familiar with the septic situation in the area. Our system, though fragile, worked for many years, but for example, it can accommodate the sewage of only ONE real restaurant and no other major users of wastewater. As owners, we did, over the years, research the possibilities of sewage disposal in the area. Studies indicated the ground would not permit it.

I was shocked to hear of the proposed “overlay” project for so many dwellings along Halls Road in the shopping center. Had they not done their homework? Then, I was even more surprised to discover that two of our “Selectmen” were championing the crazy scheme. Martha Shoemaker and Jim Lampos were elected to “take care of the people of Old Lyme,” not to put them in jeopardy. Now, guilty of either irresponsibility or lack of sound judgment, they are asking the town to reward this incredibly dumb initiative by re-electing them. Go figure!!

This whole initiative was a boondoggle that would only have irreversibly changed Old Lyme and cost the town substantial legal and design study fees.

Don’t re-elect the Advocates of HROD.

Vote Row B this Election.

Bud Canaday,
Old Lyme.

Letter to the Editor: Shoemaker/Lampos Supporters Say ‘If it Isn’t Broken, Don’t Fix It’

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To the Editor:

We are writing to express our support for the re-election of the team of Martha Shoemaker and Jim Lampos on November 4th. 

Our Town has been in in good hands during their tenure; and Town services are operating at a high level. 

Old Lyme’s AAA bond rating “reflects the town’s financial stability and ability to manage its debt effectively, with a healthy surplus and manageable long-term liabilities.”

Martha makes herself available in the office and around town. She is willing to meet with residents and listens to their issues or concerns. 

We were very impressed with the coordination of community resources that enabled the Lymes’ Senior Center to continue their programming during the more than a year of construction of the wonderful new facility.

Martha is an educator and serving on the Region 18 BOE. She is not seeking reelection. We feel that those experiences have been essential in acting as a savvy advocate for residents in maintaining our schools’ infrastructure, operating budgets, and recognized quality of education. 

Jim is an author and local historian and is also out in the community; — sometimes acting as a trouble shooter for the more pressing issues.

We will continue to need their compassion and common sense as CT reacts to the massive cuts to Medicaid, support for education, nutrition assistance (SNAP), and school lunch programs that are resulting from Trump’s so called “One Big Beautiful Bill;” — clearly impacting our neediest. 

Governor Lamont said that “We’re going to do everything we can to protect the most vulnerable.” “I think that’s sort of a core responsibility we’ve got.”

While the actual costs will not be known for months or what impacts, if any, will be placed on Old Lyme, it is estimated that CT will be required to pay tens of millions extra in SNAP benefits, alone.

There is opposition. It seems that the local G.O.P. is featuring the defeat of the Halls Rd. project in their campaign. Current third selectwoman, Jude Danenhower Read, and her husband, Zoning Commission candidate, Sloan Danenhower, highlight their roles in spearheading the effort that led to the rejection of the vision for Halls Road, proposed by the all volunteer Halls Road Improvements Committee.

In short, Martha and Jim have served us well and we believe that it is in the Town’s best interest for them to continue in their leadership roles.

Sincerely,

Thomas D. Gotowka,
Christina J. Gotowka,
Old Lyme.

Editor’s Note: i) This letter was updated to correct the headline.
ii) This letter was updated to correct the spelling of Jude Read’s last name.