Ballot Question, Two Letters to the Editor About Lymes’ Senior Center Vote in Old Lyme

OLD LYME—The ballot question on today’s vote in Old Lyme regarding the Lymes’ Senior Center reads as follows:

“Shall the Town of Old Lyme authorize the issuance of bonds and notes in an amount not to exceed $6,143,541 to finance an existing appropriation for the Old Lyme/Lyme Senior Center renovation project? Yes _____ No _____” 

Voters approving the question will vote “Yes” and voters opposing the question will vote “No.

For the full resolution and the warning, visit the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s page.

VOTE YES!

To the Editor:

I am the chair of the Old Lyme Board of Finance and a member of the Lymes’ Senior Center Building Committee.  I write in response to a letter from Tom Grant posted in LymeLine on April 26, 2024, opposing the town’s referendum seeking authorization to bond the town’s financial obligation for the Senior Center renovation and expansion project (the “Project”).

Mr. Grant alleges that Old Lyme budgeted $1 million for this project.  That is false.  On June 23, 2023, town voters approved an appropriation of $5,263,541 for the project.  (This sum reflected the then-anticipated total cost of the project.  Old Lyme’s share would be reduced by Lyme’s 25% contribution and any grants received, which to date total $500,000.)  At a Town Meeting on April 15 of this year, after construction bids had been solicited and received, an appropriation increase was explained to, and approved by, town voters in the amount of $880,000.  This increased the project budget to $6,143,541, an increase over the initial budget of 16.7%, not the 88% claimed by Mr. Grant.

Mr. Grant further alleges that the town is seeking approval for a $6,143,541 bond issue.  This, too, is false.  The resolution seeking bond authorization specifies “bonds and/or notes in an amount not to exceed $6,143,541 (or so much thereof as may be necessary after deducting grants for the Project or amounts paid by the Town of Lyme as reimbursement for Lyme’s share of the total costs of the Project).”  Old Lyme has received a STEAP Grant for the project in the amount of $500,000.  Lyme’s share of the Project costs is 25% of the new budget, or $1,535,885.  Deducting those sums results in a net bonding maximum of $4,107,656. (Because Old Lyme pays the bills and is then reimbursed by Lyme and the state, it must “appropriate” the full Project cost.)

Finally, Mr. Grant urges town voters to oppose the referendum.  If it is defeated, then Old Lyme will not have the option to issue bonds for all or part of its $4,107,656 obligation. Instead, it will have to draw funds from its undesignated surplus, thereby substantially reducing the sums that would be available to mitigate the tax impact from the Region 18 renovations coming down the pike in a year or two.  This would be a serious mistake.

Sincerely,

Bennett J. Bernblum,
Old Lyme.

VOTE NO!

To the Editor:

On April 15, there was a Special Meeting of Lyme/Old Lyme residents to vote on the approval of an $880,000 increase in the cost to renovate the [Lymes’] Senior Center.  The Senior Center has been closed for months, but the planning process has never been completed!  Not only that, but a bond was also required by the Towns just to get the bids which was never acquired until January 2024.  The bids (we don’t know if it was one or several bids) came back 88% over the planned additional $1 million that the Towns budgeted!

In the April 15 meeting it was shown what the proposed improvements are, but when asked what the improvements would look like if we just spent the $1 million budgeted, Alan Sheiness responded that the committee had not looked into that.  Another question was asked how the Towns planned to pay for this increase, and incredulously Martha Shoemaker, our Town Selectwoman, said that it was being discussed.

So, our Town has been without a Senior Center for months during which planning had not been done properly and then its residents are supposed to pay for this 88% increase without knowing what the alternatives are and what the cost to the taxpayer is.

On April 24, a notice was released by the Town of Old Lyme for the voters to approve a $6,143,541 bonding issue to pay for the Senior Center.  So, we now know that the Senior Center will not cost $6,143,541 to renovate, but the interest on that debt as well.  This must go down as one of the most poorly planned and expensive renovations in the history of our town.  Vote No on May 7 and tell our elected officials to get their act together.

Sincerely,

Tom Grant,
Old Lyme.