TOP STORY: Old Lyme Sewer Project Nears Key Vote As Uncertainty Swirls

OLD LYME, CT – The slow moving and muddy waters of a controversial $73.2 million effort to bring sewers to the Old Lyme shoreline are roiling with a possible referendum, increased costs, internal confusion, and a resignation as the state continues to pressure four beach communities to act fast.

Planning for the latest iteration of the sewer system started more than six years ago. Today, fears that one or more parties might drop out have raised concerns that the remaining participants won’t be able to absorb the added costs.

With private septic systems blamed by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) for polluting Long Island Sound and local groundwater, the private associations for Old Colony Beach, Old Lyme Shores, and Miami Beach were joined in 2019 by the town of Old Lyme as part of a proposal to install internal sewer systems in each community. All four systems would send their wastewater through a planned pump station and force main — which is a pressurized pipe that would move wastewater from lower to higher elevations using pumps — to the New London treatment plant.

DEEP is now waiting for a townwide referendum vote, tentatively scheduled for Dec.16 if Old Lyme officials give it the go-ahead, to authorize the $19.3 million portion of the project affecting the public Sound View Beach. 

The price tag is up from the $17.1 million figure discussed by officials earlier this year. State and federal funding will cover about half the cost, with Sound View ratepayers charged for the rest.

The Old Lyme Board of Selectmen are scheduled to meet Monday to decide whether the project should go forward. If approved, the Board of Finance will be ready to meet that night at 7 p.m. to vote on sending the project to referendum.

The state is also awaiting letters of intent from the three private beach associations that could allow construction to begin by the start of the new year, according to Douglas Whalen, chair of the Old Colony Beach Club Association. 

DEEP previously set a mid-October deadline for contracts to be awarded on the project, but concerns about costs and calls for alternative solutions continue to slow the process. 

Since then, Whalen said the cost of the shared pump station and force main rose by about $2 million after February’s lowest bidder withdrew and officials went with the next lowest. After state funding, he estimated the increase adds roughly $1.2 million spread across 926 users over 20 years.

Whalen said representatives from DEEP told him they will be satisfied if the three private beach associations submit letters of intent this week, which could allow construction to begin early next year.

“My letter is already in and we’re waiting on Miami Beach and Old Lyme Shores to put their letters in,” he said.

The commitment letters would pave the way for DEEP approval and the awarding of contracts for the three private beach associations and the shared pump house and force main, according to Whalen. 

“Once the town referendum is approved, the town can come on board, and then they’ll be responsible for their share,” he said.

DEEP spokesman James Fowler, in a Friday email, said the agency is not ready to make any public statements on the matter. He said a response is possible next week. 

Draft numbers provided to First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker through the DEEP by town bond counsel Michael Botelho show the updated $73.2 million total project cost includes a 6% contingency fee for unexpected expenses.

Caution at Old Lyme Shores and Uncertainty at Miami Beach

In a Friday phone interview, Paul Yellen, president of the Old Lyme Shores Beach Association, said he can’t sign off on a commitment letter without assurances that the rest of the beach communities are on board. 

Yellen said language in the resolution authorizing Old Lyme Shore’s $22.7 million portion of the project, which was approved by association members in May by a two-to-one margin, hinges on the participation of all four beach communities.

There’s no guarantee that the Sound View project will pass in a referendum vote, he said. 

“That referendum, I personally believe, is not a sure thing. It’s not a given,” he said. “There’s a lot of dissension among the town. There is a lot of discussion in the Sound View area as to the need or benefit from the sewer project.”

He estimated the cost for the Old Lyme Shores project could go up by about 10 to 15% if one party drops out.

Yellen said the association’s Board of Governors voted this week, at the recommendation of its Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA), not to sign a letter of intent. 

“We don’t want anyone to get the idea that we are purposely stalling this project,” he said. “We are not doing that. We are trying to follow the vote of our people as well as the legal wording of our resolution.”

Yellen took the helm of the Old Lyme Shores Beach Association about a year ago with the resignation of predecessor Diane Duhaime.

He said there are those in the beach community who want “to put the brakes on” the project while others stress the need to move ahead as quickly as possible. Then there are the external factors.

“We’re getting pressure from one of our partners who’s saying ‘you have to sign, you have to move forward, you’re holding things up, you could be liable for legal action if you don’t sign,’” Yellen said.

He declined to cite which partner he was referring to. 

Whalen, the Old Colony chairman and signatory on the shared infrastructure project, remained optimistic the project would continue fast enough to start construction by January or February. 

He said he expects the Sound View referendum to pass without any issues.

“We feel very comfortable about that,” he said.  

Meanwhile, Shoemaker in a meeting this week told Board of Finance members that Miami Beach officials are working to resolve uncertainty about the results of a vote of their membership last weekend to approve the project. 

Miami Beach Water Pollution Control Authority Chairman Scott Boulanger did not respond to multiple calls for comment.

Sound View Price Goes Up

Old Lyme WPCA Chairman Steve Cinami submitted his resignation at Tuesday’s meeting, effective the last day of this year. 

He said in a Wednesday phone call that he planned his departure to follow the townwide referendum tentatively scheduled for next month.

“By Dec. 31, I would have accomplished my goals,” he said. “We’re either going to have a project or not.”

The project was approved in 2019 at $9.5 million but is now estimated at $19.3 million. Despite more than doubling, the additional state and federal funding keeps the portion paid by users to $11.2 million, Cinami said.

Though all eligible voters in town will get to cast their ballots on the question, it’s Sound View residents who will foot the construction bill over 20 years.

An increase from $17.1 million to $19.3 million, which was authorized by the WPCA earlier this year, was approved in a 6-3 vote at Tuesday’s WPCA meeting.

Prior to the increase, a third-party accounting consultant hired by the town evaluated multiple estimates to determine the typical Sound View user – defined as someone whose house has one bathroom, a kitchen, and four bedrooms or less – would pay about $2,241 per year over the life of the loan. 

Cinami said the increase will bring the total to $3096.85, which is $291.85 higher than the accountant’s figure.

He said Botelho, the town’s bond counsel, recommended the increase to account for the increased price tag for the shared pump station and force main, revised contingency costs, and the shift of certain expenses from annual operating fees into the construction budget.

Cinami, who said roughly $400,000 was added to the budget line for contingencies, described the move as “over cautious.” He doubted the extra funds set aside for unexpected costs would be spent. 

He added that the overall increase could be further mitigated if the town agrees to pave the public streets after the sewers go in. That would move paving costs from the project construction budget to the town budget, which is funded by all taxpayers. He noted candidates on both sides of the aisle brought up the idea as a way to lower costs for Sound View ratepayers during this year’s local election season.

Editor’s Note: Click here for the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen special meeting agenda and the Board of Finance special meeting agenda. Shoemaker said there will be overflow seating available in two Town Hall meeting rooms for remote viewing if necessary.