TOP STORY: Old Lyme’s Shoreline Sewer Project Up in the Air After Sound View Referendum Fails

OLD LYME, CT – One question was answered Tuesday when voters responded with a resounding “no” to spending $20.5 million on sewers in the Sound View Beach area. 

But town officials and representatives of three private beach associations said important questions remain for the effort going back more than 10 years to address concerns from the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) that shoreline septic systems are polluting Long Island Sound. 

Continued criticism about the cost of the project and successive rounds of construction bids coming in higher than anticipated have dragged out the process.

The Sound View plan – which is part of a combined $73.2 million sewer installation project including the beach associations of Miami Beach, Old Colony Beach and Old Lyme Shores – failed by a vote of 925 to 363. 

The total included 270 absentee ballots, with 175 against the project and 95 in favor. 

The 1,288 people who came out to the polls were among the town’s 6,294 registered voters and anyone who owns property assessed at $1,000 or more. 

About half of the Sound View price tag was to be covered by federal grants and a forgivable loan from the DEEP,  according to written information provided by the town prior to the referendum. The document acknowledged that while taxpayers outside the project area would not be expected to pay any charges associated with the project, it was possible the town budget might have to absorb some of the cost. 

That’s because a state law specifies the town can’t charge homeowners more for the sewer system than the value it adds to their property. 

Before last month’s unanimous vote by the three-member Board of Selectmen to send the issue to referendum, Selectman Jim Lampos suggested taxpayers across town could be responsible for up to $4.7 million to cover the difference between the project cost and the amount beach residents could afford. 

Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority (WPCA) Chairman Steve Cinami said in an emailed statement Tuesday night it was unfortunate the Old Lyme Board of Selectmen did not explain the consequences of a failed referendum vote to the public.   

“It will be interesting going forward to see how much money will be spent fighting the DEEP, which all taxpayers will have to absorb,” he said.

DEEP Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Quality Emma Cimino this summer warned continued delays will jeopardize state and federal funding. Cinami has argued voting down the referendum will only drive up costs when the state ultimately forces the town to install sewers. 

Going back to the early 1980s, the state has pushed for an end to pollution emanating from local beach communities. The effort led to a 2018 consent order with private Old Colony Beach, Old Lyme Shores, and Miami Beach that resulted in the current shared sewer plan. The publicly-controlled Sound View Beach was added in 2019 after voters in a townwide referendum agreed to spend $9.5 million with the understanding that affected neighborhoods would fund it.

Tuesday’s referendum sought an additional $11.03 million to cover price increases since the last vote. Cinami has emphasized state and federal aid would leave Sound View residents paying less than the amount previously approved.

The town, which is participating voluntarily in the sewer plan at this point, is doing so under the threat of a consent order from the state like the one forcing the private beach associations to act. 

‘What We Worked For’

Dennis Melluzzo, a Sound View resident appointed to the Old Lyme WPCA last year, has been a vocal critic of the project. After the results came in Tuesday night, he recounted greeting voters outside the town hall all day while offering refreshments.

He said he went through two boxes of coffee and more than two dozen doughnuts. 

Melluzzo identified himself as the co-chairman, along with resident Frank Pappalardo, of the Sound View Sewer Coalition. The grassroots group was established to fight the project. 

“This is what we worked for,” he said of the referendum results. 

Melluzzo said coalition members printed and hand-delivered absentee ballot applications to residents and property owners, provided pre-addressed, stamped envelopes, and followed up to ensure ballots were returned. 

He estimated the group assisted roughly 250 to 300 voters, including seasonal property owners living out of state. Melluzzo said he spent days posting signs and shuttling ballot paperwork. 

He credited efforts by First Selectman Martha Shoemaker and Lampos to ensure voters better understood the financial impact of the project when they voted. 

Sound View residents have long decried the continually rising project price tag and a lack of transparency about the amount each homeowner will have to pay. 

“And I know the WPCA didn’t like the idea of somebody looking at their numbers, but we’ve proved those numbers were incorrect and not truthful,” Melluzzo said. “And that’s all we asked for, was something truthful.”

Shoemaker declined to comment after Tuesday’s vote. She said she’ll have more to say once she meets with representatives of the DEEP after the holidays. The officials are waiting for the results of a crucial vote by members of the Miami Beach Association on their portion of the project later this week. 

DEEP spokesman James Fowler responded to a request for comment with a brief email message on Wednesday.

“The Department is disappointed to learn the results of yesterday’s referendum in Old Lyme and are evaluating next steps,” he wrote. “However, we look forward to continuing work with the town and the beach associations to resolve this pollution challenge.”

Looking Forward

Leaders of the three private beach associations on Wednesday said they don’t know yet how the results of the Sound View referendum will affect the overall project. 

Doug Whalen, chairman of the Old Colony Beach Club Association Board of Governors, expressed disappointment in the results but was optimistic the project could proceed with the three beach associations. 

“We’re just waiting to hear from DEEP as to how we can move this project forward with the hopes that, in the future, Old Lyme can come on board,” he said. 

He said Old Colony and Old Lyme Shores approved letters of intent to let the DEEP know they are ready to proceed. A letter from Miami Beach is pending the association’s Saturday vote. 

Whalen and Miami Beach WPCA Chairman Scott Boulanger said a $15 million forgivable loan from the state for a shared pump station and pressurized pipe mitigates the financial impact for the remaining beach associations if Sound View drops out of the project. 

Boulanger estimated splitting the cost of the shared infrastructure among three parties rather than four will increase Miami Beach’s costs by up to $200,000, or roughly $3 to $4 per month over 20 years.

“In the whole grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really mean much from a financial standpoint,” he said. 

He acknowledged the expense of operating the pump station and force main over time would be greater because there are fewer users to share the cost. 

The discussion comes as Miami Beach members are poised for their Saturday meeting following an inconclusive vote earlier this fall. 

Miami Beach residents need to authorize the project again after the latest round of construction bids for the Miami Beach project came in about $4.45 million over budget. 

Boulanger said he overcomplicated the last vote by trying to provide additional, less expensive options for members. The result was an approval that did not clearly grant legal authority to borrow additional money. 

He said the new vote is to authorize the full amount needed to cover the higher bid costs. This time, the resolution asks for a straight yes-or-no vote, which legal guidance indicates is the legally correct and clearer way to proceed.

No matter what happens, he said residents still need to advocate for a more affordable project. 

“Even if we vote yes, it shouldn’t be over,” he said. “We should be gathering together enough folks to be going after the state to see about trying to get some other kind of grants or funds to support what they call ‘doing the right thing.’” 

If Miami Beach members vote down the project, he said he doesn’t know what will happen – but “it’s going to make a big mess.” 

He predicted litigation and bad press will result if the state continues to push a project that leaves unwilling homeowners with bills they can’t afford. 

“The state’s going to have to be very careful on what they do and how they do it,” he said. “They’re treading on some thin ice and I think they know it.” 

Old Lyme Shores Board of Governors President Paul Yellen said his board decided earlier this month in a 3-2 vote to continue pursuing the shared project, though they remain aware that the town’s decision and Miami Beach’s upcoming vote could change things. 

With the town and the three beach associations involved, he described the project as financially viable for residents. 

“The DEEP said it is affordable with four parties. DEEP has said it’s probably affordable with three parties. But if there’s only two parties – Old Lyme Shores and Old Colony – I don’t know if it’s going to be able to move forward or not,” he said. 

He said the results of the Sound View referendum made it clear the residents of Old Lyme were not in favor of the project. 

He attributed the failure to a lack of communication. 

“The parties that were in favor of moving this forward didn’t seem to do a lot of salesmanship,” Yellen said. “Whereas the parties that were against it, they were everywhere.”

He referenced signs opposing the vote in various locations around town, as well as tables set up in front of the town hall with literature opposing the referendum. 

“And they had donuts, too,” he said. “You know, you can’t beat donuts on polling day.”