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12/28/2015 11:00 PMThere was a lot to write about in Old Saybrook in 2015. The year started with controversy over a requested replacement for the Police Department’s aged patrol boat, a request that was soundly denied by voters early on and later resulted in a changeover of Police Commission members in the November election. The year also started with several noteworthy development plans that broke ground in 2015, and also saw the long-delayed artificial turf field project at Old Saybrook High School finally reach completion. In what’s likely the most memorable move in 2015, the town joined with the state and neighbors to preserve The Preserve, 1,000 acres of coastal forest, forever.
January
The Police Commission approved a requested $3,324,790 operational budget for the Police Department on Jan. 7. If approved by the town, it would support contractual increases for the 25 sworn police officers and dispatchers and maintain the current school resource officer program. No new sworn officers are proposed.
The Board of Selectmen sent on to the Board of Finance a Department of Police Services request for $90,392 in town funds to match a $271,177 federal grant to buy a new police boat. At the following Board of Finance meeting, there were two votes: The first 3-3 vote denied approval; Police Chief Michael Spera then spoke, challenging the vote, and a second vote after Spera spoke moved the funding request to Town Meeting by a 5-1 vote. A successful voter’s petition forced the police boat funding decision to town referendum instead.
The Board of Directors of Elderly Housing Development Corporation of Old Saybrook and Old Saybrook Senior Housing received a $2 million state grant to support 15 more senior housing units on Sheffield Street.
On Jan. 31, Assessor Norm Wood certified the 2014 Town Grand List of Taxable Property; the overall value rose a little more than one percent.
February
In a huge turnout, residents voted 1,087 to 669 to deny the Department of Police Services boat town funding.
The Board of Education approved a budget of $24,979,948, an increase of 3.18 percent over the current year. This budget moved on to the Board of Finance for review.
The Board of Selectmen approved a new three-year contract negotiated between the town and the Town Supervisors Union. The eight members get a two-percent raise this year, a 2.25 percent raise in 2015-’16, and a 2.25 percent increase in 2016-’17. Concessions include health insurance plan changes.
The annual Chamber of Commerce Chili-Fest was held on Feb. 28, with support from Guilford Savings Bank; 26 local chefs participated, and the Shoreline Arts Alliance’s third annual Mardi Gras Gala was held at Saybrook Point Inn and Spa on Feb. 7.
The Board of Selectmen approved a budget for town government operations, without debt service, that rises by $329,850 or 2.2 percent. Debt service payments go up by $346,000 with two-thirds of the debt increase tied to financing the town’s cost-share of The Preserve land purchase.
March
The Zoning Commission opened a public hearing on the new Eastpointe residential development site plan on March 2. The 186-unit multi-family residential project on North Main Street is in an incentive housing zone. The first site plan before the Zoning Commission in fall 2014 was rejected.
On March 2, the Water Pollution Control Authority issued $975 septic system upgrade program management bills for Phase One homeowners using Clean Water Fund loans.
Old Saybrook High School (OSHS) Senior Dylan Lyons and a cast of four OSHS seniors earned the top award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble at this month’s Connecticut Drama Association State Festival.
The State Department of Transportation awarded Dayton Construction of Watertown a contract for $2,423,247 to build a 199-space train station parking lot on North Main Street. Construction started this month and was expected to be done by the end of 2015.
The State’s Office of Policy and Management last week awarded the town a $15,000 grant to pay for a consultant, Blum Shapiro, to develop a request for proposal for a new computerized accounting system.
The town won a $50,500 Making Places state grant to pay the firm Goman+York Property Advisors for a market analysis of reuse options for the Shoreline Electric Railway Power House at Ferry Point.
The OSHS drama team staged the musical West Side Story to great acclaim.
On March 26, the school district opened 11 contractor bids to replace the middle school roof; the lowest qualified bid of $1,218,776 from Allied Restoration was $300,000 below the project budget. The Goodwin School window project low bid of $1,556,619 was from Rudolph Netsch Construction.
April
The Zoning Commission voted four to one to approve Eastpointe’s second site plan application for a 186-unit rental development at 7 North Main Street.
The Board of Finance cut the selectman-approved town budget by $91,040; of the amount cut, $45,000 was from the Police Department budget. Another $50,000 cut was made to the Board of Education budget. Both budgets moved to a May town referendum to decide on a Board of Education budget of $24,929,948 and a town government budget of $18,741,738.
The Department of Police Services officially moved from its temporary headquarters on Custom Drive to a new station at 36 Lynde Street on April 16. Work to complete the punch list of unfinished items continued.
On April 30, with a transfer of funds from the title company to the landowner, the Town of Old Saybrook, the Essex Land Trust, and the State of Connecticut officially became owners of the thousand acre parcel known as The Preserve.
Kathleen Goodwin Elementary School Principal Sheila Brown announced to the Board of Education that she would retire from her position at the end of this school year.
May
A bequest from former Goodwin School kindergarten teacher Johanna (Jody) Endrich paid for labor and materials to build a new gazebo and outdoor teaching area at the school; it opened this month.
Responding to the Board of Education’s demand to restart work to install the high school turf field or face consequences, Guerrera Construction returned its equipment to the work site early this month.
In a detailed memorandum delivered to Police Commission Chairman Robert Finch this month, the Democratic Town Committee asked the commission “to undertake a disciplinary investigation into the conduct of Police Chief Michael Spera before the Old Saybrook Board of Finance on Oct. 21, 2014.”
The State Bonding Commission approved $7.5 million for work to return North Cove harbor and channel to its federally authorized widths and depths, work left undone and unfunded for many years.
The Old Saybrook Garden Club held its annual Gardener’s Market on the Town Green; the annual Old Saybrook Green-Up Day sent volunteers to town’s parks and beaches to clean up; and Old Saybrook High School seniors and juniors went to the prom.
The Ledyard Canoe Club of Dartmouth College arrived in town after its annual 222-mile May paddle.
The Town of Old Saybrook’s electors on May 12 approved budgets for the town and schools that would be an increase of $1.2 million or 2.9 percent. The Board of Finance set the new mill rate at 18.73 mills.
June
The town put out to bid this month Phase 1 of a project to build a new municipal parking lot and town park at 225 Main Street, connecting Main Street to Lynde Street at the site of the former police station.
Yale New Haven Health opened a new medical center at 633 Middlesex Turnpike to serve the shoreline.
The town had received $595,865 as FEMA fund reimbursement for Superstorm Sandy damages.
A total of 122 OSHS seniors graduated this month, Children’s Librarian Phyllis DaCorte retired from Acton Library’s staff, the Chestnut Hill Concert Series at the Kate began, and the Esty siblings Richard, Susan and Janis, were honored with the Spirit of Saybrook award.
July
The turf field’s new replacement base material for the drainage layer was delivered to the high school and installed. Installation of the turf itself is scheduled to start on July 20.
Town officials learned this month that the Federal Railroad Administration has agreed to fund a train station building and site renovation project as proposed by the National Railroad Passenger Corporation (AMTRAK). Planned tasks will improve the train station’s handicapped-accessibility for patrons and staff.
With the existing police boat deemed not seaworthy by an independent inspector, the Police Department had proposed leasing a boat for $17,000 to use in summer marine patrols. The Board of Finance denied the request, leaving the Police Department without marine patrol options this summer.
Acton Public Library’s overgrown and unkempt landscaping was replaced with smaller bushes and weeds in the beds by a town contractor this month. Acton Library also introduced a new library card with the Childress shoreline mural scene screened onto it.
At a July 28 Town Meeting, voters approved a request to transfer 0.21 acres of a portion of a town road ending to Marine Cove Marina in exchange for $5,000 and private funding of a road and drainage fix.
The Board of Finance approved a financing plan for the Public Works Department to buy a new front loader for $155,000. The request moves on to town meeting for a vote.
Citing a $45,000 budget reduction in the police budget, Police Chief Michael Spera asked the Board of Education for a $7,168 payment to cover the cost of school traffic control by community service officers. By unanimous vote, however, the Board of Education denied the chief’s July 13 funding request.
The 52nd Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce’s annual Arts and Crafts Festival was on the Town Green.
August
Governor Dannel Malloy, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal, and state and local officials joined together this month for the ribbon cutting ceremony that officially opened The Preserve lands to the public.
Construction to add a left turn lane from the Boston Post Road into Chalker Beach to fix drainage issues at the Boston Post Road at Center Road West was finished this month. This work was required as a condition of the State Traffic Commission permit for the Max’s Place retail center on Spencer Plains Road.
The town decided not to accept the bids submitted in July for Phase One of the Main Street connection park because the total project cost would not have been fully offset by the town’s $500,000 STEAP grant. A new STEAP grant will be sought to add to the project resources.
The town this month inked an easement agreement with Frontier Communications property to improve the design options for the pedestrian connection between Main Street and Lynde Street.
Amity Goss starts work this month as interim director of Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment, taking over the role from Heston Sutman. Sutman in turn will fill the slot of interim principal at Goodwin Elementary School filling the vacancy left by Sheila Brown’s retirement.
Three homeowners who appealed WPCA benefit assessments for their share of the site-specific septic system upgrades have agreed to a negotiated settlement with the town that ends the dispute.
At a Police Commission meeting where the subject of a Democratic Town Committee petition asking for an investigation of Chief Spera’s comments at a Board of Finance meeting arose, no action was taken.
On July 30, former state senator Eileen Daily, the 33rd District representative for 20 years, passed away.
September
The Old Saybrook school district’s students returned to school this month instead of August to allow contractors one more week to complete work on various school projects, including the middle school roof, Goodwin School windows, and athletic facility improvements at the high school.
Middle school students faced a new schedule this fall that included two time slots for specials classes instead of just one and shifted class scheduling from a five-day to a six-day class period rotation.
After more than a year of project delay, the new synthetic turf field at OSHS finally opened. The first game played on it was a varsity high school girls’ soccer match—which the team won.
The Estuary Council of Seniors Shoreline Chef competition came to the Town Green on Sept. 20.
The Board of Selectmen voted to award a contract to Macri Roofing for $24,755 to fabricate and install a built-in gutter system using lead coated copper metal on both sides of the Town Hall entrance. Also the town held a workshop to present the plans for the X 2016 North Main Street rebuilding project.
October
The Healthy Community Healthy Youth Initiative had a Community Conversation at The Kate to discuss results of a 2014 administration of the Search Institute survey of students.
The Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce holds its sixth annual business expo at the Valley Shore Y and the Workforce Alliance a Job Fair at the Mulvey Municipal Center.
The Pasbeshauke Pavilion was re-named the Vicki G. Duffy Pavilion to honor Duffy’s service to the town. Duffy, who passed away this year, was director of the Parks and Recreation Department for 40 years.
The Eastern Connecticut Ballet held its second annual Spooktacular at The Kate.
The Saybrook Point Inn and Spa had the second annual Pumpkins on the Point day on Oct. 31 and the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce had a great reception for its new, community-wide scarecrow contest.
November
The November elections returned Republican First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., and Selectman Scott Giegerich to the Board of Selectmen. Joining them is new Democrat Selectman Carol Conklin. J. Colin Heffernan, Fortuna’s opponent, did not win enough votes to be seated on the Board of Selectmen. The election brought the biggest changes to the town’s Police Commission; the former Chairman Bob Finch was not re-elected to the Commission and several new members joined.
OSHS staged the play Almost, Maine.
At the annual Town Meeting, First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., announced that the Annual Report of the Town of Old Saybrook would be dedicated to past town fire chief, former police dispatcher, and officer David G. Heiney, Sr., who died suddenly on Feb. 10. Electors also approved the $155,000 for a John Deere loader and $4,200 to paint the Town Hall front door area.
The Old Saybrook Department of Police Services continued to cope with unaddressed construction warranty issues at the new 36 Lynde Street station more than seven months after it opened. Problems include floors that have buckled and failed, pavement not installed to specs, and poor humidity control.
Old Saybrook Police once again organized the Give the Cops the Bird event, collecting frozen turkeys from residents on the Saturday before Thanksgiving at Stop & Shop. The donated turkeys and other food items were distributed by the Youth & Family Services agency to local families in need.
The Youth & Family Services agency also coordinated the Holiday Giving program, which matches willing donors with families in need to give children and teens in these families special holiday gifts.
Goman+York presented the results of the firm’s market analysis of re-use options for the former Shoreline Electric Railway Powerhouse at Ferry Point to town officials and the property owner.
December
The WPCA voted to expand the engineering firm’s feasibility studies of two offsite community wastewater treatment sites, the Donnelly’s property and the high school.
Demolition of a former motel and land clearing began at 7 North Main Street, the future site of a 186-unit rental development to be known as Post and Main, formerly known as the Eastpointe project.
Staff of the Youth & Family Services agency had to relocate operations to the lower level of Town Hall while mold remediation and cleaning continues at its historic Main Street building. The staff is projected to return to their Main Street home by the end of January 2016.
Annual traditions that ring in the holiday season include the annual visit of Wreaths Across America, the Heroes Tree Lighting and Saybrook Stroll on Main Street, and the Torchlight Parade.
Donated gifts and food items were distributed to families in need this month through the Youth & Family Services agency’s holiday giving program.