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Old Saybrook News Briefs

Town Meeting On Grant Match, YFS Site Fixes: On Jan. 19, the Board of Selectmen and the Board of Finance approved moving two requested appropriations, one at $20,000 and the other at $48,000, to a Town Meeting vote set for Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. at the Pavilion.

The first request is for $20,000 from the town’s Municipal Reserve Fund (capital and non-recurring account) as the town’s 10 percent match for a $200,000 State of Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) grant, a Brownfield Area-wide Revitalization (BAR) Planning Grant.

The second was for $48,000 from the town’s Municipal Reserve Fund (capital and non-recurring account)to pay for town expenses to repair and upgrade the Youth & Family Services (YFS) agency building on Main Street, and to replace certain YFS furniture and fixtures.

On the YFS building task list are life safety code-related upgrades like work to widen and rebuild the central staircase as well as electrical upgrades. A mason has already removed two unneeded chimneys for the roof; the roof area beneath the chimneys was patched to prevent future water intrusion. The masonry chimney columns left behind were capped off in the building’s attic. Another project related to water conservation, replacement of three old toilets with new, lower-flow versions, is planned work that will be paid for by the Connecticut Water Company.

Work to remediate mold found at the YFS building in November 2015 was completed by J.P. Maguire under contract to the town’s insurance provider, CIRMA. As a covered incident, the town’s insurance coverage will pay for this work, after the town’s deductible is satisfied. This month J.P. Maguire began tasks to restore the YFS building by repainting the interior and installing new carpeting throughout.

Commissions Weigh Mariner’s Way Zone Changes: A package of zone changes and zoning map changes proposed by the Economic Development Commission for the Mariner’s Way area were presented to the Planning Commission on Jan. 6. No action was taken.

More discussion of the Mariner’s Way changes and their potential impact was planned for the Planning Commission meeting of Jan. 20.

Mariner’s Way was the name coined by the Ad Hoc Committee that studied Route One east of Route 154 and Ferry Road. That area currently is mostly populated with commercial and industrial uses along with some residential areas as Route One approaches Ferry Point.

The Zoning Commission will be presented with the Mariner’s Way zoning proposals at its next regular meeting set for Monday, Feb. 1. While discussion of the changes will begin on that date, no action is anticipated.

Town Receives State BAR Grant: With only $1 million set aside state-wide for Brownfields Area-Wide Revitalization (BAR) planning grants, the Town of Old Saybrook was fortunate to have its proposal for Mariner’s Way be one of the few work plans chosen for state BAR funding.

“It’s exciting, very exciting,” said First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr.

Fortuna said it also shows town follow-through. An Ad Hoc Study Committee of volunteers was formed several years ago to study the Route One East and Ferry Road areas and develop recommendations to spur its redevelopment and revitalizaion. The Mariner’s Way concept and plan was the product of that committee effort.

Now the recommendations included in that plan helped form the basis for an application to the state for this BAR Planning Grant. This grant’s product in turn will help the town to implement the recommendations that arose from the volunteer committee’s efforts.

“This is a great example of allowing committees to do their work, present their recommendations, and then securing grants to implement them,” said Fortuna.

The town learned it had received the $200,000 BAR Planning grant in a Jan. 14 call from Tim Sullivan of the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.

“The grant will allow the Town of Old Saybrook to do additional planning for revitalizing Mariner’s Way,” said Economic Development Coordinator Susie Beckman.

The proposed work plan approved by the state would begin with the town hiring a consultant or team with experience in landscape architecture, marketing, and branding of areas like Mariner’s Way. Among the consultant’s tasks would be to develop a Mariner’s Way logo and landscaping, design, and architectural concepts to define and help to market the area. A new website focusing on this area would be another task. The consultant would also be responsible for data collection and for conducting public charrettes or workshops to get community input on proposed design and marketing concepts for the area.

A key product of the process would be a professional master plan for the revitalization and marketing of the town’s Mariner’s Way area.