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12/26/2016 11:00 PMJanuary
Mold remediation work at the vacated Youth & Family Services Building continued this month. The agency staff and operations operated temporarily from the lower level of Town Hall. First Selectman Carl Fortuna, Jr., decided to tackle other long-needed maintenance and code-compliance tasks in the building. The mold remediation work was paid for by the town’s insurance carrier, CIRMA.
The Jan. 27 Town Meeting approved $20,000 appropriation to match a $200,000 state grant, a Brownfield Area-wide Revitalization grant to study the Mariner’s Way area.
The town was awarded a $125,000 state grant for coastal resiliency planning.
Nine months after the Police Department relocated to the new Lynde Street Police Station, a dispute between project subcontractors over who is responsible for a defective epoxy flooring installation in the detention wing left the area’s flooring unrepaired.
Eversource installed LED streetlamps of different intensities to replace older sodium-vapor lamps on Sheffield, Main, and College Streets in a pilot replacement program.
The Zoning Commission weighed changes to zoning rules for the Boston Post Road East area (Mariner’s Way); the changes were proposed by the town’s Economic Development Commission.
New fiber-optic cable and a new connection to the state’s Nutmeg network in January means that town offices are capable of backing up town files at gigabit speeds.
Preserve volunteer Chris Cryder reported that volunteers had removed 1,350 of the 1,400 percolation test pipes that prospective developers had installed on The Preserve property years ago.
The Board of Education (BOE) chose Heston Sutman, the school’s interim principal, as Kathleen E. Goodwin Elementary School’s new permanent principal.
On Jan. 5, the BOE accepted a $1 million bequest from Florence Griswold Malcarne; the BOE will use it to fund two annual health career scholarships.
This month marked the third annual Fire & Ice Festival at Saybrook Point Inn and Spa and first spring of a new CPTV concert series to be filmed live at The Kate.
The Connecticut State Bonding Commission approved a $2 million grant to the Elderly Housing Development Corporation of Old Saybrook to support building 15 new elderly affordable housing units on a vacant lot at 57 Sheffield Street.
Assessor Norm Wood certified the new Grand List of Taxable Property for 2015 on Jan. 31; the overall value dropped slightly.
February
A ribbon-cutting ceremony on Feb. 4 celebrated the opening of the new 199-space State Department of Transportation train commuters’ public parking lot at the Old Saybrook Train Station.
Lisa Radke Carver, the town’s first finance director, passed away on Feb. 10 after a long illness.
The BOE approved a proposed school budget that would increase spending by 2.74 percent over the current year, add a long-sought math coach, and reduce certified staff by a net two positions.
The Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce held its 27th annual Chili Fest on Feb. 27.
On Feb. 28, the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center held its annual Oscar Party fundraising event.
Shoreline Fitness operations in both Old Saybrook and Clinton closed its doors abruptly on Feb. 27, leaving gym members in the lurch. Funktion Fitness, a new business, announced it would renovate the gyms and re-open soon.
March
On March 8, a Town Meeting approved $74,568 to buy and equip a surplus 25-foot Coast Guard boat to use for Police Department Marine Patrol. Of the total, $52,500 would come from unspent Marine Patrol funds—with no boat to use, the marine patrol did not operate in summer 2015—and $22,068 would be new town money. Also approved was $125,000 to perform a Coastal Resilience Study and Infrastructure Evaluation; this is offset by a $125,000 State grant. In other action, electors approved $200,000 for a Brownfields Area Revitalization planning project for the Route One East area (Mariner’s Way), with costs to be offset by a state grant in the same amount.
With work to remediate mold, do code-compliance work, and make building repairs done, the Youth & Family Services Agency this month moved back into its Main Street building from temporary quarters in the lower level of Town Hall.
An unexpected bequest was made to the McMurray Kirtland Memorial Fund (now the Law Enforcement Fund) of $62,500 by Drusilla F. Chatfield.
Families once again enjoyed the annual Parks & Recreation Department’s Rock Hunt at Clark Community Park and, with the support of the Old Saybrook Lions Club, the annual Easter Egg Hunt on the Old Saybrook Middle School athletic field.
Old Saybrook High School staged the musical Into the Woods
.
The Old Saybrook Education Foundation held its annual auction fundraiser at Saybrook Point Inn; proceeds support school enrichment programming and scholarships.
The town’s BOS’s budget adopted this month would increase town spending next year by 2.16 percent; when combined with the spending plan approved by the BOE spending overall would rise by 2.49 percent or $1.09 million.
April
At a ceremony on April 7, a new outdoor chess board, an Eagle Scout project of state chess champion Alex Ruth, was celebrated at Old Saybrook Middle School.
On April 13, state legislators and local officials from shoreline communities joined together to oppose the significant education cost sharing grant cuts proposed by Governor Dannel Malloy and the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee.
Old Saybrook’s town government and schools budgets of $44.8 million were presented at an April 21 public hearing. With threats of state aid cuts, the Board of Finance cut $96,500 from the town budget and $175,000 from the schools budget.
From April 21 to 23, Old Saybrook High School hosted the New England Drama Festival with dramatists hailing from throughout New England. On April 30, two Old Saybrook Middle School teams competed in the state-wide Invention Convention at the University of Connecticut.
The Zoning Commission voted to deny the Mariner’s Way zoning changes proposed by the EDC.
Town leaders discuss Middlesex Hospital’s proposal to have local governments share the cost of providing 24/7 paramedic coverage at a cost of $1 per capita in the first year. The service had previously been provided at no cost to towns.
May
With only five percent of registered voters voting, the town approved the $19 million town budget by a margin of three to one and the $25.4 million schools budget by a margin of two to one at a May 2 referendum. The Board of Finance set the new mill rate at 19.26 mills.
The Old Saybrook Gardener’s Market, organized by the Old Saybrook Garden Club, graced the Town Green on May 6 and May 7.
Old Saybrook’s former Shoreline Fitness gym facility on Main Street re-opened as Funktion Fitness in early May.
The volunteers of the Old Saybrook Preserve Ad Hoc Committee this month finished posting interim trail signs and erecting map kiosks at The Preserve trailheads.
The historic James Pharmacy and Soda Foundation on Main Street re-opened this month as James Farmacy, an organic cafe and juice bar. The original soda fountain, woodwork, and cabinetry were reused in the interior.
On May 28, Old Saybrook had its annual Memorial Day Parade.
Old Saybrook High School juniors and seniors enjoyed their prom at the Mystic Marriott this month.
June
A June 1 Town Meeting endorsed two non-profit group’s applications to the state for tax credits under the Neighborhood Assistance Act. Applicants were The Kate (for upgrades to the building’s HVAC system and energy efficiency measures) and the Connecticut Sports Foundation Against Cancer.
The June 1 Town Meeting also saw electors approve a $50,000 appropriation to pay a consultant to do a natural resource inventory, plan, and public use assessment for The Preserve and a $13,000 appropriation from the Law Enforcement Fund to support work to replace the Town Beach pavilion.
On June 4, the Old Saybrook Historical Society hosted its annual Antique Show and Appraisal Day while on June 5, the Old Saybrook Chamber of Commerce had its first ever Classic Car Show at the Old Saybrook Shopping Center.
Old Saybrook High School graduated 128 seniors this month.
Old Saybrook was awarded a $125,000 Transit-Oriented Development grant by the state to pay for engineering to make bid-ready plans for town improvements to Stage Road and for fully-landscaped sidewalks linking North Main Street, Stage Road, and Boston Post Road.
The BOS voted to hire Dan Moran as the town’s part-time facilities director to assess the condition and needs of town buildings and oversee funded capital maintenance projects. Also approved by BOS vote was a contract settlement with the Police Dispatchers Union that awards members a 1.25 percent raise in the first year.
A June 23 Town Meeting approved an additional $17,000 to complete the $30,000 Beach Pavilion project budget.
On June 14, the BOS approved the Harbor Management Commission’s capital plan for how the $411,000 in the Harbor Fund will be used. In the 2016-’17 year, there are two projects: $12,500 to replace the Sheffield Street Town Dock and $12,500 to plan replacement of the town’s Ferry Road Dock.
July
The BOS approved a bond refunding sale that would refund $9.55 million in bonds from the town’s 2013 bond issue and some bonds from a 2009 bond issue; in their place, the town sold $9.775 million in new bonds carrying a lower projected interest rate than those being refunded. The town will save at least $200,000 in the first year on debt payments with this sale.
The Department of Police Services officially launched its new Marine 1 Patrol Boat in a dockside ceremony on July 1 and resumed marine patrols.
Appeals from the Old Saybrook Historical Society to preserve the oldest portion of 15 North Main Street, the future home of the CT Sports Foundation Against Cancer headquarters, were heard. The applicant told the Architectural Review Board and the Zoning Commission that most historic portion and its front façade will be preserved. The revised proposal was approved in August.
The 53rd annual Chamber of Commerce Arts and Crafts Festival was held on the Town Green.
August
Fortuna told the BOS the town would have nearly a $700,000 surplus for the budget year that ended June 30; $550,000 of the total is tied to unanticipated fee-based revenue.
On Aug. 2, the town released a request for proposals for consultants to do a forest stewardship management and public use assessment plan for The Preserve; the work is supported by a $50,000 grant to the town from the State of Connecticut’s Preserve Stewardship Fund.
An August Town Meeting approved $170,000 to engage SunGard Services for conversion of the town’s accounting system to the SunGard K-12 system. A new Key Fob Entry security system was installed this month at Town Hall.
Schools opened on Aug. 31.
The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center held its annual Summer Gala, this year honoring Dick Cavett with a Katharine Hepburn Award.
September
The Old Saybrook Historical Society sponsored the Showcase of Homes tour and fundraising event on Sept. 10.
A moving and anonymous tribute of flags was posted in rows on the Town Green in the evenings before 9/11.
The Town Meeting approved $170,000 to fund conversion to a new computerized accounting system; the new financial accounting system will go live on July 1, 2017.
The Ad Hoc Police Study Committee shared with the Police Commission a draft Request for Proposal it had developed for an independent assessment of the Department of Police Services.
On Sept. 25, researchers from the Mashantucket Museum and Research Center presented to the public the findings—and shared artifacts found—of its multi-year archaeological dig and investigation of the Saybrook Fort historic site.
The BOE adopted a new five-year strategic plan to guide the district’s and each school building’s school improvement efforts and address projected demographic shifts.
Summer readers at Acton Library donated 385 cans of cat food to the Valley Shore Animal League in lieu of getting personal prizes.
The Planning Commission discussed the language and implications of a proposed draft demolition delay ordinance.
October
At an Oct. 17 Town Meeting, electors approved $138,000 in appropriations for capital maintenance projects at town buildings including roof work at Acton Library, replacement of heat pumps at the library, and various repairs to Town Hall and the Parks & Recreation Building. Also included was $37,157 for upgrades to the HVAC systems at The Kate.
The Chamber of Commerce sponsored Scarecrow Fest 2016,
a community-wide competition.
The Eastern Connecticut Ballet hosted its second annual Ballet Spooktacular
at The Kate.
The Old Saybrook Historical Society held its annual Cypress Cemetery Tour, sharing stories about the famous residents buried there; rain cut the event short.
A Walmart Foundation grant of $25,000 to the Estuary Council of Seniors paid for replacement of the aging dishwasher at the Estuary Center.
The new Post & Main
apartment complex on North Main Street held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the first tenants who move in on Oct. 29. The development, when finished in 2017, will have 186 one- and two-bedroom rental units in various buildings.
November
On Nov. 5, the annual Harvest Home event at the 1678 Bushnell Farm, owned by Herb and Sherry Clark, a celebration and demonstration of early farm life, engaged many. The Clarks also received the Old Saybrook Historical Society’s first Historical Society Preservation Award.
In the November elections, Republican Art Linares, Jr., was re-elected to the 33rd District Senate seat; Devin Carney, running unopposed, was re-elected state representative of the 23rd House District. Republican Paul Formica was re-elected as state senator for the 20th State Senate District.
On Nov. 8, the BOE approved a new three-year contract with the teachers union with an annual wage increase of 3.24 percent in the first year, 3.48 percent in the second year, and 3.33 percent in the third year. Teachers will also pay higher health insurance premium cost-shares and the district, after years of trying, was able to gain agreement to compress 25 wage steps into 15 steps.
The annual HEAT Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser on Nov. 10 at Firemen’s Field once again raised in excess of $10,000 to offset the costs of winter heat for families and individuals in need.
In a Nov. 16 ceremony, the Old Saybrook Economic Development Commission honored four local Saybrook businesses for excellence: Angus McDonald/Gary Sharpe & Associates, The Paint Shop, Walt’s Market, and Luigi’s Restaurant.
The annual Give the Cop the Bird promotion yielded more than 600 turkeys and thousands of canned goods to donate to local families in need for the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas. Similarly the holiday giving program coordinated by Youth & Family Services, with support from the Old Saybrook Department of Police Services toy collection drive, again collected many gift cards and gifts for all ages for local families in need of assistance.
The town replaced ailing and dead ornamental trees on Main Street this month with a selection of new young flowering trees and some other trees.
A Community Kick-off meeting for the Mariner’s Way planning and branding project was attended by more than 50 residents and town officials.
Lisa Carver, the town’s first finance director who died after a long illness on Feb. 10, was named the Annual Report honoree.
December
Old Saybrook visitors and residents once more enjoyed the annual Saybrook Stroll on Dec. 2 and the Heroes Tree-lighting ceremony and the Torchlight Parade on Dec. 10.
The “Play me! I’m Yours” Street Art piano in front of Raeleen St. Pierre’s Fred Astaire Dance Studio/Bloom Ballroom celebrated its first very successful season on Main Street.
State Department of Revenue Services for Neighborhood Assistance Act tax credits were approved—$114,000 was approved for The Kate work and up to $3,000 for energy measures at the CT Sports Foundation Against Cancer’s new offices on North Main Street.