TOWN OF OLD SAYBROOK

WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY

302 MAIN STREET

OLD SAYBROOK, CT 06475-2369

SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES

Monday, July 23, 2007

The Town of Old Saybrook Water Pollution Control Authority met on Monday, July 23, 2007, in the Old Saybrook Middle School Auditorium at 60 Sheffield Street, Old Saybrook, Connecticut to conduct a special meeting in lieu of the regularly scheduled second Monday of the month meeting.

I. Call to Order

The meeting was called to order by Chairman Robert Powitz at 7:30PM.

II. Roll Call of Members – by WPCA Secretary

WPCA Secretary, George Gwizd, called the roll of members; Chairman Robert Powitz, Vice Chairman/Secretary George Gwizd, Doris Zumbroski, Chuck Wehrly, Pavel Wilson, Robert Hansen, Nelson Engborg and John Claffey were present. Elsa Payne was absent.

Also in attendance were; Coordinator Steve Luckett, 1^st Selectman Michael Pace, WPCA Recording Clerk, Robbie Marshall, and members of the public.

III. Chairman’s Introduction and Comments

Chairman Powitz referred to the ad (up on the screen) that was placed in the newspaper regarding the meeting announcement. He said the meeting is strictly on the grant proposal and he would not entertain anything concerning; sewers, sewer avoidance, advanced treatment systems, the DEP or DPH.

A motion was made by George Gwizd to table all regular WPCA business until the next meeting of August 13, 2007. It was seconded by Nelson Engborg and carried unanimously.

Chairman Powitz said the WPCA members and the 1^st Selectman were present and that this grant is a unique opportunity for Old Saybrook. The slides were reproduced for the audience as a 2-page handout. The names of the members are on the bottom of the page. He said he would ask Mr. Pace to speak and then invite comments from the audience after the presentation.

IV. Public Hearing: Small Cities Grant Application

Chairman Powitz turned the meeting over to Coordinator Luckett to present the Grant Proposal information on PowerPoint slides.

Mr. Luckett explained that the meeting was a public hearing to describe some of the components of the grant. He proceeded to review the slides with the following information on them (as copied from the handout.)

Small Cities Grant Program Public Hearing

The Small Cities Grant Program is administered by the State of Connecticut

Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD)

Examples of these grants include:

          Housing, Windows, Siding, Roofing, Insulation, Storm Doors, General Home repairs,

Transportation, Food Clothing, Rent assistance, Education, Land acquisition and more.

Purpose

·         The Old Saybrook Water Pollution Control Authority is initiating this grant application

to further support and promote the Town’s Plan of Conservation and Development

·         The grant is designed to provide financial assistance for income-eligible homeowners

to help pay for septic system repairs, maintenance, replacement and upgrades.

Why we are here

· To review and discuss a proposed application to the State Department of
Economic Community Development for funds under the Small Cities Program.

·         The Old Saybrook Water Pollution Authority, will coordinate and manage the
application materials.

· We need to obtain your views on the Town’s community development and
and housing needs and review and discuss specific project activities in the
areas of housing, economic development or community facilities.

Current Old Saybrook Grant Initiatives:

The Town already has the following grants and initiatives:

·         Elder tax relief

·         Energy assistance

·         Septic system pump-outs – 1996

·         Community recreation areas

                   Saybrook Point, Goodwin School, Middle School, High School, Kavanaugh Park,

Clark Field, Harvey’s Beach Playscapes

                   Recreation Center

                   Pocket Parks

                   Open Space Initiatives

                   Town Docks and launches

                   Public Water access points

The Grant Process

·         Application is due by September 14, 2007

·        Town of Old Saybrook is seeking $500,000 in its sewer avoidance program to
assist septic system repairs, maintenance, replacement, and upgrades for
existing homes  

·        The grant is not limited to any area of the Town, rather it will be applied
throughout the Town.

·        Individual homeowners receiving monies from this grant are not subject to
Interest on the loan, or repayment schedules.

· The grant is limited to primary residences (owner occupied).

·         Grant monies are not available for commercial properties.

· Confidential application for assistance will be through Old Saybrook Social Services.

·         The WPCA will work in conjunction with Social Services for the awarding of loans.

·         Eligibility does not consider personal assets, rather, it is entirely based on annual
Income and is determined by Old Saybrook Social Services.

§    $40,000 for individual or couples

§    $60,000 for a family of four

·         Although technically a loan, granted money does not have to be repaid until the property changes hands or real estate transfer.

· At this point the granted money is repaid to a committed revolving fund and
reused by families and individuals in similar circumstances for similar

situations.

Grant Selection Process

·         WPCA forwards resolution to the Board of Selectman with a recommendation to apply for this grant.

· Our application goes into a competitive review process.

· Unique approach – sewer avoidance.

· Once reviewed the resulting scores are ranked.

·         Project selections are made.  This application is unique.

·         Determination of funding follows approval.

Chairman Powitz said that he is a practicing health director for 3 towns and the grant is unique. He introduced Mr. Pace.

Mr. Pace discussed the various projects in Town and said over the last 8-years they have applied for several Small Cities Grants. We received $640, 000 for the renovation of the Senior Center. This allowed them to do the work without going into debt. The Katharine Hepburn Theater project received a $300,000 grant. The schools, old Town Hall, and recreation projects received grants. So there are thousands of dollars available through the feds and through the State that are both competitive and entitlement grants. We have gone after the competitive grants very strenuously. We have to compete with other towns for a pool of money that the State and the feds have put together for certain categories. We are eligible for Small Cities Grants. He discussed the abatement for firefighters, energy assistance, and tax relief for the elderly. Why? As a community we have a responsibility to everybody. This grant is unique. He gave the following example; when you have a roof that needs repair after 35-years, you fix it. When it’s under the ground it gets put off until it gets worse and the repair becomes more expensive. We looked at where we could get a grant to help those people who meet income categories. We were pleased to see that the levels ($40,000 and $60,000) were as high as they are. If a septic system needs a small repair to a full replacement, they can apply to the Town. If they are eligible they get the funds to fix it. It is a loan. If they live in the house for the next 20-years they don’t pay it. They don’t pay back the loan until they leave the house. So there is no pressure. As long as they stay in the house and don’t transfer the title or sell it. It is on the books. There is no interest accumulated. This is a grant for those who live in this Town to fix their septic systems, stay in their house, and make sure the environmental issues are taken care of. Yes it does help with sewer avoidance and we have told the DEP we will be making improvements on a lot-by-lot basis. But this does not have to be in a beach area. It can be anyplace. Your assets are not a determining factor, just your annual income. When the money is paid back it stays in Old Saybrook; it is a revolving fund. It goes to another family who needs the money. It is a competitive grant so we will keep you apprised. The Senior Center project went well and Katherine Hepburn project is going well. That’s what these funds are for; to help small towns build projects that deliver services or in this instance case specific services.

Chairman Powitz said that Old Saybrook is very fortunate to have an excellent resource person; the Health Director Mary Jane Engle. She and the Chairman have been in the field long enough to understand that if a family cannot afford a repair and have a break out, there is a health use. This will short circuit that health issue. This is a blessing for anyone who lives next to a home where a family is not financially able to affect immediate repair. This protects the health of the community from wastewater. There were no comments from the WPCA. He turned the meeting over to comments and questions from the audience.

Jean Castagno read a prepared statement. She said, we do not want a Small Cities Grant for any reason least of all because the money is free to the town. The money is not free. She said that is a lien on the property until the loan is repaid. Mrs. Castagno described the Elderly Tax Relief Committee and State Circuit Breaker Program which defers property tax payment but accrues interest. She said the grant will require staffing for legal, accounting, and investigation purposes, which will come from the grant money. Mrs. Castagno discussed the cost of advanced treatment systems and said they are totally unnecessary. She said the program would require another set of offices and staff and asked where they would be housed. Mrs. Castagno did not think the Town should be in the loan and lien business. The Elderly Tax Relief program money is a gift. There is no pay back or lien. She said the money is a one time grant and must be re-applied for annually as there is no guarantee that any monies will be recovered on a yearly basis.

Mr. Pace said that the Town will not be adding staff; we have a social services director, the WPCA and Steve Luckett. It has nothing to do with AT systems. It is pure and simple; just helping those in need. He discussed the Elderly Tax Relief and felt he should get some credit for placing the $70,000 on the table and increasing it by 8 or 10% every year. Let’s not convolute what we are doing here. In the Town philosophy of government it says, we will address the needs of the population and all the subgroups from the youngest to the elderly and all the economic categories. That is all this grant is about; helping those in need fix their septic systems. There are no departments. There is no interest. The money comes back to the Town, when it comes back. The State did not say it must come back in 7 or 10 years, because they want people to be able to stay in their house but handle the needs and pay for the costs. It’s a simple application, the monies are expended through the Treasurer’s Office and paperwork through the Town Clerk. It comes back through the same process.

Chairman Powitz said he wanted to make clear that the WPCA did not consider the grant as part of the grander scale project. This is much like Ordinance 75. There is money that is given to people for pump-outs. It would have been nice to have had this grant when we first started; there were problems with baffles, filters, risers, all of these because they do break. It gives the WPCA an opportunity to help people make repairs to their system. We’re in the best position along the shoreline to tell the DEP that we’re proactive and by assuring that any failure or malfunction to a conforming system can be repairing in a timely manner. That is something we can really crow about and it falls right into our Plan of Conservation and Development. If we want to do sewer avoidance it is helping people to do the right thing.

Bob Day asked if the Town gets a check for $500,000. Mr. Pace explained that when other grants were received we knew what the engineering was. For this one we will have to provide demonstratable models and I would assume they would be funded on a case-by-case basis. Or some block amount of dollars will be sent down. As projects are identified, they will be funded in so many blocks. A grant was received for summer youth employment; $11,000 was awarded. If we spend $2000 they refund us that amount.

Mr. Day asked if there are people in Town now that need it. Mr. Pace said we’ve been checking and we’re guessing that they need some assistance. Mr. Day wanted to know if they sent the money would it be invested. Mr. Pace said it would be in a specific account and could not be used for anything else.

Earl Waxfield said if the State allocates the funds on a case-by-case basis they would have a lot of influence on the individual cases. Chairman Powitz said not necessarily this has a means test that people apply for. He said let’s look at septic system repairs in the last 10-years. We started with the pump-out program. It cost about $120 every 5-years. We had people that could not afford that.

Mr. Luckett said we applied for a grant because there were people that could not afford a pump-out. Now it costs about $200-$250. In the early days it was about $40 because the Town provided a subsidy. In the first 5-years the full price was not paid. But we also had the grant in the background in case we had people that could not afford the pump-out. This takes it beyond the pump-out. It costs a lot of money to fix collapses. It is not difficult to make the repair but this is a mechanism to help these people. If you have to replace an entire septic system it would cost about $10,000; that’s a rough estimate. It goes up every year. It is there as an emergency fund for those who cannot pay out-of-pocket.

Mr. Waxfield said he understands how the plan is going to work but if the State is going to allot the money on a case-by-case basis does that take away Old Saybrook’s autonomy? Does the State enter into the decision on where these awards are going to go?

Chairman Powitz said no. It is run by the Old Saybrook Social Services, we simply bill the State. The State does not pass judgment on individual loans or grants. Old Saybrook will have total control.

Mr. Pace gave an example of what would happen if a system was identified as needing a repair by the inspector. The Health Director verifies it and an issue comes up on how it is going to be paid for. It is then referred to the WPCA and/or the Social Services coordinator to see if the people are eligible. Once the grant is earmarked, some of the money may be sent down as a first chunk. People won’t pay back for at least 7 or 10 years. When it comes back it goes back into the kitty. How many people can we help? Let’s say we run out of money after 18 months; we apply for another grant. These Small Cities Grants are continuing initiatives.

Mr. Day asked if when a lien is paid off the money goes back to the State. Mr. Pace replied no, it goes back into the fund (a dedicated account) and can be used for someone else.

Mr. Day said when someone has a failed system they go to social services, then you have to go to the State. It may not happen fast. Mr. Pace said we may identify several model projects to give them an understanding for initial funding.

Mr. Day said he could see it dragging on with the State and preventing a bad problem from being fixed. Would the Town put up the money out of the General Fund? Mr. Pace said he had no problem with that. He is anticipating that some money will come down and be put into the fund, because they have done that before. He is not clear on how much money at first, it is a new grant.

Chairman Powitz said what we have now is nothing. So if someone needs a repair, they are on their own. This will help them pay it. Even if it takes a week or two, without that assistance it takes a lot longer. The system has to be repaired. This will expedite that. How long is a system good for? 20-25 years. If we get 30-40 years we’re doing quite well. If a system fails this is a wonderful mechanism to get it fixed. It helps us if we want to use the grant as part of the sewer avoidance program, regardless of what occurs eventually. It will get septic systems repaired for people who can’t afford it and expedite the process. We have numbers for how many systems need repair from our pump-out records. We wish we had this from the start, it would have been an excellent help to the Town.

Mrs. Castagno asked how much money has been given out for pump-outs and was it a loan or lien.

Mr. Luckett said we have never paid for a repair but we have paid for about 2 or 3 pump-outs per year. They were grants. She asked if it was a gift and was told yes, from the Small Cities Grant that the WPCA applied for in 1996. The money sits there and slowly grows.

There was a discussion on putting a lien on a house to repair or replace a system. Chairman Powitz explained from his point of view, if he accepted the loan, he didn’t intend to leave Old Saybrook accept in a box, then he wouldn’t need the money or the septic system any longer. So if the pay back mechanism is upon transfer of property, it is not bad. There is no interest; that is what makes it nice.

There were no further comments. He thanked everyone for attending and for their comments.

V. Adjournment

A motion to adjourn was made at 8:25PM by Chuck Wehrly. It was seconded by George Gwizd and carried unanimously.

Respectfully Submitted,

Old Saybrook Water Pollution Control Authority

Robbie A. Marshall

Robbie A. Marshall

WPCA Recording Clerk