Old Lyme Reaches Sewer Agreement with Beach Communities

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OLD LYME — In a major step forward, the town today sent a memorandum of understanding confirming its intention to share all costs related to a sewer project in Sound View Beach with the three private beach associations that have already signed a cost-sharing agreement with East Lyme and New London.

Sharing the costs with the three beach associations is contingent on the Town of Old Lyme successfully passing a referendum to fund the town’s Sound View and Misc. Area B sewer project, wrote Richard Prendergast, chair of the Old Lyme Water Pollution Control Authority in the letter to the beach associations. Written on the Town of Lyme letterhead, the letter was addressed to Miami Beach Association and Miami Beach Association WPCA, Old Lyme Shores Beach Association and Old Lyme Shores Beach Association WPCA and Old Colony Beach Club Association and Old Colony Beach Club Association WPCA.

“Per recent discussions” with the three associations, Prendergast said the letter served to confirm the town’s requirement to share all costs in the three private beach associations’ “endeavor to secure the pump station and force main, including legal, engineering and other costs related to the shared system by joining the existing Cost Sharing Agreement” between the private beach associations dated April 25, 2016. 

The letter confirmed the town’s Sound View Beach and Misc. Area B combined comprise 270 Equivalent Dwelling Units, known as EDUs, that will be used to “define percentage of ownership and therefore percentage of shared costs, but also limit the volume to corresponding 50,000 average gallons per day.”

On June 11, the WPCA voted to approve an EDU formula for charging Sound View Beach property owners for the $7.44 million cost of a community sewerage project. The formula will charge property owners a base price of $15,000, which will increase depending on the square footage of the building. Each dwelling will also pay a connection fee of $6,000. Property owners can pay costs over 20 years at 2 percent interest or in one lump sum. 

The town’s plan is to install gravity-fed sewers in Hartford Avenue, Swan Avenue, Portland Avenue, “Miscellaneous Area B,” a contiguous area north of Route 156. 

The agreement depends on the Town of Old Lyme successfully passing a referendum to fund the town’s Sound View and, Misc. Area B sewer project, scheduled for August 13. 

“This is just an agreement that we’ve agreed to for now and as soon as they get through their referendum, we’re going to amend the cost-sharing agreement to include Town of Old Lyme,” said Scott Boulanger, director of the Board of Governors of the Miami Beach Association, by phone Monday evening. 

The letter also requested that the three private beach associations confirm the town’s request is acceptable.

A public information session about the project and the referendum will be held at the Lyme-Old Lyme middle school on July 16 from 7 to 9 p.m.