2019 Annual Town Report
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Annual Report Town of Old Saybrook, Connecticut MIDDLESEX COUNTY Second Congressional District Twentieth Senatorial District Thirty-Third Senatorial District Twenty-Third Assembly District The seal of Old Saybrook was adopted from the College Arms of Saybrook College of Yale University. The seal is heraldically described as follows: “Quarterly I and IV azure, three lions rampant, or: II and III sable, engrailed cross within a border engrailed, both or, five roundels sable on the cross.” The significance of the seal and its relation to the Town of Old Saybrook is as follows: Quarters I and IV are for Fiennes, the family of the Lord Saye and Sele; II and III are for Greville, the family of Lord Brooke. These ancient coats recall two of the seventeenth-century English Proprietors of land at the mouth of the Connecticut River. Old Saybrook was the site of the Collegiate School of Connecticut, which was relocated to New Haven in 1716 and became Yale University. Year Ending June 30th, 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS SECTION I TOWN OF OLD SAYBROOK – PROFILE ........................................................................5 IN MEMORIAM ......................................................................................................................6 OLD SAYBROOK EMPLOYEES AND MEMBERS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS ............................................................7 SECTION II ACTON PUBLIC LIBRARY .................................................................................................17 AMBULANCE ASSOCIATION ..........................................................................................21 AQUIFER PROTECTION AGENCY .................................................................................22 ARCHITECTURAL REVIEW BOARD ..............................................................................22 ASSESSMENT APPEALS BOARD ...................................................................................23 ASSESSOR .............................................................................................................................23 BUILDING DEPARTMENT ................................................................................................24 CONNECTICUT RIVER AREA HEALTH DISTRICT .....................................................25 CONNECTICUT RIVER GATEWAY COMMISSION ....................................................28 CONSERVATION COMMISSION ....................................................................................29 CYPRESS CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, INC ..................................................................29 ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION .............................................................31 EDUCATION, BOARD OF .................................................................................................33 EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT ........................................................................................45 ESTUARY COUNCIL OF SENIORS .................................................................................46 FINANCE DIRECTOR ..........................................................................................................47 FIRE DEPARTMENT ............................................................................................................48 FIRE MARSHAL ....................................................................................................................54 HARBOR MANAGEMENT COMMISSION ...................................................................56 HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION .............................................................................57 HISTORICAL SOCIETY, OLD SAYBROOK ...................................................................57 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ......................................................................................62 INLAND WETLANDS & WATERCOURSES COMMISSION .....................................64 KATHARINE HEPBURN CULTURAL ARTS CENTER ................................................65 LAND USE DEPARTMENT ................................................................................................66 LOWER CT RIVER VALLEY COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS ...................................68 PARKS AND RECREATION DEPARTMENT .................................................................70 PENSION AND EMPLOYEE BENEFITS BOARD .........................................................73 PLANNING COMMISSION ...............................................................................................75 POLICE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF .........................................................................76 PROBATE COURT ................................................................................................................79 PUBLIC HEALTH NURSING BOARD .............................................................................80 PUBLIC WORKS ...................................................................................................................82 REGISTRARS OF VOTERS .................................................................................................83 RIVERSIDE CEMETERY ASSOCIATION, INC ...............................................................84 SELECTMEN, BOARD OF ..................................................................................................85 SHORELINE SOUP KITCHENS & PANTRIES ...............................................................87 TAX COLLECTOR ................................................................................................................88 TOWN CLERK AND REGISTRAR OF VITAL STATISTICS .........................................88 TOWN TREASURER ............................................................................................................89 TRANSFER STATION ..........................................................................................................89 WATER POLLUTION CONTROL AUTHORITY ...........................................................91 YOUTH AND FAMILY SERVICES ....................................................................................92 ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS .......................................................................................97 ZONING COMMISSION ....................................................................................................98 SECTION III EMPLOYEE WAGES AND REPRESENTATION ............................................................99 EMPLOYEE BENEFITS ........................................................................................................99 SECTION IV FINANCIAL REPORT ....................................................................................................... 109 OLD SAYBROOK “Where the Connecticut River meets Long Island Sound” Old Saybrook dates back to 1635 when a company of English Puritans headed by Viscount Saye and Sele and Lord Brooke, and led by one John Winthrop, Jr., erected a fort to guard the river entrance…which in turn was guarded by a sandy shoal bar that called for precise piloting to enter. The residents blessed this shoal for it was a natural barrier against over-industrialization and helped to preserve the integrity of the environment with all of its natural beauty. When a deep channel was dredged and breakwaters erected, ships no longer had to off-load at Saybrook Point. Thus, the channel up river was opened for expansion of trade, commercial fishing and shipbuilding, traditional occupations that have carried on over the years. 5 SECTION I TOWN OF OLD SAYBROOK — PROFILE LOCATION: Middlesex County West Side of the Mouth of the Connecticut River 45 miles from Hartford 101 miles from New York 105 miles from Boston Latitude 41° 17´ N. Longitude 72° 25´ W. Town Area – 15.3 square miles Total Town Roads – 72 miles TOWN INCORPORATION: July 8, 1854 FORM OF GOVERNMENT: Town Meeting /Board of Selectmen/Board of Finance Net Grand List of October 1, 2017 – 2,259,100,312 Mill Rate: 19.60 Assessment Ratio: 70% Grand List Date: October 1, 2017 Grand Levy: 44,278,366.12 Two Voting Districts POPULATION: U.S. Census Bureau Estimate: 10,087 School Enrollment: 1,219 PROPERTY: Residential Dwellings: 5,755 Commercial/Industrial Dwellings: 470 Motor Vehicles: 12,699 Business Personal Property Accounts: 2,902 REPRESENTATIVES: State Representative Devin Carney [R], 23rd Assembly District State Senators Paul M. Formica [R], 20th Senatorial District Voting District 1 Norm Needleman [D], 33rd Senatorial District Voting District 2 Congressman Joseph Courtney [D], 2nd Congressional District United States Senators Richard Blumenthal [D] Christopher Murphy [D] TOWN WEBSITE: www.oldsaybrookct.org 6 IN MEMORIAM Stephen Bastura (1920-2019) Stephen served the Town as a building maintainer for the Board of Education for more than 15 years. Edward Bushnell, Jr. (1925-2018) A lifelong resident of Old Saybrook, Ed was an accomplished high school athlete playing guard on the 1942 Saybrook High basketball team, which won the Town’s first high school championship in 1942. A decorated veteran of World War II, he joined the United States Army Air Corp in 1943, leaving Saybrook High prior to graduation, where his mother accepted his diploma on his behalf. Edward returned to raise his three sons in town. His dedication to the Town was evidenced in the family’s combined 118 years of service with the Old Saybrook Fire Co. #1 where he served as chief of the department from 1971 to 1973. His father, Edward, Sr., was a charter member of the Fire Department and his son, Coleman, served