OLD LYME, CT – Plans for long-anticipated sidewalks on Halls Road and a townwide assessment of climate and flood risks are moving forward as the Board of Selectmen prepares two committees to guide the projects.
Selectmen agreed this week that First Selectwoman Martha Shoemaker will draft charges outlining the responsibilities for each committee, with approvals expected later this month.
One committee will administer an $800,000 grant from the Connecticut Department of Transportation (DOT) for sidewalks on Halls Road, while the other will oversee a $57,900 grant from the Long Island Sound Resilience Planning Support Program to develop a strategic climate action plan.
On Wednesday, Shoemaker said more information on how to apply for the committees will be available by the end of January.
Halls Road Sidewalk Committee
Shoemaker at Monday’s selectmen’s meeting said the Halls Road Sidewalk Committee will be modeled after sidewalk installation projects on Ferry Road and in the Sound View Beach section of town over the past several years. Those committees oversaw grant administration, contractor selection, and design.
Selectman Jim Lampos described the previous committees as useful precedent. He noted members had flexibility to address issues, such as routing sidewalks around utilities and incorporating landscape improvements. He also pointed to the second phase of the Sound View Beach project that allowed members to use leftover funds to add a bus stop to the plan.
“So it would be nice for the committee to have that sort of leeway,” he said of the formative Halls Road group.
The DOT funding covers construction of 6-foot wide, accessible sidewalks to connect historic Lyme Street to the commercial Halls Road on its north side, according to town documents.
Selectmen recommended setting the committee size at roughly nine members.
Lampos and Shoemaker said the group should include a representative from the Historic District Commission, which is responsible for preserving the character of Lyme Street, and property owners along Halls Road.
Selectman John Mesham suggested seeking someone with general construction knowledge.
The sidewalk plan is a scaled-back version of a broader proposal from the Halls Road Improvements Committee (HRIC) that was scrapped amid objections to allowing apartments in the commercial zone. The HRIC, whose operations were suspended last spring by selectmen, worked for 10 years to craft a vision for the thoroughfare long seen as an outdated series of strip malls unfriendly to pedestrians.
Shoemaker provided a preliminary proposal from the town engineering firm, Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates, for full civil engineering services including surveying, design, permitting, utility coordination, and bid management.
Shoemaker emphasized a budget has not yet been developed because the project’s scope will depend on decisions made by the committee. She said the town can explore whether to seek proposals from outside firms in a competitive bidding process.
Resiliency Planning
Lampos outlined plans for a second committee to administer a grant in partnership with sustainability consultant SLR International Corporation, which was selected by the University of Connecticut to help the town devise a resiliency action plan.
The $57,900 grant was awarded Dec. 16. Funding for the climate preparedness program comes from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and is administered by the UCONN-based Connecticut Sea Grant organization.
“I consider this to be a fairly important grant,” Lampos said.
The program provides no-cost planning assistance to shoreline communities by pairing them with consultants to assess environmental risks, prioritize vulnerabilities, and identify feasible solutions.
Lampos said the consultants would help Old Lyme evaluate threats from coastal and riverine flooding, as well as wildfire risks in forested areas with limited access.
“By the nature of this grant, it’s eco-friendly,” he said. “We’re looking for land-based solutions, nature-based solutions. So we’re not talking about big Army Corps of Engineers projects.”
He estimated it would take about two years to complete the first step so the town can pursue new sources of funding to implement recommended solutions. He emphasized that the grant will not cost the town outside of staff and volunteer time.
Shoemaker said she will draft the committee’s charge so it can be approved and members can be appointed before a meeting in February with the sustainability consultants.
The first selectwoman noted the grant program dovetails with the town’s Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan, which was approved in 2021 and is being updated currently.
By state law, cities and towns must update their plans every five years to stay eligible for Federal Emergency Management Agency funding. A state law implemented last year requires municipalities to identify and address threats to land and infrastructure caused by climate-related risks like increased precipitation, flooding, sea level rise, and extreme heat.
The grant requires participation from representatives of local commissions and departments including emergency management, public works, planning and zoning, inland wetlands and watercourses, flood and erosion control, conservation, open space, and affordable housing, as well as from members of the public.
“I know just going around town talking to people, there’s an amazing amount of expertise in this town,” Lampos said. “So it would be great to be able to get some of those folks on this.”
A key strategy could involve identifying areas of marshland to be preserved as open space so it doesn’t get developed, according to Lampos. That’s because wetlands reduce the severity of flooding by acting as natural sponges that trap and slowly release water.
“We have trouble where we filled in marshes in the 50s,” he said. “But we still have a lot of marshland here.”