Federal funding fuels political wrangling in East Lyme
Oct. 16—EAST LYME — Board of Finance Chairman Camille Alberti, who is also a candidate for first selectman, on Wednesday took issue with what she described as the Board of Selectmen's informal and "piecemeal" approach to doling out federal pandemic relief funds.
Citing the lack of an overall strategy for allocating $5.4 million in American Rescue Plan aid, she asked members to hold off on approving the latest $1.01 million batch of projects forwarded by selectmen.
"To ask us to approve this piecemeal doesn't feel like it's the right process to me," she said. "All of these projects are worthy. I'm not disputing that. But I think it's time to pause and I really hope this board considers tabling this issue for another month or two."
The motion to postpone a decision on funding the projects — which included $920,000 for reconstruction of one of the town's main wells, $60,000 to digitize land records in the town clerk's office, $30,000 for Niantic Main Street to commission a study by the Yale Urban Design Workshop, and $4,000 for a new refrigerator for the Care and Share of East Lyme food pantry — was made by Vice Chairwoman and Democratic selectman candidate Ann Cicciello. It passed by a 4-2 party line vote.
East Lyme so far has received $2.7 million and used $606,610. Officials said they expect the second installment in June. Municipalities have until 2024 to spend the money.
First Selectman Mark Nickerson responded to a request for comment in an email. He recently said all questions from The Day will be answered in email until after the election. He is not running for another term.
Describing Alberti's move as "political posturing" and an attempt at getting "free publicity two weeks before an election," Nickerson reiterated a theme he expressed multiple times this year about the role of the finance board.
"The BOF is not staying in their lane when discussing ARP spending strategy," he wrote. "Their job is to review items sent to them and determine if the project is affordable for the taxpayers of East Lyme."
He raised the same criticism during the budget planning process, when the finance board extensively debated the addition of two police officers, ultimately deciding on one. More recently, Alberti and Cicchiello tried to vote down a roof replacement for the public safety building under renovation. They cited the need for two more bids and estimates for a longer warranty, but were outvoted by two Republicans and two Democrats who argued the details of construction are better left to the Town Building Committee.
Nickerson said Alberti does not run the town and "apparently does not understand that she does not control the policies, procedures or strategies" that are the responsibility of selectmen.
"The BOS has a firm strategy that we will stick to," he said. "We are 100% on board and typically vote for items unanimously."
A request for specifics about the selectmen's strategy went unanswered.
Deputy First Selectmen Kevin Seery, the Republican candidate for first selectman, represented the selectmen at the finance board meeting. He acknowledged they did not create a subcommittee or formally come up with a list of priorities.
"The feeling was we were just going to address the immediate needs until after the upcoming election and a new administration took place," he said.
He emphasized the time-sensitive nature of some of the ARP requests up for consideration, especially the well improvements and the refrigeration needs of the Care and Share food pantry ahead of the holiday season.
Taking a pause
Alberti this week told The Day she requested the "pause" on ARP spending when she discovered an appropriation approved at a town meeting last week was not eligible for the federal funds.
At issue is $12,500 allocated to help purchase a new pumpout boat for the environmental nonprofit Save the River-Save the Hills, which advocates for protection of the Niantic River watershed and Oswegatchie Hills. Nickerson has said the group applied for grant funding and asked Waterford and East Lyme to split the cost of the required matching grant.
Three-fourths of the total cost is covered by a federal grant administered through the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. According to DEEP, the towns must use nonfederal dollars for their 25% share of the pumpout boat.
The finance board at the meeting made a separate motion to send the already approved appropriation back to the selectmen with a suggestion to fund it out of the contingency fund instead.
"Because of the lack of due diligence for the pumpout boat, it raises alarm bells for us that there isn't a clear process in place to deal with these appropriation requests for ARP," Alberti said.
Nickerson in his email said Waterford lawyers already had approved and signed off on using pandemic relief dollars for that town's $12,500 share of the purchase. "We are still looking into this. We will redirect and re-fund the pumpout boat through other means if necessary," he said.
Republican finance board member John Birmingham said during Wednesday's meeting that possible problems with the pumpout boat appropriation shouldn't prevent them from voting on the newly proposed allocations, especially the improvements to the well he described as "well needed and well deserved."
The well near Pattagansett Lake that used to produce 540 gallons per minute is now down to about 120 gallons per minute, according to East Lyme utilities engineer Ben North. Guidance from the U.S. Department of Treasury specifies pandemic relief funds may be used for water, sewer or broadband infrastructure investments.
"That goes along with what the ARP should pay for," Birmingham said. "I just feel we have to approve these items tonight."
North on Friday said the delay jeopardizes the likelihood of installing the well in late fall or early winter before the ground freezes. Waiting until January or February and then having to deal with frozen conditions could affect his ability to meet the state-approved March deadline for completing the project, according to North.
He said the work must be done during the winter because that's when demand is lowest, which means a delay could push the project out until next winter. He noted he's already seeing price increases and availability issues due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Democrat Richard Steel agreed with Alberti's call for an "overarching strategy," even though he acknowledged the importance of the projects.
"My heart tears because everything that has been brought forth is something I can support," he said. "But my concern is, say we have a few more of these million-dollar items. Are we going to whittle away the funds we have by taking care of things that may not have as large of an impact on the community?"
Audio from the meeting stopped before the public comment portion. Birmingham, who was running the control panel for the recording system, said there have been ongoing technology issues that he hopes will be fixed when the public safety building opens with its new communications room.
Diane Swan, director and president of the nonprofit STARS to STEM Inc., told The Day she went to the meeting to find out how to get her organization considered for the federal funding. She said a lack of town-issued email addresses for selectmen and finance board members makes it difficult to communicate with members of those boards.
Swan's group is working to get the high school planetarium back in operation after it was turned into a special education classroom in 2013.
"There's a lot of nonprofits out there who are trying to figure out how to get on the Board of Selectmen agenda," she said. "And that's not clear."
