Happy May!

This has been an active week preparing for the summer season in Old Lyme. Our Public Works Department has been busy painting parking stripes in the lot at White Sand Beach and various areas at Sound View Beach. Please note that the area at the end of Hartford Avenue is a “No Parking Zone.” This area is for official vehicles only to allow beach access during emergencies. Tickets will be issued to anyone who parks in this area.

Our Police Department has been placing our new electronic speed signs on various roads around town. The signs are solar-powered and can be relocated to new spots when needed. They also blink when you are traveling above the speed limit and give you a thumbs up when adhering to it. The signs also collect data as to the number of cars that pass by and provides the speed they were traveling. This information will be helpful to our Road and Public Safety Committee as they begin to make recommendations to the Board of Selectmen.

On Wednesday, April 30^th, we held a meeting with residents in the Grassy Hill Road area. The purpose of this meeting was to provide information regarding the replacement of the culvert at the entrance from Boston Post Road. Howard Pfrommer, one of our town engineers from Nathan L. Jacobson & Associates in Chester, presented the current plan which can be seen on our website. Neighbors asked questions, made suggestions, and provided information that will help us tweak the plan going forward. Emergency Services were also represented. The project is slated to begin in June 2026. If you live in the Grassy Hill Road area and would like to include in the group email, please contact Katie Balocca at kbalocca@oldlyme-ct.gov.

Annual Beach Parking Permits are going on sale this weekend. Parking permits will be available during our normal hours, but we have decided to add some special times for those of you who find it difficult to get here. We are opening Town Hall on Saturday, May 3^rd from 9-12 for your convenience. We will also be open until 7PM on Thursday, May 8^th. Please find more information about the parking permit process here.

The Lymes’ Senior Center will have its soft opening on Monday, May 5^th. Director, Stephanie Gould and Assistant to the Director, Caitlin Perkins have been working so hard over the last few weeks getting the Senior Center ready for this day. There will be a pizza party for those that have made reservations. Please note that in order to support Stephanie and Caitlin on this big day, the Selectmen’s and the Town Clerk’s Offices will be closed from 11:30 AM to 1 PM. Staff from those offices will be at the Senior Center to help with the pizza party.

The Regional School District #18 Referendum will be held on Tuesday, May 6^th. The Registrars of Voters are pleased to announce that we will be using new tabulators distributed by the State of Connecticut for the first time. Voting hours are 12:00 noon – 8PM Our polling place is the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School gymnasium, 53 Lyme Street, Old Lyme, CT. Please use the marked side entrance by the tennis courts. There will be marked parking spaces reserved for voters only. Absentee ballots are available in the Town Clerk’s office through the end of business (4PM) on Monday, May 5^th. A Sample Ballot is posted on our website and in the Town Clerk’s office.

Tax Collector Suzanne Thompson reminds Old Lyme taxpayers that taxes for the new Fiscal Year starting July 1 will be calculated after taxpayers approve the town budget at the Monday, May 19^th Annual Town Budget Meeting and the Board of Finance sets the mill rate at a special meeting immediately following. Please see the Board of Finance FY 2025-26 Fiscal Year Budget  presentation for an overview of the proposed budget and mill rate. The new tax bills will be mailed in late June and payable starting July 1, 2025.

We are nearing the end of the current tax year; delinquent notices have been mailed and Intent to Lien and demand notices for unpaid Real Estate and Personal Property taxes will be issued in May. To see if you have outstanding taxes due, please go to the Tax Collector portal where you can search by taxpayer name or property location. See online payment options for credit card, debit card or ACH/eChecks.

Special Reminders:

• RiverCOG’s Compost Bin & Rain Barrel Sale is in its final week. Pick-up is slated for next Friday, May 9^th.
• The Old Lyme Open Space and the Old Lyme Land Trust are sponsoring a Trailhead Hike at 4:15PM at the McCulloch Family Open Space preserve off of Flat Rock Hill Road on Wednesday, May 7^th.

Have a wonderful weekend!

All my best, 
Martha