Breaking News: May 4th City Council Vote on River Park West Lebanon Has Been Postponed

Dear Friends of River Park,

Breaking news!  Since the last newsletter, Lyme Properties reached out to Greg Lewis,  the new Lebanon City Manager,  and requested a meeting with municipal officials and Wright-Pierce, the consultant hired by the city to review the River Park water and sewer design prepared by our engineer, Holden Engineering, as part of our site plan application.   On Monday, May 2, we met with city officials to review the Wright-Pierce analysis and the flow assumptions supplied by the city engineer which we felt were excessive and unsubstantiated.   We were finally given the opportunity, despite previous written requests, to explain why we felt the conditions recommended by the city engineer were overreaching and unrelated to the actual impact of River Park on the city’s infrastructure.

In preparation for the meeting convened by the City Manager, Lyme hired Advanced Geomatics & Design to review the Wright-Pierce recommendations and the assumptions they were based on, including an independent review of the Holden Engineering design for adequacy.  There was a productive exchange of information and opinions and the City Manager agreed to re-evaluate the conditions recommended to the City Council for approval.  Lyme Properties agreed to present the written findings of Advanced Geomatics & Design to the city for their review and consideration.  Additionally, Lyme Properties has agreed to the postponement of the City Council vote, scheduled for May 4, 2011 to May 18, 2011 in the hope that we can find consensus.

In keeping with our policy to provide information to the neighbors simultaneously with submissions to the City, I have attached the letter from Advanced Geomatics & Design that we presented to the City Manager (Read Below). I think you will quickly understand that our concerns were justified and that our original design is sound, meets industry standards and is in compliance with NHDES (New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services) rules.

While we have no guarantee, it is our hope that these facts will persuade the City to reconsider the conditions it recommended in order to allow River Park to connect to the water and sewer systems.  The City Manager will make a recommendation to the City Council at the May 18, 2011 regular meeting and we hope the council will act without further delay.

The Community Meeting on May 12, 2011 at the Charles T. Wilder Center in Wilder, Vermont remains confirmed and we hope you will attend.  Hopefully, we will learn of any changes in the city’s recommendation to the council.  Lyme will be prepared to answer any questions you might have regarding the water and sewer connections, the status of the permitting process before the Planning Board, the on-going delay in the traffic study commissioned by the City, our commitment to public access to the Connecticut River if our site plan application is successful, and the schedule delays caused by the lack of site plan approval.

As always, do not hesitate to contact me directly. The Advanced Geomatics & Design report is included below.

Sincerely,
David Clem
dclem@lymeproperties.com

Updated River Park Meeting Schedule

There are three important upcoming meetings pertaining to River Park West Lebanon that we hope you will be able to attend:

1. Thursday, May 12, 2011: Wilder Center Meeting, 6:30pm

2. Wednesday, May 18, 2011: Lebanon City Council Meeting, 7pm

3. Thursday, May 19, 2011: Lebanon Planning Board Hearing. 6:30pm