Cliff's Notes from Ledyard Town Touncil Meeting

Ledyard Town Council held a regular meeting on 1/26/22. During the meeting, the following notable things occurred.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO FROM THIS MEETING:

Community Input/Commissions & Committees:
Nate Woody spoke to the Council regarding Hilary Evans' proposed re-appointment to the Planning and Zoning Commission. He said, "While there can be robust discussion about how to address [racial bias in zoning], the history of explicit and implicit racism in zoning remains fact. I'm sorry if this history upsets [Councilor] Ingalls, but the zoning commission in town can only do better if we know our history.
...Only by knowing this history can the Planning and Zoning Commission do better for all residents. To disqualify nominees because they are knowledgeable of the history of zoning and the need for affordable housing is to handicap the commission." Click here to watch Mr. Woody speak.

Nicole Cruz-Glacken spoke to the council to express her concern about a resident who applied to the G.F. Fire Department who had posted "deeply troubling" posts on Facebook (More information in the Day). "If all the councilors here do indeed have the people's best interest at heart, I would think it would be an easy task to say that you denounce these sentiments and that you do not agree with them, and that someone who expresses the things that he has expressed has no place serving our community in any capacity." Click here to watch Ms. Cruz-Glacken speak.

If you are interested in knowing when meetings are, you can look them up here!

Major Council Actions:
The Council set a date for a public hearing on 3 proposed Ordinances: Wed., 2/23, 6:30pm.

• Proposed New “An Ordinance Regarding Voting District Boundaries”
• #300-022 “An Ordinance Establishing an Agricultural Commission for the Town of Ledyard”
• #300-009 “ An Ordinance Establishing Citations for Zoning Violations and Short-Term Rental Non-Compliance”

The Council held a public hearing on a proposed revision to the Ordinance governing the Council's purchasing authorities earlier this evening, and gave it final approval at this meeting.

• The Ordinance is  #200-001 (rev. 1) “An Ordinance for Purchasing”. The Ordinance itself was not substantially changed. All they did was add wording about spending federal grant money that is required by federal regulation and re-word the Ordinance.
• You can look up approved town Ordinances here!

The Council voted to appropriate $43k of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to the Ledge Light Health District to help the District pay COVID-19-related costs.

Mayor's Report:

• The Mayor discussed the status of the budget. Of note, the town is now using the ClearGov website to display its budget. You can see this new site here! 
• He also discussed COVID cases and an upcoming mask/test handout this friday. Although you may hear about this handout, it is for critical needs only and does not appear to be intended for the general public.

The Next Regular Council Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, 2/9. The Council's regular meetings are on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month.

Procedure notes: If the Council wants to make or amend an Ordinance, they have to have a Public Hearing and give the town a chance to provide input/feedback on it (Charter, Chapter III, Section 5). Also, once every 10 years, the town has to make new voting districts after the new Legislative maps are published. Altering or establishing voting district lines also requires an Ordinance (Charter, Chapter II, Section 8). That's why you see that "Proposed New" Ordinance - they don't have any record of the one published 10 years ago, so they are starting again from scratch.