Old Lyme ― Voters will be asked to approve the $5.3 million renovation of the Lymes’ Senior Center in a paper ballot vote next week.

The senior center, built in 1996 with no major renovations since, is shared by Old Lyme and Lyme. Under terms established back then, Old Lyme is responsible for 75% of project costs and Lyme the remainder.

Old Lyme residents, as well as those who own more than $1,000 in taxable property in town, will be asked to authorize officials to spend up to $3.9 million on the renovation.

About two dozen people turned out Monday at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School auditorium for Old Lyme’s special town meeting on whether or not to fund the project. They voted to send the question to a paper ballot vote June 20 at the Lyme-Old Lyme Middle School gymnasium from noon to 8 p.m.

Democratic Registrar of Voters Jen Datum on Tuesday said unlike a machine referendum, where ballots go through the tabulator to be counted, the ballots will be tallied by local election officials at the end of the eight-hour vote.

Datum said voters would be asked to mark either the “yes” or “no” line underneath a ballot question asking whether the town should authorize a $5.3 million appropriation “and the acceptance of grants and taking of loans” for the planning, design and construction of an expanded joint Old Lyme/Lyme Senior Center.”

Lymes’ Senior Center Building Committee Chairwoman Jeri Baker at the town meeting said she is hopeful the project will receive enough federal and state grants to cover roughly three-fourths of the total cost.

The towns in their current budgets spent a combined total of $281,000 to start the project.

She said she hopes the project can go to bid this summer so construction can begin in September. The center will be closed while the renovations take place and plans are being developed to offer senior services during this time.

She estimated the project would be complete by Oct. 1, 2024, if all goes according to plan.

First Selectman Tim Griswold on Tuesday said absentee ballots will be available at the Old Lyme Town Clerk’s office through Friday. Town attorney Michael Carey clarified later that the absentee ballots may be used despite statements to the contrary from officials at the town meeting.

Griswold, Datum, Baker and Town Clerk Vicki Urbowicz said they did not know why Carey advised them to send the question to a paper ballot vote instead of a machine referendum. They referred questions to Carey.

Carey could not be reached for comment by press time.

Project funding

Griswold at the town meeting said Old Lyme will handle the financial aspects of the project. Lyme is responsible for reimbursing the town for its share of the project. That’s why the ballot question includes the total project amount instead of just Old Lyme’s portion.

“Inasmuch as the town is operating the checkbook, we have to have the full authorization to write the checks for that amount,” he said.

Lyme voters approved the smaller town’s $1.3 million share of the project last month. The money will come from the 2023-24 capital budget which was approved at the Lyme Annual Budget Meeting.

Baker said the building committee has applied for a $2.8 million federal grant that is currently awaiting congressional approval. There are plans to apply for up to $1 million in state grants through the Small Town Economic Assistance Program.

The formal resolution for the vote specifies there will be no debt issued as a result of the project. Instead, Griswold said the town might choose to use the town’s undesignated fund balance ― otherwise known as the Rainy Day Fund ― or a bank loan to pay for whatever isn’t covered by grants or private fundraising.

The Old Lyme 2023-24 budget approved last month will put the undesignated fund balance at about 25% of the town’s total operating budget. The industry standard for a healthy undesignated fund balance is around 15% of the total operating budget.

Board of Finance Chairman David Kelsey and Griswold have said the town requires more of a cushion because the area is vulnerable to storms and flooding that could potentially wipe out valuable sources of tax revenue.

But after Monday’s town meeting, Griswold said he believes residents would have an appetite for using some of the savings toward the senior center expansion. He said securing a bank loan for the remainder, which would come with fewer fees and a shorter repayment period than a municipal bond, is also an option.

Designs for the renovated senior center produced by Old Lyme-based Point One Architects show a 9,600-square-foot layout ― an increase from 5,400 square feet ― that will build westward toward the High Hopes Therapeutic Riding facility. It includes the reconfiguration of the entire inner space plus added space and movable partitions so multiple programs can happen at the same time. It includes an expanded, 814-square-foot kitchen.

The building serves as the home base for the town nurse and the local Veterans of Foreign Wars chapter.

e.regan@theday.com