HomeMy WebLinkAbout10_27_2020 Transcript Special Meeting10_27_2020 Special Meeting.mp3
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:00:00] I'm going to call this meeting to order.
This is a Special Town Board Meeting for the Town of Enfield on Tuesday, October 27 at
7:30 p.m. Via Zoom, just as a reminder, the meeting is being recorded. We will start with
privilege of the floor.
[00:00:14] Sorry.
[00:00:16] If you would like to speak for privilege to the floor. Please use the raise your
hand button. If you are calling on a cell phone, you can do this by pressing the * nine
button. I will unmute everybody at the end. To be sure, everyone who wishes has gotten a
chance to speak for privilege of the floor. Please be sure to address your comments to the
Town Board as a whole. You will have three minutes to speak.
[00:00:36] So please wrap up your comments in that time.
[00:00:39] All right, so go ahead and raise your hand with the raise your hand button if you
would like to speak for the privilege of the floor.
[00:00:49] OK. I don't know who this is.
[00:00:51] So when I unmute you if you could state your name and what Town you reside
in. This is 310-1178
James Ricks [00:01:06] That would be James Ricks.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:01:09] OK. So you have a little bit of an
echo because you're on the phone and on the computer.
[00:01:13] But let's get better.
James Ricks [00:01:17] Is this better?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:01:19] Yes. Go ahead.
James Ricks [00:01:21] OK. Well, my name is James Ricks. I expressed an interest in
being on a Town Board. I believe that one of the previous calls. Not exactly sure which one
it was, but I've lived in Enfield since the spring of 2004.
James Ricks [00:01:43] I moved here and I have always been kind of environmentally
concerned. But while I was here, at one point they had a meeting at the school about
fracking. And that kind of got me more on board with what's going on with my environment.
And more most importantly, about that time, I was blessed with a great grandchild, our
son, who's eleven now, but he was about three at the time. They had the meetings. I went
and I spoke and I heard experts talking about, you know, the detrimental effects of
fracking. And it made me really aware of this water that I'm pulling up from my well, you
know, could be very negatively affect my family and me. So I've always kind of been aware
of like Climate change and the Paris Accords.
James Ricks [00:02:43] And the weather is becoming more changeable environment and
things like that. But this really made it much more actue for me. That's one of my primary
motivations as far as being interested in the community and the environment.
James Ricks [00:03:03] Unfortunately, when I first moved to Enfield in 2004, shortly after
we got here, I saw trucks driving around with Confederate flags, ornaments, a couple of
houses on my block. On Rothermich had Confederate flags and I wandered pretty general
stereotypical view of Enfield in general, just . I thought that, man, this is going to be a
rough place to live. And I kind of felt that for all the time I've been here. Well, that's
because I assumed that my stereotypes were correct. And when I saw people that didn't
speak, I just assumed they didn't speak to me because I was black. And they were
probably uncomfortable speaking to me, possibly because of that reason.
[00:03:49] Lately.
[00:03:51] Since George Floyd got killed in the Black Lives Matter thing, they're sweeping
the country. I noticed people on my block are more friendly.
[00:04:01] They waved to me when they go by. I guess Town indicate that they're not a
part of that. But it made me see that I had views that were not accurate, that I was
assuming negative things about my neighbors because I did not know my neighbors, OK?
James Ricks [00:04:18] I think that's a really important piece here, especially now. One
other incident happened at the port, the food bank. Someone put a Black Lives Matter sign
up and the people at the food bank got very upset about it. I go to the food bank. I love the
people there.
[00:04:41] I mean, I have great conversations with them and wouldn't believe that they
weren't nearly as they would be.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:04:48] Over.
James Ricks [00:04:49] It wasn't even started yet.
[00:04:52] I have other things to say.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:04:56] Could I have one more minute?.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:04:58] You know what? We're going to have
a whole section in our meeting to meet potential candidates. So you'll be able to talk a lot
at that point. We'll ask you all sorts of questions. We'll grill you about your whole life.
James Ricks [00:05:08] OK, great. OK. I can't wait.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:05:10] Thank you.
James Ricks [00:05:11] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:05:15] OK, is there anybody out to who'd
like to speak for privilege of the floor? Go ahead and raise your hand now.
[00:05:26] OK, I'm going to go ahead and unmute everyone and oh, wait.
[00:05:31] Ellen, sorry, I'm going to go ahead. OK. You got yourself good.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [00:05:36] Hi, I just wanted to give a shout out. You know, a
resident Pat Dougherty reached out to me and asked for the flag to be lowered to half
mast to, you know, honor our Highway Superintendent who had our former Highway
Superintendent that has passed. And so I just wanted to tell the community that's why the
flag is at half mast.
[00:06:00] And just like speak out of bit to his memory. And his name is David Miller. He
won six elections in Enfield for Highway Superintendent. So I had I did that research this
week.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:06:11] Thank you, Ellen. That was lovely.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:06:14] That was the right thing to do.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:06:18] Okay.. I don't see anyone else's
hand up her privilege on the floor.
[00:06:23] So I'm going to go ahead unmute everyone.
[00:06:27] If you did not get a chance to speak, this will be your chance to speak now.
[00:06:39] Hey, let's go ahead and wrap it up.
Art Godin [00:06:46] I just have a quick question if it isn't too late.
Art Godin [00:06:49] No, go ahead, sir. I just, um, I am particularly interested in seeing
who is putting their name in the hat for applying for the Town Board position. Is that going
to happen early in the meeting or later on?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:07:04] Oh, well, we do have a presentation
by Norbut Solar Farms and then we are going to discuss the appointment after that.
Art Godin [00:07:13] I see. OK. Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:07:17] Anyone else for privilege of the floor?
Going once, going twice, going three times. All right. Going to mute everyone again. I'm
going to unmute Virginia, and unmute you Robert.
[00:07:36] We all set. okay.
[00:07:41] The next thing on the agenda. Do we have any additions or changes to the
agenda?
[00:07:49] The one additional.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:07:52] I had a suggestion to add, Stephanie, and that
was your resolution, Stephanie, concerning Rockwell Road.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:07:57] Yes. Yes. I'm going to add that on
under new business. So after the Work Day resolution.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:08:02] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:08:05] ... And Ellen, did we have any
correspondence, so other then the two candidates that, other than the two correspondence
for the people that are interested in the candidate position,.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [00:08:21] No additional correspondence. Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:08:26] OK, so now we're going to turn this
over to Dan Huntington, who is from Norbut Solar Farms. They are proposing a solar farm
on the corner of Applegate and 79.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:08:38] Dan, I'm going to unmute you and
ask you to start your video if you would like me to share it, if you would like to share your
screen. I can make you host for that time?
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:08:50] That would be great.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:08:52] OK. And then just give the host back
to me afterwards. Don't run away with the show.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:08:58] Will do.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:08:58] There you go.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:09:00] Give me one second to just pull up.
[00:09:10] OK. Well, thank you for for having me, Stephanie. And the Town Board, I really
appreciate it.
[00:09:16] The Town Board and Stephanie invited me, to, to attend and speak at this
meeting because we presented a preliminary site plan and concept for a Solar Farm on
the corner of Applegate Road and Mecklenburg Road at the Planning Board Meeting back
on the like on the date, the 19th, 21st, something like that.
[00:09:43] And we submitted our preliminary application. We are still in the very beginning
stages of the project, but we are a small company.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:09:52] We are about six employees based in
Rochester, New York. We are predominantly all local folks. I grew up just outside of
Rochester. Very familiar with the Enfield andIthaca. area. And we are a smaller company
that had very humble beginnings in home renovations. Our owner, Dave Norbut, is still
working with the company, is actually my boss started out by doing home renovations. He
bought his very first house when he was 17. It was a burned out house and him and his
brother flipped it and made a profit. And ever since then, when they were 17, they kind of
got that bug. They really liked working for themselves. They liked to work with their hands.
And they made a very strong business to both of them out of home renovations.
[00:10:39] More recently, we focused on higher end home renovations and his brother
focused on kitchen bathroom remodels, one off remodels. And they they found themselves
working with a property and they were trying to figure out how can we add something new
to this property, had a little bit of extra land associated with it. And they back in 2015 and
16, they looked into solar and they thought, well, this would be a really great addition to the
house to add some solar panels, make the home its own self-sustaining little unit.
[00:11:12] And that really lit a light inside their head to say, well, if you can do this on a
home residential, what does it look like if you scale this up and you provide it for thousands
or hundred hundreds or thousands of homes on a more community based concept? So
that really sparked their interest back in 2015. And Dave Norbut the owner doesn't do
anything short of all in.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:11:39] So by 2017, he actually had one of
the larger arrays that was ever developed in New York City, built on a family piece of
property that they were they were looking to have like a family farm type setting. And they
took a portion of that, about twenty five acres. And they built a 5 megawatt solar farm back
in 2017. And they partnered with Roster General Hospital. And they were able to do it, in
that they developed a solar farm and then sold all the electricity to Rochester General
Hospital so that they could then use the electricity to offset the cost of their their use at all
the different facilities. So, again, he saw, OK, five megawatts. This is a great opportunity. I
think we can make this even bigger. What are the rules and regulations around it? So that
got us to where we are today.
[00:12:29] To date, we have 3 other projects that are a lot larger than the 5 megawatts. We
have a a 23 megawatt project north of Watertown. We have 20 megawatt project in
Angelica in Belfast in Allegheny County, and we have a 15 megawatt project in Tioga that
is currently being built. And we're adding another 5 megawatts to our our initial farm in
Parma Spencer.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:13:00] So we've grown rapidly, but we've
stayed pretty small in size. We'd like to have a small, tight knit crew that works with a lot of
really specialized partners. One of those partners that we're working with on this project is
LaBella Associates.
[00:13:15] The name may be familiar to many of you. The Planning Board Chair works for
LaBella. He is also a solar guy. He is very knowledgeable, very good at what he does. And
the LaBella team is actually pretty well-known throughout New York state and beyond for
the renewable resource development. So we started out back in January. We're always
constantly looking for different opportunities.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:13:40] And we saw the opportunity in Enfield
because a piece of land was actually for sale and it was on some of the power lines that
allow us to to produce these Solar Farms. There's very specific infrastructure that we have
to utilize that is not proof that there's not very common throughout New York State. There
are very few lines theyare called, 34 KV lines that can handle the capacity of a of a solar
facility. And so we identified Enfield as a potential area we were interested in working in,
along with the County, because it had previously approved projects before.
[00:14:19] There's roughly 13 different solar projects that have received a pilot in the past
6 or 7 years. And so we knew that the county was was interested in having Solar
Companies come to the area.
[00:14:32] And we saw that Enfield had, in comparison to other towns, a very robust
infrastructure and set of laws and regulations that allowed for Solar Facilities to come into
the Town, which was really great to see on our end, because a lot of times we come to
towns that don't have a Solar Law and we spend several months working with them as to
how to adopt a Solar Law What typically goes into them? Why certain regulations are good
and why others are bad. And how they affect us on both ends of the spectrum.
[00:15:05] So we pride ourselves on really working with towns to find a happy medium
where the Solar Law is meant to protect residents, know neighboring properties and the
general view and style of the Town, but also allows us to build an array that that
maximizes the potential for property without being a detriment to our neighbors and
potentially the view which is predominantly what we hear from most folks is the aesthetics
of a Solar Farm.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:15:38] So after identifying Enfield as a as a
potential area, we we interested in doing business with and finding this property we began
our preliminary process of doing our due diligence. We are different from most Solar
Farms in that we purchase the land that we develop on. Many solar companies will lease
land from farmers or landowners and pay them on an annual lease rate per acre. We feel
that as strong stewards of the land, we are in a position to purchase the land, go through
the approval process and then make sure whatever we develop stays in true form to what
the agreements with the Town and the local municipality were enacted for.
[00:16:26] So we really enjoy the fact that we are able to purchase the land, prepare the
land, view it as a long term partnership with the Town and that we are also stewards of the
land moving forward. One of the things we typically hear from towns is, well, what happens
if you go bankrupt and this all the whole kit and caboodle goes away and everything ends?
That's again why we like to be in the driver's seat with the ownership of the land. Because
other leasing companies can potentially leave the farmers that the renting from in in a bad
situation if they're going to walk away from a solar facility. So we have really good partners
when it comes to construction, when it comes to the energy off load as well.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:17:11] And we establish those partnerships
to make sure that the people we're working with are in it for the long haul and not some
type of short term economic gain. Whether that's a tax credit or an incentive that's applied.
We really want partners who see the value in this as a long term energy facility that
provides benefit to the community. So they're not in it for a short two, three, four or five
year benefit. And then they're moving on to something else. We want 25, 30 year partners
just like what we would do with theTown of Enfield.
[00:17:43] So I'm going to share my screen now to show what we've done so far. Again,
we are in the preliminary stages of designing what we call a preliminary site plan.
[00:17:56] So this was submitted to the utility and we'll share screen.
[00:18:05] OK. Is anyone able to see this here with my cursor moving around? I think I see
some thumbs up, some head not perfect. So what we have here and I apologize, it is a
little small. We will be sending large scale renderings to all the Town Boards that we work
with that's planning, zoning or for the Town Board itself.
[00:18:31] So what we're looking at here. This is Mecklenburg Road going along this way,
going east to west. This is the intersection where Applegate Road South is going north to
south. And what we're looking at here is zoom in just a little bit.
[00:18:52] What we're looking at here is an expansion upon our previous design of the 5
megawatt project and our very first solar farm.
[00:19:02] What we have here are a site one. In this north northwest quadrant site 2, is in
the northeast site 3 is in the southwest and site 4 is in the southeast. All 4 of these are
technically considered 4 individual 5 megawatt arrays. So the reason that we have 4
individual 5 megawatt arrays is because the New York State regulations dictate that small
generation facilities like this, what is called community distributed generation, also referred
to as, CDG, have to stay within certain parameters in order to fall within this category.
[00:19:48] When you start clumping all of these together into one large project, you enter
into another level of development and then you connect to different lines. And it's a totally
different market for that energy. What we really like about this model is all the energy that's
generated at this facility. Will stay on the local grid.
[00:20:10] So this energy isn't produced and then shipped off to New York City or shipped
off to to another large area that may need additional power.
[00:20:18] This stays on the local grid and can service any of the homes, businesses,
municipalities that fall within the operating area of that grid. In this setup specifically, we
are working in NYSEG. And so this power can be sold to residential consumers and
commercial consumers and municipalities within the NYSEG market. What we also love
about it is it gives us the opportunity to provide that energy on a first come, first serve
basis to local residents.
[00:20:54] We are required by New York State as part of our grant application to have 60
percent of all the electricity that's generated on this facility reserved for residential
consumers. The other 40 percent can be allocated towards commercial use, but
Community Distributed Generation is in essence designed for people who cannot afford or
don't have the accessibility to having solar facilities on their own property or on their own
building.
[00:21:24] They can purchase into this energy and have credits apply to their their electric
bill. So it's an alternative for those folks who maybe don't want to put solar on their roof or
don't want to put solar in their backyard or don't have that as an option for them. So this is
an alternative for that. And we really like the community feel of it. We like that it's going
directly to the community and we like that we can partner with municipalities. And we have
in the past to provide power purchase agreements to offset their costs of their municipal
buildings.
[00:22:02] So to dive back into the diagram here, what you're seeing up here, these purple
dots, these are the telephone poles that will connect to the power lines up here and come
down the road a little bit and each one of these associates with an individual array.
[00:22:19] So you'll see there's four sets of four poles and each one of those is allocated
specifically to site one, along with an inverter set here. There'll be a little concrete pads
that hold them. That's where the energy is collected and then transported along these
green lines back onto the grid, up to the main power line up here on the Mecklanburg
Road. So each facility is enclosed in its own fencing. Each facility will have its own specific
equipment that's tied to its own driveway, an entrance, gate, signage, all of the security
measures that are that are required by your local law, but also a few more that we feel are
are important to have as part of the facility.
[00:23:06] And so you'll see that each of these are individual 5 megawatt arrays. And the
way in which we designed these, I will I will note that up here is already an existing solar
array that was developed by Renovus, I believe back in 2016, 2014, somewhere around
there. So they are included in the parcel of land that we're purchasing. But our focus with
this design was to maximize the construction efficiency of the property and to also be
extremely conscientious of land use. One of the things we really like to focus on is how
can we best utilize the land to avoid butting up to neighboring properties? We'd like to
build in buffers.
[00:23:56] So you'll see there is a set back built in here. The orange lines that you're
seeing are the set backs that are required by the Town law. So in certain areas, so
technically on Applegate Road, this is considered the property front. There is a 125 foot
set back from the center line of this road. You'll see that denoted here with the arrow and
then the little text box over here on the other sides of the property, the law requires, the
Enfield law required for a 30 foot set back.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:24:31] You'll see in certain areas we actually
increased that because we believe it's best to have more of a buffer than to go right up
next to someone's home or property. It also allows for additional screening, additional
areas where if for whatever reason, we do run into an issue, we have a buffer that we can
utilize that it's favorable for everyone around. This is. You'll see on the front of the property
here over at Applegate. We currently have a rather large buffer that I believe is over a
thousand feet back from the property line.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:25:09] Again, what we're what we're focused
on here is this is currently active farmland. We have the option to continue farming it or
continue the lease of the farmer that's on it. On our property in Parma. Our very first
property we did back in 2017. We do have an active farm on there. It is a farm that's
owned by our owner, Dave Norbut. And we do everything from pumpkins to Maple syrup.
We just recently started a bee colony and we're actually in the process of building a rather
large greenhouse. Our hope being is that we can grow all of our own fruits and vegetables,
not only for the employees here, but also have a stand that we could sell it and donate
fruits and vegetables as well. So the concept of how to use the land is not just solely
devoted to solar. We really want to think about the long term aspect of how does this fit
within the communities plan and how they view themselves. How is it fit in future
development with residential, commercial and even municipal expansion?
[00:26:18] I know the Town Board has mentioned, you know, they would they would love
to see a Community Center at some point. Town libraries, additional spaces for community
gathering. And by focusing on how we develop these arrays and how we would structure
them and the utilization of the land that allows us to think long term over the 25 year life
span or 30 year lifespan of this array to be more than just a solar. Our primary focus right
now is the solar. But because we did we do have our roots in residential and a little bit of
commercial development as well. We're pretty excited about what this could potentially
develop into later on in life.
[00:27:06] I shared with Stephanie and the Planning Board a Website that we currently
have Live. It's called "Ranches on the Farm". And it's a concept idea. We have not built it
yet. We are hoping that the market will rebound after COVID, and it'll be something people
are interested in. But it is right at our very first farm or five megawatt farm in Parma
support area, and they're 100 percent electric townhomes that feed off of the energy that's
generated at the solar facility. And it encompasses trails. It encompasses community
gardens. It really takes the idea of a solar facility to the next level where there's community
living around it. There's green space and natural habitat that we can preserve specifically
with this project. You'll see down here towards the southern end of the property. It does
extend further than this map shows.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:28:06] What we really want to stay away
from any significant tree clearing. So we designed this to stay away from it so that we can
really keep this forested area intact. It helps preserve the ecology of the area. It could be
an area that we do maple sirup production. It could be an area that we incorporate
beehives and natural pollinating plants and vegetation. So in developing this, we really
want to think again further than just a solar farm. What could this be, 5, 10, 15 years down
the road? As part of the community and part of the community's comprehensive plan in the
future.
[00:28:44] So as we stand right now, we are in our, Due Diligence phase. Typically lasts
about 3 to 6 months. And what we're doing right now is we have these designs submitted
to the electric utility company and they're reviewing it to tell us whether or not we can
officially connect this power to the power lines that we see there. The red lines that you
see along the top here and coming down. And once we get those reports back, we'll know
officially how much it will cost to connect. And what that would look like.
[00:29:18] But while we're waiting for that to come back, we are doing environmental
studies. We're doing wetland delineation studies. We are checking all the DEC offices and
resources for any endangered species of plants or animals in the area to make sure that
we're checking that off the list.
[00:29:38] We're doing comprehensive civil designs to show what crushed stone road
would look like, what the fencing would look like, how high it would be. We're working with
a landscape architect to identify natural plants in the area that we could plant around the
solar facility as a screening mechanism.
[00:30:01] Additionally, we're working on what's called a storm water pollution prevention
plan. These are all elements that are required by your local law, but also highly, highly
suggested and required by New York State NYSERDA law.
[00:30:17] We're making sure we have all of these elements in place so that we can
present it to the Town, bring a complete comprehensive plan to the planning board for
review and allow them to dive into it. Post public hearings, begin the environmental review
process as well, which takes about 30 days. And ideally, we would like to, you know, in in
early 2022 hopefully be on track to see an approval at the Town level and also the county
level after showing all the elements of this project and hosting Town meetings as well.
And, be on our way for an approval in Enfield, but also at the County level as well. So
that's our project.
[00:31:04] And in a nutshell, right now, we are hoping that between now and throughout
November and December, we can get a lot of that material finished before the snow falls
and shared with the Town. And then hopefully go on to January and February, ready to
ideally vote and then have a really strong Solar Plan in place that I think we all would
hopefully be proud of and support in your Town, because it does bring additional
development and additional resources to the town, school district, and county.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:31:49] Dan, one question I have, and that's regarding
timetable. You just said you get your approvals by early 2022. I was led to believe at the
planning board meeting that we were talking about a May I presume, May 2021
construction. Was I in error?
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:32:09] You're right. I am thinking so far I. We
are still in 20. You're right. In 2021, I apologize. We are looking for early 2021 approval.
Originally we were thinking we'd be able to get the designs and scoped together to have
approval at the end of 2020. We realized that the timetables, the weather just was not
cooperating with us. So Mr. Lynch. Or you were 100 cent correct. I'm meant, 2021 with
hopefully construction starting in the spring of 2021 as well. That would be the goal, but
again, part of that is dictated by the ability to procure enough panels and the resources to
get the project going. That all depends on how many how many of those resources we
currently have in the states. What we would have to ship here from outside the country
and how fast we can mobilize.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:33:11] So, Stephanie, your muted.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:33:16] Stop sharing and.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:33:22] Stephanie has a question. And she is muted.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:33:25] How do I unmute her? Let's see. My
apologies. Give me one second. OK, here we go. OK. Is all the way down here.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:33:52] There, perfect. Our meeting here.
[00:33:56] So mostly the reason that I wanted to have you here is because Virginia had not
heard the presentation at all. Robert was also at the Planning Board Meeting. So he had
heard a lot of it. And I want to give the residents a chance to see what was going on there
as well. So I guess at this point, Virginia, I was wondering if you had any questions?
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [00:34:18] Sorry not at this point? I don't have much
voice. So, but I'm very interested in how an individual can purchase from a solar farm?
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:34:32] Sure, I'm happy to touch on that, so
the way it typically works is we receive credit. So when when energy is produced at the
solar facility, it's put on to the grid. And it's called net meter. So we can actually monitor
production is being is being put onto the grid at the little green dots that you saw earlier.
We track it in real time. And so we do not get paid from the utility for that electricity going
on the grid. We get credits.
[00:35:05] And the way that someone would make money off of a facility like this by the
energy production is say, Virginia. To make this very simple, you have it's a credit for
credit basis. So you are using one hundred dollars worth of energy at your house in
electricity. You call me up and say, hey, Dan, I want to get some of this green energy.
There's a 10 percent discount. I want to save 10 percent of my electric bill. I said, great,
Virginia, we still have space on the Solar Farm. Here's what you do. You sign up. There's
absolutely no cost to you for signing up. And you would sign up with us. And what we do is
we notify the electric company that you are engaging in purchasing renewable energy
credits from a Solar Facility. And we tell them, OK. Here's Virginia's meter. And here is the
credit. One hundred dollar credit or equal credit to whatever you are using at your house.
Please take our credit and apply it to her meter.
[00:36:05] So now, instead of you paying one hundred dollars to the utility company, you
would pay ninety dollars to us and they would take our credit. And so that's really the only
way that we can get monetary value for the energy produced. Is someone has to actually
purchase those credits. I will put a caveat in there and it's just a word to the wise and a
warning. There have been a lot of scams out there in reference to people mailing out
information to you and saying, hey, Virginia, you qualify for an energy credit, a national
grid, and you're sitting there going, well, I don't have a national grid bill.
[00:36:47] So there are companies out there whose sole model is to get people to sign up
and they're sending out mass mail. I would caution all residents against that. And I would
be skeptical of it because it has given the more reputable industries and the folks who are
trying to sell it locally a bad name because they are mass mailing information out to folks.
[00:37:13] So if you're going to engage in a CDG community distributed generation
opportunity, make sure you know where it is. Make sure you know who is producing it. And
you're able to clearly identify, you know, who you're buying it from. And all of those entities
involved. And it is a first come first serve basis because the idea around this facility is that
by the time you build it and energize it, which means you basically flip the switch and the
power actually starts being produced, we and our partners want to make sure that it's fully
subscribed.
[00:37:49] So basically, that means that we're not producing energy that's going onto the
grid, that no ones actually buying. Right. That would be like a carton of milk sitting on the
on the counter and no one buys it and it goes bad. And you never get paid for what you've
produced.
[00:38:03] So our goal is by the time this facility is up and running and energized, all the
electricity that it's generating onto the grid is accounted for. Again, 60 percent of that going
to residential clients and then 40 percent of that being allocated for commercial clients as
well.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [00:38:23] Thank you. That's good advice, but I I receive
a lot of crazy mail about what we're trying to say.
[00:38:34] ... Thank you.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:38:37] And when do you plan to go to the Industrial
Development Agency for the County and request a Pilot agreement? For those of you who
may be on this via Zoom call, a pilot agreement is a "Payment In Lieu Of Taxes"
agreement, which allows the Town of Enfield, a city school district and Tompkins County to
get certain payments that are set in lieu of taxes.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:39:04] Yes, great question. So we've already
reached out to the IDA, Heather McDaniel, we've already began speaking with her last
month. Very preliminary conversations informing her of our intent to work in the town of
Enfield and our hope that we can partner with the Town to build this project. She
expressed to us that their involvement typically does not come until a lot of the
prerequisites are met.
[00:39:33] So site plan approval at the planning board level. A letter from the Town
indicating that they are in support of this project and actually do want it. Your IDA is great
in that they're not going to force something that the Town has to take unless and lets the
Town has shown an interest in having it. I think that's a great approach because there are
some IDA's who say, well, it's good for the County, so take it. And there are towns that
don't like their IDA. So I do applaud your IDA for definitely engaging the town and making
sure there's support for it. But something, you know, we talked about at the Planning
Board was potentially having the Town work through the pilot. And what I forgot at the
moment was at the Town is currently not in the RPTL 487. So the Town has opted out of
that regulation. So it does have to go through the IDA.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:40:32] Right.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:40:34] And there are set percentages that
the three entities involved would get. So the three entities are the County, the School
District would be the Ithaca School District, and then the Town of Enfield as well. Those
percentages, when going through the IDA are legally set in stone. And they cannot be
negotiated. But there are mechanisms that we've used in the past to make sure that
entities like the Town get a more equitable share of of the pilot revenue.
[00:41:06] And again, for for the community members here, not familiar with the pilot
because Mr. Lynch said it stands for "payment in lieu of taxes". And most people hear that
and they think, oh, God, you're not paying taxes. No way. Come on, can't be! What it is, is
it's a it's a mechanism that allows a solar facility which currently is still being negotiated as
to how to truly tax and assess the value of it in a way that allows for an equitable share to
the entities involved. So the Town, the School District, and the County. Our preliminary
calculations on a pilot and again, these are very preliminary. We would still have to go to
the IDA to negotiate what that final price would be.
[00:41:54] And there's many factors that go into it currently show that the current property
in a given year is paying roughly about $16,300.00 in taxes right now. For that property,
what we would propose to the IDA and to the Town would be something akin to a
$3000.00 per megawatt pilot. So the project in itself is 20 megawatts total. So that would
be three thousand times twenty. So it would be a $60,000.00 per year pilot. And the Town,
School District, and County would each get their allocated percentage. And what we're
proposing to to make it more equitable for the Town of Enfield, because you are doing the
most when it comes to approvals, attorneys having it actually be hosted in your town.
[00:42:55] We would also offer a Town Host Agreement that would not be shared by the
County and School District. That would go 100% to the Town. And we would suggest a
thousand dollar community host agreement per megawatt. So that would be a $20,000.00
per year payment that would go directly to the Town. So in in year one alone, the Town
would be seeing taxable revenue of just under $36,000.00. So roughly about a $20,000.00
increase in taxes paid on that same exact land.
[00:43:37] Where this becomes even more beneficial for the Town is that we do not require
any Town resources or any permanent infrastructure to be put in place. We do not require
sewer systems. We are not going to be having any roads that the Town would have to
manage or maintain. Nothing on our property would fall under the jurisdiction of the Town
for maintenance as well. And we wouldn't have any burden in regard to social services or
even school district.
[00:44:07] So the money is truly 100% going to the Town unallocated.
[00:44:14] In essence, you could use it as you see fit. For a quick comparison: if you build
a house and there are children in the house, it's a family, that is actually a negative burden
to the Town because you're talking about social services, school system, busing different
services with plumbing and utilities that they would have to account for.
[00:44:38] When you look at a development that has a business on the bottom and maybe
apartments on the top, those are considered net neutral because the business is a profit
driver for the Town and the residential side does take out some money for the Town.
[00:44:55] In this scenario, it is one hundred percent profit for the Town, because, as I
mentioned before, there are no services that we require as part of the bill. If you built a
residential community, there would be plowing, salting sewer systems that would need to
be installed. And then again, busing services and social services for any of the families
and community members.
[00:45:18] So it really does give an opportunity to take unallocated on unearmarked
money, and the Town can spend it as they see fit. And same thing goes for in the actual
pilot with the School District and the County as well.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:45:34] Dan, I think that perhaps the benefit to the Town
is going to be a little higher than you have indicated, because I think what I've looked on
the existing pilot agreements for other facilities, including the one on Podunk Road and
others elsewhere in Tompkins County. And actually, I think it agrees with the, RPTL Real
Property Tax Law that, the pilot compensation only covers that portion that is being used
for the power generation, for example, the farm land and the other property on there that's
already paying taxes. That's still going to be paying taxes, is still going to be assessed as
farm land. So all that we're going to have for this pilot is in addition to what the land pretty
much is being assessed for right now.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:46:27] But that is a great point. Yes. So the
amount of land that we're actually proposing to use is roughly between 100 and 150 acres.
The total parcel is actually going to be, once the final sale is complete and subdivided it
out, we're looking at 249.66 acres. So we're using, you know, roughly around half of the
land.
[00:46:55] And, so to Robert's point that there is a great point, the thirty five thousand,
almost thirty six thousand we'd be paying a pilot money is actually only on 100 to 150
acres, And the other acreage around it would still be taxed at its current rate.
[00:47:15] And one other benefit to that right now is if we did build over what's currently
being farmed, we would be responsible for paying back 5 years of agriculture exemption
taxes. So that would potentially also go to the Town and be distributed through the Town,
County, and regular areas. If we're able to avoid the farm land like we hope we can and
continue to farm it, we would still apply for those agricultural exemptions. But again, to
Robert's point, there is additional benefit because we are only paying a 100 to 150 acres
and it is almost almost double what it's currently getting for the whole 249 acres. So, yes,
great. Great point.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:48:01] I think also, Dan, in terms of people who are on
this Zoom meeting, may wonder about the visual impact. And actually, from what I could
see on your site diagram, those who drive down Applegate Road, they see a field in front
that had corn. And I think this year and then there's a small, kind of scrubby hedgerow that
to the east of that. And then there's a field behind that. And it looks from your drawing, if I
look carefully, that those fields are pretty much going to remain intact. And they wood land
that would be behind that second field where the development would pretty much begin.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:48:42] That's correct. Yeah, we really
wanted to focus on preserving some of that land right by Applegate Road again. We put
together designs for potential 100% electric homes that we feel might be something people
are interested in the future. And by allowing for that setback and really focusing on where
the array is located, this becomes more than just a one and done scenario, which a lot of
other solar companies look at it at it, put in the solar, get it up and running. It generates
power. You set it and forget it type thing. And it does its own work. It is a very quiet
neighbor and it does sit there and just churn out energy, which is great.
[00:49:24] But we feel that there's a lot more potential in this parcel of land with the areas
that we've left untouched. And our hope would be that this design does stay true to its
current form as it is. It is preliminary. So we're hoping we don't have to tweak too much
when we go through the environmental rules and regulations.
[00:49:45] But again, to your point, Robert, we are trying to stay away from some of the
farmland and some of the heavily treed areas. And we're focusing on the shrub brush
areas that you could brush organisms or the smaller diameter trees and not not as thick
areas of heavy forest. Because it's kind of counterproductive, counterintuitive to a
renewable green, long term clean energy to go clearcut forest. You know, it's not not really
what we're trying to accomplish here. It doesn't. It doesn't. It's not in the business model to
tear it down for us to put up a solar farm. Was against our nature.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:50:24] Thank you.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [00:50:24] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:50:26] So. I know this isn't our standard
protocol, but how do we feel about taking a couple questions from the residents?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [00:50:34] You will favorite questions from the residents,
it's a good opportunity.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [00:50:38] Yeah.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:50:41] I think so, too, I don't want to go too
late, but Dan, if you could change the hosting back over to me, I'll try to unmute people if
they want to go ahead and be recognized to ask some questions.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:50:56] How do I switch the hosting back
over? I never hosted..
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:51:01] To the top corner of my. My picture
than you'll see those three buttons.
[00:51:07] Those three. Oh, Dots. And you click on that and you go down that list, say
Make host. Yep.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [00:51:18] You're the host now.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:51:26] OK, there we go. Ellen, was your
hand up from before? It seems like it's still up on here. Did you want to ask a question?
[00:51:35] Oh, no. OK.
[00:51:39] Let's see, is there anyone else who would like to ask any questions, go ahead
and use the raise your hand button if you have any questions for Dan.
[00:51:51] OK. Art?
James Ricks [00:51:55] This is James Ricks.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:52:00] Oh, OK, go ahead.
James Ricks [00:52:03] OK. I was just curious because I kept hearing that this endeavor
is going to be partnership with Enfield. Is there anything included in there where they can
put some Enfield workers to work on this plant? Also?
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:52:22] Great question.
James Ricks [00:52:23] ... Electricians or.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:52:27] Yeah, that's a great question.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:52:28] Every time that we can use local
workers, we will. Our partners are the construction arm of of this endeavor. And while we
don't build into the proposal on the site, plan approval, because it's it's typically against
New York State law to incorporate other extra elements to it. We do in any way possible
try to use local labor and local materials. What we've done on other projects is we've
reached out to the community and said here's the criteria for an electric electrician to work
on this project here.
[00:53:05] Here are the criteria for land movement or construction if there's a fencing
company in the area. Again, we would extend the offer that let them bid on the project. If
there's a construction company that has gravel, we would also extend that opportunity. We
work with Chambers of Commerce to spread that word. And we do. We want to keep it as
local as possible. We also encourage anyone who's working at the facility to to patron local
establishments.
[00:53:37] We do, again, try to hire locally but for anyone who travels into the area. If there
are specific trade and we can't find that in the area, we will encourage them and and direct
them to areas that they can stay locally and also eat locally for lunches and things like that
as well. So any time it's local. We love it. It's not just because we want to do business in
the Town at the end of the day, dollars and cents wise, it makes the most sense. It really
does pencil out better with your local workers and local materials. If you're not shipping
them in from other areas, though, it's it's also self-serving to use local. It's not just because
we're trying to win you guys over it. It really is in everyone's best interest because prices
are usually better when you can do.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:54:23] All right. Next, I'm going to unmute
Ann Rider. I'll ask you to start your video if you like.
Ann Rider [00:54:35] Oh, my cat is in front of the camera.
[00:54:40] Dan, I want to tell you that I'll be in touch with you tomorrow morning about
more things that you should know about the Enfield Community. I'm a very active member
of the Enfield Community Council in the... Former Supervisor of the Town. A bell ringer,
this is not just a Solar Farm. So very. Very nice, foresighted planning. I'll be in touch.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:55:18] Beautiful. I look forward to it and
thank you for your comments.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:55:21] Thank you. Ann.
Art Godin [00:55:24] Can I ask my question, Stephanie?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:55:26] Oh, yeah, go ahead. I didn't I didn't
know if you still wanted to go ahead.
Art Godin [00:55:30] Yeah, I just had a question. If we already have a solar array in our
backyard. Is it still possible to buy credits from your company?
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:55:42] Yes, as long as, you know currently
subscribed to an energy provider that has a renewable credit. You can definitely purchase
credits from us as well.
Art Godin [00:55:53] OK, thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:55:56] Thank you, Art. OK. Next, we have
Tammy Alling. I tried to unmute you. And let me ask.
Tammy Alling [00:56:09] Can you hear me?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [00:56:10] I can hear you, I can't. I unmute your
video for some reason.
Tammy Alling [00:56:14] That's OK. So I had just a couple of questions. I was just
wondering where you're based out of and you might have said it and I might have not have
heard it. And how long do the actual solar panels last? What a how long of a term project
would this be as far as like once they are installed? What's the range for how good they
are? How long they last? When they'd have to be updated or things like that?
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [00:56:38] Yeah. Great questions, Tammy. We
are based in Rochester, New York, right on University Avenue. We've been here for, I will
say, about 24, 25 years now. And in terms of the duration and length of a solar facility, the
manufacturer's warranty on panels is usually about 25 years.
[00:57:01] Now, what that means is it's similar to like a car warranty, right? You get a car
warranty for five years, you know, fifty thousand miles. That does not mean your car is
going to break down and you've got to get rid of it and it's junk. What it means in the solar
world is that typically the solar arrays, the individual solar panels will lose about 10 percent
of their efficiency over that 25 years.
[00:57:27] And what that means is we would, throughout the life cycle of the array, be
looking at what are the cost of new panels and what would be the cost of replacing them if
for whatever reason, we needed to. Now, similar to your car, if your tires lost 10 percent of
their tread, you're not going to go replace all the tires because the benefit of getting that 10
percent is probably not going to outweigh the cost of replacing all four tires.
[00:57:54] So it's a similar comparison in that going out and buying, you know, 60,000 new
solar panels to replace that 10 percent. Most likely the economics of that will not work.
What we are hopeful for, though, is that over the life cycle of these panels, technology will
continue to get better. And just like our cell phones will get smaller, have more
functionality, the battery last longer. We're hoping and we're pretty optimistic that solar
panels will actually shrink in size but still have the same production. So what we're hoping
is in the future, this array will actually be able to shrink but still produce the same amount
of electricity.
[00:58:35] And that's really great because, again, the footprint of it starts to shrink and the
land around it becomes available again. And during that 25 years, we're really giving the
land a chance to breathe, regenerate, cycle out any chemicals that might have been used.
[00:58:51] What we typically we have purchased in the past, our golf courses, golf courses
that go out of business are great because a lot of the land has been really saturated with
chemicals. And so by putting solar arrays on top of it, water, snow and sun still gets to the
ground. We do seed it with grass and the earth really has a chance to breathe and
regenerate underneath it. So that watershed, that water table to flush itself out, regenerate
would be a lot healthier.
[00:59:21] And if for whatever reason, at the end of 25 years or 30 years in this case,
because that's how long the pilot would be for, is 30 years. If a new pilot is not viable, if
solar is not viable at that time, what we would do is we would restore the land back to its
original state and we remove the solar panels, we would recycle the elements and we
would take the beams that are pounded into the ground and pull them out, thankfully,
because of the soils we have here. We can actually use pounded posts which require no
sediment, no film, no concrete, very little earth disturbance. And it is really a nice post
that's pounded straight into the ground, down to bedrock, and that's deep enough to hold
the panel in place. So to bring it back to its natural state is actually fairly cheap.
[01:00:13] And what we would be doing as part of our plan is incorporating what's called a
decommissioning bond that we would be paying for an insurance policy that the Town
would would hold. And that way, if anything happened to us as a company, we would be
paying that policy so that if this land had to be brought back to normal, that policy would
then be released and given to the Town or to us to re-establish what the land was prior. So
it's an insurance policy to make sure if all else fails, God forbid the worst happens. There's
money that's allocated and set aside in advance to bring it back to its natural state.
[01:00:53] I know, there was a little more than you asked, but about throw that in there.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:00:57] Great information. All right. I don't
see any other hands raised.
[01:01:02] I'm going to go ahead and unmute every one quickly. And if anybody else has
any questions, you can jump in now.
[01:01:12] Everyone is unmuted.
[01:01:17] All right, I'm gonna go ahead and mute everyone again.
[01:01:25] And I will, unmute, unmute.
[01:01:32] Okay., thank you, Dan. I think we should go ahead and move on. I really
appreciate you taking the time to come to the board meeting and present to everyone.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [01:01:42] Of course. Thank you for having me. I
look forward to meeting you at an appropriate safe distance in the future, hopefully in
Town. I've been out there a couple times so far in the last couple of months. You'll take a
pictures, walking the land, but I look forward to being out there for months to come and
meeting with everyone. And again, we're an open book. We're an open door. We do
encourage you to reach out, ask us questions if your Town Board can answer. Great. If
theTown Board can't we encourage you to send them our way? And we'll look forward to
working with the town of Enfield as we developed this this project.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:02:25] Thank you. Dan. I think it's very informative
discussion we had tonight, and I think at least as far as I'm concerned, I am very
encouraged about this.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [01:02:35] Great to hear.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:02:36] Exciting project.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:02:38] Thank you so much.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [01:02:41] Thank you as well.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:02:42] All right.
[01:02:43] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:02:44] Going ahead...
[01:02:46] Yeah, have a good night and then go ahead shot your video off. But you're
welcome to hang out for the rest of the meeting.
Dan Huntington of Norbut Solar Farms [01:02:52] I'll let you guys take care of it. I'm
sure it's all Town business after this.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:02:59] All right, so the next thing we have is
the Councilperson appointment discussion.
[01:03:08] So we had two people that were interested in and sent letters of interest. One is
Michael Miles Miles, who is on this call. And the other one we heard from a bit ago, James
Ricks, because we've already heard from you, James. I'm going to go ahead and let
Michael introduce himself and he'll be our first contestant to grill. Michael, I'm going to
unmute you and ask you to start your video. Here you go. You're on the spot. Do you want
to go ahead, introduce yourself.
Michael Miles [01:03:38] OK.
[01:03:40] Do you want. Do you want me to spend three minutes, you know, introducing
myself? And did you want me to read the letter or stand on its own?
[01:03:50] I can hear you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:03:52] I think the residents would love it if
you wanted to read it, read your letter and spend a few minutes just telling us about
yourself. That would be great.
Michael Miles [01:03:58] OK. So I'll read the letter that I submitted. You know, Michael
Miles, I live at 326 Aiken Road in Trumansburg, New York, submitting my name for
consideration for the open Councilperson position on the Enfield Town Board. I do know I
do this knowing full well that politics and communication and Town of Enfield meetings can
seem like a full =-contact sport. It is my hope that I can bring a more even-keeled
presence. This would not be my first time on a Town Board. I was appointed to fill out an
open position on the Town Board in 2016. So another appointment situation.
[01:04:44] Being a newbie Councilperson, it was definitely a learning experience with a
couple mea culpa moments and but one where I'm glad I got to know other residents of
Enfield. I truly enjoyed the conversations I had with people, regardless of whether I agreed
with them on issues or not. 2016 was the year of the sort of great wind farm debate I'm
putting that nicely. Every town meeting was vigorously attended by both pro and anti wind
supporters. Coincidentally, I think I was the first resident to install a small wind turbine in
the town because I firmly believe that we should be moving to renewable and sustainable
energy sources. But despite that and generally supporting the concept of a wind farm, I
found myself at odds with some of the details of the proposed wind farm, which I voiced in
both the town meetings and directly to stakeholders on both sides.
Councilperson Michael Miles [01:05:45] For me, this gets to an important point of public
service. One should be able to listen to input from varying points of view and think clearly
and critically. I don't know an immutable political party line and fact. They do not belong to
any political party and have not for most of my adult life. I choose to consider issues
individually and on their own merit. I don't want to be the voice box or political agendas left
or right to other Councilperson. I may agree with you on one issue. I disagree with you and
the next. And don't take it personally. We don't have to have unanimous vote on
resolutions except you have a three member board. Maybe that's so. But we do have to
keep in mind what is in the best interest and a kind of Enfield a little bit a little bit about me.
[01:06:38] I've lived in Enfield for almost 20 years. I think I bought property in here first to
build a house. And in 2001, my wife Beth and I raised our two daughters here. They've all
grown up now. And oldest one lives in Maine and the youngest one in South Carolina now.
I work in IT at Cornell University, but work remotely during the COVID-19 pandemic. My
wife and I, mostly my wife operates an Air BnB where we welcome visitors to our beautiful
Finger Lakes area. If appointed, I will do my best to represent the Town of Enfield, and I
hope that a Town we can get beyond beyond some of the acrimonious Town meetings and
politics. So that's it. Michael Miles, thanks for listening.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:07:31] Thank you, Michael. Robert, Virginia,
do you have any questions for Michael?
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:07:35] No, I had the pleasure of serving with Michael
Mimi. It's appointed to the board, certainly. Believe everything he said about being able to
sit through meetings and weigh things carefully.
[01:07:49] So I'm glad to see his applications at the hearing tonight. Thank you.
Michael Miles [01:07:56] Good to see you again, Virginia.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:08:01] This was a meeting for candidates to introduce
themselves, so I am not prepared to pepper Michael or anybody else with questions, I
want to listen more than I want to speak. And Michael, you made a very effective
presentation.
Michael Miles [01:08:16] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:08:18] I actually have a question. I'm
curious if you were on the board for the next year, if there's any particular projects that you
would like to be involved with or any board you would like to sit on.
[01:08:29] I know we have some vacancies on various boards from the Rec Partnership to
now. We're just we're making New York stretch committee. So various things that that
would be great to have extra people on. And I wonder if there's anything in particular that's
near and dear to your heart that you would like to work on.
Michael Miles [01:08:48] Well, I'll see what the open positions are on those committees.
And certainly when you're on you're on a board like this, you are technically you really
should be joining subcommittees and other sort of things like that. So I understand that a
couple things that, you know, I'm interested in. One I know like the politics in this town.
And so I do want to make it a point to, you know, reach out to Buddy, and Ellen, and other
Town Officials and try to get the understanding from their points of view and see what they
need. So I think that's important to kind of bring that back to the Town Board. I know, you
know, I was in numerous meetings where there were shouting matches back and forth
under Town Board. And that's, you know, not in Virginia can attest to that since she's been
on the board for quite some time. And I don't think that's really helpful.
[01:09:37] So I would like to spend some time understanding, you know, what are the legal
duties that they need to do. I mean, obviously, like the Town Clerk has legal duties that
she has to abide by. That's fine. That the Comptrollers Office, et cetera, et cetera. So
understanding what the legal duties are, what additional duties that we have assigned to
those positions, what we expect from them, what kind of budgets were given to them.
[01:10:06] One of the other kind of things that I'd like to look at is what is our budget, how
we're spending our budget? I'm not sure if any, I would really like to do a deep dove on the
budget and see if there is any way we could pull out more money or look at ways to
increase our our tax base without increasing our tax rate.
[01:10:29] You know, we you know, we're a rural town, you know, in an affluent and
generally affluent county. And that causes some issues. We don't really get the benefits of
being next to an Ivy League institution. We don't have big box stores or lakeside homes.
You know, we don't have, you know, municipal water or sewer. We don't have a lot of
these things that we bring in the tax base and we can't move a lake next to us. But, you
know, maybe that's something we can do to to look at the budget and ways to kind of
figure out how to keep it going. .
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:11:10] That's great. I'm super excited about
the solar farm. That's love like we're going to. It'll definitely add a lot toward our tax base.
[01:11:18] You know, Ellen has her. Sorry. Go ahead.
[01:11:23] OK. That's her hand raise. I was also wondered if we want to take a couple
questions from residents as well, is that OK with the other Councilpeople?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:11:32] Mm hmm. Yes.
[01:11:34] Yes, go ahead Ellen. Why don't you start off.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:11:38] So I was just going to mention that one of the
biggest vacancies we have in the Town as far as committees go right now is the
Consortium. Right. The Health Care Consortium. And it's very important because it has to
do with health insurance. And, you know, I had originally volunteered to be on the
consortium and the Town Clerks' position, role, office is more than I had anticipated. So
Mimi was the alternate for that. But we're really looking for someone to take leadership on
that Health Care Consortium. And I just wanted to know. Do you have any experience with
health insurance organizations or fiscal management?
Michael Miles [01:12:18] Not in that sense, but interested in learning. So not not directly.
But, you know, that's something we can talk about. That's an important role. And given,
you know, sort of the economic nature of our Town, you know, we probably have a lot of
residents that are not properly covered by health insurance. And that's that's important.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:12:41] All right. If anybody else would like to
ask Michael questions, go ahead and use the raise your hand button and I will, unmute
you. All right, I'm going to go ahead and unmute everyone because I don't see any hands
raised. I just want to make sure everyone has a chance.
[01:13:04] Everyone is unmuted. Now, if you'd like to speak.
[01:13:12] Okay, I'm gonna go I had mute you everyone. OK, Michael, thank you so much.
I'm going to go ahead and close your video and open up James and see if he would like to
introduce himself as well.
[01:13:31] Thank you for participating.
[01:13:38] OK, James, I'm not sure which one you want me to unmute, and I'll go ahead
and ask to start your video on the one that you have.
James Ricks [01:13:48] Okay.
[01:13:49] I'm on a 310.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:13:54] We'll keep that one
[01:13:57] All right. Would you like to introduce your son, James? Tell us a little bit about
you all.
James Ricks [01:14:00] Okay I believe I did that already, but I'm James Ricks. I've been
listening to some of the board meetings recently. I went to a friend's house and I observed
the meeting that I thought was really interesting. This is not so much about me, but it's
about you guys. I saw people, but not really passionate arguments for their constituents.
James Ricks [01:14:29] One guy I see him on... Bob, I believe, was arguing for the
workers in the city and so that they wouldn't get laid off. And I mean, he made a very
passionate and argument. I was wondering what was the opposition?
[01:14:48] And then I saw some other people speaking about the tax, the taxes, and they
couldn't afford to pay the taxes as they were, which seemed like a problem in getting these
other guys are paid and everybody working through the winter and whatnot.
[01:15:04] The Highway Department, I believe, and I saw really great people and it felt a
little contentious to me. I heard the word vindictive and I didn't see it. And I know
sometimes when people are trying to do things and there's a certain amount of money to
do it, sometimes they get adversarial. And you guys also really seem to be advocating for
your constituencies, for some taxes and your constituents. As far as these guys keeping
their jobs through the winter, you know, they're both very important. I actually I wouldn't
know how to how to work that out.
[01:15:39] I don't know where the tax base, where where the money comes from, how
much there is. I instantly thought about what that young man was speaking about earlier, a
solar farm or wind farm where somehow it would benefit the people of Enfield.
James Ricks [01:15:57] You know, more along those lines. I like what I'm saying. I saw a
young lady. I think I see her hair is a little different now, but really are making a heartfelt.
What can I say her? She was. She was. She seemed disappointed or depressed about the
future of what she had to do when you and the amount she was being compensated. And I
kind of agree with her, especially after seeing this pamphlet that she put out about tonight.
Very professional. I mean, all we are seeing, very professional, more professional than
me.
[01:16:37] But, you know, I sit back and I really don't know that much about the town, how
the town operates and where they get their funding from. But I've I'm I'm committed to
making this a better environment for my grandson and for the community if possible. I plan
on them living here.
James Ricks [01:17:00] I didn't really like the initial feeling that I got when I came here,
but that is definitely change. And for me. People like you guys and I've met other people in
town and I see that sometimes we have preformed ideas about how other people are and
they're not always true.
[01:17:20] And I would kind of try to try to work on that. And it's really important. I believe
what's important is raising funds and, you know, all of those kind of technical things.
[01:17:32] The ambiance of the way people feel about each other in a community is really
important. And I'm not buttering anybody up, but I feel a lot better about the people in this
community for meeting the people in this community than I did when I first got here. That's
who I am, so hit me with the questions.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:17:55] So I have the same question for you
that I asked Michael? Is there anything particular that you would like to work on if you're up
in the Town Town Board for the next year or any boards that you would like to sit on,
committees that you'd like to sit on?
James Ricks [01:18:08] Okay. I don't want to lead on him too heavy, but I'm going to
mimic Michael's answer that, you know, I would first have to see what's available, what
what you guys are trying to do. I'm especially interested in some kind of way of raising the
financial base, which really seems to be a problem.
[01:18:28] A lot of good people being underpaid. And somehow I think that needs to be
addressed. I would I would try to look at that for so people are comfortable in doing their
jobs. And then it would be a complete learning experience for me. I don't know that much
about government. I've got a pamphlet that you got that I figured if I get the job, I'll read the
pamphlet, but.
James Ricks [01:18:55] Yeah, that's not really I don't know what's what's out there, but I
know something about a salt barn to keep the runoff from going in and poison the water,
which is great. But I'm sure there's a lot of other things going on. And I would have to be
informed. This is a project in motion right here. I'm trying to find out what government is
about. In Enfield.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:19:20] Very nice. Thank you, Robert.
[01:19:22] Virginia, do you have any other question?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:19:26] I'll let Virginia go first.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:19:29] Virginia, your muted.
[01:19:32] You're muted still, you have to meet yourself, I unmuted you. I believe. There
you go.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:19:37] Thanks, James. I'm glad to hear that you're
open to learning because it is a learning curve.
James Ricks [01:19:47] Thank you, very willing. But I'm 71. OK. My brain is smoothing out
a little bit. You know, I don't remember things as well as I used to, but I'm absolutely
committed. I got three great grandchildren and I'll get in there and do whatever I can and
contribute as positively as I can. You know, for a sustainable, mutual, diverse type of
community.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:20:18] Thank you, James. And as somebody who is
just a year behind you, probably my brain evens out a little bit from time to time, but late in
the evening. But one thing I wanted to ask was whether or not you get appointed to this
one year position because it's just filling out the unexpired term of Councilperson
Mahaffey. And they are, for your position, would then be up for election in the 2021
election. Whether or not you get appointed, would you consider running as a candidate in
2021 for the four your seat?
James Ricks [01:20:57] That honestly will depend on my experience from now up until
December of 2021. But like I said, my grandchildren are increasing. I had one. I have
three. And the more I have the more dedicated. I'm sure I'll be about the place they're
going to live. I hope that answered your question, but I expect a nice type of relationship. I
like you guys, you seem like nice people. But I felt a little edge there during one of the
conferences. And, you know, you never know how chemistry works. You never know how
that's going to work out. But I will. I will do my best.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:21:42] Thank you.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:21:43] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:21:44] OK. So I'm going to go ahead and
open this up for resident questions. If anybody would like to ask James a question, go
ahead and raise your hand.
[01:21:54] Use the raise your hand feature.
[01:21:58] OK, I'm going to unmute everyone. I don't see anyone raising their hand.
[01:22:04] Everyone is unmuted now if you'd like to ask James a question.
Art Godin [01:22:08] I would like to say something on James behalf, if I may.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:22:14] Yes, definitely Art, go ahead.
Art Godin [01:22:17] I had the pleasure of working with James on the Anti-Racist March
that we staged here in Enfield some time back. And it was a real pleasure working with
James. He's a very insightful and honest man, was very easy to work with.
[01:22:37] And I appreciated everything that he said during our meetings and his
well-formed opinions. So I hope you will seriously consider James's willingness to join your
ranks. I was impressed also, of course, by Michael Miles. So it's a hard choice.
[01:23:10] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:23:11] Thank you Art.
James Ricks [01:23:16] Can I say something?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:23:18] Oh, yes.
James Ricks [01:23:22] Can I say something?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:23:26] Go right ahead.
James Ricks [01:23:27] hello.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:23:28] Yes, go ahead, James.
James Ricks [01:23:31] Oh, yes, I want to say I really appreciated the guy that spoke
before me. And I just want to let you guys know. You know, should I not win this, you
know, I have absolutely no ill will at all. You know, I thought he was a great candidate. And
I am, too.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:23:51] Thank you.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:23:52] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:23:53] Thank you.
James Ricks [01:23:54] Yeah.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:23:57] All right, so everyone is still unmuted,
if anybody would like to ask James a question.
Michael Miles [01:24:04] Yeah, this is Michael Miles again. And just that just a shout out
to James, so, you know, I wish him well too. So and we'll see how this goes.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:24:15] Great.
Michael Miles [01:24:16] So.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:24:18] Either way it goes.
[01:24:19] There will be an election next year so far for your position. So even if you're not
the person that we eventually select and there might be more applicants before we make
the final decision, that at least we will.
[01:24:37] You know, there's an opportunity to run in 2021 for now, two four year positions
that will be open. So let all the candidates you want to run. Run.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:24:53] Uriel, it looks like you were trying to
ask a question. Trying to, umute you know, I think you have to, unmute, yourself. There
you go.
Uriel Carpenter [01:25:06] One second, can you hear me? Yes, yes. Sorry, I was having
microphone issues. Can you hear me now?
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:25:18] Yeah.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:25:19] Yeah.
Uriel Carpenter [01:25:20] Yeah, I am curious. I, I don't want to open a can of worms, but
I know that. We're talking about a period till the end of 2021. And I just wondered if it was
resolved at this point that that, you know, you would remain the Deputy Supervisor and
that you would just be off a board of four people for the next year. And just noticing the
difference between four and five voices in the possibilities with with you know, I'm just
sitting or looking at. Well, Michael's great. Wow. Wow. James pretty great.
[01:25:58] They both seem like they'd have a lot of insight to contribute. And it seems like
there's so much work to be done that having five of you is. Maybe better, just just my
perspective from the outside here. So just curious if if if there's a possibility still before the
end of the year if that will happen or if this is just definitely for the rest of the next 14
months or 9.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:26:25] So, yes, to answer, I'm just the
Acting Supervisor at this point, I have not been appointed. So I'm still taking up the
positions of the Deputy Supervisor and Councilperson position as well. So I cannot fill
those positions unless I am appointed. I agree it be great to be appointed because it really
doesn't change my salary at all. It doesn't change any of my activities at all or my
obligations at all. The only thing that changes is that we can't get a fully reconstituted
board and I cannot get a Deputy Supervisor. So I tend to agree with you, but it's not my
call. At this point, we would definitely need to have at least one more Councilperson to
even begin to have that vote.
[01:27:06] And so far, Robert Lynch has decided that he is unable to vote for me to be
appointed.
[01:27:12] So we will be left to a four person board for as long as he decides that that's
going to be his decision.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:27:22] We may revisit that issue later this year, but I
don't think we want to revisit it tonight.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:27:28] No.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:27:29] And so I can answer that just on a procedural basis,
which is until December 31, 2021. The option remains open. I believe, Stephanie, that it
would actually lower your salary because it would you you would no longer be a
Councilperson.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:27:49] And I'm actually not taking on the
Councilperson salary.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:27:54] Oh, OK. OK. Association of Towns felt that that was
appropriate to do.
[01:27:58] But in any case, it would also end Councilperson Redmond's term. So if she
became the Supervisor, she would run for election in 2021. And then if she did not win that
election, she would no longer be on the Board. But if she remains the Acting Supervisor,
her Councilperson term last through 2023.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:28:27] That's true. So there is an option for
me to collect the Councilperson salary as well. It's not illegal, but it's probably a bit
unethical. It's I mean, it's it's probably not the most politically friendly move to.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:28:45] Understandable..
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:28:48] So I have not push that issue at all.
I'm just taking the Acting Supervisor salary at this point, just to clarify that. But I, I agree
that that's always an option is to get the other board member on there.
[01:29:02] Is there any other anyone else who would like to ask James a question before
we meet everyone and move on?
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:29:12] I would just ask the same question. James, what
would be her priority? What would be your project that you think you would be your priority
in 2021?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:29:31] James, did you hear that?
[01:29:36] OK, maybe he is. He got kicked off it seemed like he was having connection
issues. Good thing we're having that broadband study.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:29:42] Yeah
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:29:49] OK, so I'm gonna go ahead and mute
everyone. I guess, James, if you do get on again and you're able to respond, go ahead
and raise your hand or I'm going to go ahead and mute everyone we can just to just want
to believe.
[01:30:09] Okay, unmute Virginia, Ellen and Robert.
[01:30:18] OK, so the next thing that we have is the work day resolution. If everyone had a
chance to look those over, there were some recent ones that Ellen turned in right
beforehand.
[01:30:28] And but I think the previous one she gave us are pretty spot on, too, you know,
able make it possible for us to go ahead and.
[01:30:35] Oh, James is there.
[01:30:37] Did you want to go ahead and respond to that?
James Ricks [01:30:41] No way. I had to leave for a minute.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:30:50] Oh.
[01:30:54] We are we can't hear you. He's moving. You're muted. Can you unmute
yourself?
[01:31:05] Oh, terrible connection all around.
James Ricks [01:31:08] Hello...
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:31:12] OK. We.
[01:31:13] We can hear you go ahead and get your video off, which you say we can hear
you, James.
James Ricks [01:31:20] Turn my video off. Turn it off. It is off. It's I think it's off.
[01:31:26] It's off here. Yeah.
[01:31:29] OK, I turn on.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:31:33] Yeah, we can hear you, I hear you.
James Ricks [01:31:36] Yeah, I left for a second. I didn't hear the question.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:31:41] Well, Ellen, asking about the Health
Consortium, if there's any particular projects that you'd like to work on and basically could
be willing to sit on that board.
James Ricks [01:31:52] The Health Consortium is that. And I would first have to find out
exactly what that is. I'm not sure.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:32:03] It's basically a group that her health
insurance to a lot of our employees.
James Ricks [01:32:13] I don't think I would be very helpful with that.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:32:19] I guess I wondered what project you would be
interested in working on. You know, like what is your area that you are looking to shine in?
James Ricks [01:32:30] Well, like I said, I had I kind of follow Mike and, so I'd have to look
at what you guys are doing because this is a complete learning experience for me. I've
observed some of the meetings. I found them very interesting. I saw some troubling
dynamics. I had my friend Pete Myers talking for you one time. I saw some troubling
dynamics and some really good people and didn't understand where they were coming
from. I would kind of try to look at.
[01:33:01] And also let me add, because my opinion has really changed a lot. I see
possibilities of maybe some of these are the racial strife or the misunderstanding that
people have. Maybe we can straighten a little of that out by some honest questions and
answers. I'm really kind of interested in that, seeing my own catharsis. You know, I've
changed a bit. I don't know if it's because of my grandpeople or if you all are just that
great. But I think it's probably a little of both. And I'm kind of ready to positively work
toward, you know, a sustainable, diverse community is and I don't know about the Health
Consortium, but I can find out I'm I can pick up pretty quickly if I'm given the information.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:33:58] Thank you, James.
[01:34:00] All right, I'm going to mute you back up. Oh, sorry, I just cut you off. OK.
[01:34:08] So, Virginia, Robert, hopefully you had a chance to look at the Standard Work
Day Resolution that Ellen put together.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:34:20] Yes,.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:34:21] Very briefly.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:34:26] And I went over her list of tasks, and
I feel like it adds up. I know that it's a lot more hours than Alice had originally put in.
[01:34:36] So I understand that could be an issue, which I felt it was very necessary for us
to have a detailed list to turn in with this so that it doesn't look fraudulent or anything. And I
understand that it does maybe take Ellen longer than it took Alice. She's new to this. And
hopefully we'll be able to streamline her hours over the over the years. But this seems like
a pretty comprehensive list that she's given us. How do you feel about it? Do we feel like
we can go ahead and pass this?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:35:11] So.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:35:15] What did you say Bob?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:35:15] So that. I guess the first the first thing
we should have done is is asked to move this so that we could have the discussion. I'm
sorry, I'm jumping protocol here,.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:35:26] So I'm going to go ahead and move
this resolution.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:35:30] I'll second it.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:35:32] OK, so now let's let's get back to
procedure and we can discuss this.
[01:35:40] Are we feeling like we need any more discussion about it?
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:35:45] I'm not you.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:35:47] I don't think so. I haven't had that much time to
look at it. I downloaded some of the materials here, you know, within the half hour before a
meeting time. The latest things that were posted, I didn't see anything that was wrong with.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:36:03] So do we feel comfortable voting on
it tonight, or do you want to move it until the November meeting?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:36:08] What timetable do we have on that?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:36:11] Well, technically, it was supposed to
be do before. But I think they're gonna basically we're gonna turn it in when we turn it in.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:36:19] It looked acceptable to me. I didn't see any
problem with it. I again, I've seconded it. I'd be prepared to vote on it.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:36:28] OK, is there something that you want
to weigh in on?
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:36:32] I was going to offer some explanation to the Board of
exactly what was sent and maybe to the community also?
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:36:41] Ok
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:36:41] So the Standard Work Day, this is something that is
done every year.
[01:36:43] So we have I think this year there were seven Town of Enfield employees
participating in the State Retirement System. That's what this is about. It's about the State
Retirement system. There were two Elected employees. That's me and Buddy.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:36:59] And then five appointed employees, which is or
officials, really officials, which is the Bookkeeper, the Confidential Secretary, the Code
Officer and the Court Clerk as well as. Am I missing one? Code Officer, Court Clerk,
Confidential Secretary, Bookkeeper,.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:37:22] Deputy Clerk,.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:37:23] Deputy Clerk. Yes. And so the confidential secretary,
Deputy Clerk and Town Clerk were new this and the bookkeeper were new this year, so
we had to document three months worth of work time and show our hours and establish
our standard workday, which is either six or eight hours depending. And then the
employees or the Town officials that had already submitted this, which were the Highway
Superintendent, the Court Clerk and the Code Officer, they just submitted a signed
statement that said that their hours have not substantially changed.
[01:38:05] So that's what was submitted. The standard workday resolution, if at the point
that the board chooses to pass it, it's subject to a mandatory public reporting period of
three months, during which time after the Social Security numbers and other sensitive
information is blacked out, that'll be posted on the Web site. So the Town will be able to
review that for a period of 30 days. That's required by law.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:38:33] Thank you Ellen. OK. If there isn't,
there's no more discussion, let's go ahead and call the vote for this.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:38:43] Councilperson Bryant.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:38:44] Aye. .
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:38:50] Councilperson Lynch.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:38:52] Aye.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:38:53] Acting Supervisor Redmond.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:38:57] Aye. Thank you.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:39:01] Resolution carried That would be...
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:39:02] OK.
[01:39:03] And then the next thing we have is the TE-9A form.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:39:10] I could move that if you are ready.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:39:12] So the next thing we have is the
TA-9 form for a Rockwell Road. I wrote up a resolution. We have to to pass this resolution
before we can submit the TE-9A form to reduce the speeds on a Rockwell Road. I'm going
to go ahead and read that now.
[01:39:31] Resolution to submit a TE-9A form to reduce speeds on Rockwell Road,.
[01:39:36] Whereas residents in the town of Enfield are concerned with traffic speeds on
Rockwell Road. And whereas the Town or the Enfield Town Board adopted a speed limit
policy in December of 2012.
[01:39:46] Therefore, be it resolved that the Enfield Town Board will submit a TA-9 form to
the Department of Transportation on request pursuant to Section 1622.1 of the vehicle and
traffic law, the establishment of a lower maximum speed at which this vehicles may
proceed on Rockwell Road.
[01:40:03] So I'm going to go ahead and move that resolution.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:40:06] I'll Second it.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:40:09] And do we have any discussion?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:40:12] I hope this brings some success because the
residents of Rockwell Road that I've spoken with and perhaps other board members have
spoken with very passionate about this. They're very worried about the safety. They're
worried that somebody is going to get hurt or worse on that road because it really isn't fit
for 55 mile an hour speeds. There have been dangerous drivers on that road. And I hope
that if the speed limit is reduced, there can be some enforcement of that reduced speed
limit.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:40:47] OK. Sorry, Virginia. Didn't mean to
cut you off.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:40:51] I know. I just was agreeing with Bob.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:40:56] OK. If there is no more discussion on
this, let's go ahead and call the vote.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:41:01] Councilperson Bryant.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:41:03] Aye.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:41:04] Councilperson Lynch.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:41:06] Aye.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:41:07] Acting Supervisor Redmond.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:41:10] Aye.
[01:41:12] Okay.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:41:14] So that's it. We will be having our
next meeting on November 11th, which is Veterans' Day, we decide to continue with and
go ahead with our meeting as scheduled, even though it is Veterans' Day.
[01:41:29] And we are still looking for members to represent on the Rec Partnership as
well as the Health Consortium. And the NY Stretch Committee. If there's any residents that
are interested in participating in these, please get a hold of the Town Board. Please get a
hold of Ellen and let us know if you'd like to participate. Are there any other
announcements?
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:41:56] I have just one. That is that I wanted to make
clear to our listeners and viewers tonight that the position of Councilperson Mehaffey's
vacancy, of filling that is still open and we are still accepting applications. I know we had
two very qualified candidates speak tonight, but we still have the the vacancy window
open. And Ellen, if you are unmuted, she posted that. What is the deadline on that? What
are the procedures?
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:42:30] November 4th. And it would just at this point be an
email or a letter either mailed or dropped off.
[01:42:38] It will be open until midnight on November 4th. And if you want to send it to the
Town Board, it's Townboard@townofenfield.org. That is how you would apply or drop it off
or mail it to 168 Enfield Main Road Ithaca. New York 14850.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:42:56] Thank you.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:42:59] And any other announcements? I'm
Sorry go ahead.
Town Clerk Ellen Woods [01:43:02] I had one announcement, which is the Grange is
hosting an election night dinner.
[01:43:07] So watch the website for that and it will be a drive through event.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:43:12] Very nice.
[01:43:14] I'm okay with that, someone like to make a motion to adjourn.
Councilperson Robert Lynch [01:43:19] I'll move to adjourn.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:43:21] And Second.
Acting Supervisor Stephanie Redmond [01:43:27] OK. Have a good night, everyone.
Thanks for coming out.
Councilperson Virginia Bryant [01:43:32] Thank you.