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HomeMy WebLinkAboutApril 8, 2026 - Town of Enfield Regular Town Board Meeting Minutes1 Town of Enfield Regular Town Board Meeting Wednesday, April 8, 2026 6:30 PM In-Person and Via the Zoom Meeting Platform Present: Town Supervisor Stephanie Redmond; Town Councilpersons Robert Lynch, Cassandra Hinkle; Highway Superintendent Barry “Buddy” Rollins; Town Clerk Mary Cornell Virtual Attendance: Town Councilpersons Jude Lemke and Melissa Millspaugh Call to Order: Supervisor Redmond called the meeting to order at 6:30 PM Privilege of the Floor: Rosie Carpenter led the assemblage in the Pledge of Allegiance. Chris G. and Gretchen Kirchgessner - Gretchen spoke on the flooding that happened this past week. Her son was very upset and scared with the storm and after it was safe to come-out she noticed that her property was under immense water. She and Chris cleaned the drains themselves and the water was going over the curb and going into her yard and affected her garage foundation. They were raking the grates and her neighbor ’s grates. She called her mom and her mom called 911. She was upset as numerous people went by and did not offer to assist and made it unsafe to try to work in the road. One car went by with the blue light on and went to the Fire Department. Chris had some words with the members of the fire department, who when he got there were just standing around. He did apologize to them afterwards for how he had responded. They reached out to the realtor for the Carlisle’s house and that was the best response that they had received. Gretchen mentioned that Jamie Stevens responded to her that they had many calls that night and that no one had responded. Supervisor Redmond thanked them for coming and speaking, and mentioned that Buddy was the person on the road by the Enfield Center Road intersection that they had seen. A discussion between Gretchen, Chris and Buddy ensued. Additions and Changes to the Agenda: Councilperson Lynch the addition of a resolution on the continuation of flock safety service. Correspondence: N/A Monthly Reports Highway Superintendent Report – Buddy Rollins. Supervisor Redmond thanked the Highway Department for their work on the flooding this past week. Town Supervisor Report – Stephanie Redmond. In addition to the normal duties of the Office of Town Supervisor, she attended the CWIO meeting. She met with the Cornell Design Connects students and they welcome any ideas the board may offer. She worked with Councilperson Hinkle on the Repair Café. County Legislature – Randy Brown. He emailed his full report to the Town Board earlier this afternoon. Homelessness is still a problem. The Newfield Covered Bridge is no longer insured. Newfield is self-insuring it. Cornell Cooperative Extension is looking to purchase 70+ acres with grant funding. Flock cameras have become an issue and the cameras were purchased with grant funding. The county jail is at capacity with 60 inmates and 2 they are housing inmates outside of Tompkins County. He is encouraging the County to increase funding to the Rural Youth Services Program. Planning Board Report – Dan Walker. They discussed the sign law and they would like to know exactly what the Town Board is looking for to incorporate into the law. Dan does not want to have a 30+ page sign law. He is understanding is off premises signs for rent. We do not have businesses in town that would likely utilize billboards. We want to keep them off intersections and off premises. Supervisor Redmond thinks he is inline with her thoughts. Bob stated that he was at the planning board meeting and he ha d heard Rich Teeters concerns and he stated his thoughts at that meeting. Consideration of a separate law will not delay the site plan review law. We have to have a law as we do not have Zoning. Tompkins County Council of Govts – Jude Lemke. The County Admin report introduced the new DEI Director Leon Holden. They discussed the vacate order of the Asteria building. The owners have fixed some of the issues. Dryden spoke on Fiber being run for some Dryden homes. She is not sure how relevant it is to us. Subsequently Connect All Broadband has several programs that can bring service to areas that does not have it. They have a program where they can provide internet for $39.99 a month. The bad news is that the service is roughly 4-6 miles from downtown Ithaca. They are covering Newfield and Trumansburg, she asked them if there was a way for Enfield to piggy back on it. She will follow up to see where that is at. Councilperson Lynch, a couple of things about connect all. They have a contract through the state to fill in the gaps in Enfield. The gaps are west of Enfield Center and then a little corner down by Sheffield and Iradell Rd that they are supposed to service. It would not be hardwired. The State/Fed’s did not allow for hardwiring. Discussion continued. Consent Agenda: Audit Claims: General Fund vouchers #79-102 in the amount of $22,865.13 dated April 8, 2026 Highway Fund vouchers #45-60 in the amount of $127,111.81 dated April 8, 2026 Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded. Discussion. Councilperson Lynch noted for the record that he assumes that it is a valid expense, but the rental of the manlift was much higher than he had expected, around $30,000. Superintendent Rollins by that time had left the meeting. Clerk Cornell suggested the board members reach out to the highway superintendent directly. Vote: Aye; Hinkle, Lemke, Lynch, Millspaugh, and Redmond Nay; O Carried. Approval of Minutes: Approval of the March 11, 2026 Town Board Meeting Minutes Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded. Discussion. Councilperson Lemke had not reviewed the minutes prior to the meeting. Vote: Aye: Hinkle, Lynch, Millspaugh, and Redmond. Abstain; Lemke Carried. Business Discussion: Local Law RE: Data Processing Centers and Cryptocurrency mining – Tabled. Councilperson Lynch. Last month he did not think that it would be of significance to this Town. However, since then it has been a 3 topic with NYS and pending legislation on establishing a 3 year-moratorium on permitting for new data centers. Councilperson Lynch offered a draft resolution supporting that moratorium. Supervisor Redmond has asked that we postpone the resolution until the May meeting. Action was postponed. Discussion: Highway Drain Pumping. Councilperson Lynch, It is still very much a work in progress and he hopes had hoped to have some definitive answers by the end of today. He does not. There were 4 principal questions regarding inconsistencies between the Community Science Foundation (CSI) quotation and the testing standards and methods demanded by the Ithaca Area Waste Water Treatment Facility, and it was premature to commission CSI to undertake the testing without resolving those inconsistencies. What are the thresholds compliance for each pollutant. Ed Gottlieb had given Councilperson Lynch the threshold numbers. CSI testing methods differ at times with Ithaca wastewater treatment ’s requirements. Based on the March 30th response from Gottlieb almost all of the CSI methods are equal or superior. EPA608.3 is a mandatory replacement for 608. 245.1 we would need the results of 1631 method. The lab we might have to use, Microbac laboratories, has an office in Cortland. We are doing this testing because it is costing the Town a whole lot of money to transport this water. Discussion continued. Discussion: Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan. Supervisor Redmond had drafted a tentative plan ~5 years ago and she did not receive a lot of interest back from the agencies in Town (Fire Dept., School, etc.) she asked the Town board for suggestions on who should be included in a committee moving forward. The Food Pantry, ECC, School, Fire commissioners, Hospital, law enforcement, the local State park were all mentioned. Supervisor Redmond will work with the Town Clerk on this and report to the Board w hen they are ready with recommendations. Discussion: Billboard Moratorium. It was asked if the Town Board would like to put a 6-month moratorium on restrictions. Councilperson Lynch why we are moving with somewhat urgency, is because someone had called the code office back in January and then just this past week the question was asked again. All we can do tonight is set a Public hearing. Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded to set a Public Hearing for May 13, 2026 at 6:30 PM Vote: Aye; Hinkle, Lemke, Lynch, Millspaugh, and Redmond Nay; O Carried. Discussion: Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium (GTCMHIC). They had set a recommendation and the final decision will not made until September when the executive committee sets the law. The goal is for participating municipalities to encourage their employees to accept specific plans. We may want to decide where we should go in the next few months so that we can make the change for the 2026 -2027 budget cycle. As long as we indicate by July 1st that we are going in this direction, so that we can let the Consortium know. Councilperson Lemke, we should talk to Blixy to make sure the money makes sense. Supervisor Redmond will reach out to Blixy and Buddy. Discussion continued. Discussion: T-Gen Program. Supervisor Redmond appreciated Councilpersons Lynch’s write up. What she does not like that it is an opt-out and it should be an opt-in. That is one of the points that Councilperson Lynch somewhat winces at, as it is an opt-out unless you are a large business, a municipality, etc. You are going to have somewhat of a pushback from libertarians because people may feel that they are being forced to be put 4 into something that they cannot control. If there are things that he may not understand then there may be a lot of other people in the same position. Discussion continued. Discussion: Design Connects Updates. Della Alderson and Enoch Parmar. They gave an overview of their work so far. Since they have last met with the board, they have offered a survey and received 40+ responses so far. They met with both the Rural Youth Services Elementary and Middle School participants and asked them to imagine what the space might look like. They want to have the ability to climb, have gardens. The youth want more gardening and more natural green space. A place that ha s as many zones as it can have while trying to incorporate as many ideas as they can in the minimalized space. They will be closing out the survey in the next few weeks. Discussion continued. Discussion: Update on Enfield Road Clean-Up, Cemetery Clean-Up, Enfield Clean-Up Days. Councilperson Millspaugh will drop off the materials from the Cayuga Nature center the week of the event. Discussion continued. Discussion: Site Plan Review Law. Supervisor Redmond asked Board members if they had any changes as she does not. The Board did not have any additional changes and they are ready to set the public hearing and vote on this amended law. Clerk Cornell asked that the final law be sent to her for distribution. Supervisor Redmond moved and Councilperson Lynch seconded to hold a public hearing on May 13, 2026 at 6:45 pm. No further discussion. Vote: Aye; Hinkle, Lemke, Lynch, Millspaugh, and Redmond Nay; O Carried. Discussion: Flock Cameras and supporting resolution. Councilperson Lynch; Flock Cameras @ Tompkins County GIVE initiative of which a substantial portion was used for license plate reading devices. The TC Leg islature accepted the grant on behalf of the Tompkins County Sheriff ’s Office, as this was a requirement. The current contract was set to auto renew on April 2026. Councilperson Lynch drafted a resolution in support of Tompkins County Legislature renewing the contract. Councilperson Lemke. She would need to understand this more. Randy Brown, The Sheriff’s department is not providing any data to ICE without a warrant. Randy trusts sheriff Osborne. Councilperson Hinkle spoke on San Franscisco and how these cameras had misidentified people. Legislator Brown, these cameras are for crime stopping. The most marginalized people are saying that we like this and it makes us feel safer. Why do you think that we have these data centers. Your phone is tracking everything you do. When Travis Brooks the only Black person on the legislature is saying this is good for his community, it carries importance. Flock reads the license plate not the people and that the vehicle is what is being recorded. What convinced Councilperson Lynch to support this is that Amanda Kirchgessner stood up and defended the flock system. She was approached by a vehicle full of males on March 11th, at 9:30 PM, and was propositioned for sex. She spoke to a friend who stated that she should have reported it. The flock camera system was deactivated, so there was no recording of the incident to help identify the vehicle or those that were involved. If it had been enabled, they could have caught them. Randy Brown, six years ago there was a murder in Newfield and If there had been a camera, we could have possibility caught them. Discussion continued. 5 RESOLUTION #2026-__________ A Resolution Providing Tompkins County Guidance in the Continuation of Flock Safety Services Whereas, the Enfield Town Board holds a responsibility for protecting the safety and security of its residents and their property; and Whereas, in July 2025, the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services granted the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Office an award in the amount of $220,650 to support the Gun Involved Violence Elimination (GIVE) initiative, a program of which a substantial portion has been directed to support a network of license plate reading devices operated by Flock Group, Inc. a/k/a Flock Safety; and Whereas, the Tompkins County Legislature accepted that GIVE grant on behalf of the Sheriff’s Office on October 7, 2025; and Whereas, the ongoing contract between Tompkins County and Flock Safety is subject to auto-renewal at the end of April 2026, unless otherwise terminated by the Tompkins County Legislature; and Whereas, prior and subsequent to acceptance of that GIVE grant, significant community controversy has arisen as to the appropriateness of Flock security cameras in Tompkins County, debate that’s led to the formation of a working group under direction of the Tompkins County Legislature’s Public Safety Committee to examine the desirability of the Flock technology’s continuation locally; and Whereas, Tompkins County Sheriff Derek Osborne, District Attorney Matthew Van Houten, and the Tompkins County Probation Department have expressed their support for Flock Safety as a crime fighting tool; and Whereas, Flock Safety’s technology has proven its ability to deter crime locally and to assist law enforcement in the apprehension of criminals, particularly in those Tompkins County communities most impacted by violent crime; and Whereas, Sheriff Osborne has established policies and protocols within his department that ensure that Flock surveillance is restricted to its intended purpose and is not expanded beyond those limits in a way that would endanger the civil liberties of law-abiding community residents; and Whereas; in response to an individual member filed motion, moved at its meeting on April 7, 2026, the Tompkins County Legislature, by a 13-3 vote, directed the County Administrator and the County Attorney to prepare a Resolution for consideration at the Legislature’s April 21 meeting “terminating the County’s contractual relationship with Flock Group, Inc., commonly known as Flock Safety, at the earliest possible time and in a manner consistent with the County Government’s grant funding obligations;” and Whereas, this Town Board believes that the termination of the Flock contract is premature and unwise, would endanger public safety, and could compromise Tompkins County’s continued access to the GIVE grant, and Whereas, this Town Board would instead prefer that public discussions continue regarding Flock Safety’s local presence, conversations involving all interested stakeholders, and conducted by the Public Safety Committee’s working group and by other governmental bodies; therefore be it Resolved, that the Enfield Town Board hereby opposes the Tompkins County Legislature’s intended termination of its contract with Flock Group, Inc., as proposed under the Legislature’s forthcoming Resolution, scheduled for adoption on April 21, 2026; and be it further 6 Resolved, that this Town Board encourages the Tompkins County Legislature to auto-renew the contract with Flock Group, Inc., while also encouraging continued discussions by the Legislature, as well as by its designated committees and working groups, to address Flock Safety’s continued role in this community; and be it further Resolved, that the clerk is directed to forward a copy of this Resolution to: Shawna Black, Chair of the Tompkins County Legislature, Rachel Ostlund, Tompkins County Legislator (Ulysses/Enfield), Randy Brown, Tompkins County Legislator (Newfield/Enfield), and to the Clerk of the Tompkins County Legislature for distribution to all other legislators prior to the Legislature’s meeting of April 21, 2026. Councilperson Lynch moved and Councilperson Hinkle seconded. Discussion: Councilperson Lemke, in casting her vote, said she supported the resolution, but with a lot of reservations. Vote: Aye; Lynch, Lemke Nay; Hinkle, Millspaugh, and Redmond Failed. Councilperson Lemke, in casting her vote, said she supported the resolution, but with a lot of reservations. Privilege of the Floor: Councilperson Lynch. The food pantry director sent a report to the Enfield Town Board on where the food pantry currently is with recycling food scraps this afternoon. They are generating more cardboard and are working with the recycling company to obtain a larger dumpster and Tompkins County Solid Waste on food scrap composting. We may have to have a conversation with the pantry in the future about having food garbage contained outside of the food pantry. Announcements: Adjournment: Cassandra Hinkle motioned to adjourn, adjourned at 9:07 PM Respectfully submitted, Mary Cornell Mary Cornell Town Clerk