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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-10-13TOWN OF GROTON — MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2020 AT 7:30 PnI PUBLIC HEARING ON 2021 BUDGET AT 8:00 PnI FOLLOWED BY PUBLIC HEARING ON 2021 FIRE & AMBULANCE CONTRACTS THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Town Officers Present: Donald F. Scheffler, SupenTisor Richard Gamel, Councilperson Crystal Young, Councilperson Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson Michael Perkins, Highway Supt. April L. Scheffler, Town Clerk Charles Rankin, Bookkeeper W. Rick Fritz, Code Official Francis Casullo, Attorney Town Officers Absent: A. D. Dawson, Town Justice John Norman, Town Justice Also Present: Ben Nelson Glen Morey Lisa Stevens Kellie Lamoreau Mitch Quine Lee Shurtleff MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young to approve the minutes of the September 8, 2020 Town Board Meeting as presented. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler MOVED by SupenTisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to approve the minutes of the October 5, 2020 Special Town Board Meeting as presented. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler RESOLUTION 420-070 - APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract 410, numbered 396 - 450 were reviewed and audited by the Town Board, be it RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves said vouchers for the accounts and in the total amounts as follows: Code Fund A GEN IRA[. FI IND B GENERAL, FUND PART TOWN DA HIGHWAY FLND DB IIIGIIWAY FLND PART TOWN SL2- PERLJGILLE LIGIITING DISTRICT SI.1- NICI F.AN LIGHTING DISTRICT CD CONINII iN11) DEV NLOPNIE:N'IWALPOLE BRIDGE Total: Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Totals 11,744.36 4,818.96 32,400.60 59.463.52 98.81 127.69 3,070.00 111,723.94 Town Board Allnutes Page 2 OetoberB, 2020 Monthly Reports: Charles Rankin, Bookkeeper - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review and requested budget adjustments. He explained that the Health Insurance Consortium is going to give a "premium holiday- and any employee paying into their health insurance will receive the holiday. This means that there will be one month when the premium is not taken out of the employee's pay. Mr. Rankin said this will probable happen December for Groton employees. RESOLUTION 420-071 - 2020 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT MOVED be Supervisor Scheffler, seconded be Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2020 Budget _adjustment: General Fund, Town Wide: From: Contingence. _1990.4 ...................................$500.00 To: Employee Benefits. Unemployment. _9050.8 ......... 500.00 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION 420-072 - 2020 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT MOVED be Councilperson Young, seconded be Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2020 Budget _-adjustment: General Fund, Town Wide: Increase _-appropriated Reserves. _511 ................................$19.950.00 Increase Expenditures, Central Garage, Equipment, A1640.2R...... 19,500.00 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed RESOLUTION 420-073 - 2020 BUDGET ADJUSTMENT MOVED be Supervisor Scheffler, seconded be Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2020 Budget _-adjustment: Highway Town Wide: From: Bridges & Culverts. Other Expenses, DA5120.4....... $4000.00 To: Brush & Weeds. Personal Services, DA5140.1........... 4000.00 Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review. We are helping out at the Village while their Code Official is out sick. A lot of time is being spent with contractors since the new State Codes came out in May, making what used to be a 15 -minute visit lasts an hour or two. Town Board Minutes Page 3 OetoberB, 3030 nlichael Perkins, Highway Superintendent - We've completed oil and stoning: been busy installing culverts: driveway pipes: a cross-over pipe: mowing roadsides: ditching: shoulder repair: finished paving on Walpole Bridge Project: helped the County on Salt Road and Pleasant Vallee: and have all of our sand hauled in for winter. We started getting trucks ready for winter today. April L. Scheffler, RMC, Town Clerk/Tax Collector - Submitted monthly reports for the Board's review. We did two to three thousand dollars more in hunting licenses because Walmart and Dick's were not issuing for quite a while. Francis Casullo, Attorney for the Town - Had nothing to report. John J. Norman and A. D. Dawson, Town Justices - Were not present. Councilperson Crestal Young as Representative to Joint Youth Program — The Joint Recreation Committee met last week. I reported that there was some vandalism last month on the trails and that seems to have been reduced significantly. There is some fall programming that is going to take place at the park. We are not approved to use the school facilities due to COVID regulations and restrictions, but are bolding events in the park. There's a Science Center Partnership: Community Night will be on Thursday. October 22, at 4:00 pm and Sundae. October 25, at 10:00 ani. There will be family friendly activities open to all ages, and free to the community. They're also going to do a youth football camp on Saturday mornings for 3rd through 6th graders also at the park. Registration is free and will nun for four weeks in November and December. Yoga in the park ended, so they're going to see if they can find an indoor space for that. All of the grants, the trail grant, park pavilion grant, concert and Winterfest grants have all been cancelled or put on bold until nest season. No New York State grants are going to be paid. Glen Morey, County Legislator - Started off with a COVID-19 report: as of October 12th there has been 475 confinnned cases in Tompkins County: 433 recovered. 3 active: and one died this past week. We've had a successful year with road paving. Cobb Street, Pleasant Vallee Road, Old Peniville Road, and Salt Road. There is one more meeting on the 2021 budget review. Nest week we start voting on it. Even with the 1200 mandatory cut, it's going to be a difficult year. The County Administrator had come up with a 120o cut and a 200o cut, but the 200o cut we just couldn't do. Ben Nelson, Groton Fire Chief - We're at about 626 EDIS calls and 129 fire calls this year. I don't think we're going to hit that milestone that we hit last year of over 1000 calls, which is good. At the last Village Board meeting, a discussion was had about Halloween and ultimately. the Board left that up to myself and the Fire Department to plan something. I told them that it probably wouldn't be as grandiose as it has been in the past with Trunk and Treat. We did come up with something and basically, it's going back to good, old fashioned Halloween and just going around and picking up treats. The Fire Department and a couple other smaller entities are going to set up on the municipal lot and make it a socially distanced treat station. We've kicked around some ideas on bow we would deliver such treats. Also, on Halloween, we're trying to set up a chicken bar-b-que, but we'll see. 1\11itch Quine, Development manager, CS Energy - The purpose of tonight is to introduce myself and our company and introduce a project that we are considering in the Town. I started in the solar industry on the construction management side, working on a number of projects. Town Board Minutes Page 4 OetoberB, 3030 community solar scale and large-scale commercial, in Massachusetts. A few years ago. I switched into development. SC Energy was formerly known as Conti Solar. We're an integrated energy company. We do development, construction, and maintenance on large-scale solar and battery storage projects. We've been in business for about 15 years doing solar, formed out of the Conti Group. We've had some success on the development side in New York State recently. I'm sure you are aware that New York State is blowing up with renewable energy right now due to some of the State incentives that are in place and also due to some of the drop in prices that we've seen in the past 5 - 10 years. Solar is starting to be competitive with a lot of other energy production methods. The project we're considering in Tompkins County is actually going to be located in both the Towns of Lansing and Groton. It's going to be 160 -megawatt project on probably 900 to 1300 acres. We don't know yet how much of the project will be located in Groton versus Lansing. At a minimum the Town of Groton will probably be 200 - 300 acres or a maximum of 800 - 900 acres of the project. _y project of this size goes through a couple of different processes: First is the utility interconnection process. We have to work with the New York independent system operator and NYSEG to evaluate the interconnection point, determine how much capacity it has, determine how much it's going to cost to interconnect. That process has been started. We've done some initial analyses and we do think that the line is going to support the project. For contact, the line runs in Lansing and we'll be connecting to it near where the Groton and Lansing borders meet the Dryden border. The second process that we go through is pennitting. With a project this size, the State will be involved and they are likely going to get involved through their new Office of Renewable Energy Siting which they are just opening. They just put out some draft regulations with respect to governing the way that this gets pennitted. But our goal as a developer is to work as closely with the Town and the locals as possible so it doesn't turn into a State -nun situation and we can keep things as locally controlled as possible. The third process, which is part of my presence here tonight, is that we go through a competitive solicitation with NYSERDA to effectively bid the project in for a long -tenor energy contract. So. NYSERDA, they select as certain number of megawatts of projects, based on a certain dollar for megawatt hour price, and those projects get a long -tenor contract and they have five years in order to construct and then start selling power to the wholesale market and credits to the State for 20 years. So, the nest bid that NYSERDA is running is going in later this month. Part of our process through that is to make initial contact with the Town and inform the Town of our intent to develop and our intent to bid. Nothing is guaranteed at this point: obviously, first of all, we haven't won the contract and then secondly, there's a lot of discussion and review as to whether the project is going to be viable here. But we think it will be. I think we've got a lot of experience putting these together and we're hoping to be successful. I do have here tonight a quick, factual letter, just kind of stating that I was present this evening and informed you guys of the project and informed the Board of our intent to bid. If acceptable to the Board. I'd love to have you review and sign it. If not, we can use the meeting minutes with NYSERDA and I can show them the hand-out that I showed you, but our hope is that we'd be able to show them this letter to kind of conveniently prove that we indicated this to you. That's our only request for the evening. If you have any questions about the project or solar in general. I'd be happy to answer. Supervisor Scheffler - Well, our policy is, that when we have a complete application, we'll know answers to give and what questions to ask. That's the way we start every project. So, you can fill out an application and pay the fee and then we'll know how to go forward. Town Board Minutes Page S OetoberB, 2020 Mr. Quine - Yeah, absolutely, and I'm not trying to forget that you guys are approving any concept of the project this evening. We're at a very early stage at this point. But the NYSERDA bid comes when it comes. If we were to wait until the nest application were open, we'd probable be a little too late in the process. Our expectation is that if we're able to secure a contract with NYSERDA, probable early next year we'd be preparing an application and providing both the Towns of Groton and Lansing a more detailed site plan with additional information. At this stage all we have is kind of the size and approximate location and the interconnection intention. That's all we have and not a lot to go on, but if you have general questions or concerns. I'd be happy to address them as well. Councilperson Klumpp - I have a question. The last solar company that was looking for a place to put a solar project in the Town of Groton was asking for a tax abatement. Is that something that's an integral part of this as well? Mr. Quine - We, for a long-term contract like this, where we have a sort of fix rate that we sell energy at, we would like to have a fixed PILOT agreement. That being said, we don't anticipate needing an "abatement." We expect to be paying a fair rate, an appropriate rate. But for a project of this type, in that it has a long-term fixed revenue, it's important for its viability to provide for that long -tern fixed cost as well. I understand that there was another project and they were looking for a PILOT agreement with the IDA. That would be our intent as well, however, what we've been able to do in the past is prior to proceeding signing anything with the IDA, first negotiating a host community agreement with the local municipality to ensure that any IDA negotiations are over and above what is acceptable to the town. We understand that the tax portion to the town is small, out of the standard property tax rate, and our intent would be to have a host community agreement with the town on top of any IDA agreement that we'd have. The Board indicated that they would have their attorney review the requested letter, but that they would not be signing it tonight. Discussion took place about making a donation to the Fire Department and the American Legion for their planned Halloween events. With Olde Home Days and the Verne Morton Photo Show being cancelled due to COVID-19, there is money in those accounts that could be used. RESOLUTION 420-074 - DONATIONS FOR HALLOWEEN MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves making a donation to the Groton Fire Department and the Groton American Legion in the amount of $300.00 each to help with their Halloween activities. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Town Board Allnutes Page 6 OetoberB, 2020 PUBLIC HEAR ON FISCAL YEAR 2021 TOWN OF GROTON PRELIMINARY BUDGET MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Young, to open the Public Hearing on the Fiscal Year 2021 Town of Groton Preliminary Budget at 8:00 pm. Ayes - Clark. Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler The Town Clerk read the public notice, which was duly printed in the Town's legal paper, the Cortland Standard, on October 5 & 6. 2020, as well as the Freeville Shopper on October 6, 2020. Supervisor Scheffler - Everyone knows it's been a tough year and we don't know what's going to happen nest year. We made some cuts, added where we had to add, and we think we've presented a very tight budget. He asked if anyone would like to speak on the budget. Lee Shurtleff asked what the rate increase was. It was explained that the rates are down a few cents from last year and the budget is under the tax cap. There being no further comments from the public. Councilperson Klumpp moved to adjourn the Public Hearing, seconded by Councilperson Clark, at 8:07 pm. Ayes - Clark. Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler PUBLIC HEARING ON FISCAL YEAR 2021 FIRE & AMBULANCE CONTRACTS MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, to open the Public Hearing on the 2021 Fire & _-\,nbulance Contracts at 8:07 pm. Ayes - Clark. Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Ben Nelson, Fire Chief - I understand that things are very tight and things are very tight with us as well. With the job that we do, especially in the midst of this pandemic, we've seen tremendous increases in basically any type of supply that we get, and we are very appreciative for whatever you were able to come up with for us. I know it wasn't easy and we are very appreciative about it. Thank you. There being no further comments from the public. Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn the Public Hearing, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, at 8:08 pm. Ayes - Clark. Young, Klumpp, Gamel. Scheffler After discussion, the Board decided to wait until November to take action on the proposed budget. RESOLUTION 420-075 - ADD HALLOWEEN DONATIONS TO THE OCTOBER ABSTRACT MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby directs that the $300.00 donations to the Groton Fire Department and Groton American Legion be added to the October abstract. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Town Board Allnutes Page - OetoberB, 2020 The Board discussed the amendments to the Municipal Cooperative _agreement for the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium. Mr. Rankin, the Town's representative to the Consortium, explained that the biggest change was that there will be an expanded executive committee, starting with 11 with the possibility of expanding to 15. Thee are adopting two amendments because of the additional municipalities that have come onboard in 2020 and will be coming onboard in 2021. RESOLUTION 420-076 - APPROVAL OF THE 2020 AND 2021 AMENDMENTS TO THE MUNICIPAL COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT FOR THE GREATER TOMPKINS COUNTY MUNICIPAL HEALTH INSURANCE CONSORTIUM MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Gamel WHEREAS, the Town of Groton is a Participant in the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium ('the Consortium'), a municipal cooperative organized under _rticle 47 of the New York Insurance Law, and WHEREAS, the municipal participants in the Consortium, including this bode, have approved and executed a certain Municipal Cooperation _agreement ('the _agreement") with the effective date of October 1. 2010, and the 2020 and 2021 _-\,neudmeuts that provide for the operation and govemanee of the Consortium, and WHEREAS. Article 47 of the New Fork Insurance Law ('the Insurance Law") and the riles and regulations of the New York State Department of Financial Services set forth certain requirements for govemanee of municipal cooperatives that offer self-insured municipal cooperative health insurance plans, and WHEREAS, the _agreement sets forth in Section Q2 that continuation of the Consortium under the terns and conditions of the _agreement, or any amendments or restatements thereto, shall be subject to Board review on the fifth (5th) anniversary date and upon acceptance of any new Participant hereafter. WHEREAS, by motion 005-2020, the Consortium's Board of Directors recommends approval of the 2020 and 2021 amended agreements based on review of the document by the Governance Structure/MCA Review Committee, the New Fork State Department of Financial SenTices, and the Consortium's legal counsel, and WHEREAS, the Municipal Cooperative _agreement requires that amendments to the agreement be presented to each participant for review and adopted by its municipal board. WHEREAS, the Town of Groton is in receipt of the proposed amended Agreement(s) and has determined that it is in the best interest of its constituents who are senTed by the Consortium to amend the _agreement as set forth in the attached 2020 and 2021 _mended Municipal Cooperative _agreements, now therefore be it RESOLVED, that the Town Board of the Town of Groton approves, and authorizes the Town SupenTisor to sign, the 2020 and 2021 _-amendments to the Municipal Cooperative _agreement of the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium, and be it further RESOLVED, that the Clerk of the Town of Groton is hereby authorized to execute this Resolution to indicate its approval, transmit a cope thereof to the Board of Directors of the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium, and take any other such actions as may be required by law. Ayes - Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Nays - Resolution Passed Town Board Minutes Page 8 Oetoberl3, 3030 4nnouncements: Dewey Dawson has decided to retire as Town Justice in January and has let us know so that we can look for a replacement. No Planning Board or Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting this month Virtual training for the Town Board and Highway Superintendent - October 20 from 10 - 11 am. Privilege of the Floor: Kellie Lamoreau - I am part of the group called Dryden - Groton Plus -Human Dignity Coalition. It was brought to our attention that there was a vendor on Main Street selling Confederate flags and has been displaying flags and at least one business on Main Street that was displaying a Confederate flag and we were really concerned about this and I just wanted to make sure that the Board was aware and was aware of the symbol, that the offense that the flag represents white supremacy and is seen by many folks as a symbol of hatred. So, it is very concerning for us. We did a small event on Friday and it did get published in the Cortland paper and so I just wanted to come and share my concerns about this. I think it's a symbol and it's allowing and sitting by and watching those flags being based on Main Street is very disconcerting and I feel like it sends a message of being unwelcome to certain people. The Board thanked Ms. Lamoreau. There being no further business. Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilperson Young, at 8:23 pm. Unanimous. April L. Seheffler, RMC Town Clerk