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Home My WebLink AboutOrganizational and Town Board Meeting Jan 9 ,2024TOWN OF GROTON – MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD MEETING TUESDAY, JANUARY 9, 2024 AT 7:30 PM THE TOWN HALL, 101 CONGER BOULEVARD Town Officers Present: Town Officers Absent: Also Present: Donald F. Scheffler, Supervisor Julie Graham Bookkeeper Eric Deforrest, Chief GFD Richard Gamel, Councilperson Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Crystal Young, Councilperson Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson Ellard Keister, Highway Supt. Mack Rankin, Deputy Highway Supt Robin Cargian, Town Clerk Francis Casullo, Attorney W. Rick Fritz, Code Official 2024 ORGANIZATIONAL ITEMS/APPOINTMENTS RESOLUTION #24‐001 ‐ TOWN OFFICIALS AND WAGES MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following appointments and wages: Item 1 - Depository – First National Bank of Groton Item 2 - Official Newspaper– Cortland Standard Item 3 - Law Firm – Francis J. Casullo of Pomeroy, Armstrong & Casullo, LLP, 16 Tompkins St., Cortland, N.Y. 13045 Item 4 - Zoning Officer – W. Rick Fritz Item 5 – Court Officer(s) – Contract with Village of Groton Item 6 - Deputy Supervisor – Sheldon Clark Item 7 - Deputy Highway Superintendent – Mackenzi Rankin Item 8 - Deputy Town Clerk – Denise Smith Item 9 - Bookkeeper – Julie Graham Item 10 - Court Clerk – Kathy Barron Item 11 - Part-Time McLean Crossing Guard – Margaret Albern Item 12 - Town Historian – Rosemarie Tucker Item 13 ‐ Health Insurance ‐ Greater Tompkins Co. Municipal Health Insurance Consortium Item 14 - Town Board Regular Meetings ‐ Second Tuesday of each month With Two additional meetings on the 4th Tuesday in September & October. @ 7:30 PM (7:00 PM to audit Invoices) Item 15 – Annual Salaries of Town Officers –salaries paid at the time respectfully specified. a) Donald F. Scheffler, Supervisor Total Annual salary of $13,933.84 Paid Biweekly b) Richard Gamel, Councilperson Total Annual salary of $4,227.12 Paid Monthly c) Crystal Young, Councilperson Total Annual salary of $4,227.12 Paid Monthly d) Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Total Annual salary of $4,227.12 Paid Monthly e) Sheldon Clark, Councilperson Total Annual salary of $4,227.12 Paid Monthly f) Robin Cargian, Town Clerk Total Annual salary of $58,549.32 Paid Biweekly g) Ellard Keister, Highway Supt. Total Annual salary of $78,305.75 Paid Biweekly h) Paul Lang, 1st Town Justice Total Annual salary of $18,210.40 Paid Biweekly Town Board Minutes Page 2 January 9, 2024 i) Randy Jackson, 2nd Town Justice Total Annual salary of $18,210.40 Paid Biweekly j) W. Rick Fritz, Code Enforcement Officer Total Annual salary of $41,134.08 Paid Biweekly k) Julie Graham, Bookkeeper Total Annual salary of $26,780.00 Paid Biweekly l) Rosemarie Tucker, Town Historian Total Annual salary of $1,874.60 Paid Quarterly m) Planning Board Chair $ 50.00 per meeting n) Planning Board Member $ 40.00 per meeting o) Zoning Board Chair $ 50.00 per meeting p) Zoning Board Member $ 40.00 per meeting q) Court Officers- Per contract Item 16 - Set Hourly Rates ‐ Deputy Town Clerk $ 19.83 per hour Court Clerk $ 21.09 per hour Custodian $ 17.94 per hour Crossing Guard $ 17.58 per hour Mileage $ .60 Per Mile Ayes -Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Motion Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐002 ‐ COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby makes the following appointments: Appointment of Representatives to Town and County Programs: Environmental Management Council – Peg Ficken Ithaca-Tompkins County Transportation Council Planning Committee - Sheldon Clark Groton Youth Commission – Brian Klumpp, Peggy Ficken, Glenn Morey Tompkins County Youth Services Board – Becky Koenig Tompkins County Recreation Partnership – Crystal Young Supervisors Appointment to Committee Members: Finance – Don Scheffler- Richard Gamel Machinery – Sheldon Clark- Don Scheffler Building –Richard Gamel-Brian Klumpp Fire Department – Richard Gamel Personnel – Don Scheffler-Sheldon Clark Zoning, Building and Fire Code – Brian Klumpp HUD/CDBG loans-Don Scheffler-Richard Gamel-R. Charlton Wright Light Districts – Crystal Young-Brian Klumpp Fixed Assets – Richard Gamel-Don Scheffler Senior Citizens – Sheldon Clark Recreation Committee – Crystal Young Highway – Sheldon Clark Tompkins County Council of Governments (TCCOG) – Don Scheffler Tompkins Co. Municipal Health Insurance Consortium ‐ Don Scheffler Planning and Zoning Boards – Rotating Attendance- Jan-Klumpp/Feb-Scheffler/March-Young/ April-Clark/May-Gamel/June-Klumpp/July-Scheffler/Aug.-Clark/Sept.-Young/Oct.-Gamel/ Nov.-Klumpp/Dec-Scheffler Joint Committee on Plan Structure and Design- Don Scheffler Town Board Minutes Page 3 January 9, 2024 CDBG Section 3 Coordinator- Brian Klumpp Contact people for the Drug and Alcohol Testing Program – Ellard Keister and Don Scheffler With no one wishing to attend the Annual Association of Towns Meeting, no delegate was appointed. Appoint Town Planning Board Members, Zoning Board of Appeals Members, Ethics Committee, and Agricultural Advisory Committee: Planning Board Member 7-Year Term Term Expires December 31 Originally Appointed Reappointed Sam Rose 2028 4/6/2019 2022 Lisa Maloney Hahn 2029 12/11/2012 2021 Edward Neuhauser 2030 9/12/2005 2024 Mark Baxendell 2024 10/10/2000 Leon Brockway, Jr 2025 1/12/2016 Monica Carey 2026 3/12/1985 2020 Dan Cerretani 2027 8/11/2020 2021 AGRICULTURAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE Daniel Carey, Dale Rankin, Robert Fouts TOWN-OWNED CEMETERIES COMMITTEE Rosemarie Tucker, Ellard Keister, Robin Cargian Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays RESOLUTION #24‐003 ‐ SET FEES MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby sets the following fee schedules: Ethics Board Term (Exp. Dec. 31) Initially Appointed Reappointed Don Scheffler R. Charlton Wright 2024 John MacLean 2024 Daniel Carey 2026 John Miller 2026 Zoning Board of Appeals 5-Year Term Term Expires December 31 Initially Appointed Reappointed Patricia Gaines 2025 5/8/2001 2021 Monica Moll 2027 3/2023 Edward Moody 2027 3/2023 Paul Fouts 2028 12/11/2007 2024 Carolann Darling 2024 12/12/2006 2020 Town Board Minutes Page 4 January 9, 2024 Town of Groton Zoning Fees All building projects started prior to a permit being issued, will be charged twice the regular fee. Residential New Construction ‐ $.45 per Sq Ft Alterations/Renovations ‐ $40 plus 2.00 per $1000 of cost Commercial New Construction ‐ $.60 per Sq Ft Alterations/Renovations: $60 plus 3.00 per $1000 of cost Buildings within the Flood Hazard Area New Construction ‐ $.60 per Sq Ft Alterations/Renovations ‐ $60 plus 3.00 per $1000 of cost PLUS Applicant is responsible for all Town Engineering consultation charges (see Additional Fees on the last page) Agricultural Buildings $25 Building Permit Renewal ½ Original Fee & approval of CEO Non‐Structural Roof Replacement No Charge Accessory Structures: Pools, Decks, Sheds, Detached Garages, $40 plus 2.00 per $1000 of cost Demolition Permit $25 Disability Ramp No Charge Fixed Appliance $25 Fence 6ft or higher/ Replace pool fence $25 Garage attached to a residence 1‐car = $30 2‐car = $60 3‐car = $90 + $30 for each car bay added Energy Production ‐ Small Scale $40 plus 2.00 per $1000 of cost Town of Groton Clerk Fees Photocopies Letter size: $.25 Ledger Size: .50 Legal Size: .25 Transcript of Marriage $10.00 Marriage License & Certificate $40.00 Town, Village, County Maps $.50 Dog Licenses Unaltered: $27.00 Altered: $15.00 Returned Check Fee $20.00 Fax Copies Transmit: $1.00 per page Receive: $.25 per page Town Directory $5.00 Land Use & Development Code $25.00 paper copy $15.00 CD Comprehensive Plan $25.00 paper copy $15.00 CD Certified Copies $5.00 Town Board Minutes Page 5 January 9, 2024 Energy Production‐ Large Scale $25,000 per megawatt according to the nameplate output rating. Fee for renewal of permit: Same as original Junk Yard Permit Renewal $50` Life Safety Inspection/Operation Permit $25 Cellular Tower $200 plus $2.50 per $1,000 of Construction Cost Sign Permit $10 Outdoor Fireworks/Indoor Pyrotechnics Permit $25 Manufacturers’ Pyrotechnics Testing Permit $25 Annually Subdivision ‐ Exempt $50 Subdivision ‐ Minor $30 + $20 per lot Subdivision ‐ Major Level One $50 + $20 per lot Subdivision ‐ Major Level Two Preliminary Review ‐ $100 + $20 per lot Final Review ‐ $100 + $20 per lot Administrative Lot Line Adjustment $25 Cluster Development Preliminary Review ‐ $100 + $20 per lot Final Review ‐ $100 + $20 per lot Planned Unit Development Town Board Review ‐ $200 Site Plan Review by Planning Board ‐ $200 Site Plan Review (Land Use Permit) 2000 sq. ft. & under ‐ $100 2001 sq. ft. & over ‐ $200 Site Plan Review for Echo Housing No Charge Special Permit ‐ Cemetery $200 Special Permit ‐ Junk Yard $4,500 Special Permit ‐ High-Density Housing $5,000 Special Permit ‐ Mining $5,000 Special Permit‐ Large-Scale Green Energy $4,500 Special Permit ‐ Manufactured Home Park $5,000 Special Permit ‐ Sexually Oriented Businesses $7,500 Mass Gathering Permit $750 Application for Variance or Interpretation $175 Additional Fees: 1. Fees listed do not include postage, which may be an additional charge at current postal rates. 2. If a public hearing is required, the applicant shall pay the cost of advertising fees. 3. Costs incurred by the Town of Groton for engineering, planning, legal, and other necessary expenses for the purpose of reviewing any application with regard to an item covered by this fee schedule shall be paid by the applicant. 4. The applicant shall be responsible for costs incurred by the Town of Groton for the review and/or preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement if said statement is necessary. 5. When fees are to be paid: All fees, costs, and/or expenses required by this fee schedule shall be paid to the Town of Groton before any certificate/permit is issued. Town Board Minutes Page 6 January 9, 2024 Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐004 CONTRACT FOR AUDIT OF 2023 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board will seek a contract with Insero & Co. CPAs, LLP for the financial audit of the fiscal year 2023. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐005 – APPROVE 2024 DOG CONTRACT WITH COUNTRY ACRES PET SERVICES MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the year 2024 contract with Country Acres Pet Services for animal control in the Town of Groton with a monthly contract fee of $2,000.00. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐006 – AUTHORIZATION TO PARTICIPATE IN COOPERATIVE PURCHASING OF HIGHWAY SERVICES WITH COUNTIES IN N.Y.S. MOVED by Supervisor Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town of Groton is hereby authorized to participate with Counties Located within New York State in the cooperative purchasing of various highway services. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐007– AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT TO PURCHASE ON NEW YORK STATE CONTRACT BID MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby authorizes the Highway Superintendent to purchase oil and related Highway products from New York State Contract Bids as appropriate. Ayes - Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐008 ‐ AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT TO GIVE RAISES MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby authorizes the Highway Superintendent to give pay raises effective January 1, 2024. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐009 – APPROVE 2024 MUNICIPAL DRUG AND ALCOHOL TESTING Town Board Minutes Page 7 January 9, 2024 MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves Energetix as Third-Party Administrator for the 2024 Municipal Agreement Renewal and the Drug and Alcohol Testing. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐010 – APPROVE MILEAGE RATE FOR TOWN OFFICIALS MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves a mileage rate of $.60 (sixty cents) per mile for town official’s use of personal vehicles for Town Business. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐011 – APPROVE HUMAN SERVICES COALITION AGREEMENT MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Human Services Coalition agreement for 2024 and authorizes payment be remitted upon invoice. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #24‐012– AUTHORIZE THE USE OF EMAIL FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF LOCAL LAW PROPOSALS AND FINAL DRAFTS TO TOWN BOARD MEMBERS MOVED by Councilperson, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby authorizes the use of email for law propositions and final drafts to comply with Municipal Home Rule §20 (4) and authorizes the Town Clerk to post the email addresses to be used on the signboard as follows; Groton Town Supervisor – supervisor@grotontown.com Councilperson Sheldon Clark - evoclark@aol.com Councilperson Richard Gamel - rbgamel@verizon.net Councilperson Brian Klumpp - owascols@outlook.com Councilperson Crystal Young - crystal137898@gmail.com REGULAR MEETING ITEMS MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to approve the minutes of the December 12, 2023 meeting as presented. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays- RESOLUTION #24‐013 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF 2023 INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Clark WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #13 for the Year 2023, numbered 521-552 were reviewed and audited by the Town Board, be it Town Board Minutes Page 8 January 9, 2024 RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves said vouchers for the accounts and in the total amounts as follows: A GENERAL FUND 8,064.46 B GENERAL FUND PART TOWN 295.00 DA HIGHWAY FUND 18,679.62 DB HIGHWAY FUND PART TOWN 108.80 SL2- PERUVILLE LIGHTING DISTRICT 91.89 SLl- MCLEAN LIGHTING DISTRICT 217.72 Total 27,348.69 Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays – RESOLUTION #24‐014 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF 2024 INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #1 for the Year 2024, numbered 1 ‐ 10 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: A GENERAL FUND 22,278.22 B GENERAL FUND PART TOWN 6,678.00 DA HIGHWAY FUND 25,869.70 DB HIGHWAY FUND PART TOWN 24,803.00 Total 79,628.92 Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - Monthly Reports: Julie Graham, Bookkeeper – Report was submitted. RESOLUTION #24‐015 ‐ 2023 BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the following 2023 Budget Adjustments: General Account: From: - Contingency, A1990.4 in the amount of $630.00 To: A1430.1 Personnel- Per Services- ...$630.00 Deputy Clerk OT From Contingency A1990.4 in the amount of $ 236.00 To: B8010.12 Zoning Personal Services...$236.00 From Contingency DA1990.4 in the amount of $9,126.00 To: DA5130.4 Machinery Contractual...$9,126.00 Ayes – Clark Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Town Board Minutes Page 9 January 9, 2024 Nays- W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer –The monthly and annual report was submitted. Ellard Keister, Highway Superintendent ‐ Thank you for doing the budget adjustments for the 5130, all of those were emergency mandatory repairs. Every week we exercise the trucks just to keep things going and we break a hydraulic line. The last quarter inch of snow, we broke 6 different lines and some air fittings. I was bracing for the worst with this last larger snowfall but between Dale and the rest of the guys putting the effort into this equipment I am happy to report we made it through that entire storm without one breakdown or hose leak. We made it without taking one truck off the road. Big thanks to the guys coming in through the entire weekend without any complaints. Another big thank you to my wife for keeping us fed all weekend! Last year we spoke of and switched to a reactive blade system. It is spring-loaded and contours to the road. It is more expensive, but it is proving to hold up and maintain as the previous blade, and, because of the way it works, we figured it cut our salt usage by a third. This is a huge savings and produces better roads for the public to be on. With this blade, we were able to scrape the road black and put salt directly onto the road which then held longer for the next run. Each side of town has a salt truck equipped with these. As we need new blades in the future, we will transition to these as this experiment went very well. In other exciting news, the boiler will be here Thursday. We haven’t been able to get it running all year. We have been running the rooftop heaters and keeping doors open to circulate air throughout the building. The installation will be determined by a window in their work schedule for the dismantling and installation. At budget time we talked about ordering a new loader and pickup as a couple of them are rotting out badly. If I were to wait until January, we would be looking at a jump in price. I spoke with Julie and the financing is already there. The Komatsu 320 loader is the same kind that we already have. We demoed other models in the same price range but felt this had better hydraulic power. The last one has lasted us 20 years despite some work we put into it last spring. I will need a motion to take delivery of the new Komatsu 320 currently at Anderson Equipment on the Source Well contract pricing for $225,184.10. We could have it delivered here at any time. Any comments, questions, denials? RESOLUTION #24‐016 ‐ AUTHORIZE THE HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT TO TAKE DELIVERY OF KOMATSU 320 LOADER. MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp to authorize the Highway Superintended to take delivery of the Komatsu 320 Loader. Ayes -Clark Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays – Replacement of Truck 11. The body of this truck is completely rotted out. I have three quotes for a new crew cab, 2500 truck to use also as a site truck. It will be ordered with the plow package but not with the plow on it yet as we can wait for the state bid process in the summer. As I went around the dealers were dropping a couple thousand dollars off the State Bid price which was $56,000. Maguire’s bid came in at $53,999. I was told 12 weeks for delivery. Councilperson Clark -Remind me of how many trucks you have now, is a crew cab truck necessary? Superintendent Keister – We have 4 pickups and one of them will be going. We were going to turn in two, but one has motor issues. We took out a pickup with the plow, but we are putting that back in for a useful truck. The other truck with the 2000 plow is a high-milage truck but is not giving us any Town Board Minutes Page 10 January 9, 2024 trouble. As it probably won’t bring much from auctions international, it doesn’t make sense to get rid of it. Councilperson Young: There was a two-wheel drive? Superintendent Keister, Highway – I already got rid of that. The last one we bought two years ago, replaced that. We are swapping them as we go. My original thought was to get rid of the other two- wheel drive truck but the money we are putting into truck 11 doesn’t make sense to keep it. The other two-wheel drive is not giving us problems and is functioning. Councilperson Clark – You didn’t answer my question about the larger body truck, you are paying a lot more for sheet metal that will eventually rot. Superintendent Keister -You are only paying $600 more for the crew cab. We use these trucks all the time for storm damage like we will tomorrow. That way we can have two crews going in two different directions to cut trees and clean up water damage. Sometimes we have two different jobs going on. Councilperson Young – When I came here tonight there was one on Chipman Corners Rd. Superintendent Keister – Ya, there are several Elm trees there that the County will need to take out. I have the paperwork here if someone wants to see it before making a motion to approve or have more discussion about it. RESOLUTION #23‐017 ‐ AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY SUPERINTENDENT PURCHASE NEW 2500 CHEVY SILVERADO CREW CAB MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Clark to authorize the Highway Superintended to purchase a new crew cab 2500 Chevy Silverado from Maguire Chevy at the bid price. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - Superintendent Keister- The loader is already in, the truck should only take 12 weeks. It has been a mild winter. To keep busy, I am scheduled with the village to take down several large trees by the road with the Village. They will help us with the bucket truck. If the winter remains mild, I plan to install ceiling fans in the shop to circulate the heat that gathers there. I have not quoted it out yet but if the lift rental and fans are reasonable that would be a huge savings to the town on the gas bill. If the cost starts to look like something different then we will talk more. I do think it will be a big savings and we will start moving forward with it. Councilperson Clark – That will help the circulation in the whole room to dry the floor. Robin Cargian, RMC, Town Clerk/Tax Collector – Tax collection is going well. Just cut Don a check for $300,000 so there’s enough for whatever was just approved. The Town Clerk Accounting book is up on the counter. Town law says I must provide those documents to you so you can look at them. If you want to audit it, that is up to you. I plan to try my best to do a dog enumeration this year, given all the health issues going on. A thousand dollars was budgeted last year never used and I was wondering, as the books aren’t closed yet and I forgot last month, if I can request those funds be encumbered if possible. I had a quote for $1500 from a company that sends information to license in the mail to all residents to try and get more dogs licensed. In December we had 1063 in 2022, and I am Town Board Minutes Page 11 January 9, 2024 down 1004 dogs in 2023. Complaints are up and dogs running around that I don’t have documentation of. The price of stamps has jumped twice so I was hoping with the $2100 that is in there I could have a buffer just in case. If not the whole thousand but perhaps five hundred of it. I also ask that you look at the website, play around with it, and give me feedback. I am looking for insight to make it better. I offered a link to the minutes for the McLean Fire District if they would like to have that option for residents. Councilperson Young: I see you have an add on there for a recording secretary, maybe something similar for the highway position? Robin Cargian, RMC, Town Clerk/Tax Collector: I haven’t called her yet, but we want to ask April if she would be a transcriptionist for those minutes. It seems the hold-up is no one wants to create a business as it is a contract service. Supervisor Scheffler- We did get one application but once she found out it was a contract position changed her mind. We have April’s position that we can use, we still haven’t talked to her about it. She has said she does not want to come out at night, but we can tape the meeting and get that to her and do it under the information aid position if that works out. What are your thoughts? Councilperson Young: That sounds reasonable. Councilperson Gamel: I say yes to looking into it. Councilperson Crystal Young, Groton Youth Program: I do not have anything new to report. Groton Fire Department Report, Eric Deforrest‐ To recap 2023 end-of-the-year numbers. We did have a couple of structure fires last month. We had one right down here on 38, a house kinda off-the- grid with a whole lot of straw and clay that went up with a mutual aid response. 5 Departments came. We were able to save the house, the barn was a total loss. A lot of battles that everyone had to overcome to get to that fire, it was way off the road, and we couldn’t get the apparatus off the road to get the water in. Locke’s engine had some issues. Fortunately, the crews on the scene were all veteran firefighters and we were able to get it down with under 4000 gallons of water. It is what we hope for with every call is to not use 20,000 gallons of water and we didn’t have to. Good work to everyone who was on that call. We were also on mutual aid to Freeville which ended up being the result of a battery charger in the basement that was left charging. The battery got hot, lit the lithium, and set the guy’s basement workshop on fire. I happened to be coming home from work when the call went out and I stopped. Two guys went in with fire extinguishers from Lansing and got the fire out. This could have been a total loss within another few minutes but was maybe $10,000 worth of damage. It was a great response for the middle of the day on a Thursday. I think there were probably 40 firefighters there. Councilperson Clark: Isn’t that what happened at the Chrysler garage? Fire Chief, Deforrest: Yes so the Public Service Announcement of the Year is don’t leave your battery chargers plugged in when your batteries are fully charged. Our ambulance was involved in an accident while transporting a patient to the hospital. Someone backed out in his driveway right in front of the ambulance on Triphammer Road. The ambulance driver saw it coming and was able to anticipate this slowing ambulance down to under 20 miles an hour when they made an impact. The guy just never took his foot off the gas. The ambulance is at McCarty’s getting fixed, parts are in and should be back in service soon. It was about $8,000 in damage to the brand-new ambulance, so Town Board Minutes Page 12 January 9, 2024 everything was more expensive. No one was hurt. Bangs came and took the patient for us. The medic and driver are both fine, just minor aches the next day. We are down to one ambulance right now, fortunately not as challenging as we thought it would be. Total calls for ambulance and fire for 2023 was a record number of 1110. Total Ambulance was 905. 75 of those were mutual aid, which is double what we normally run. As we have spoken about the staffing challenges, you can see we are out of the district quite a bit. This has not slowed down. Our average out-the-door time last year was 4 minutes 47 seconds and we were able to knock that down to 4 minutes 39 seconds. Our average on-scene time is 10 minutes 41 seconds but that number has risen because we are traveling farther messing with my good statistic. Normally our on-scene time is 8 minutes. 205 Fire incidences with 4 main structural fires of a total estimated fire loss of $104,000. Two vehicle fires at the end of the year were $32,000 of that. We ran mutual aid 25 times, mostly to Freeville, Locke, and McLean. Our largest fire alarm activations were to 200 West South St. with a new, very sensitive system. Breakdown for the chiefs, I am only telling you this because I won….the other chiefs are very jealous as I beat them by a lot. A big year for us. We have ordered another ambulance which will be here in two years. Same problems that you guys have getting trucks, the chassis are at least two years out. 851 is our oldest ambulance. We will have to be nursed for another two years. We usually only get about $20,000 for a trade-in value. The sticker on a new one was $203,000, the last one we bought was $185,000. We try to switch them out to keep them even. Fortunately, with the billing, we can recoup some of that mileage. We have ordered our new air packs, which was a big accomplishment. One more year we would have been out of service as a fire department because our airparks would not have been compliant with NFPA regulations. Of course, the building is going up, we have walls now. It has been a big year for us. The Groton Fire Department is appreciative of all the support from all our boards. Supervisor Scheffler- Thanks for doing it. CS Energy update, Don Scheffler: Nothing new to report. Code Changes- Local Law #1 2024 Supervisor Scheffler- We need to review the changes. We have spoken with the attorneys and spoke with Rick about the fall zone definition and host community agreement. We need to get a draft moving forward and set a public hearing date. RESOLUTION #24‐017 – APPROVE MOVING FORWARD WITH THE DRAFT OF LOCAL LAW #1 2024 UPDATING LAND USE CODE SECTIONS REGARDING ENERGY PRODUCTION AND SPECIAL PERMIT REVIEW MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Clark to approve moving forward with the draft of local law #1. Ayes – Clark, Young, Gamel, Scheffler Motion Passed Nays- Klumpp RESOLUTION #24‐018 – ESTABLISH A SPECIAL MEETING AND PUBLIC HEARING ON LOCAL LAW #1 2024 MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Clark to set a special meeting and public hearing for January 30, 2024, at 7:30 pm to include SEQR review. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp Gamel, Scheffler Motion Passed Nays- Town Board Minutes Page 13 January 9, 2024 RESOLUTION #24‐019 – APPROVE TOMPKINS COUNTY YOUTH SERVICES PROGRAM AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTY, TOWN OF GROTON AND VILLAGE OF GROTON MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Tompkins County Youth Services Program for 2024 and authorizes payments to the Village of Groton as they are remitted. RESOLUTION #24-020 – APPROVE THE GROTON YOUTH COMMISSION CONTRACT WITH THE VILLAGE OF GROTON AND CORNELL COOPERATIVE EXTENSION. MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Groton Youth Commission contract for 2024 and authorizes payments to the Village of Groton as they are remitted. MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, to appoint the Town Board to review the Town Clerk Accounting Book for 2023 at the February 13th Town Board meeting at 6 AM. If we were to pay the auditors, it would be an additional $7,000, Seconded by Councilperson Gamel. Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Motion Passed Nays - Councilperson Young: Will there be some system provided to help us review the information? Supervisor Scheffler: I will appoint Crystal to come up with the review process. To be serious, I have done it for April and if anything is wrong it sticks out. Councilperson Young: I will come up with a form that everyone signs that we looked it over and we agree. Supervisor Scheffler: If you look at the law it isn’t so much an audit but an opportunity for the board to get ahold of the documents from the clerk in the event they are working out of their home. Privilege of the Floor: No one wished to speak. Announcements:  Planning Board Meeting, January 18 at 7:30 pm  Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting, January 17 at 7:00 pm  Public Hearing January 30, 2024 at 7:30 pm There being no further business, Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilperson Young at 8:45 pm. Unanimous. Robin Cargian, RMC Town Clerk