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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-11-2025 Reg meetingTOWN OF GROTON - MEETING MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD TUESDAY, MARCH 11, 2025, AT 7:30 PM Town Officers Present: Town Officers Absent: Also Present: Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Donald F. Scheffler, Supervisor E. DeForrest, Groton Fire Crystal Young, Councilperson L. Shurtleff, County Rep. Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson D. Duret, Ithaca Times Richard Gamel, Councilperson D. Carey, AG Board Ellard Keister, Highway Supt. Mack Rankin, Deputy Highway M. Carey, Planning Board Robin Cargian, Town Clerk Julie Graham, Bookkeeper Don Armstrong, Attorney W. Rick Fritz, Code Official The meeting was called into session with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30 PM. Deputy Supervisor Clark offered well wishes and prayers for a speedy recovery for Don Scheffler. MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Young to approve the Organizational Meeting Minutes of February 11, 2025 Ayes – Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed RESOLUTION #25-025 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #03 for the Year 2025, numbered 65-114, were reviewed and audited by the Town Board, be it RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves said vouchers, which will make the accounts in the Total amounts as follows: A GENERAL FUND 97,984.12 B GENERAL FUND PART TOWN 70.00 DA HIGHWAY FUND 36,382.36 DB HIGHWAY FUND PART TOWN 13,265.61 SLl- MCLEAN LIGHTING DISTRICT 209.58 Total $147,911.67 Ayes – Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark, Resolution Passed Nays - Monthly Reports Julie Graham, Bookkeeper – You have my monthly report and there are a couple of transfers I can read those if you would like RESOLUTION #25-026 - APPROVE BUDGET TRANSFER Town Board Minutes Page 2 March 11, 2025 MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp seconded by Councilperson Gamel, to approve the following Budget Transfer: From: A1990.4 Contingency $828.00 . To: A1010.4 Town Board Contractual ..$828.00 for Association of Town’s Conference From: A1990.4 Contingency $3007.00 To: A1910.4 Unallocated Insurance-Contractual $3007.00– Premium over anticipated increase Ayes – Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Nays - W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer: Attending Finger Lakes Building Officials Association Conference for training and submitted the February report. Building Permits Issued: 1 New Businesses: 0 Permits Completed: 0 Fire Safety Inspections: 0 Permits Renewed: 1 Building Inspections:16 Zoning permits: 0 Certificates of Occupancy/Compliance 0 Site Plan Reviews: 1 Violation Notices: 1 Subdivisions: 2 Complaints 0 Life Safety Inspections for February 2025: Inspected - 0; Completed – 0 Training Hours -0 Highway Superintendent Ellard Keister Superintendent Keister was hoping to be done with winter expenses as the County amounts are low. Still, we had planned for this and will keep moving forward with what we have. The county ice and snow removal income should be higher next year, as this year was an extreme winter. Larger repairs, such as frame pieces, are being completed on the older trucks now that we are slow. Anticipated spring work, such as tree removal and trimming, has started in preparation for paving. Unlike past years, we are well received by the public when it comes to tree care, removal, or trimming. We sent letters and talked with landowners before cutting, and this effort to communicate has created positive feedback from the community. Art decided this position was not for him, and he returned to work for the school bus garage. The job has been posted as we are back in the hunt. We have had success in the past hiring younger people willing to be trained and will work that avenue. Now is the opportune time to hire as it takes us a long time to get them accustomed to the routine and what we do here. ) After speaking with Eric on the purchase of the Automated Externa Defibrillators (AED) as requested last month, he noted that this is a highly rated brand, and the pads are compatible with the mobile pack that the Groton ambulance carries. The life span on the battery and pads was 5 years which Unifirst will monitor and change when necessary. They will come in and do a training, but it is idiot proof. It will be here, in the main hallway, for access to the offices and court. Chief Deforrest added that a lease for an AED is usually done for sports complexes or sports teams. In this case, you are better off buying it. RESOLUTION #25-027 – APPROVE THE PURCHASE OF AN AUTOMATED EXTERNAL DEFIBRILLATOR THROUGH UNFIRST MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the purchase of an Automated External Defibrillator through Unifirst for the main public building area of the Town Hall. Ayes - Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Nays - Town Board Minutes Page 3 March 11, 2025 The NYSERDA building energy audit has been done. The auditor was impressed by how clean and organized the highway garage was. We got compliments on the LED lights on the building and the fans installed in the shop were in the proper place. I will share the actual write-up when it comes, and the auditor agreed with me that the $6,000 we may get won’t go very far with this building, but it is a start and we will have the audit to be able to apply for more in the future if the points can be accumulated. There was a surprise visit from the Department of Labor, who were meeting with townships to go over new labor laws and to make us aware of what kinds of projects require state-rate payroll. Any project that touches a town-owned building envelope or town roads is required to give us the certified payroll. Anybody other than town employees doing work on the town buildings or on the property of the Town is subject to the NY State Labor laws. They will be driving around checking. There is a new law passed that requires a contractor to register at their website. If the town is not provided with the certified payroll sheet, then payment for a project may be withheld. We have an email from the agents that were here and will forward that to you, and they can answer the questions you may have about the information provided in your folder. Feedback from the board was generalized that it should not be our responsibility to make sure they get the proper rate. Superintendent Keister agreed that the way it appears is the state would like us to spend more money to accomplish simple things, but that is the way it is drawn up, and we have to follow it. He was going to investigate to make sure there was no amount threshold Councilperson Young found a service at the Association of Towns conference that would provide a great discount on LED lighting, but we would have to get someone to install them. Town Clerk, Robin Cargian: A report was submitted. Along with working on the grant and labor department, the switch over to a “.gov” account for website hosting has been submitted. I have not heard back yet. The checking balance, as well as the trial balance for taxes, has been provided by state law. Attorney for the Town, Don Armstrong – Delaware River Solar has submitted some changes to the project which may relate to the decommissioning, so long as it is a modest enough change in the SWPPP. Tim is looking at it. If, in Tim’s opinion, a new SWPPP will be required, then they will have to go back and do a site plan again. Deputy Supervisor Clark asked the attorney if he had any opinion on the labor law that was just reviewed. The attorney will check to see if there is any rule that will allow you to do some things in- house or not. He was not surprised that the State is sharing this information. Recreation Coordinator, Councilperson Young – Nothing new to report other than winter fest was successful other than the replacement for the roller skating was a flop so they will have to work on something else for that. County Legislature, Lee Shurtleff- He was familiar with the prevailing wage rates as others in the area have gotten reviewed as well. New appointments are out for the legislature, and I will be serving on the Budget Committee, Public Safety Committee as well as the chair of the Facilities and Infrastructure Committee. At the last meeting, it was unfortunate to be informed that the bridge project out in front of Baker Miller has been put on hold indefinitely. They got the bridge design done and held meetings where 2 million was appropriated, but the bid came in at 2.7 million. We are not in a position to move forward with it. It is not in danger of being shut down, but it will cause the highway department to try to figure it out in future projects. I feel this is a situation that we will see continuing. Town Board Minutes Page 4 March 11, 2025 We have a new county administration, and three key positions have opened due to retirements. Whole Health, Social Services, and the Finance Officer will need to be replaced. The county has shared that the county sales tax has come in underneath what was budgeted for the first time since covid. That will roll into future projections. We have a lot of projects that we have contemplated, but given what we have seen on the cost of construction projects, I think we will have to do some re-evaluating. There had been plans to move ahead with a center of government building, a homeless shelter that needs to be done, and we continue to delay projects at the public safety building. The economic conditions are not favorable, which makes for a tough budget. You will be kept apprised, but at least you can continue to drive over the bridge to come to the meetings. Groton Fire Chief, Eric Deforrest: We are at 193 ambulance calls and 33 fire calls, about what we were last year at this time. They will have a fire truck and an ambulance at the school for the UPK3 kids to look at closely and climb around. The second pancake breakfast was a success, with 110-130 people within the first hour, and then it sold out. The next one will be on the 23rd of March starting at 7 AM to 10 AM. Chicken BBQ for recruitment week on April 26th & 27th. We have a new medic full-time. He is a 23-year veteran paramedic looking to get out of the big city. As a public service announcement, the burn ban will go into effect on March 16th and will stay until May 14th, which has not gone into effect yet, but if you are going to burn, please be careful. There were 600-plus acres in Long Island, and Aurora had 15-plus acres go up, requiring 6 or 7 mutual aid responses to get it under control. We have not had a winter like this in some time, and it has knocked all of this vegetation down to the ground it doesn’t appear flammable, but if it catches on a roadside or in a field, it is going to go fast. Please be aware to mitigate any risks of it spreading. There are some exemptions to the burn ban such as agriculture. They can burn in fields if it is trees and hedge row woods or a fire pit equipped with a spark arrestor on the top. Just please be careful. Town Clerk Conference Approval RESOLUTION #25-028 – APPROVE TOWN CLERK & DEPUTY CLERK ATTENDANCE AT THE NEW YORK STATE TOWN CLERK’S CONFERENCE IN SYRACUSE APRIL 28- 29TH. MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Clerk & Deputy is approved to attend the NYSTCA Conference in Syracuse April 28-29th. Ayes - Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #25-029– APPROVE LUNCH EXPEDITURE FOR THE AG SUMMIT AT THE VILLAGE OF GROTON ON MARCH 26TH. MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town approves the lunch expenses for Crystal, Robin, Monica, Ed M., Ed N., Dan C., and Rick F for attending the AG Summit training and conference. Ayes - Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Floodplain Development Law Clerk Cargian reviewed the latest Draft of the Floodplain Development Law with the Board. The Town Board did not add any additional language and agreed to the following: an additional map section depicting only maps held at the Town will be within the jurisdiction of the law, fee established by Town Board Minutes Page 5 March 11, 2025 including it to the fee schedule, addition of “New York State” certified engineer in place of engineer, and agreed to move two items previously in the application section to the inspection section. The DEC also agreed that the town was not required to submit a FIRM change for an applicant and was removed. As this draft had already been reviewed by the DEC auditor as required by FEMA and had been with the Town Board for more than 10 days, there was confidence that this would be accepted. She had the law in a final format prepared to send to the DEC, as this may take some time, a resolution to propose this as Local Law #1 for 2025 and declaring the Town Board Lead Agency for the Environmental Review should this draft be approved without any major changes was requested. RESOLUTION #25-030– APPROVE THE DRAFT AS PROPOSED LOCAL LAW #1 OF 2025 AND DECLARED THE TOWN BOARD OF THE GROTON AS LEAD AGENCY FOR SEQR REVIEW IF NO CHANGES ARE NEEDED AFTER THE DEC FINAL REVIEW. MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board accepts this draft as the final proposal for Local Law #1 of 2025 and makes a declaration to be lead agency for State Environmental Quality Review should no major changes be required from the DEC auditor. Ayes - Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Fee Schedule Updates: The Code Official had gathered information regarding the flood plain development permit fee and asked that a new fee for SWPPP review be added to discourage applicants using a draft. A few changes included adding a line item to differentiate between a no-fee roof material replacement and a structural change, which has a fee. The board agreed to the Flood Plain Development Fee and would like to discuss the SWPPP fee further as they felt each project would have a different impact, and therefore, different efforts would go into each review. They understood the intent of the fee but felt the amount was too much for small projects and probably not enough for a larger one. Tabled for further information for the Official Code and Mr. Buhl. FOIL POLICY A discussion over what an exempt document by FOIL was and to include a few words to make the verbiage clear, the following FOIL policy was voted on. TOWN OF GROTON Freedom of Information (FOIL) Policy- 1. PURPOSE. The purpose of this policy is to provide clarification and guidance regarding Freedom of Information requests by members of the public. Except as otherwise provided by federal law or state statute, the Freedom of Information Act, guarantees public access to all public records maintained or kept on file by the Town of Groton. 2. POLICY. A. The goal of the Town of Groton is to courteously and promptly provide requested information in compliance with the law. All the town records are available for inspection during regular business hours. Certain records such as payroll records, employment records, vital statistics, and other documents that contain confidential and personal information, including Social Security numbers, personal bank account Town Board Minutes Page 6 March 11, 2025 information and medical information are not open for public inspection. Full or limited access to these records may be available in accordance with NYS FOIL Law. Any concern regarding whether a particular item may be disclosed should be promptly addressed to the office of the Town Clerk, and possibly then referred to the Town Attorney. If copies of any documents are requested, payment must be made in compliance with the fee schedule established in the Town Code. B. The Town of Groton's Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request form should be completed for any document not readily available for public inspection and delivered to the Office of the Town Clerk. Request forms are available at the Town Offices and on the Town website: https://www.townofgrotonny.org/ Completed FOIL requests will be promptly forwarded to the appropriate department to obtain the requested information. The Town Clerk's Office will respond to the requester within five business days, from the date of receipt of the request, either by providing the material, denying the request, asking for clarification, or if the material requested is voluminous or requires research, will establish a reasonable date as to when the documents will be made available. C. When copies are not requested, individual departments may arrange, with the applicant, for public inspection of requested information after a FOIL Request submittal to the Town Clerk's Office, subject to disclosure per statute. Public inspection may take place in the departmental office if it does not create an impediment to the work being done in that department, or may be viewed in the Town Clerk's Office. D. When copies are requested, they will be made available at the Town Clerk's office. Payment must be received prior to the release of requested documents. The Town of Groton has no legal obligation to, and will not perform any analytical work, studies, investigations, calculations, program reviews or create any documents in response to a FOIL request. If information exists and is not in a draft form, it will be provided. Documents exempted from FOIL are as follows: A. those specifically exempted from disclosure by state or federal statute; B. if disclosed would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. An unwarranted invasion of personal privacy includes, but shall not be limited to: (1) disclosure of employment, medical or credit histories or personal references of applicants for employment; (2) disclosure of items involving the medical or personal records of a client or patient in a medical facility; (3) sale or release of lists of names and addresses if such lists would be used for commercial or fund-raising purposes; (4) disclosure of information of a personal nature when disclosure would result in economic or personal hardship to the subject party and such information is not relevant to the work of the agency requesting or maintaining it; (5) disclosure of information of a personal nature reported in confidence to an agency and not relevant to the ordinary work of such agency; or (6) information of a personal nature contained in a workers' compensation record, except as provided by section one hundred ten-a of the workers' compensation law. C. if disclosed would impair present or imminent contract awards or collective bargaining Town Board Minutes Page 7 March 11, 2025 negotiations; D. those that are trade secrets or are submitted to an agency by a commercial enterprise or derived from information obtained from a commercial enterprise and which if disclosed would cause substantial injury to the competitive position of the subject enterprise; E. those that are compiled for law enforcement purposes and which, if disclosed, would: (1) interfere with law enforcement investigations or judicial proceedings; (2) deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or impartial adjudication; (3) identify a confidential source or disclose confidential information relating to a criminal investigation; or (4) reveal criminal investigative techniques or procedures, except routine techniques and procedures; (5) if disclosed, could endanger the life or safety of any person; (6) are inter-agency or intra-agency materials which are not: (a) statistical or factual tabulations or data; (b) instructions to staff that affect the public; (c) final agency policy or determinations; or (d) external audits, including but not limited to audits performed by the comptroller and the federal government; F. those that are examination questions or answers which are requested prior to the final administration of such questions; G. if disclosed, would jeopardize an agency's capacity to guarantee the security of its information technology assets, such assets encompassing both electronic information systems and infrastructures; or H. those that are photographs, microphotographs, videotape or other recorded images prepared under authority of section eleven hundred eleven-a of the vehicle and traffic law. Unless otherwise provided by this article, disclosure shall not be construed to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy pursuant: A. when identifying details are deleted; B. when the person to whom a record pertains consents in writing to disclosure; C. when upon presenting reasonable proof of identity, a person seeks access to records pertaining to him under the provisions of New York State Public Officers Law, Article 6, Sections two of section eighty-nine. 3. PROCESS. A. Any person may request the "Freedom of Information Law Request" form from any of the Town's Offices. B. The public may publicly view any information that is readily available. If copies are desired, a FOIL request form must be filled out. Town Board Minutes Page 8 March 11, 2025 C. FOIL request form must be completed and submitted to the office of the Town Clerk. D. Requests will be promptly disseminated to the appropriate department. E. Any questions regarding the legality of the request will be promptly addressed by the Town Clerk with possible consultation of the Town Attorney. F. Within five business days the department shall provide the information, issue a letter to the requestor denying request, ask for clarification of request or inform the requestor of a reasonable date when the information will be made available. 4. POLICY ON THE RELEASE OF EMPLOYEE-RELATED INFORMATION UNDER FOIL. A. Purpose: Pursuant to Article 6 of the Freedom of Information Law (FOIL), Chapter 302 of the Laws of 2024, all agencies must develop a policy to notify public employees if their disciplinary records are being released in response to a FOIL request. This policy shall ensure the proper notification requirements, contents of the notification, delivery of the notification and define the records to be released. B. Definitions: (1) FOIL - Freedom of lnformation Law (also referred to as Public Officers Law, Article 6, Sections 84-90) (2) Record - any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency or the state legislature, in any physical form whatsoever including, but not limited to, reports, statements, examinations, memoranda, opinions, folders, files, books, manuals, pamphlets, forms, papers, designs, drawings, maps, photos, letters, microfilms, computer tapes or discs, rules, regulations or codes. C. Notification Requirement: The Town of Groton will provide notice to current and former public employees if their employment records are subject to a FOIL request. Notification shall occur after the records are released, in line with the legislative intent to ensure minimal notice. D. Content of the Notification: The notification will include a statement informing the employee that their employment records have been released. While there is no requirement to provide a copy of the FOIL request or the released records, the Town will provide any records released to the employee. E. Delivery of Notification: The notice should be delivered in writing, either via regular mail or email, depending on the availability of the employee's contact information. In the event that a former employee is unable to be contacted, all reasonable efforts will be made and these attempts documented. Such notification efforts shall be the responsibility of the Town Clerk. F. Disciplinary Records: The Town will use the definition of "disciplinary records" under Public Officers Law (POL) §86(6) for law enforcement, applying it to non-law enforcement employees. Counseling memos may also be classified as disciplinary records if they relate to employment discipline. 5. DENIAL OF ACCESS TO RECORDS AND APPEAL OF DENIAL. A. Denial of access to records shall be from the Town Clerk and shall be in writing stating the Town Board Minutes Page 9 March 11, 2025 reason therefore and advising the requester of the right to appeal in writing, within thirty (30) days of the denial, to the Groton Town Clerk, Town Hall, 101 Conger Blvd., PO Box 36, Groton, New York 13073. B. The time for deciding an appeal by the Groton Town Clerk shall commence upon receipt of the written appeal that identifies the following: (1) the date and location of requests for records; (2) a description, to the extent possible, of the records that were denied; and (3) the name and return address of the person denied access. C. A failure to determine an appeal within ten (10) business days of its receipt by granting access to the records sought or fully explaining the reasons for further denial in writing shall constitute a denial of the appeal. D. The Groton Town Clerk shall inform the appellant and the Committee on Open Government of its determination in writing within ten (10) business days of receipt of an appeal. The determination shall be transmitted to the Committee on Open Government at the following address: Committee on Open Government Department of State 41 State Street Albany, New York 12231 6. FEES. A. $0.25 per letter or legal size page for all copies requested. B. Larger than letter or legal size paper documents shall equal the transcription costs of the Department/Agency. Large format copies are subject to costs set by the town fee schedule. C. Actual cost of storage media provided e.g.: maps, compact disk, tape, etc. D. Electronic documents which can be electronically transmitted will be free of charge but the cost of the media to host such documents may be charged at cost unless provided by the requestor. E. Preparing a copy shall not include search time or administrative costs, and no fee shall be charged unless at least two hours of agency employee time is needed to prepare a copy of the record requested. The fee amount in this case is equal to the hourly salary attributed to the lowest paid agency employee who has the necessary skill required to prepare a copy of the requested record. 1 RESOLUTION #25-031– APPROVED THE PROPOSED FOIL POLICY TO INCLUDE THE PROPOSED CHANGES. MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, RESOLVED that the Town Board accepts the FOIL policy after changing a few words to create clear verbiage. Ayes - Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Town Board Minutes Page 10 March 11, 2025 Privilege of the Floor Dan Carey: Lick St. asked if in the Floodplain Development Law statement of purpose, if those calamity points have to be within the floodplain or if they could be outside of the floodplain. Councilperson Klumpp: It is my interpretation that it is only within the floodplain that these regulations would be in effect. Other regulations would control erosion outside of the floodplain. Dan Carey: I was questioning, as the Solar Development removes trees and earth, will that be collateral damage to the floodplain? Councilperson Klumpp: Yes, there could be. No one wished to speak. Announcements:  Planning Board Meeting for Thursday, March 20, 2025- Brian  Zoning Board Meeting March 19, 2025 has been cancelled  Comprehensive Plan Meeting March 19, 2025, at 7:30PM  Ag Summitt March 26th at 9:30am There being no further business, Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, at 8:39 PM Unanimous. Robin Cargian, Groton Town Clerk