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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-08-2025 Reg meetingTOWN OF GROTON - MEETING MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD TUESDAY, MAY 13, 2025, AT 7:30 PM Town Officers Present: Town Officers Absent: Also Present: Donald F. Scheffler, Supervisor Mack Rankin, Deputy Highway D. Durrett, The Ithaca Times Crystal Young, Councilperson Rick Fritz, Code Official D. Carey, AG Board Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson Richard Gamel, Councilperson Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Ellard Keister, Highway Supt. Robin Cargian, Town Clerk W. Rick Fritz, Code Official Don Armstrong, Attorney Julie Graham, Bookkeeper The meeting was called into session at 7:30 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. Town Supervisor Scheffler thanked everyone for their hard work, cards, prayers and well wishes. MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp to approve the Meeting Minutes of April 8, 2025 Ayes – Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed RESOLUTION #25-032 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Young seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #04 for the Year 2025, numbered 115-159, 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 32,770.31 B GENERAL FUND PART TOWN 33,730.41 DA HIGHWAY FUND 817.01 DB HIGHWAY FUND PART TOWN 20,140.59 SLl- MCLEAN LIGHTING DISTRICT 217.47 Total $87,675.79 Ayes – Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Clark, Resolution Passed Nays - Monthly Reports Julie Graham, Bookkeeper – You have my monthly report and there are no budget transfers. W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer: A report was provided as well as an update of the training last month at the Finger Lakes Building Officials Association Conference. Code Official Fritz explained that every 5 years, the building codes change with engineering changes. The regulations that were in the 2015 codes became mandatory in 2020 and goes on and on. What was in the 2020 codes Town Board Minutes Page 2 May 13, 2025 that was optional, is now mandatory in the 2024 building codes. In 2022, the State of New York came up with what they called the “stretch plan.” This was a 305-page document that took the 2020 codes and stretched it over several years instead of waiting five years. For example, if you're going to build with a 2x4, they changed it to a 2x6. They wanted sprinkler systems in the new construction of a single-family residence. There were also energy and fossil fuel-related changes that each town could have adopted. Only 5% of the Towns across the State of New York did. The administration of New York was kind of upset about that. It didn't make any sense for us to add that here because we have a low-density area where we live with more common sense. Dryden and Ithaca, where there is a higher density of construction, did adopt those additions. New York State and other states like California removed all carbon-emitting appliances, such as cook stoves and heating appliances, requiring only electricity from solar or wind. New York State is now being sued by the big oil companies, the small appliance companies, the propane companies and the gas companies. This has created an issue with passing the 2024 code changes or the stretch plan. There are some changes made under executive law that the Governor has added to the back of our new codes for energy efficiency in 2023. So, we wait to see the outcome of the lawsuits. If the State wins, they will put it into the codes, and there will be no options for the local municipalities. Councilperson Klumpp asked when the new regulations would become effective and if everyone has to accept them. Code Official Fritz: It is all dependent upon the lawsuit, and everybody will have to accept it forever. The five additional energy code pages are optional now. Councilperson Young: What I was hearing is that people who are building new houses have to tack on all these extra expenses for a sprinkler system. Plus, it is taking away wood stoves, fireplaces, gas stoves, oil furnace, or natural gas furnace and adding everything electric. Code Official Fritz: That hasn't passed. It started in 2023, but then backtracked because of so many lawsuits against IT Sprinkler systems on a single-family home in a rural low-density area are an issue where you don't have municipal water or sewer. This requires the owner to dig a hole in the ground to install a 10,000-gallon water tank to keep it from freezing. If you have a fire and the power is cut off (as it needs to be by the fire department), you need a backup power supply to pump the water. However, even though you're not allowed to have any fossil burning fuel appliances, they want you to put in a propane generator for the pump. So, the big decision, and I being personal, is that there's no common sense. They kept the insulation and air restriction sections. Houses in my book need to breathe, which is the opposite way things are going. New construction code requires a home to be all sealed up, and an air exchanger added to change the air. I do not feel that this is healthy for the inhabitants. So, what's going to happen is that the new codes aren't going to pass. It's a law that they must pass by December 31st of 2025. An opinion of a code official friend of mine who writes these codes for the State is that the governor wants us to go back to the stretch plan. He feels some of this stuff will be added into the 2024 codes, so nobody knows what's going on. At the FLOBA meetings, the other code officials who already have large-scale solar warned us that they keep selling the arrays over and over. I know we don't have any control over it now, but several code officers were talking about it. A lot of the towns don't want to get involved in doing inspections. If they pay us enough money to have the help, or get the help, then it may be worthwhile for us to go ahead and do that. The character of that yellow barn situation is that the people who finally end up owning these arrays throughout the United States are often foreign entities that don't even know they own it. It's like some kind of stock or investment that everybody throws their money into. The problem is maintenance. They are seeing gates left open, fires, garbage and inoperable panels. It is very difficult with the lack of Town Board Minutes Page 3 May 13, 2025 control as to who you contact to clean them up. There was, I believe, one cell tower that they’d come back or that they're not keeping up on the bond. Every one of those bonds should be connected as it is sold. I am just trying to make you aware of what's going on. Should somebody come in front of us that we get coverage for dismantling. It is upsetting because the other code officers, about 400 of us in that room, and many of them were saying that the developer or owner doesn’t want to obey the local setbacks or anything. Councilperson Klumpp: It's not at a town board meeting that this gets resolved. It's at the voting booth every four years because there is nothing, we can do about it. It must be done in an election. We need a different governor. We can't have the state senate and state assembly being run by the same people. This is what you get. It can't be any more clear. We can complain about it all we want, but the town can't afford a legal battle against the state. Certainly not this town or I would venture 99% of the towns can't Code Official Fritz: There was a group of officials from New York City that said the City is keeping a lot of its solar issues quiet. Solar panels on top of skyscrapers with battery storage have had fires on them. They brought in a huge crane for about $45,000 to take the battery down, and the people who own that solar portion on top of that skyscraper didn't want to pay for anything. They just wanted it to burn out. Building Permits Issued: 11 New Businesses: 0 Permits Completed: 1 Fire Safety Inspections: 0 Permits Renewed: 0 Building Inspections:29 Zoning permits: 0 Certificates of Occupancy/Compliance 1 Site Plan Reviews: 0 Violation Notices: 1 Subdivisions: 3 Complaints 0 Life Safety Inspections for March 2025: Inspected - 0; Completed – 0 Training Hours -26 Highway Superintendent Ellard Keister: We have a roof leak that showed up this weekend, and at last inspection, it looked good, but we will have to check it again. The main leak is at the drain, but that's got a steel roof underneath the rubber roof with foam in the middle. It is probably channeling along that foam, I will backtrack it from there because it's going to be hopefully in some of those close ribs. We don't have the front entrance drawings yet. The last time they emailed Robin was possibly the end of the week. Would it be possible to get a resolution that once we have them, we can get them to Fran to write the bid, otherwise we have to wait for another meeting. MOTION #25-033 –TO AUTHORIZE FORWARDING THE FRONT ENTRANCE PLANS TO THE ATTORNEY WHEN AQUIRED MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves sending the front entrance upgrade engineered drawings to the Attorney for the Town as they are received so that they may begin to develop a bid packet. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Nays - NYSERDA Energy Audit- Tabled for Ellard to review. The Highway Superintendent continued with the building updates. The garage bay door(s) weather stripping, cables, and bottom rollers are corroding due to salt. It was recommended to replace them Town Board Minutes Page 4 May 13, 2025 systematically, a few at a time. Councilperson Gamel requested the amount to replace the whole door to compare the cost of replacing the essential parts. He described the road work that was accomplished on Clark Street as well as Old Stage Road. A lift had been rented for the non-stop tree work done within the last month. He found that landowners preferred to have the whole tree down, instead of a trim. This allows a ton of light to get on the roads, which will be better as it helps dry them. At some point, he will have the stumps on the corner of Clark St. and Salt Rd. taken out and graded that off. The roads took a huge hit this year weather-wise from the rain and the frost, and everything else. A couple of ton of cold patches were used to band-aid places for now. I bought a roll of Geomat, which is similar to having a fabric underneath for water. After you patch over it, it adds stability to the bases that we are tearing up. I have the updated quote on the same skid steer that was discussed at budget time, and have finalized my decision on. The price increased by only $200. With the mill and the complete package for a Bobcat track skid steer, the cost is $ 103,663.71. The cost of the Mill Head Power Planer 18in high flow, rounding up, is $15,000 for the head. Councilperson Gamel asked if the Superintendent had checked the auction sites, which he had, and had also looked at a Takahuchi, finding each brand has a particular wiring system that is not universal, and it was not on state bid. The difference in a new one priced out was $3,000 for the machine. after you add the controls, the mill head, and everything else, the price was very similar to within a few thousand. Another reason the Bobcat machine was being considered was that it is serviceable even if it's not under warranty. It has the same horsepower as the 75 horsepower level. The County and Lansing both run the Bobcats, having attachments that we cannot afford if we must borrow them. Councilperson Gamel was interested in purchasing equipment at auction, and Clerk Cargian asked how the board would establish a resolution to do so. Superintendent Keister would investigate that option for the future, as he does go to auctions on the weekends, which have smaller implements a few hundred bucks. Councilperson Gamel stated he would be very interested in doing that versus paying the $2,000. Superintendent Keister explained that while watching three pickups like our green one, purchased 3 years ago on auction, they went for $42,000 with around the same mileage as the one we have. He fully intends to budget that out next year and sell one at Auctions International, depending on what it would bring. And we can always refuse a sale. With confirmation from the bookkeeper that the equipment was budgeted for minus $200, a motion was made. RESOLUTION #25-034 – AUTHORIZE PURCHASE OF THE BOBCAT T76T4 COMPACT TRACK LOADER SKID STEER DELUX PACKAGE ON STATE BID MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED that the Town Board hereby approves the purchase of the Bobcat T76T4 Skid Steer package on state bid for $103,663.71. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed The trailer was not budgeted for and will have to wait. At the Hard Hat Expo a couple of weeks ago there was a trailer not on state bid but $10,000 less than one previously quoted. There have been BOCES interns from the Heavy Equipment Class onboard for a month. Perhaps someday, they may turn into one of our employees. The open Equipment Operator position has been filled. Collin Bossard will be getting his CDL in a few weeks after taking the initiative to find a class on his own. He seems well-rounded, confident, and competent at equipment operation, which is his family’s trade. RESOLUTION #25-035 – AUTHORIZE HIGHWAY EMPLOYEE NEW HIRE, COLIN BOSSARD Town Board Minutes Page 5 May 13, 2025 MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the new hire of Collin Bossard to the starting rate of $22.00 per hour. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Resolution Passed Nays - Town Clerk, Robin Cargian reported that tax collection is done. She had gotten approval from the federal government for the .gov website but needed to work with IT to get it up and running. Updates to the website were completed, adding the foil policy, parking policy, and public option to post about the public service broadband availability. She requested to use $1000 from the information line item and $3000 from the summer youth line item to hire someone through the summer to search through the records for dispersal based upon the retention schedule. This can be time-consuming, and there is an extra level before removing, and that is to compile a list which needs to be sent to the Unified Court system, which authorizes the removal. Scanning records at the same time was discussed, but not knowing how many hours this may take, there was hesitation in approving the project. She would check with the court to find an estimated timeframe. There were many boxes, and the goal was simply to remove records if it was allowed, to make room for more. Attorney for the Town, Don Armstrong – Looks like you are on track with the local law, and we will help take care of the bid packet when it comes in. Recreation Coordinator, Councilperson Young – Some met last week, and there was a discussion about the software program that the rec committee is using for registrations. It's called my software, and it's $2,800 a year. The village has been absorbing the cost, and it was asked if since we split the cost of the recreation department with the Village, if we could start sharing the cost of the software application for registrations. Now, with that said, it's been paid for this year, so we wouldn't have to pay it this year. It is not due again until February of 2026. We are also waiting to see if the 21st Century Grant would be able to cover next year's or possibly the following year, because they also want to be able to use that program for the registration application for their programs that they provide. So, I just wanted to put that out there that maybe we need to talk about that at budget time to see if we could split the $2800 between the town and village. There was a discussion about town versus village youth and how many from each program participated, but it was decided that all youth attend the same school so it would be split equally. There are adult programs that I'll get into a little bit as well. It's not a huge amount of money, but we'll keep that to talk about at budget time, and I'll have more information on the 21st century grant at that time. The director, Becky Koenig, is also looking at whether the cost is determined by the number of users or by the revenue that it generates. So that's another thing, if we can add the 21st-century grant programs to it, raising the revenue, it could raise the cost of the application. There are 38 youth registered currently for the T-ball alone. Becky said that she was going to just take that on this year because she couldn't get somebody to take the T-ball on. That is PreK and kindergarten ages. She was able to get four coaches who were going to help her. Youth volleyball has started, that's a free program, and they currently have 34 participants. Youth track and field is starting April 30th through June 4th, and 15 youth are already registered. A lot of participation in these youth and adult programs is free to everybody. It's highly popular. The sewing class has turned into the craft club but still doing some sewing on Sundays of each month from 1 to 2:30 in the community room at the village hall. This is open to any community member and has been popular. Yoga's going well for the older adults, Tuesdays and Thursdays 10 to 11 in the community room and will meet with the instructor to continue the chair yoga that the seniors like to do. Group hikes are going well with the Good Neighbor on the second Saturday of every month. The group hike and Town Board Minutes Page 6 May 13, 2025 volleyball are a consist group of all adults. Fireworks are set for July 5th, Saturday, at the elementary school. The DJ's, concession stands, and a couple of food trucks have been scheduled. Designate New Official Newspaper MOTION #25-036 – DESIGNATE THE ITHACA JOURNAL AS THE OFFICIAL TOWN NEWSPAPER MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Young, to designate the Ithaca Journal as the official town newspaper, as the Cortland Standard is no longer in business. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed Nays - MOTION#25-037 – PROPOSE LOCAL LAW NUMBER ONE OF 2025, A FLOOD DAMAGE PROTECTION LAW MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, WHEREAS, the DEC completed a review of the proposed law and had no additions and the Town Board, having had the proposed document by email for at least 10 days, be it, RESOLVED that Local Law #1 of 2025 is the Flood Damage Protection Law, controlling floodplain development within the Town. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed Nays - MOTION#25-038 – SET PUBLIC HEARING FOR LOCAL LAW #1 OF 2025 FOR MAY 13TH AT 8:00 PM MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, that the public hearing for local law #1 of 2025 shall be held on May 13, 2025, at 8:00 PM. Ayes – Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed Nays - MOTION#25-039 – SET ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY REVIEW PARTS 2 & 3 FOR MAY 13TH AFTER THE PUBLIC HEARING MOVED by Councilperson Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to set the Environmental Quality Review for Local Law #1 parts 2 & 3 for May 13th after the public hearing. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed Nays - Fee Schedule Changes previously tabled. Code Official Friz: There is a lot of work that goes into the SWPPP (Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan) review, no matter what the size of that SWPPP area is. It is a lot of work, a lot of time, and a lot of questions for the engineer. What I found, and I was asking up at the Rochester meeting and in Chenango, the fee is $2,500 plus $500 per acre. In my experience from the mining industry with FEMA in Pennsylvania, a SWPPP is a SWPPP, and it doesn't matter if it's a small project or huge. Reviewing the documents is all the same. Councilperson Klumpp: I mentioned at the last meeting that the $2,000 might be excessive for a tiny half-acre lot, but it won't be nearly enough for a large development. Town Board Minutes Page 7 May 13, 2025 Councilperson Gamel: What did we have? Did we have anything? Code Official Friz: We had nothing. This would be brand new. I'm proposing $2,500, plus a certain amount per acre. You should understand that a lot of work goes into these things, and these developers are spending millions. They're not coming here to spend $10,000. $2500 is not that much for them, and they keep coming back with drafts. After a discussion regarding the schedule being alphabetized, a no-fee roofing explanation had been added, and the Flood Plain Development Fee was previously agreed upon at the last meeting, a motion was made to include a SWPPP fee. MOTION#25-040 – ESTABLISH THE FEE SCHEDULE ADDING STORMWATER POLLUTION PREVENTION PLAN FEE MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to set the fee schedule and include a new fee for Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans at $2500 per SWPPP covering 1-4.99 Acres and an additional $500 an acre after 5 acres. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed Nays - MOTION#25-041 – SET A SPECIAL BOARD MEETING TO APPOINT MEMBERS TO FILL THE VACANCIES TO ZBA & PLANNING BOARDS MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to set a special board meeting in order to appoint members to vacancies on the Zoning Board of Appeals as well as the Planning Board for Tuesday, April 22nd at 7:00 PM. Ayes - Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Clark Motion Passed Nays - No one wished to speak during the privilege of the Floor Announcements:  Planning Board Meeting for Thursday, April 17, 2025- Sheldon  Zoning Board Meeting April 16, 2025, Sheldon There being no further business, Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, at 9:10 PM, Unanimous. Robin Cargian, Groton Town Clerk