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Home My WebLink About6-17 2025 Reg meetingTOWN OF GROTON - MEETING MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD TUESDAY, JUNE 17, 2025, AT 7:30 PM Town Officers Present: Town Officers Absent: Also Present: Donald F. Scheffler, Supervisor Mack Rankin, Deputy Highway B. Perkins Crystal Young, Councilperson W. Rick Fritz, Code Official D. Carey, AG Board Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson Ellard Keister, Highway Supt. E. Moody, Zoning Board Richard Gamel, Councilperson Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Fran Casullo, Attorney Robin Cargian, Town Clerk Julie Graham, Bookkeeper The meeting was called into session at 7:30 PM with the Pledge of Allegiance. MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, to approve the Meeting Minutes of May 13, 2025 Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Motion Passed RESOLUTION #25-051 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young, WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #06 for the Year 2025, numbered 211-260, 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 75,977.56 B GENERAL FUND PART TOWN 52.00 DA HIGHWAY FUND 82,271.74 DB HIGHWAY FUND PART TOWN 343,687.80 SL2- PERUVILLE LIGHTING DISTRICT 117.89 SLl- MCLEAN LIGHTING DISTRICT 234.14 Total $502,341.13 Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - Monthly Reports Julie Graham, Bookkeeper – You have my monthly report with budget transfers for this month. RESOLUTION #25-052 - APPROVE BUDGET TRANSFERS MOVED by Supervisor Scheffler, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to approve the following Budget Transfers: From A2770 Miscellaneous Revenue $37,974.00 To: A1420.41 Attorney, Miscellaneous Contractual $24,383.00 A1440.4 Engineer, Contractual $13,591.00 Town Board Minutes Page 2 June 17, 2025 Funding received from NYSERDA for Yellow Barn Attorney & Engineer From: A1990.4 Contingency $128.25 To: A1910.4 Unallocated Is., Contractual $128.25 Insurance for the new Track Loader To adjust CHIPS to the actual 2025 funding: Debit: DB3501 CHIPS Revenue $95,206.19 Credit: DB5112.2 CHIPS Expenditures $95,206.19 Ayes – Clark, Young, Klumpp, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer: Submitted a report. Building Permits Issued: 7 New Businesses: 0 Permits Completed: 7 Fire Safety Inspections: 0 Permits Renewed: 1 Building Inspections: 36 Zoning permits: 0 Certificates of Occupancy/Compliance 3 Site Plan Reviews: 1 Violation Notices: 1 Subdivisions:1 Complaints 0 Life Safety Inspections for May 2025: Inspected - 4%; Completed – 4%; Training Hours -0 The Highway Superintendent, Ellard Keister was unable to attend the meeting but submitted the following report which was read by the Supervisor. The paving on Old Stage Road is complete, and the shoulders are on. This part of the road will be oil and stoned next year. The new skid steer is in, and we're finding uses for it all the time. Currently, we have it down to the pool, along with other equipment, to restructure the current driveway and parking lot to accommodate the pool and pavilion, which was previously a mess. It is being graded so the water runs away from the road instead of into it. We're donating this time to the pool as it is for community use. The bid packet is out for the front entrance, and we have it set up to be able to open and accept a bid by next month's meeting. So far, we have only handed out one bid packet, but they are available until next Friday, the 27th. Colin has now gotten his Commercial Driver’s License, and I would like to transfer him to a Motor Equipment Operator. This will also be a $0.50 raise, which this step was discussed at the time that we hired him. I'm sorry that I could not make it tonight. If any of the board members have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me at any time RESOLUTION #25-053 –APPROVE UPGRADE OF JOB DESCRIPTION FOR COLIN BOSSARD AND PAY RATE INCREASE MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the job description for Colin Bossard should be converted to a Motor Equipment Operator after receiving a Commercial Driver’s License, and the rate of pay will increase by $.50 per hour. Ayes – Clark, Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Scheffler Resolution Passed Nays - Councilperson Gamel and Councilperson Young extended their appreciation for the work done on Old Stage Road. A job well done! Town Board Minutes Page 3 June 17, 2025 Town Clerk, Robin Cargian: A report was provided to the board that included information on updates to the website, the website host change reasoning, and the Regional Economic Development Council 2025 available grants packet. The clerk had attended a REDC meeting in Syracuse in hopes of getting a grant for the comprehensive plan updates, but the minimum grant amount for that was $100,000. She provided the board with a small spreadsheet of grants that could work for the town in the future should the town come into a financial situation that would allow for the needed match amounts or reimbursement costs. The deadline for most of the projects is July 31st. Attorney for the Town, Fran Casullo – Nothing to report. Recreation Coordinator, Councilperson Young – Reported the pool is close to opening this weekend. The Friday Summer Concert series kicks off on July 11th at the American Legion with Crystal Vision opening. Fireworks will be on July 6th at the elementary school this year. There will be a DJ, the concession stand will be run by the baseball/softball crews, Groton PTO will be selling items, and Locos Tacos and Momo’s Food trucks will also be there. The Community Trail tune-up event went well, with a good turnout with lots of work completed. Some of the summer planning: golf camp is full, but other camps still have spots available. We have 17 lifeguards and one pool director, 14 returning and 4 new guards, which is good news because there is a lifeguard shortage right now. We have been meeting with the Tompkins County Youth Partnership to determine the budget for the next year, which shouldn't be much or a minimal change from what we contribute now. Yellow Barn Solar Update, Supervisor Scheffler. The project has been sold to another company. The lawsuit that was upheld stating the state-created assessment formula was unconstitutional for wind and solar farms has been overruled by the legislature, which has passed a new law still requiring it and is on the governor's desk to reinstate. .Gov website hosting services The Town Clerk, Robin Cargian, explained that the town’s current website is built using Wix.com, along with the DNS host agreement, all roughly costing $520 annually. This is a DIY site builder, and they will not host a .gov affiliation. The State Legislature passed a new law requiring all towns to change to a .gov website back in March, and we are required to do the switch by December of this year. It takes approximately 3 months to onboard all of our information, so an answer is needed, anticipating enough time to complete the transfer. Despite extensive research for an inexpensive website builder that will accept the “.gov”, none were found. It was assumed it would be more in-depth to secure that type of site, and that is why they will not allow it. Further research into companies that will build the site using their software was completed, coming in at $4,950 and $4,320. As this is not in the budget, a resolution will be needed. A discussion regarding the obvious unfunded mandate, the “trust” of the site by constituents, the additional “control” this puts on the site by the State, and despite that there is no penalty for non-compliance, it was encouraged to switch by the attorney that all towns are facing the same issue. Should a bad actor choose to duplicate the site, the town would have no way to mediate such an event. MOTION #25-054 – APPROVE PROCEEDING WITH AN AGREEMENT FOR A “.GOV” WEBSITE PROVIDER AS LEGISLATED BY THE STATE. A MOTION to approve the Town Clerk to proceed with an agreement with Civic Plus for the Town’s “.GOV” website was made by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp. Ayes – Clark, Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Scheffler Motion Passed Town Board Minutes Page 4 June 17, 2025 MOTION #25-055 – AUTHORIZE THE TOWN SUPERVISOR TO RESEARCH AND ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT FOR NATURAL GAS FOR THE MUNICIPAL BUILDINGS MOVED BY Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to authorize the Town Supervisor to research the best contract for natural gas for the municipal buildings and proceed with any agreement prior to the expiration in August. Ayes - Clark, Klumpp, Young, Gamel, Scheffler Motion Passed Nays - The Front Entry Bid opening will take place on July 8th at 8:00 PM. The funding for this is in the Capital Building Fund and it will be subject to a permissive referendum. Councilperson Gamel has set up a meeting for an alarm company to give a quote for the town hall and will bring all quotes to the next meeting. Privilege of the Floor: Brad Perkins of the Willow Glen Cemetery Association in Dryden, NY, shared his experiences and issues with the site placement of community solar in the Town of Dryden. He cautioned the board to be aware of several issues when considering an application for solar arrays and hoped the town would not simply follow the sample law from NYSERDA, but advised including additional local regulations. Potential negative impacts included expansion control of the site, lack of recourse if the screening density bond is not followed, lack of enforcement recourse as the site owners change, and the compromise of agricultural and forested land. He was very disappointed with the way it was handled in Dryden, and to date, there has not been much resolution. Announcements:  Planning Board Meeting for Thursday, June 19, 2025- has been cancelled with no new business.  Zoning Board Meeting on June 18, 2025, has been cancelled with no new business.  Town Hall will be closed for the July 4th holiday.  The Town Highway Department will be on its annual shutdown from June 30 to July 4, 2025. There being no further business, Councilperson Gamel moved to adjourn, seconded by Councilperson Young, at 8:23 PM, Unanimous. Robin Cargian, Groton Town Clerk