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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02-10-2026 Reg meetingTOWN OF GROTON - MEETING MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2026 AT 7:30 PM Town Officers Present: Town Officers Absent: Also Present: Crystal Young, Town Supervisor Mack Rankin, Dept. Highway Kate Booth Richard Gamel, Councilperson Shelley Lester Sheldon C. Clark, Councilperson * Athena Steinkraus Brian Klumpp, Councilperson Rick Alverd Dan Carey, Councilperson Becky Koenig, Rec Direct Ellard Keister, Highway Supt. Monica Dykeman, GCS Robin Cargian, Town Clerk Glenn Morey, Youth Com W. Rick Fritz, Code Official David Durett, Ithaca Times Julie Graham, Bookkeeper Noah Kilmer, Attorney *late arrival The meeting was called into session with the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30 PM. MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp to approve the Organizational and Regular Meeting Minutes of January 13, 2026 Ayes – Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Motion Passed RESOLUTION #26-018 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Carey WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #02 for the Year 2026, numbered 14-66, 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 25,728.74 B GENERAL FUND PART TOWN 94,000.00 DA HIGHWAY FUND 53,183.30 DB HIGHWAY FUND PART TOWN 110.0 SF1- SPECIAL FUND – FIRE PROTECTION 83,500.00 SLl- PERUVILLE LIGHTING DISTRICT 289.89 SL2 MCLEAN LIGHTING DISTRICT 236.57 Total $257,044.50 Ayes – Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - Monthly Reports Supervisor Young reviewed a letter from Crown Construction requesting a refund for a building permit application that was prematurely submitted, as the contractor and client were not ready to proceed. Town Board Minutes Page 2 February 10, 2026 Motion was made by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Kumpp, authorizing the Town Clerk to issue the refund of $66.00. Ayes – Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Motion Passed Julie Graham, Bookkeeper –Presented the monthly reports and stated that the completed 2025 year- end report included budget adjustments for 2025. RESOLUTION #26-019 - APPROVE BUDGET TRANSFERS MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp to approve the following 2025 Budget adjustments: Debit SL1-599 Appropriated fund Balance $230.00 Credit SL1-5182.4 McLean Lighting District Contractual $230.00 Debit A1990.4 Contingency $914.89 Credit A1110.13 Justice Clerk Personal Service $200.40 Credit A1330.4 Tax Collection Contractual. $6.58 Credit A1430.1 Personnel – Personal Serv. $707.91 Debit B8010.13 Zoning- Board Salary $55.35 Credit B0820.12 Zoning – Deputy Clerk $55.35 Debit: B8020.13 Planning – Board Salary $49.82 Credit B8020.12 Planning – Deputy Clerk $ 49.82 Debit A1990.4 Contingency $0.12 Credit A1410.11 Website Clerk $ 0.02 Credit A1620.12 Dir Blds & Ground $ 0.10 Ayes - Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young, Resolution Passed Nays - W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer: Provided a report stating that, due to the weather, it has been very slow. He requested approval to attend the 2026 FLBOA conference in Rochester, March 9th -11th. This conference covers 26 state-required certified training hours. Building Permits Issued: 0 New Businesses: 0 Permits Completed: 2 Fire Safety Inspections: 0 Permits Renewed: 0 Building Inspections:20 Zoning permits: 0 Certificates of Occupancy/Compliance: 2 Site Plan Reviews: 0 Violation Notices: 0 Subdivisions: 0 Complaints:0 Life Safety Inspections for January 2026: Inspected - 0; Completed – 0 Training Hours -10 RESOLUTION #26-020 - APPROVE CODE OFFICIAL CONFERENCE COST EXPENSES MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp Town Board Minutes Page 3 February 10, 2026 RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Code Official’s attendance and expenses to the Finger Lakes Building Officials conference in Rochester, NY, March 9th -11th, for training Ayes - Carey, Young, Klumpp, Gamel Resolution Passed Nays - Highway Superintendent, Ellard Keister, shared events related to the consistent snow that included small breakdowns, increased fuel and salt costs, and diminished ability to obtain salt. Councilperson Dan Carey was thanked for his assistance with the salt truck that tipped into a ditch on Lick Street during an extremely cold and windy weekend. They were fortunate that no one was hurt, and the only damage was to a mirror. Tyler had already rebuilt the box, which was disintegrating. Councilperson Carey commended the Highway Superintendent for his efforts and said that the Town is lucky to have someone who was not afraid to get their hands dirty. Councilperson Carey inquired about purchasing larger pickup trucks that could hold salt spreader s, but Mr. Keister explained that those options would also mean the pickup would be taking on additional workload, essentially beating it up in different ways. He had contemplated the same idea but was cognizant of trade in values and was ultimately concerned that it would affect it negatively. Attorney for the Town, Noah Kilmer – Deferred information until later on in the meeting. Town Clerk Robin Cargian gave a brief report and requested approval for herself and her deputy to attend the New York State Town Clerk’s conference in Albany on April 19th-22nd. The office will be closed during that time. RESOLUTION #26-021– AUTHORIZE TOWN CLERK & DEPUTY TOWN CLERK TO ATTEND THE NYSTCA CONFERENCE IN ALBANY, APRIL 19-22ND MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Young RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Town Clerk and Deputy to attend the NYSTCA conference in Albany, NY, April 19-22nd, authorizing accrued expenses. Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - Recreation Committee and Youth Services Demonstration I'm Rick Alverd. I want to thank you guys for inviting us here tonight. I am the Groton Youth Commission liaison for the Tompkins County Youth Commission titles coordinator, Community Youth Services. My first time in front of the Groton Town Board. I'm pleased to be here to share with you the great things that we're doing. The Youth Services program is a one-for-one match throughout the county. In 2026, the Youth Services budget is $61,002.00. The County reimburses half for a total of $30,501dollars. The extra $3893 goes to Becky in the Recreation Department programs from the county. With that $61,002.00 you guys get after school programming for a full year, four days a week, and during school breaks. The Youth Services director is also the summer camp director. In Groton, the one-to-one matching means the town comes up with its half and the village comes up with its half to equal $15,251. The purpose of the program, from the county's point of view, is youth development funding. It's separate from recreation and sports, and these programs are offered to young people who may not participate in recreation or who are not sports inclined. They offer things like cooking classes, nature Town Board Minutes Page 4 February 10, 2026 walks, and animal identification of animals. It's really driven by the youth and what their interests are. In order to deliver those types of services, we assign ourselves to a research-based philosophy called positive youth development. There are a few tenets of positive youth development that I'd like to share with you. Competence means helping young people build real-life skills. Keith, the program manager here in Groton, runs a program on robotics and coding where they will learn how to code those robots to make them move and do things. We want these young people to feel empowered and confident in who they are and their abilities. We are also looking for connections and want them to have a positive relationship with adults. Research shows that if a youth has one adult who is interested in them, the outcome for that youth will increase exponentially. Part of the connection is a sense of belonging. We all went to school and can remember those kids eating lunch by themselves who didn't necessarily have a friend or knew where they belonged. Well, the rural Youth Services program purposely works to give those young people a sense of belonging in these programs and a place where they can be themselves. We can introduce them to a wider community and give them a sense that they are part of a community. That they're not only valued, but they also have something to contribute to their community. Character, responsibility, honesty, respect, and making good choices. That's part of positive youth development. And then the final “C” is caring. They develop empathy and compassion for others. Those are the overarching goals of the program. My colleagues are here with me tonight. Shelly and Athena from Cornell Cooperative Extension. They're the supervisors of the Youth Services director, Keith. And then we have Glenn, who's also the Youth Commission chair. We meet every month. We go over the reports. People will comment, talk about what the activities are, and look at participation rates to make sure the programs are fulfilling the mission that's set out to fulfill. A packet of information was provided to the board and is included as an addendum to the minutes. Councilperson Gamel asked how many youths were served last year and whether there were any duplicates. The group had not vetted the numbers but reported that it was close to 76 youth last year, and the duplicate count was 188. The 2025 Summer camp had 51 total individual students that participated, and the duplicate count was 233. A discussion took place regarding the number of students per program; the service ages of 3rd to 8th grades, and cost comparison per student versus school programming. The group noted that the fee is minor compared to a youth ending up taking a wrong path or harming themselves due to a lack of healthy connections. Schools also receive other funding to adjust costs. Meals are provided by school funding, and the program pays for snacks. The main cost of the program is for the directors. The program also receives donations from local businesses. They reminded the board that it is not just the youth who are served, but the families who cannot afford summer camp, or could then work an extra shift if their child is at an after-school program. The Tompkins County Youth Services program will be having an upcoming fundraiser based on the Olympics, noting that all programs within the county come together for events, which allows the youth to meet new or old friends. Councilperson Klumpp, who had previously served as the youth commission liaison and attended meetings, expressed his frustration with some of the programming he felt was too political, especially for third graders. When he addressed this with a commission head , asking if there could be a program review, his thoughts were shunned as something that was just happening. Town Board Minutes Page 5 February 10, 2026 Kate Booth, the director of the Tompkins County Youth Service Department for seven years, noted the Groton Youth Commission is one of the oldest and most well-established. She stated that Groton has veterans who have been vetting professionals who have come in and worked with their youth for 25 plus years. The Youth Commission here is one that they hold up as a high standard, and they encourage and use it as an example for other places. Her job is to represent the ideals and values of Tompkins County, which can be found on their website. DEI and diversity, equity, and inclusion are part of those. There's no indoctrination going on. Our programs are designed to be preventative. They're designed to get those kids who might like Dungeons and Dragons. They might have parents who don't necessarily fit into some of the typical stereotypes that exist in rural America. They don't play sports and are often left by themselves. These programs, not just here, but across the country, are designed to meet those kids because, as my colleagues mentioned, one caring adult in a youth’s life can exponentially change and have positive outcomes for that youth. We know that LGBTQ youth are I8 to 10 times more likely to try to commit suicide. They're kept out of their homes. They have a very hard time assimilating into them. While we may not agree on the definitions, we ask the questions because , whether we like it or not, they exist and they have a right to be heard. They have a right to know that they're seen and they're heard so that they don't go home and try to commit suicide. It's not our job to tell families how to feel. It's not our job to tell you how to raise your children. But it is their job to make sure that tax dollars are appropriately spent. They work very closely with rental properties. They have been in existence for over 30 years, you will not find more wonderful, outstanding professionals and colleagues in this county or anywhere in the state. We are fortunate to have a lot of investment from our municipalities and from our legislature. All over, she understands and hears your concerns, but not everybody feels solar power is a political issue, and it is a career path that exists whether or not we like it. Councilperson Klumpp requested that the programs about energy should be about all energy resources, both the positive and the negative outcomes. Political issues could be avoided when it comes to 3rd graders. The group reiterated the goals of investing time and resources into youth and that everyone is very passionate about the programs that involve a wide variety of options. They heard the concerns and could look at programs with a well-rounded lens. Monica Dykeman presented how her Pre-K to 12th-grade programs are run by school grants, which also fill gaps or assist the other programs where allowed. The 21st century grant that she runs by herself is a $484,000 a. year grant involving at least 300 kids. Last year, they had 600 kids attend programs; this year is about 400. This is 15 to 20 after-school programs a week, and then around 60 summer programs. Not a full day six week summer camp, nor is it childcare. They have Gymnastics for the little ones, and CrossFit in Cortland is available. The after-school program is different because they sign up for what they're interested in. The staff consists of school staff, so they're making relationships with the teachers they already know. A fifth-grade teacher has a background in Spanish, offering a Spanish Club for elementary schoolers. There is a student who has hearing difficulties, so a signing club was created to help other kids sign to her at school. They survey parents and kids using the positive youth development model, but in a different way. There is some overlap, but it does affect a different kid sometimes. The school has recently been awarded a new $250,000 grant, called the Boost Grant, for five years. This will cover six career academies for high schoolers, paying them for on-site job exploration. They are also looking to add a driving school of about 150 slots in Cortland. There is the ECHS grant of another $250,000 a year. This award was recently renewed for another five years, which Town Board Minutes Page 6 February 10, 2026 covers early college costs. Many of our sophomores go to TC3 in the summer for three weeks. Almost all of graduating students will have some kind of college credits. The 21st century grant is through the year 2027, and she is always looking for new grants. There are lots of conversations on how to keep this work going, to be very intentional on how they spend that money, in the event they do not have another grant. They know they could not run the programming they have now without it, which is important to realize before the grants come in. The only options previously available at the elementary school were art, Bible club, and music lessons. There was a real dearth of free activities, besides sports, that kids had in the community. If these trends are not kept up, that's what it is going to come back to. She gives care not to create the same program at the school so that people are using it as childcare. We don't have a childcare provider in the school anymore, which is a real fine line that we walk. Childcare is a health department-regulated program, which the school is not licensed to do. Due to Federal Grant regulations, the school grants do not cover summer camps or sports as the Groton Rec Program does. We have a great school, great recreation programs, and great youth programs. A good thing to keep in mind is that we need to make it attractive to live and stay in Groton, a living value. It's a great place to raise kids. There will be a lot of school districts that will consolidate in the next 10 years if it can't be figured out. Becky Koenig added that the Groton Rec program is a different piece because it deals mainly with sports, but also adds adult programming for very minimal fees. The Recreation is community-wide programming with Olde Home Days, Trunk or Treat, Bike Walk, First Hike, and community-based crafts and events. She is in constant contact with Monika and Keith, so they are not overlapping programs. Glenn Morey, Youth Commission member and former member of the Town Board, reminded the board that there is a lot of cooperation between the programs, and the board is an all-volunteer board. There is currently a Village Trustee representative, but they are missing a town board representative. Monica Dykeman also mentioned that she was working with Becky to write a grant to the United Way to assist with the 21st Century Grant after school programming. After the conclusion of the presentations, Supervisor Young proposed continuing with the Youth Programs and analyzing it for a year, then made a Motion to approve the Groton Youth Commission Contract with the Village of Groton and Cornell Cooperative Extension. The Motion was seconded by Councilperson Clark. Further discussion noted that community members would like to see the programs continue as their children love them, and it would be a disservice to stop supporting them. The board would have the opportunity to review programming in September. RESOLUTION #26-022– APPROVE THE GROTON YOUTH COMMISSION CONTRACTS MOVED by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Clark RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Groton Youth Commission Contracts with the Village of Groton and Cornell Cooperative Extension for 2026. Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #26-023 Approval of the 2026 Amendment to the Municipal Cooperative Agreement for the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Clark, Town Board Minutes Page 7 February 10, 2026 WHEREAS, the Town of Groton, participant in the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium (the "Consortium"), a municipal cooperative organized under Article 47 of the New York Insurance Law, and WHEREAS, the municipal participants in the Consortium, including this body, have approved and executed a certain Municipal Cooperation Agreement (the "Agreement"; effective date of October 1, 2010), and WHEREAS, Article 47 of the New York Insurance Law (the "Insurance Law") and the rules and regulations of the New York State Department of Financial Services set forth certain requirements for governance 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 terms and conditions of the Agreement, or any amendments or restatements thereto, shall be subject to Board review and upon acceptance of any new Participant hereafter, and WHEREAS, the Municipal Cooperative Agreement requires that amendments to the agreement be presented to each participant for review and adopted by a majority vote by its municipal board, and WHEREAS, the Town of Groton is in receipt of the proposed amended Agreement and has determined that it is in the best interest of its constituents who are served by the Consortium to amend the Agreement as set forth in the Amended Municipal Cooperative Agreement, now therefore be it RESOLVED that upon receipt and review of the amended agreement, the Town of Groton Town Board approves at a meeting of the governing body held on February 10, 2026, and authorizes the Chief Elected Official to sign the 2026 Amendment to the Municipal Cooperative Agreement (Effective 1.1.26) of the Greater Tompkins County Municipal Health Insurance Consortium as recommended by the Board of Directors. Vote taken as follows: Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #26-024– APPROVE THE TOMPKINS COUNTY SNOW AND ICE AGREEMENT 2025 MOVED by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, with the recommendation of the Highway Superintendent, that the Town Board hereby approves the Snow and Ice Agreement with Tompkins County that includes increases in reimbursement for the same road miles as in the previous agreement. Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - Groton Highway Association Agreement Supervisor Young stated the updated agreement would be an annual agreement to be renegotiated at budget time. New hire rate of pay would be at the discretion of the Highway Superintendent. After a discussion, the attorney suggested an amendment adding “current employees hired before January 1st, Town Board Minutes Page 8 February 10, 2026 2022, will be grandfathered into the former 2021 agreement to pay 100% of accrued sick time upon leaving employment.” RESOLUTION #26-025– APPROVE THE HIGHWAY ASSOCIATION AGREEMENT 2026 MOVED by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Highway Association Agreement with the Town of Groton with the stated amendments. Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - Attorney for the Town, Noah Kilmer – After reviewing the Host Community Agreement, he was satisfied that this agreement was very simple, stating $4000 per kilowatt was a fair amount given that there is no pilot and they are paying full taxation. The landscape agreement was also straightforward but not very legible. A question arose as to why the amount quoted from the landscaper was $18,375, which was not the same amount as the checks that were sent. He will review the original decision from Delaware River Solar that Bullrock Solar agreed to abide by at the public hearing and will call their attorney. RESOLUTION #26-026– APPROVE THE TOWN OF GROTON HOST COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS GROTON l LLC & GROTON ll LLC. MOVED by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Gamel RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Host Community Agreements for Groton I LLC and Groton II LLC on South Main Street. Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Carey, To Table the Landscape agreement discussion until the attorney could research the agreed-upon specification in the Delaware River Solar Decision that Bullrock Solar agreed to abide by in a Town Board Meeting. Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Motion Passed Special Franchise Agreement Charter Communications A discussion regarding fees within the agreement provided will be reviewed and clarified by the attorney once the Real Property Tax law has been reviewed for any taxes the town is paying for the franchise company. The agreement was boilerplate and could be posted as is for the purposes of the public hearing once set. MOVED by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, to set the public hearing for the Special Franchise Agreement with Carter Communications for March 10th at 8 PM Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Motion Passed Nays - Town Board Minutes Page 9 February 10, 2026 Supervisor Young, Yellow Barn Solar Update – The attorney sent the road use agreement, which the Highway Superintendent has reviewed. Highway Superintendent Keister stated that, according to the plan, the majority of the project’s truck traffic would only be on a few of the town roads. He planned to meet with the foreman as often as he could to develop a working relationship. He was fine with this agreement. RESOLUTION #26-027– APPROVE THE TOWN ROAD USE AGREEMENT FOR THE ORES PROJECT SUBMITTED BY YELLOW BARN SOLAR MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumm, RESOLVED, that the Town Board hereby approves the Road Use Agreement for the ORES project submitted by Yellow Barn Solar Ayes - Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - Flock Safety requested two places within the town's right-of-way to place cameras for the Tompkins County Sheriff's Department. According to the Association of Towns, the County Sheriff's Department should have a franchise agreement in place under Town Law 64, or the County should establish an intermunicipal agreement with the Town governing board before installation. A brief discussion that included the pros and cons of the cameras, the Highway Superintendent’s rejection of one placement area, and the lack of any agreements required by law, led to a board consensus not to pursue the placement requests. Privilege of the Floor No one wished to speak. Announcements: • Planning Board Meeting for Thursday, Feb 19, 2026, has been cancelled. • Zoning Board Meeting, February 18, 2026, has been cancelled There being no further business, the motion to adjourn by Councilperson Gamel was seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, at 9:48 PM, and the vote was Unanimous. Robin Cargian, Groton Town Clerk