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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4-14-2026 Reg meetingTOWN OF GROTON - MEETING MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD TUESDAY, APRIL 14, 2026, AT 7:30 PM Town Officers Present:Town Officers Absent:Also Present: Supervisor Young called the meeting to order after the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30 PM. She then offered condolences to Richard Case Jr.'s family, who passed away on March 31, 2026. Rick worked for the Tompkins County Highway Department and the Tompkins County Sheriff before becoming the Town of Groton Highway Superintendent, where he served for over 20 years. Our thoughts and prayers are with Peggy and the family. There was a tragic loss in the community when two residents did not survive a fire. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those families, as well as the Fire Department and EMS responders. MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to approve the Meeting Minutes of March 10, 2026 Ayes – Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Motion Passed RESOLUTION #26-032 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Carey WHEREAS, vouchers for Abstract #04 for the Year 2026, numbered 107-170, 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 B 20,068.43 49,084.61 DB 18,078.10 SLl- DISTRICT 130.89 Total $113,424.28 Ayes – Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - Monthly Reports Town Board Minutes Page 2 April 14, 2026 Julie Graham, Bookkeeper –Provided the monthly report with budget adjustments. She would also like to attend the Retirement System Training at Tompkins Seneca Tioga BOCES. RESOLUTION #26-033 - APPROVE BUDGET TRANSFERS MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp to approve the following 2025 Budget adjustments: From: A1990.4 Contingency $135.00 To: A1910.4 Unallocated Ins- Contractual $135.00 From: A1990.4 Contingency $117.00 To: a8810.4 Cemeteries $ 117.00 From: B1990.4 Contingency $3724.10 To: B7320.4 Joint Youth Program ( as was not budgeted for) Ayes – Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young, Resolution Passed Nays - RESOLUTION #26-034 APPROVE BOOKKEEPER TO ATTEND THE NY STATE RETIREMENT SYSTEM TRAINING AT TST BOXES SUPPORTING MEALS AND MILEAGE. MOTION by Councilperson Klumpp and seconded by Councilperson Gamel, Carey, and Clark to approve expenses related to the Bookkeeper attending the New York State Retirement System training at TST BOCES. Ayes – Clark, Carey, Klumpp, Gamel, Young, Resolution Passed Nays - W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer: Provided his 2026 training information, noting he would still need FEMA stormwater training as well as NYSERDA training for the year. Councilperson Carey asked the Code Officer about the silt fencing at the South Main St. Solar site. The officer had been at the site, and it was discussed to add more. The next step would be to call the DEC if the problem continues. Building Permits Issued: 9 New Businesses: 0 Permits Completed: 3 Fire Safety Inspections: 0 Permits Renewed: 1 Building Inspections: 24 Zoning permits: 0 Certificates of Occupancy/Compliance: 3 Site Plan Reviews: 0 Violation Notices:0 Subdivisions: 0 Complaints:0 Life Safety Inspections for March 2026: Inspected - 0; Completed – 0 Training Hours -35 The highlights of the report from Highway Superintendent Ellard Keister were read by the Supervisor. The trucks were both sold at auctions, obtaining what was expected. Councilperson Carey asked if the price included the buyer's premium, which it did not. Mack is performing full-service maintenance on the trucks as they are breaking them down from the winter season. Plow digs as well as the washouts from the rainstorm have been addressed. The County lent an excavator for the Lick St. “Jacob’s Ladder” repair. Paving is set for June; oil and stone are set for May. Paving will be done with the assistance of the Town Board Minutes Page 3 April 14, 2026 other town’s trucking. The Supervisor offered thanks to the highway department for all of their hard work. Town Clerk Robin Cargian provided a report including the final accounting of tax money collected and the amount returned to Tompkins County Finance. The office will be closed next Monday- Wednesday as they will be attending the Town Clerk’s conference in Albany. An error was detected on the Comptroller’s Justice Court Fund report, which would have given Town Ordinance fines to the State. As those monies belong to the Town by law, the comptroller will be correcting the May report, and the court computer system has been updated to correct the issue. Attorney for the Town, Noah Kilmer – He has reviewed the Town of Groton Home removal agreement, if a resident would need to build a home on a lot where one already existed, with the intent to remove the old home once the new was completed. A discussion between the board members debated the land use and zoning code options to either allow or not allow this arrangement, and was concluded with a meeting to make changes to the land use code and not use the agreement moving forward. Recreation Programs, Supervisor Young & Councilperson Klumpp- a report was provided by the recreation coordinator. Councilperson Klumpp added that all programs were running smoothly. Eric Deforrest, Groton Fire Chief- The department is at 62 fire calls and 248 ambulance calls. Back on 4-1, Dryden Fire had a significant call where they lost three community members. Our tanker assisted for most of the day. providing water to their scene. On 4/10, we had a call that came out about 12:30 in the morning for a reported structure fire. We received mutual aid from Dryden and McLean. As everybody knows at this point, as you mentioned earlier, we've lost two community members as well. It was a very, very intense fire, a very intense scene. We were able to make an entry in the house upon arrival and get one victim out, but due to the conditions of the home and the amount of heat we were enduring while we were inside working, we couldn't get to the second victim. We had to dispatch state fire, which led to a very long night because two of them came out of Potsdam, and one came out of Syracuse. We are not allowed to leave the scene until they arrive. I was on scene until about 9 a.m. Friday morning, State Fire Investigators were there until shortly after noon. I have not received a comprehensive report from them on their findings as a cause or determination of the fire. There is speculation, but I'm waiting on State Fire to get the report to me. We were also out in the storm as you mentioned, resulting in six calls for flooded basements, roads being washed out, and trees down. Our side of Cobb Street and that end of the county was a mess. The Lansing Fire Department had 25 to 30 calls. Everything on VanOstrand Road, Cobb Street, Route 34, Lockerby Hill Rd., that direction was just insane. We had our Easter egg hunt at the station with the biggest turnout we've had, with about 150 kids wrapped around the entire bay. We were scrambling for more candy because we realized there were a lot of kids here. We have a chicken barbecue coming up this Saturday, which is the New York State recruitment weekend. I did put a posting out online for it today. All fire departments across the state will put a little extra effort into recruiting this weekend, trying to add staff to their volunteer ranks and get their departments manned. The last pancake breakfast of the season is on 4/26, 7 AM to 10 AM. We will fire them back up, possibly in November. I made mention that if we get a bunch of people that maybe don't hunt, perhaps we can have one on the opening weekend of deer season. I'm not going to be there for that; that's somebody else's problem. Supervisor Young expressed thanks and concern for all of the volunteers, which was appreciated by the Chief. He explained that it is a very difficult thing when you know the individuals, and they were a Town Board Minutes Page 4 April 14, 2026 recognized part of the community. When asked about the cause of the Dryden fire, it was not yet clear, but the home was flagged as being a hoarding situation. In those living conditions, the normal heat source often gets blocked, preventing them from working well. The occupant will then resolve to use additional means of heat, such as space heaters. In the Dryden case, the fire also blocked the only egress. Supervisor Young, Yellow Barn Solar Update- Rick Gamel and I spoke with the town’s attorney in the ORES case regarding some of the agreements. We will talk more about that next month. They are looking to break ground in June. Landscape Plan Escrow for Groton I & Groton II LLC Attorney Kilmer was able to speak with the attorney for Bullrock after contacting Doug Moses. The amount sent for the escrow was 10% of the landscaping amount in the event that some of the plantings did not survive. Mr. Kilmer did have an issue with the agreement in that there was no period stated after completion to determine if the plantings would survive. He sent additional language to the agreement to reflect a specific time period, but has not heard from them yet. Groton Olde Home Day Committee The Olde Home Day Committee has requested a donation for the August event. Bookkeeper Graham noted that the fund was zero from the budget cuts last year. In the past, the Town paid for the cost of the porta-potties, and it was agreed to do that once an invoice was obtained. Employee Handbook- Tabled until a meeting was set in June. Introduction of first draft Local Law #1 of 2026- Amending Rescinding Local Law #1 of 2007 Enforcement of the Uniform Code The New York State Department of State and Building Codes has provided a model law for the Town, which was reviewed by the Building Department and submitted to the attorney. The Attorney advised the board that this does not have to go to County Planning or as it is not a Land Use Law and does not have to. The Town Board was provided with the draft, and changes will be made before the next meeting to begin the process of enacting it. Privilege of the Floor. Barry Siebe, 800 South Main Street: I'm here as your representative to the Environmental Management Commission. In May, we're doing an in-person meeting, and we are inviting communities that have conservation, sustainability, or climate boards. Groton doesn't actually have that, so I'm extending the invitation to you. It is May 14th at the Tompkins County Public Library from 4 to 6 P.M., in the Borg Warner East Room. It's a chance for you to get to meet some of the folks and discuss some of the things that the EMC is doing and that we've been working on for the last couple of years. For those who weren’t here the EMC recently came and did the UNA presentation, which has been one of their big ongoing projects. Recently, we worked on the biosolids issue. These are some of the things that we work on, and this gives you an opportunity to kind of get a feel for what they're doing. Announcements: Town Board Minutes Page 5 April 14, 2026 • Planning Board Meeting for Thursday, April 16th. • Zoning Board Meeting, April 15, 2026, has been cancelled There being no further business, the motion to adjourn by Councilperson Gamel was seconded by Councilperson Klumpp at 8:45 PM, and the vote was Unanimous. ADDENDUM : Groton Joint Recreation Committee 4/7/2026 See Director Becky Koenig's Report attached Updates on report • Meeting times, approved to keep 1st Tuesday of the month at 5:30pm. Discussion about using NYCLASS interest or donations to offer scholarships to help offset the cost of programming. A credit could be applied to the participants account. Participants would need to submit an application to be approved, and it would be done on a case by case basis. Jen Dean asked how we would go about advertising, as there may be a chance of people taking advantage of this. Recreation Director Becky said she could put a notice on the registration website stating if payment is a barrier to please contact the recreation director. She has offered • payment plans or payment arrangements in the past. Jen Dean also suggested looking into the Ithaca Youth Bureau Robin funding which helps with scholarships for programs. It was also brought up that if scholarships were given that parents would need to sign something that said they would be committing to attending the program. Leon Brockway would like to see data on how the scholarships helped our programs. For instance, if a program had 20 attendees last year and with the scholarship this year it was able to have 23 etc. The committee asked Recreation Director Becky to draw up a plan for next meeting for them to review and approve. The logo was presented that were designed by Adam Armstrong, suggestions were made for him • to make some changes and will be re-presented when done. Recreation Director Becky asked if the Committee would be willing to allow the purchase of speakers and stands for approximately $800, this would save on hiring a DJ for Fireworks and • Cabin Fever which usually costs approximately $350-$400 each time, and they generally use speakers and plug in a phone. The Committee asked that she bring a proposal to the next meeting. Groton Joint Recreation Committee Becky Koenig- Director Report April 2026 Programming • Youth Programming o T-Ball Registration is open-Now Closed Town Board Minutes Page 6 April 14, 2026  Open to all youth grades PreK-K (43 current registrations)  Runs April 13th-May 22nd meeting 2x per week  Coach Meeting Yesterday 4/6/26- 4 Teams-8 coaches-1 Head and 1 Asst. Have equipment o Youth Volleyball meeting 1x per week started Wednesday April 1st  3rd-5th 4:30-5:30 pm (16)  6th-8th 5:30-6:30 pm (9)  Free program, Jen suggested charging for out-of-district participants; the more revenue we take in, the more MYRec charges. o Youth Track-  Grades 3rd-6th  Runs April 28th-June 2nd Tuesdays 5:30-6:30 pm  Coaches Darin Le Blanc and Maggie Blackwell- Athletic Director asked to have Scott meet with them, and go over how everything works.  Will be posted as soon as we get approval for use of the track. Got approved 4/7/2026 • Adult Programming o Craft Club- Second Sunday of each month, 1-3 pm in the Community Room. -4/12/2026 o Yoga- running Tues/Thurs 10-11 am in community room. o Volleyball started on January 5th. Mondays 7-8:30 pm until May 18th. o Learn to Crochet  Sundays 12:30-2pm March 1st, 8th, and 15th Held in the community room. No registration required. Drop-in classes.  Added April 19th and May 5th dates. Other Items • Cabin Fever o Saturday March 7th 12-3p o New activities this year:  Splat Sumthin’, Barn to Farm, and Odd by Nature animal exhibits • New activities were very popular. Will look to book them all again next year. Total attendance was about 400- Around normal numbers, even with shorter hours.  Game Night- Saturday 6-9 pm in the HS Gym • Indoor Mini Golf, Giant Jenga and Connect Four, Inflatable Soccer Darts, Inflatable Sports (Basketball, Football, Soccer). • It ended at 8 pm due to low numbers. 50 people were in attendance. Those who attended had a great time. Would do it again, word will spread, and I expect better attendance next year. Would shorten hours to 6-8 pm- Suggested hanging flyers around HS and posting on Snapchat or Instagram, maybe having a few door prizes to entice Teens.  Concession stand made $150 for Groton Rec • May is National Bike Month o Partnering with Bike Walk Tompkins to offer a bike repair clinic at the GPL.  Wednesday, May 20th 3-5pm  Located at the bike repair station. The event will have bicycle-related books, and BWT will provide staff to teach/and repair bikes. • Groton Olde Home Days o Carnival Dates are confirmed  I’ve already confirmed several of the usual vendors/activities-Wagon Rides, Sir James, pony rides Town Board Minutes Page 7 April 14, 2026  Pirate show booked- 3 Shows on Saturday with ship tours, character interactions & photo ops between shows. -Looking to put it at the old Red Apple lot or Municipal Lot by Main St Pizza.  Donation letters sent. • Summer Programming o Confirmed all the returning summer programs (17 programs, not counting swim lessons) o Registration is open, and booklets are available.  New programs offered • Computer Coding: Talking with Benjamin Kalb with HPM Tech Services. • Roller Skating • School of Rock Band • Toddler Time • Outdoor Volleyball Court at Memorial Park o Bryce attended the Village Board meeting in February and presented his project-It was approved and approved with his advisory board. o He has begun fundraising and has gathered $725 at this point. Shooting for $10,000. • Offering a full LG class to Community and Recertification Course – (12 registrants) o Date: Friday May 15th-Sunday May 17th o Free for all Groton School Student o Must be 15 at the time of the class • LG jobs posted and interviews are scheduled. Amaya Rose will be the Pool Director- Will not need to pay for WSI as it’s only for camp and Keith Davenport is WSI certified and can be there on Fridays for this. o 11 confirmed retuning guards this year. • Joined the Resource Allocation Committee for Youth Services Board o The RAC is responsible for reviewing all 2027 funding bids submitted through the RFP process and developing funding recommendations for local youth-serving organizations. The committee will also review recommended budgets for the Municipal Youth Services System and for the department. o The Committee will present its recommendations to the full Youth Services Board at the June 2026 meeting. Following review and a vote, these recommendations will be incorporated into the department’s 2027 County budget proposal. • Trail Mixers-Summer Meet up @ The Good Neighbor- Monthly hike on Groton Trails. • Trail Tune Up Day-Trying to schedule, don’t have Scouts, or Girl Scouts with availability at the moment. • Babysitting Course- May 9th in the Community Room 9-5:30pm o 3 already registered and just posted today o Cost is $100 per participant and includes CPR/AED & 1st Aid Certification. Robin Cargian, RMC Groton Town Clerk