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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5-12-2026 Reg meetingTown Board Minutes Page 1 May 12, 2026 TOWN OF GROTON - MEETING MINUTES OF TOWN BOARD TUESDAY , MAY 12, 2026, AT 7:30 PM Supervisor Young called the meeting to order after the Pledge of Allegiance at 7:30 PM. MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to approve the Meeting Minutes of April 14, 2026 Ayes – Clark , Carey , Gamel, Young Motion Passed RESOLUTION #26-035 ‐ APPROVE PAYMENT OF INVOICES MOVED by Councilperson Klumpp, seconded by Councilperson Carey WHEREAS vouchers for Abstract #05 for the Year 2026, numbered 171-215, 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 47,000.00 81,142.57 DB 23,505.57 SF1 PECIAL FUND FIRE PROTECTION 41,750.00 SLl- DISTRICT 130.89 SL2 232.90 Ayes – Clark, Carey , Gamel, Young Resolution Passed Nays - Monthly Reports Julie Graham, Bookkeeper –The monthly report was provided with one budget adjustment needed. Preparations were being made for the audit at the end of the month. Town Board Minutes Page 2 May 12, 2026 RESOLUTION #26-036 - APPROVE BUDGET TRANSFER MOVED by Councilperson Gamel, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to approve the following budget adjustment: * Councilperson Klumpp arrived From: A1990.4 Contingency $1337.00 To: A1910.4 Unallocated Insurance- Contractual $1337.00, adding new Chevy Truck Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous W. Rick Fritz, Code/Fire Enforcement Officer, updated the board on stormwater concerns to the North side of the South Main St. solar project. The contractor will be adding additional silt fencing behind the current “sock” type . Councilperson Carey suggested that the south side should be reviewed as well. Mr. Fritz described an issue with the fee schedule. Currently a permit to replace roofing material does not allow for the penalty of building without a permit, as all other permits are subject to. In the event a material replacement is done without a permit and turns into a structural issue, that should incur a penalty. Mr. Fritz added that if a contractor is unaware and completes the project, this makes the resident non- compliant with the local law. A lengthy discussion between the board members debated the pros and cons of creating a fee. There is fee for all other permits. It was agreed to promote the permit requirements for roofs, and a MOTION was made to include a fee. MOTION #26-037 – ADD A ROOFING MATERIAL REPLACEMENT FEE. MOVED by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to add a $25 fee for nonstructural roofing material replacement permits, subject to the double fee rule if the work was started without a permit. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Young, Motion Passed Nays - Gamel The following report was submitted to the board. Building Permits Issued: 10 New Businesses: 1 Permits Completed: 3 Fire Safety Inspections: 0 Permits Renewed: 0 Building Inspections: 29 Zoning permits: 0 Certificates of Occupancy/Compliance: 3 Site Plan Reviews: 1 Violation Notices:0 Subdivisions: 0 Complaints:1 Life Safety Inspections for April 2026: Inspected - 0; Completed – 0 Training Hours -35 Highway Superintendent Ellard Keister reported equipment operator J. Barron has put in a resignation notice. He reminded the board that there is a mechanics position already open, and added if successful candidates are found he will hire and bring the information back for a resolution next month. Current projects completed or in progress include: two crossover pipes, oil and stone, and mechanical maintenance for several heavy trucks. Deputy Supervisor Rankin has had most of the trucks on jack stands finding issues as displayed in the vouchers for parts. Due to a lack of manpower, Mr. Keister proposed adding a part-time position just for mowing roadsides, a task required by State Law. The board confirmed the starting rate of $25, a max hourly amount of 30 hours per week, and the position would not include benefits. Due to rainouts and an efficient mower, the number of hours might be less after the initial cut, and it was noted that the residents are very pleased when it is done. Attorney Kilmer confirmed the number of hours for a part-time position would be under 29 hours per week. Town Board Minutes Page 3 May 12, 2026 MOTION #26-038 – ADD A PART-TIME HIGHWAY POSITION FOR ROADSIDE MOWING MOTION to open a part-time highway position for roadside mowing at a max of 29 hours per week at the pay rate of $25 per hour. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous Highway Superintendent Keister then requested hiring one youth worker using only the amount budgeted for painting snowplows, flagging, or mowing cemeteries with the intention of allowing the operators to stay on larger projects. This person would work a few hours a week at his discretion for a pay rate of $18 per hour. MOTION #26-039 – OPEN A PART-TIME YOUTH POSITION WITHIN THE HIGHWAY DEPT. MOTION to open a part-time youth position whose hours per week would be determined by the Superintendent to keep within the budget line item and at the pay rate of $18 per hour. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous Highway Superintendent Keister added the road application of oil and stone has been delayed due to rain. The County has been very generous in assisting the town piggybacked on milling and machine rental, so to reciprocate, the town will be assisting them with their oil and stone. As the State Budget has yet to pass, the amount of CHIPS funding is unknown making it difficult to project which roads will be paved. He currently plans for Old Stage and Stauber Road to be sealed. The County will be doing Salt Road, Pleasant Valley, and West Groton Road. He had wanted to add in Davis and Bird Cemetery but needs to see the CHIPS funding before committing. Councilperson Klumpp thanked them for attending to the emergency broken crossover pipe on Hart Drive. All involved agreed it was a heck of a hole. Mr. Keister then concluded with the auction results of both trucks being sold and the new pickup arrival. By selling one of the pickups, it has left themselves short a truck to get parts. As he had previously discussed during the budget meeting, a replacement crew truck was needed, and one has been located at a dealership for the cost of $55,999.00, which beats the State Bid price by roughly $3,500. If he has approval to place the order, it will arrive in about four weeks, and they will put the green truck up for auction. Some of the last auction proceeds will then need to go to a new plow with a carbide blade. The board discussed the amount the green truck might bring, the maintenance costs increasing as it is out of warranty, and the sale proceeds roughly covering the cost of the new truck. Mr. Keister explained his reasoning of buying and selling to Councilperson Carey who was not on the town board during last year’s budget meeting. The comptroller recommended rotating equipment in this manner to boost budget reserves. Highway trucks would not do well as a lease agreement because of the wear. Councilperson Carey asked why the town was buying tires out of Pennsylvania. It was explained that McCarthy Tire is headquartered in PA, but the tires are on a NY State bid, and they have excellent shop service. MOTION #26-040 – APPROVE PURCHASE OF NEW CHEVY CUSTOM CREW CAB MOVED by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Gamel, to approve the purchase of a 2026 custom Crew Cab Chevy Pickup truck for $55,999.00 and allow the Highway Superintendent to issue a letter of intent. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous Town Clerk Robin Cargian spoke about the new ADA compliance requirements for town websites and will be working with Civic Plus. The website has a quick link for employment, which goes right to the Town Board Minutes Page 4 May 12, 2026 Tompkins County Vacancy list and an ad for an Ethics Board member or a Zoning Board of Appeals member, plus a shopper ad, has not resulted in any calls. Attorney for the Town, Noah Kilmer – Sticking to the zoning board thread, which is a common New York State Town and Village issue, a few suggestions came up during local training of how towns can start to alleviate these issues. One way was to cut the number of people that are required on the zoning boards. A lot of towns are moving to three-member zoning boards rather than the five or the seven that they used to be. The other proposal was a shared services option of combining with the village zoning board or a neighboring town. It is becoming a problem all around. Councilperson Klumpp suggested offering more money per meeting, something to consider during budget time. The voting for the zoning board is not based on how many people are at the meeting. It's based on the composition of the board in the statute. If you only have three people show up to a meeting and they don't vote unanimously, you're almost not going to pass anything. If you have a three-member board and two of them vote yes and one of them votes no, or two of them vote no and one of them votes yes, you have very distinguished lines that are drawn. If you have a seven-member board and three people who show up to vote, even if your statute allows that to be a quorum, you still have to go based on the seven. The majority still counts the full seven members. It doesn't matter how many people are actually there. Having an alternate member who would come and fill in the event a case involved a member who had a conflict or was absent was presented. Recreation Programs, Supervisor Young r ead the report from Groton Recreation highlighting the purchase of a sound system used for dances and movie nights but could also be used at the Christmas Tree lighting festival planned this December. Track, volleyball, craft club, and crochet programs were all well attended. The Olde Home Days committee is asking for support, and in the past, we have covered the cost of porta-potties. MOTION #26-041 – ASSIST WITH PORTA POTTY EXPENSES FOR THE 2026 GROTON OLDE HOME DAYS EVENT A MOTION was made by Councilperson Gamel and seconded by Councilperson Carey to assist with costs associated with the porta johns up to $500.00. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous Superintendent Keister added that the recreation committee was looking to have a line dancing event during Olde Home Days and they have asked if weather conditions were not favorable to have it in the highway garage. He shared concerns about dancing on the uneven floor and the very old, uneven metal grate that is all the way across the garage. Councilperson Gamel asked why they were not using the fire station or the old fire station building. Mr. Keister would share the concerns with Becky. Supervisor Young continued with the town portion of the projected 2027 Tompkins County Youth Partnership budget, which increased slightly from $406 to $425. 42 Groton youth participate in that program. Supervisor Young, Yellow Barn Solar Update- Attorney Matt Eldred has been in discussions with Yellow Barn's attorneys regarding the HCA, and we are finalizing some little details. 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 Town Board Minutes Page 5 May 12, 2026 Attorney Kilmer was still unable to speak with the attorney for Bullrock despite the nudge from Doug Moses. This agreement is the last thing on the list. Mr. Kilmer is asking for a provision, moving it from ending at the end of construction to ending a year after the end of construction. This way, the Town is aware of which trees survive the year to determine if the escrow for the landscape needs to be used. If the escrow goes away when they finish construction, you're never going to know if the trees are dead. He will continue to seek their attorney. Town Designation for Dog Shelter Donations A new State provision added the requirement of offering a donation option on dog licenses. The town acts as the pass through, with this money being turned over annually. MOTION #26-042 – DESIGNATE SHELTER DONATION DESTINATION A MOTION was made by Councilperson Klumpp and seconded by Councilperson Gamel, designating Country Acres Animal Shelter, Inc. as the town’s shelter donation recipient. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous 2026 Dog Enumeration Fee and Agreements The Town Clerk has been in contact with the enumerators, and they would like to begin in June. The agreement copies provided to the Town Board prior to the meeting will need approval to start the count, and a fee amount will be determined for being counted as unlicensed on the enumeration. MOTION #26-043 – ENUMERATION AGREEMENTS A MOTION was made by Councilperson Gamel and seconded by Councilperson Klumpp that the Groton Town Board approve the agreements for Retta Beardslee & Michael Proper to conduct the dog enumeration and authorize the Town Supervisor to sign them. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous MOTION #26-044 – ENUMERATION FEE A MOTION was made by Councilperson Klumpp and seconded by Supervisor Young to set the additional dog enumeration fee at $5.00 per dog for a dog that was not licensed prior to the census. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous Employee Handbook meeting set for June 3, 2026 Local Law #1 of 2026- Local Law for the Administration and Enforcement of the NY State Uniform Code MOTION #26-045 – SET PUBLIC HEARING FOR LOCAL LAW #1 OF 2026 Supervisor Young made a MOTION to set the public hearing for Local Law #1 of 2026 for June 9, 2026, at 8 PM, which was seconded by Councilperson Klumpp. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous Privilege of the Floor. Town Board Minutes Page 6 May 12, 2026 Barrett Holmgren. I live at 615 Lick Street, which is between roughly 215, 500 feet north of Cortland Road and 222 on the east side. I've come to see if the board would consider an ordinance. After I describe what I'm proposing, I will be happy to explain why I'm proposing this. I'm suggesting the board would pass an ordinance that would prohibit the operation of outdoor generators in or within 2,000 feet of residential areas that will run continuously for more than 60 days, with the meaning of continuously not strictly meaning 24/7, but to include daytime business hours. I would have a second copy if people wanted to see this. The preliminary fashion I would suggest is that the need for such an ordinance includes the need to ensure that a professed situation, a situation that's professed to be temporary, would be held to that standard of being actually temporary and would not become quasi-permanent. I spoke of this as being either in a residential area or within 2,000 feet of such. And the purpose of that being so that the quality of life of people who live within that area would not be diminished, nor at least as better or worse, would their property values be diminished because of that situation existing in an ongoing fashion. So that's basically what I'm proposing, and I'm happy to explain what my motivations are for suggesting this in the first place. Mr. Holmgren then further explained from reading the minutes at the final planning board hearing. Apex Glass requested to add an outdoor generator to supply the amount of power needed, as NYSEG was unable to respond sufficiently. It was proposed as a temporary solution, but Mr. Holmgren’s concern is that it would become semi-permanent or permanent. The planning board added a stipulation to build a fence should someone complain about the noise that he had made, and the fence was being built, but it was unknown if this was sufficient to alleviate the issue. As the generator was running last week, from where he lives approximately 300 feet away, you could hear the fan in the generator motor very loudly. Had he known about this proposal or had been forewarned in the public notice, this may have been different. Had he also known this could have been an issue two years ago, he would not have bought the land. Councilperson Gamel asked if the noise from the firewood processing or motorcycle shop was bothersome, but it was explained that it does not, as traffic passes and the noise stops. Mr. Holmgren felt the need to be proactive regarding this issue, as it could happen anywhere in the town. The board thanked him and explained they would take a look at it. The board entered into an executive session through a MOTION made by Supervisor Young, seconded by Councilperson Klumpp, to discuss a contract for the security system at 9:25 PM. The Attorney, Town Clerk and Highway Superintendent were asked to attend. The board reconvened to regular session at 9:35 PM, having made no decisions. Ayes – Clark, Carey , Klumpp, Gamel , Young, Unanimous Announcements: • Planning Board Meeting for Thursday, May 21st, has been cancelled • Zoning Board Meeting, May 20, 2026, Gamel There being no further business, the motion to adjourn by Councilperson Gamel was seconded by Councilperson Clark at 9:36 PM, and the vote was Unanimous. Town Board Minutes Page 7 May 12, 2026 ADDENDUM : Groton Joint Recreation Committee May 5, 2026, Discussion/Action Items Using NY Class interest and/ donations to offer help to families afford programs. Tabled to next month until Leon Brockway could be there to discuss application. Jen Dean did say she saw the reason for needing funds was optional on the application and she doesn't think that should be optional, $150 and credit on banners and advertisements. Discussion on the purchase of high end speaker system set-up. Recreation Director Becky sent and email on April 13th with links for a speaker system to save money on hiring DJ's for fireworks, and Cabin Fever. This will also allow for Movies in the Park in the future. DJ. The total cost for this system, (2) speakers, (2) stands, (1) Mixer, (2) wireless mics would be th Groton Joint Recreation Committee Becky Koenig - Director Report May 2026 Programming • Youth Programming o T-Ball  In our 4th week-Running well with team pictures tonight.-Adrian Mitchell  Runs April 13th-May 22nd meeting 2x per week o Youth Track-  Grades 3rd-6th  Running April 28th-June 2nd Tuesdays 5:30-6:30pm  Coaches Darin Le Blanc and Maggie Blackwell  10 participants this year. • Adult Programming o Craft Club-will pick back up in the fall o Yoga- running Tues/Thurs 10-11am in community room. o Volleyball started on January 5th. Mondays 7-8:30pm 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.  May 9th last date. -Attendance has fallen off a bit. Town Board Minutes Page 8 May 12, 2026 Other Items • 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  Pirate show booked- 3 Shows on Saturday with ship tours, character interactions & photo ops between shows.  Finalizing event map/vendors/events.-Still waiting on smaller community organizations to confirm who usually wait until closer to event to confirm.  Updating Website/FB and other advertising.  Crystal Young said the Town will split the bill for the Port-a-Johns.  Line Dancing is Friday 4-7 pm and Saturday 2-5 pm afternoon with Jennifer Passalugo from Cortland. She’s going to hand out lollipops and tell people to “Pop” by and join. Going to ask Ellard about having it in the Town Barn on Friday night. • Summer Programming o Registration is open and booklets are available. Revenue from last April is matching at this time, waiting to see Monica’s programs posted. Jennifer Dean said they just got posted today. o Will keep advertising each week. Program registration closes the week prior to its start. • Outdoor Volleyball Court at Memorial Park o Bryce is still working on collecting funds. As it stands now, he will most likely fall short of his donation goal. -May not get completed. Robin Cargian, RMC Groton Town Clerk