Town Board Meeting

Now, yeah. Now that now that you brought it to my attention. All right. Thank you all for coming. Uh I will now call to order the town board meeting for April 16th, 2026. If you would all rise and join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Ms. Marr, would you do roll call? Supervisor Sheldone? Here. Councilman Cahill? Here. Councilwoman Wright? Here. Councilman Hunter? Here. Councilman Wagner? Here. Attorney for the town, Taylor? Here. All right. Uh we will now do the open to the floor. As always, the rules are, you are speaking before the board, please speak to the board, not the audience. Public comments are limited to 5 minutes to keep the meeting progressing. At 4 minutes, you will see me waving my hands. Um if I do not catch your eyes, I will mention you at 4 minutes. Um at 5 minutes, we will be wrapping up and moving on. We do We will not be answering questions, but if you do want your question answered, please provide your email address either on the sheet here

or to the town clerk afterwards and we will get back to you. Uh please respect the speaker. Uh you know, they're they may not have the same opinion as you. They have a right to say it and it's important that they get to be heard. Uh and threatening statements will not be tolerated and may involve you being removed from the meeting. With that being said, um everyone who signed in, you do not have to speak when I call your name, but as I stated before, if you wish to speak, you needed to sign in. So, up first is our friend Chris Nacca. Chris Nacca, 1065 Shoecraft Road. Um I had planned on coming up to the podium to talk about the cell phone tower. Um last night at the Conservation Board meeting, it it at least appeared to me that that um that presentation by Dennis was going to have the cell phone towers as the topic and I was kind of really hoping to have, you know, a bit of that floating in my mind rather than all the

other things that I wanted to talk about at this podium tonight because I felt like they really wouldn't have been productive and to try my hardest to keep it on town issues, not personal issues. And um cuz there were some pretty juicy little details that came out at that um Conservation Board meeting last night that was not recorded, was not filmed to the to my knowledge. Um to anybody that is interested in the cell phone tower issue, um they have not studied the land first hand from what I gathered. That might be wrong, but it's pretty clear, at least in a casual sense, that it is a wetland and that it will not be a good building site. Um another thing that kind of came out was that Verizon didn't even ask the town of Webster about if we needed a cell phone tower, if we wanted a cell phone tower, or that "Hey, we're coming to you because we see that you have a coverage spot." They had already sent the proposal to the state of New York and we found out that Verizon was trying to have the cell phone tower put in through the state of New York. So, they didn't even give Webster the decency of asking

us or communicating with us. They just, in my opinion, probably were throwing darts at a low coverage map and sent out of a bunch of proposals to gather leads for towns or places that they could call and say, "Hey, we noticed that you have a coverage spot here, blah blah blah blah blah." And uh you know, not to speak for Josh or anything like that, but I, you know, feel like he kind of gets it in the how disrespectful that these corporations are to us when they're trying to do business with us and how little they actually think of us when they're conducting the business that they have. And it's really sad. Um I think that there wouldn't be too many of us here that would clutch their pearls at the statement that a lot of people are addicted to their cell phones. Some people's addiction is worse than others. In my personal opinion, everything Side note, everything that I say at this podium is personal opinion. I am fallible. I do not know everything. I do not think that all of my thoughts are 100% God-like, but um my personal opinion is that Verizon,

they are drug dealers and we are their clients. People like, God forbid, there's a dead spot at Webster Park. God forbid. And then when we have meetings and certain people want to film and then people get all irritated that people are filming, that is the metaphorical manifestation of cell phone towers. You don't like people filming you at all times. You don't like people being in your business at all times. Well, those cell phone towers essentially represent that. That's the direction we're moving towards, especially if What Why don't we just sell the town to Verizon? Be done with it, you know, like frick it. Screw these meetings. Like what's the point? We could just sell it to Verizon, let them deal with it, go down Verizon's path, have no more uh power in anything that we do. We just let Verizon handle it. No big deal. No, you know. Um And it's it's just uh It's it's I said this with Alex in his little meeting and uh This is hopefully the most cynical thing that I will say is

off the topic of the cell phone towers and on to the topic of the solar garden. Um What I saw here that night all those people coming out not just people that live there, but a lot of people every single time it was on the agenda, this place was packed. And to hear some people on the board say that they weren't going to change their decision because of the people that came here that live in the area, I was hurt by that because it was clearly not just people that Of course the people that come to this podium and talk, yeah, out of all those people, the people that live in the area are probably going to be the ones chosen to come up to the podium and talk. We only have so much time. But this place was packed with just regular citizens, regular taxpayers that didn't want to see it. But when the money's in front of the town when you are at

5 minutes, Chris. When when people ask, "Hey, we want to drop these bombs on these kids in another country?" That's essentially the reverberation of what I think happened here is the money's in their face, they're going to say no to the people.

we are moving on to the next person, unfortunately. Um sorry.

I love you and I respect all of you. Um up next, I don't think he's here anymore, but Peter Knapp. Um all right. John Randall. Is this on? Yes. Um My name is John Randall. I'm a resident of Webster since November of 2020. Um I want to thank the board for this opportunity to speak. And I did really appreciate hearing the back and forth uh because of course whether we decide to take the pledge to be a climate smart community is something that we do need to carefully consider. And um I'm I'm very interested in in all the points of view. Um So, a little about me, I'm a retired scientific software developer. Um I've been advocating for the adoption of the CSC over the past several years as it's important to me personally to do my part to stop contributing to the problem that is greenhouse gas emissions

contributing to climate change. My home and my vehicles are now all electric, so I have put my money where my mouth is. Um so, after the last uh time that I spoke before the board, I've studied the CSC program in detail. And it appears to be a straightforward incentive program. There were concerns that it was uh a land grab by the state was the phrase that was used. I don't see any evidence of that at all. It is structured as a purely voluntary incentive program. The program establishes goals and then leaves it to the member communities to try to reach those goals. Um this saves because we are we are facing situations that we have not had to face in the past. So, it's a way to share expertise uh to make that available to communities who are trying to get ready for what is coming. So, by implementing the actions that they recommend here are the benefits that communities are experiencing already. Cost savings through greater efficiency greater energy independence and energy security improved air quality by switching to clean energy healthier, more walkable urban centers

through smart growth conservation of green spaces for recreation and biodiversity reduction in future flood risk through climate change adaptation strategies investment in an economy that supports sustainability and green businesses and greater engagement with residents who care about the future of their hometowns. I find all of those to be beneficial things that I would welcome that would improve my quality of life in Webster. And I ask you to pass this resolution tonight. I did find the uh application deadline. It's May 22nd. The next one is January 9th, 2027. So, if we're going to get this ball rolling, we need to make that decision soon. That is to say you need to make that decision soon. And we have been talking about this now for several years. Um So, I hope that at this point um we can find a way to move forward. Um I did not find anything about opting out. Um and I personally would be happy to go and call somebody at NYSERDA or the DEC and get an answer to that. Um

It seems that the program is entirely It thinks the other way. These are financial incentives. You need to qualify in an appropriate way to receive the incentives. If you're not doing the work, you're just out of the program. You stop receiving the incentives. There is no mechanism in the structure of it to mandate actions on our part. And thank you for your time. Thank you.

Thank you.

[applause]

Up next is Lori Lawrence, but I also believe she has left. Okay, up next then is Rebecca Collins.

[snorts]

Good evening, board members. Thank you for the opportunity to speak. My name is Rebecca, most people call me Becky Collins, and I'm coming up on 10 years as a Webster resident. I am also speaking this evening to encourage you to support the resolution for Webster to register as a climate smart community. Both New York State and Monroe County have aligned goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. Therefore, this is just an ideal time for Webster to take action to bring about changes that foster sustainability, resiliency excuse me, and innovation here at the community level and to support the state CLCPA and the county climate action plan goals. Becoming a climate smart community is completely voluntary and the program is free. And so, this registration is a choice. It's It is our choice to make. If Webster registers and decides later on that the town wishes to opt out, it can choose to not renew, which is as Jennifer pointed out, it's every 5 years renewal. You just choose not to renew or you simply um ignore the program. So, I spent a lot of time, as John did, on the site to find all of these little tidbits of information. Um and there are no penalties for non-participation.

Additionally, there are no mandates. Participation in the program does not compel a municipality to adopt any specific regulations. But there are lots of benefits. Becoming a climate smart community, as we learned from the presentation during the workshop will give us access access to grants. Um as low as 10,000 to up to 2 million depending on whether you're completing certification actions or you're um doing implementation projects. And as we also saw in the town workshop workshop presentation, many town projects already qualify for points towards this grant money. I believe it is the town's duty to take advantage of these financial incentives that can offset costs and save taxpayers money. Registering also enables Webster to apply, as we saw, for free technical support in completing the action items. Yeah, being a CSC community can foster economic growth and innovation through embracing sustainable practices and green technologies. This creates new opportunities for local businesses, attracts investment, and strengthens our economy while supporting the creation of jobs. And finally, registering demonstrates leadership. As a climate smart community

community, Webster will help inspire neighboring towns and villages to take actions and register as well. And um by the way, Monroe County itself is a um climate smart community, and as we saw in the presentation, there are 14 other towns or villages in the county that are also climate smart communities and are already to enjoying the benefits of being part of the program. In my almost 10 years living here, I noticed that Webster has a strong sense of community, and I believe that by embracing the climate smart community initiative, we will reinforce this spirit by coming together to protect our environment and secure a sustainable future for town residents. So, I urge you to um vote to support the resolution. Thanks for the opportunity. Thank [applause] you. All right, I'm not going to attempt your last name, Leaf, but but uh Also, because I can't read handwriting as well as I used to be able to. Okay, I'm here. I'm going to make a brief. I'm here to make an emotional plea. We say to our kids that we love them, to our grandkids that we love them. But yet we are destroying their

environment. What will they have left to live in? This week, a tree came down on the house of the neighbor. Thank God nobody was killed, nobody was hurt. But that house is damaged. These things are happening more and more. Last year, there were people in certain parts of the country that couldn't go outside for 6 weeks because of the fires. So, our environment is in great danger. We owe it to our kids and grandkids to do anything we can to save their environment. Thank you. Thank you.

[applause]

All right.

[applause]

Uh up next are a bunch of library people, so if you're still here, uh Peg Amon. Uh Rick Durasic. Uh Karen Stoddard. Uh Eileen Brookers. Okay. Uh up next, and I'm going to get this one right, Rick Steraci. Good job, Kevin. Rick Steraci, I've been a Webster resident for 20 years. Uh I'm here to talk about this cell tower again. Uh I'm against it. Um I'm going to talk about I'm going to give you a couple of points, and I know that uh the folks at Verizon are going to say that they're not important, but I believe that they are. First of all, decrease in home values. Um there's been many, many national and regional research projects. Homes very close to the tower, within 500 ft, often sell for less.

Multiple US and international studies typically show that between 2 and 20% reduction in value when you're in the visible line of sight of a cell tower. Do we really want to do that? Visibility matters as much, if not more, than distance. All right, so if you can see this 135-ft cell tower from your house, your potential customers to buy your house are going to probably walk away. So, and buyer perception is very important. I've been a salesman for 48 years. Perception is a lot stronger than fact. All right, so Verizon's not going to be able to fight that. The other thing is uh even if the RF exposure is within FCC limits, and by the way, those limits were written in 1996. I've been in the electronics business for 48 years. What was written in 1996 has nothing to do with today's power that's coming out of a cell tower. But Verizon continues to point to that mandate or to that that um issue. All right, they always talk about that. It's ridiculous. So, I'm going to ask you to please preserve

the home values of the residents of Webster. That's point number one. Harmful to human beings. Nobody wants to hear this. Everybody says, "Well, it's not harmful." Well, there's a lot of studies that say that it is. All right, the Belmore study in 2022 is one. 38 human base station studies. 73.6% report significant effects. That's very That's a lot. The Levitt and Lai 2010 review, 100 base station antenna studies, 80% report biological effects near towers. So, I'm going to ask the the board, if we're going to If we're going to make a decision, all right, let's let's err on the side of caution. Let's get more and more facts. Verizon tells us there's no issue. Well, they're a little biased. All right, let's pay attention to that. I've got more studies. The effects on wildlife and the environment. 1 2 3 4 5, I've got six different studies here. In France in 2003. In Egypt in 2007.

In Germany in 2004. Newer one in 2011 in Brazil. 2017 in India. And a new study in 2021 in Brazil say the exposure to RF radiation is devastating to to wildlife. Okay, we need to pay attention to that. Okay, if the if the Verizon reports What if the Verizon reports are wrong? They say that there's no problem. What if in 10 years there is a problem? How are we going to go back and fix that? Why don't we wait? Why don't we put a moratorium on cell towers for now, until we get more information? Okay, last point. Is there really a need for a cell tower? Is there a mandate? Two questions. What did we do for cell tower service before 2000 and 20? Before COVID. Because that's really when they started to kicking them in because people couldn't go out and fight against them. I've lived in Webster for 20 years. I And I'm in business, and I use my cell phone constantly.

Never have a problem. People say, "Well, you're in a neighborhood that's got a lot of service." I'm in the neighborhood that they say is a gap. All right? I don't have a problem. Some of the people in this room, and even on the board, lived in Webster, drive around Webster, and say they don't have a problem. So, what's going on here? Why do we need more cell towers? They say there's a gap. Well, I'm going to point out a couple of places. First place is Irondequoit. If you look if you're coming over what from 104 going towards the Bay Bridge, there's two cell towers right next to each other. They're within 100 ft of each other. So, if there's a gap,

5 minutes. if there's a gap, why are they so close? Right here in Webster, at the bus barns, there's two cell towers almost on top of each other. So, if there's a gap, why are they putting them on top of each other? Or is it a place where they can sell um advertisement, not advertisement, but other things they make money on.

we do have to move on to the next. The cell towers go out of business. Rick, I'm I'm sorry, we do have to move on. I'm sorry.

Just let me give you a summary. I asked We do have John Lagan. 784 Maple Drive. Sorry isn't just a green program, it's a real vital natural assets. We are defined by the well field area, these 60 plus, and our community character. By following works and preserve the green print of the wells are here for future generations. Shorelines stay intact.

CAM helps identify energy burden on Webster taxpayers. Plus, state grants bring in our tax down in a walkable community. Climate smart actions like improving bike lanes, like the Hojack Trail, and supporting our local farmers strengthen our strengthen our local economy. It makes Webster more attractive to young families who want a modern sustain family. This is about Webster thinking New York towns through community. Conclusion here, the climate smart and will save money on energy and keep

in our neighborhoods. But I find the library is a a a dead weight around our neck, knowing that we pay over $100,000 a year to a Californian developer who owns the mall. That's a million and a half dollars today. We could have had that library if we just did something then. So, I am wholeheartedly approving the the board to consider moving that forward and really getting us something we need. Thanks. Thank you.

[applause]

All right, Katie Malarkey.

[sighs]

Good evening, and thank you for your time. My name is Katie Malarkey. I've been a Webster resident since 2006, which is amazing that it's been 20 years.

[laughter]

Um I'm here in support of Webster becoming a climate smart community. I'll be brief cuz as everybody else has already shared, um I think this is a practical step that gives our town access to state funding and technical support for projects like infrastructure improvements, energy savings, and research management, um things that will all benefit that will benefit all of us as Webster residents. Um many of the neighboring communities are already taking advantage of these opportunities, and joining the CSC would ensure that Webster doesn't fall behind. Uh it's a flexible program as has been talked about tonight, um that will allow the town to move at our own pace and choose the different projects that make sense for us locally, um, to keep our community as beautiful as it is. So, I respectfully encourage you to support this designation. Thank you.

[applause]

Thank you. Kevin Lockhart, you are up next, sir. Hi, everybody. Kevin Lockhart from 100-2 Kilbourn Park. Um, just a couple things tonight. I'm not approving the climate smart community plan until I see something material that achieves consensus from the residents of Webster. I don't like the generalities that people speak in. I don't understand it. It's all very vague to me. Furthermore, I'm not under the false pretense that my opinion or viewpoint will or can affect the town business unless I start filing in the Supreme Court to actually, you know, appeal to a judge. I don't I'm not fool foolish enough to believe that I'm going to be able to sway anyone's opinions or advocate for anyone in any meaningful way here. But, since we're on the topic of conservation, to me, conservation, I sat through the conservation board meeting. The conservation board has newly been formed. In my opinion, it's a direct augmentation to the town community development department. It's not necessarily an independent board, in my opinion, it's an advisory board.

Whatever that means. Um, but to me, conservation, I I was challenging the board last night to define what conservation means to them. To them, it means money, grants, climate, uh, so you know, that kind of stuff. So, but conservation to me means preservation and quantification. So, I find it devast- devastatingly hypocritical that people will be advocating for a smart climate community, but then advocating simultaneously to knock down 17 acres of woods to build [clears throat] an industrial solar farm. It's just devastating. The cell phone towers, one is in a gully,

[laughter]

and the other is 139 ft tall, well above the allowed variance. Uh, needs a special use permit, needs NDAs to be signed with the uh, property owners so that they can't go and speak to each other about the deals that they're getting from Verizon. It also changes the character of that neighborhood permanently and irreversibly. The town overcame this problem of consent through the town comprehensive plan. They created a steering committee. Um, and I actually want to go through a couple of details, uh, related to the previous administration tonight, which is my purpose for being here. But, uh, I want to go all the way back to July 17th of 2025 when this town board passed a resolution to approve in its current form the town comprehensive plan steering committee. Supervisor Flaherty at the time made a statement that he said no substantial work was accomplished by the town of Webster comprehensive plan steering committee prior to the town forming it through town board resolution on July 17th, 2025. So, I gathered some documents, um, through collaboration with the town clerk and other offices and, uh, you know, the relevant offices in the town. Going back to January 28th of 2025, which is when the committee first began, they the invoice that was billed to the town of Webster, these invoices are $6,000,

$10,000. Ultimately, for the 7 months, it was a grand total of $80,000. Now, they want to increase the money going out to

[laughter]

uh, the engineering contractor to be up to $150,000, which is $40,000 more than what we were told it was going to be. Um, but in the invoice, there were about 20 invoices that I received, and the first invoice on January 28th documented the uh, community, uh, the CPC kickoff meeting, the community plan the CP What was the CPC? The planning committee? I'm drawing a blank on this. You guys should know this, though. Um, so it included the first meeting of the town comprehensive plan committee. Comprehensive plan committee. Thanks, guys. Uh, was on January 28th. The invoice indicates January 28th was the first commi- kickoff meeting. It included the town supervisor at the time. It identified committee members. And it indicated a structured committee that at that time already existed. It was selected personally by Josh. It was not an informal or one-off meeting. Moving ahead to February 28th,

the invoice evidences another invoice evidences that the committee meeting explicitly states that a committee member meeting on, uh, February 28th uh, used formal terms such as committee members, confirmed confirmed the defined membership, and it was billable work charged to taxpayers. I'm going to skip ahead because I'm short on time. Long story short, all of this was billed to the taxpayers months prior to there being any comprehensive plan committee, the steering committee, actually being formed and authorized. This was a dual track meeting. The town, like they're doing tonight, doesn't care what we think.

minutes, Kevin. All right. They don't care what we think. All the business is determined prior to us getting here. They're using our money to fund their pipe dreams.

[clears throat]

That's the bottom line. That's the one thing you got to understand about

have to move on, and up next is going to be Monica Gorlick. [laughter] It's It's almost not even worth coming and speaking here. That's how That's how nutty this plan is.

[applause]

Kevin, you did get an extra 30 seconds, so. I can still shout. I got lungs. You turned it off. So, anyway, can you hear me? I want to thank the board for this opportunity. I want to thank Dr. Gorlick for his presentation. Uh, I am in favor of the climate smart community program, and I do hope you vote or whatever you have to do in favor of it. Um, briefly, I would just want to say that climate change has made a difference in everything. I've got a lot of years in me, so I grew up on Long Island, and we didn't have major storms or anything. Um, and as I got older, I noticed that the storms have gotten more fierce, more frequent, and more deadly. I was in Manhattan at one of my reunions, and Manhattan never had any up couple levels. Um, So, people were I know that we temporarily had passed. So, I do hope you do through the years that I think I've ever lived through as much as you. for many things. Are you sure? Yes. Okay. All right, business. I have reviewed the longest minutes I think I will ever view in my

life. Um, thank you, Deneen, for your incredible effort in what you do. Um, I found them to be satisfactory and great, so I would make a motion that we approve the minutes for the April 2nd, 2026 workshop. Second. Supervisor Sheldon. Aye. Councilman Cahill. Aye. Councilwoman Wright. Aye. Councilman Hunter. Aye. Councilman Wagner. Aye. And I would also like to make a motion to approve the minutes from the April 2nd, 2026 board meeting. Second. Supervisor Sheldon. Aye. Councilman Cahill. Aye. Councilwoman Wright. Aye. Councilman Hunter. Aye. Councilman Wagner. Aye. All right, John, you had the honors. Yes, I did review the bills and, uh, found that everything to be perfect. Um, so I'm going to move to approve the bills as submitted by the director of finance. Second. Councilman Cahill. Aye. Councilman Hunter. Aye. Supervisor Sheldon. Aye. Councilwoman Wright. Aye. Councilman Wagner. Aye. All right. I would like to make a motion to approve prepaid warrants as submitted by our director of finance. Second. Supervisor Sheldon. Aye. Councilman

Hunter. Aye. Councilman Cahill. Aye. Councilwoman Wright. Aye. Councilman Wagner. Aye. I would also like to make a motion to approve purchase orders as submitted by the director of finance. Second. Supervisor Sheldon. Aye. Councilman Cahill. Aye. Councilwoman Wright. Aye. Councilman Hunter. Aye. Councilman Wagner. Aye. All right. So, our first thing up tonight is, uh, just a little backstory for people for the FAST NY grant. This is a complimentary uh, contract to approve that we did 2 weeks ago. Um, this is because it is working on a environmental site, um, as we build the new roads and take that occasion that, uh, Costich wants to make sure that all the T's are crossed and the I's are dotted, and we're doing the best for the community. Um, the village approved theirs 2 weeks ago, um, but Keith has can answer any brief questions on this if any of the board has them for me.

no questions. I'm all set. Jen and Garrett? What's the breakdown in the cost between the village and the town? Uh, Kyle, what are we at? 66 30 something? I believe it's 58 32. Okay. I'm pretty sure that's what it is. All right. And then, Kyle, we got this late, um, are you going to go over the terms and conditions in there cuz that wasn't in the prior draft, so.

Yes, I'm I'm good with that. Okay. All right, then I would make a motion to approve the white stone contract for the fast New York. Second. Supervisor Sheldon. Aye. Councilman Cahill. Aye. Councilwoman Wright. Aye. Councilman Hunter. Aye. Councilman Wagner. Aye. All right, here's the big one. Our development moratorium that we've been going on about. We had the public hearing a couple weeks ago. Had nothing but support. Nothing's really come through the office that has any concerns or any questions that need to be changed.

a question. Yeah, what do you got? And I don't know why I didn't suggest this. I know I suggested requested that the cell or the solar panels and data centers be added to the moratorium. And a gentleman made a good point this or this this evening regarding cell towers. What is the the board's feeling on adding cell towers to the moratorium? That would run into a legal issue as it's a public utility, but Kylie you can shed more light on that one. John, that would be an issue I would have to research because you do get into the federal law that governs the Okay, I just wanted to pose a question.

no, no, that's a good question too cuz I thought about it as soon as Rick said it, but No, you thought about it as soon as I said it, buddy. Oh yeah, that's I [laughter] just follow you. No, it's Verizon wireless is not a public utility in New York State. Look it up. Okay. Unless there's a precedent of nothing agreed to by these companies. Verizon To answer your question, I would have to research that issue for you. And get back to you. Okay, so just Yeah, we'd get into FCC regulations.

Yeah, hold on a second. I just want to ask Kyle if we could add cell towers with a condition that you do the research and it's allowed or not. So And if you if you advise us not not to, that's that's fine. I just wanted to bring up the subject for discussion.

it's it's a good question, but it's more of a procedural issue. If there's a desire to change the text of the local law, it would require going back, drafting it, and then setting another public hearing, holding that public hearing, and then going through this process of approval and and referral to the county planning board. It It cannot The local law can't be written in a way where it's contingent on confirmation.

Got you. Yeah. So then that would have to be a a completely second moratorium if we looked into it and wanted to go down that path? What do you say a completely separate moratorium? You're talking about a separate This one This one is a yeah, this one is a defined process. It's done. The next one starts the process again. They're not related to each other. Correct. That's what I mean by separate like

So we we could move this one on, but still consider the moratorium on cell towers as a separate Yes, you could do that. And I think And a a very good and important point was brought out. Um At the meeting, the public input with respect to the studies that Verizon is always putting out there. You know, the the radiation that's it's not harmful. Well, the study to the gentleman's credit was done in 1992. And I know that Mr. Kennedy has put forth that he wants new and updated studies done on these cell towers and 5G. So I'm just putting that out there for public consumption. I believe the last study that was in the Verizon package was from 2019. So the concern that I I would have with the study from 2019 is if you look at the 5G LTE frequency, which is new and more powerful, that started to roll out in 2019 and didn't really explode into suburban areas and and more rural areas

until 2021 to 2024. So like that that's a that's a question. It's a question on the date and the type of study and the type of frequency in the study. It is, but it is unfortunately not related to our current development moratorium. So we couldn't have a I I I I guess we're we're we're digressing on the topic, but as far as the study, there And maybe it's worth exploring a new Yeah. I'll do some I'll do some research on that and hopefully the gentleman provide me with some information. Rick. Okay. All right, but with with that I would like to What do you got? You know, we got to read the whole one. For the resolution, Kylie, you good that we've got fully drafted to comply with all the laws that we need to make it? Yes, I am. To check the boxes. As part of the resolution, it is a requirement that you make a secret finding. In this instance, it would be a type two administrative action. So I just want to make sure that that's included on the record here.

Yep. Oh, thank you. Yeah, I will very happily make a motion uh for a type two action under the New York State Environmental Review Act being routine or contingent continuing agency administration and management not including new programs or major reordering of priorities that may affect [clears throat] the environment and to refer the development moratorium to the county planning board for approval. Second. Supervisor Sheldon. Aye. Councilman Cahill.

Aye. Councilwoman Wright.

Aye. Councilman Hunter. Aye. Councilman Wagner. Aye. All right, up next is the climate smart community. The reason we did have a workshop is because we did want everyone to you know, be up to speed. There was a lot of misinformation previously in some of them and we're not moving forward with the certified or any of the expensive stuff. This is just simply us passing the resolution to just register. Um We have had and I know some you guys have had the emails that have been sent today. Denine has had them and put them in the minutes. We'll put them in the minutes along with the public stuff that we had earlier. Um but if

Wait, what what are you referring to as going in the minutes? Oh, the emails that we received from a couple residents regarding support for climate smart communities from a Sven from Sven Vetter and from Butch Fitzsimmons. So a question on He's on the zoning board. He is on the planning He is on the planning board which is There are no comments from the audience at this point. Okay. But I would like to A question on just a board question. What's the process on what gets submitted to the record and what doesn't? And we had many emails on the Xerox solar project that came in that didn't make in the record.

It states Kyle They should be submitted through the clerk's office. Or the We have Forgive me, I don't want to put you on the spot. We also have a portal on our website for submitting comments, right? That's the proper method.

occasionally stuff will come through my office and say, "Hey, can this go into the minutes?" We had some recently at the planning board that the friends of Webster Trail wanted to submit. So that one we went through when we put in. So if emails come through to the board members to

can submit it right to Denine. If emails have come through to the board members including yourself, the process to get them on the record is what? Just sending them to Denine. And if I don't send them to Denine, they don't get on the record. Not on the record of the minutes, but they are.

of emails with respect to the Xerox solar farm and the cell tower.

And the cell tower. And I had no idea that to get them officially into the record, I had to submit them to Denine. Well, they're all foilable information. It's when the resident requests, "Hey, can this be read into the record?" is when I submit them either to Denine or we would read them aloud. Well, that's good to know because I didn't I wasn't aware of that.

There's There's actually a smart form on the website on the Webster ny.gov website where it specifically states that they request for it to be added to the record.

Okay. So if it's submitted that way, then they're always in the minutes. So there was a couple at the last town board meeting where they were put into the minutes. The very long minutes. Yes, there were some that were actually not said out loud that had come through the clerk's office that were in the So it needs to be said in there they want it in the record, is what you're saying? That's what I If If they email it to me and state that or text me or call me and say, "Hey, I'm sending you something. I would prefer this be added to the minutes or addressed. Please submit it." and then I will. But I'm just trying to see where his says add to the record. Just refer to residents.

he texted me He texted me earlier today about it and so I said, "If you do send it to all the board members, I'll forward it on to the clerk." That's just what this piece of paper is. I'm not going to read it out loud.

I didn't get a text. Yeah, we're just trying to understand of like, you know, what you know, the point that we want to avoid the appearance of impropriety with the head of the head of the depart- depart- Democratic Committee text you to puts it up in the record to make sure residents have that same ability. Oh yeah, no, anyone anyone who texts me Ben Wisniewski from the friends of Webster Trail asked me to put stuff into the record from for the planning board stuff that came through. I would argue it's actually safer to avoid the website.

I would advise that the board should direct them to submit it through the official channel, which would be through the website.

happy to do that. I think that's the proper course of action so that there's no question. Yeah. Yeah, I mean that just sounds like some of the confusion here of like it should go through the proper channel, not a text. Like

Well, I said that's what I I just had to submit to everybody. Um but I'm happy to submit every I'm happy to have everyone

I didn't get it. So, just trying to understand that the just trying to understand the flow. Sven emailed everybody and then texted you and then you were the one that submitted

me earlier today asking how something could be uh added to the minutes. I said just send it to the entire board. And then you then gave it to Deneen, which made it

I sent it to Deneen. So, so you put it on the record for him? Yes. Yeah, I sent it to Deneen saying, "Hey, resident has requested that this comment be read into the record. It was sent to the entire board." and forwarded it over to her. All of your emails are included in it from this afternoon. I mean, that just

[sighs and gasps]

I don't know. Is there just a lot of like inner party dealing? It seems like in texting. It just

It's not it any resident that done it. There were people that were have sent me stuff that we read into the minutes before for other stuff. I forward everything on. All right. A Webster resident is a Webster resident. Okay. I didn't get anything from what's his name? Sven? Yeah. Okay. I It came late right before the meeting. It was probably sent out at 6:00. Maybe.

Yeah, he was unable to make it as his Again, I I would just advise that any anyone who wishes to offer a comment needs to submit it through official channels that that exist. They should take advantage of it um to avoid any appearance of impropriety so that there's no confusion so that it's certain that it gets into the record in the proper fashion.

Yeah, yeah. I don't have I don't have it. Yeah, that's fine. No, happy to do that. Um but I do want to get back to the climate smart community. Again, we are just registering. Um it is uh something that actually Garrett was the one who brought it to my attention last year. Um and said that, you know, he was the one who brought to my attention that we had tried and weren't able to and um I know we all talked about it a lot and interviewed so I just, you know, I figured, you know, let's let's do the registration for this. Let's at least get the ground running because part of it is also we have these DEC grants that we want to go for. We have these open space stuff that we want to do. This gives us a leg up. We're not committing ourselves to any of the other stuff. Um but it will set us on the path that we can do this. Also is one of the big things, Josh, and you can explain this, the smart growth uh grants that we are currently utilizing for the comprehensive plan. Would this this would aid us in getting the next level

of granting for these zoning regulations. That is correct. Yeah, so

But we have gotten a lot of grants without having the designation and we did get the smart growth or smart community grant to do the comprehensive plan without having the designation. So, well, I appreciate what what everybody is saying in the support for it. I believe the community in Webster um has demonstrated support for it without making the pledge. Um Dennis had mentioned we are automatically or we could be at a level of bronze because we're already doing things with preserving green space and with the trails and walking and and um what we're doing with the waste water treatment plant, which it was which is state of the art um energy efficient um development. And we're doing all of this without that designation. So, my my concern is the board having less control over what we choose to do and what we don't do. It it's not it's not that registering for a climate smart

um community isn't the right thing to do. It's just I really want to understand um what the burden is to the staff. So, yes, Josh, I hear what you're saying, but you know, there's there there's 13 other department heads. Um I'm concerned about the reporting requirements. I'm concerned about the town having less control overall in in just to have like a couple extra points on a grant. So, like I'm not disrespecting what I heard here tonight. I believe we're doing all of those things and we're successfully getting these grants without having that designation. So, there's 50% of of towns that have opted in. There's also 50% that haven't opted in. So, it I I guess this kind of came up fast on the board agenda. So, I would just like to understand, you know, what really is the cost to taxpayers to do this? What is the cost of these mandates? What are what's some of the cost um in in not being in the program, but it is implementing some of these projects that would be a result of the program. I I'm

just sharing what some of my con Like I said, those are some of my concerns. Um I believe we're doing all of the things without having the designation and we're actually quite successful doing what we're doing. No, Jennifer, I appreciate you sharing that and this has been before the board now four times already. So,

This will be the third. This is the third, right? Three, four times it's been up there. Um I think, you know, all the Color Me Green folks did a great job kind of presenting on what they care about with this. And I think, you know, I, you know, personally see some benefits to this. I know like the DEC grant we just applied for for open space land acquisition was not impacted by this in any way. So, it's very much grant dependent. And I think at the end of the day like we're all represented here, elected and represent the people of Webster with different views. And if there's more questions like Jennifer has and John has, you know, they deserve to be addressed. Like I mean, the next 2 weeks we can address those. I think it could be good to hear back from the survey from other towns to hear what they're doing. It could be really good to hear from other towns that are in this. Okay, now that they're in this, what's the staff impact? And did they join it and actually do something out of it? Or is it just like you said, Jennifer, we already did the stuff, we joined it and then we're just kind of like, "Eh, this is too much work." Cuz there's some great towns doing it. And I you mentioned Gates. Like yes, Gates has done a really great job. Virginia McIntyre there is a huge champion of this. I'd love to hear from people like that of what success they've had or not

with this. So, we can get the board comfortable with it, get the questions answered, and hopefully find a path to move forward. I didn't connect with Virginia last night. I do like to do my homework. She sent me a message, but it was too late. I didn't get a chance to talk to her. So, I would like to understand what they've done. I would like to understand um the reporting requirements and and burden to the other department heads and staff. I really would like just a little feel or understand more about the control or maybe lack of control that we may have from opting in. So, those are three things I would like to get some more information on before

you've you've put this up three times now. So, I mean, you have the you know what the requirements are. You guys have done the research on this. You guys have again been doing this for 4 years now. So, I think you should be able to answer a lot of these. Yeah. Um again, I'm not aware of any specific cost associated with the program to taxpayers. Um from all of the research that we've done, um we do not believe that there are any mandates associated with it. You know, we we view it as a voluntary program and we get to choose what items we want to pursue. Um again, a lot of these actions we're already doing as a part of our daily operations. A lot of our reporting requirements to the DEC um make our staff have to gather this data anyway. So, I certainly don't want to speak for all the other department heads. Um but I we think we came up with a process and a plan that would make it uh as efficient as possible utilizing the existing resources that we have. So, here's here here's and I don't mean to be negative, okay?

But to your point, we've brought this up. This is the fourth time. Third. Third. Okay, the third time. And it's pretty much has the same requirements as the previous two times. But we still don't have anyone designated within the departments that's going to head this project up, that has put together what it's going to cost, what's involved. And I just think it's premature to do something

to cost anything. We've gone over that about four times now.

Okay. Can I It's I think feel like there's no cost, please. Yeah, and then like if we've if we've got I think Dennis, you said we've got till or no, someone I think said May 22nd is the deadline. So, like if we're all on board that we're That's for applying for grants that qualify for this. Okay. I'm sorry, Dennis. Dennis, I'm sorry. Um But even if there's some deadline that's applicable if there's the if the most recent deadline is May 22nd that can impact us and we take 2 more weeks to get comfort so we can stop having these objections but not looking into it. Like if these are the concerns by the board members and I think Jennifer's are very reasonable and a good list. Yeah. Can we just get them addressed? They they are, but I do have to ask is this has been on our agenda in the SharePoint for over 3 weeks now. Why are we just now hearing these questions? You could ask the board members at the time questions. You could have, you know, talked to each other.

them out, we you know, we send out the agenda and you're supposed to reach out with questions. Sure, so now you're saying since we didn't ask questions, we missed our chance and you just want to move forward. No, I'm just asking that in the future when we do this, when you see the stuff, please reach out with questions. I know we've asked before and when it comes up and I know Jen has a lot going on in her life, but you know, we do we do we are timely in putting this stuff out and you said with you know, the Whitestone contract came in late. That's that's been in there since the last before the last board meeting. I actually Alex, the contract in there before didn't have all the terms and conditions and it didn't have the signature pages. Correct.

added in as immediately the next day following our last board meeting.

But it wasn't complete. How did you add it?

If I may because we're like going around in circles, what I would like to propose is I would like to make a motion to reschedule um the approval of the town of Webster becoming a climate smart community to the next the next May 7th board meeting. Second. Councilwoman Wright. I. Councilman Wagner. I. Supervisor Sheldrake. Nay. Councilman Cahill. Nay. Councilman Hunter. I. No, we were voting to reschedule.

voting to reschedule.

I know. You wanted to vote on it tonight with in in incomplete information. Let's have the vote.

I it would it will Well, it just passed the table to table. Or res- reschedule, so. Oh, Shoot.

[laughter]

Okay. [snorts] I misunderstood the motion. My apologies. No, you're fine. So, that one is rescheduled for the May 7th board meeting and we will see you all then. Um we have one last item up. Nick, this is all you. Sure. I make a motion or resolution to approve I'm assuming the replacement for a vehicle that was totaled from the police department. Can I just verify that correction? You know, it just says approve a totaled vehicle. Uh we have to remove, so it's basically asset removal, but the police department doesn't typically have asset removal, they just have a totaled vehicle, so.

Okay. It's just wonky wording. Yeah, it is.

a resolution to approve a vehicle that was totaled from the police department vehicle asset asset tag number 07376. Second. Councilman Hunter. I. Councilwoman Wright. I. Supervisor Sheldrake. I. Councilman Cahill. I. Councilman Wagner. I. All right. Um So, there was a

It was a totaled by the Well, I know how did it Does anyone else have business before the board beat to brain before we do our round tables? No. All right. Garrett, would you like to kick us off? Sure. I think you know, as we've heard before, we just applied for two New York State DEC grants for open space preservation. Um and I just want to thank everybody involved. In the last time this was done, it was done by a private resident and he took the lead, he did almost all the work on his own. And you know, this time there was more coordination between the town and the private resident and that was a learning curve for all involved and I appreciate everyone's hard work, especially Maria Door, who was a grant liaison and what fell on it was a massive task. And I know that it was a change of kind of bringing teams together, but I think that's the good part of governance when we all come together and work together for something for the town. So, I just want to thank everyone for their hard efforts for that and fingers crossed that we should hear hopefully sometimes August to September that we can get those two grants. All right. That'd be very exciting. Jen. Um there's so many things. Um first um summer celebration. Summer celebration is at the Parks and Recreation Center on

June 13th. Um the Zac Brown Tribute Band will be there. It is one of the largest events, it's the largest event in Webster. It's very well attended in Webster and even from some surrounding neighborhoods, so mark your calendars for that. And um mulch mulch is there, it's out, it's available for delivery. It's $50 for a 10 wheel truck, so it's a it's a deal and a half if you're looking to start a garden or or or whatnot. And um lastly, the revaluation project project is progressing. There are community meetings coming up at the end of June. There will be three of them, one's in the afternoon. I don't have all of the dates right in front of me right now, but June 14th, I believe. June 14th and 16th, 13th and 16th. Thank you, Bridget. Um I encourage people to attend those sessions to learn what the revaluation entails and what it may mean to you and your property. Thanks. Um it is building permit season. Um so,

if you are doing a roof, if you are building a pole barn, if you have a shed, any project, uh the building department is they are crazy busy right now, but they are here for you. Please reach out if you have any questions about what projects require a permit. I recently found out that a roof actually, you need a new roof, you need a full permit in Webster. Um so, but they are very busy, so thank you to all of them who are working tirelessly, mainly Darla Roth, who is literally a one-man band and a just a machine and she's one of the most incredible, hardest working people I've ever had the pleasure of working with, so. Please come in, see our building department, get your proper permits and that's all. John. Oh, thought we were going to the names. Sorry. So, um the IMA with Penfield ambulance is moving forward. We should have some some information on that um pretty soon. Um the other project um the RNG project um renewable natural gas um I should have some updated information um on that. I'm asking Rick also um next week to put a timeline together of the original build construction schedule um

and what it and how it relates to where they currently are. There's some aspects of that of that of that project that are a little bit behind. Um and also we're going to be doing doing some researches, well, I should say Kyle is going to do some reaching out to RG&E with respect to the proposed um contract that we would be required to sign as part of that um RNG project, which has a lot of a lot what I deem to be serious questions essentially from a liability standpoint. Um we should have some answers um pretty soon on those those questions and concerns that I'm sure everybody that read the contract has. I know Kyle has concerns about it also. Um the one concern I've probably mentioned this at a couple of board meetings is the sequence of events of information that we're being provided by um this company in my mind with project management experience is just is very unacceptable. There's stuff there are issues in that contract in my opinion, we should have been presented before we even voted to have the engineering done. The concerns are that significant. And it's not not like that we couldn't have

asked RG&E, hey can we take a look at the potential contract that we're going to have to to sign. What's involved? Who has the liability? Is it split or does the town assume all liability? So, that's the update on that. All right. Thank you, John. Nicholas. Um so, from a communication standpoint, Bridget, can I verify did our survey close for Okay. So, April 20th, right now we have the survey out to the community to try to get a better understanding of how you'd like to receive information from your government. Um so, please if you haven't already, take an opportunity to fill that out. Um so far, we've had really, really good success with people filling it out, so we just want to bolster that um so that we can do better for the residents. Um we have a couple of more community office hours this month. We have Jen's next week and Alex, you have one the following. Correct? Um and I'm going to do one every month and I believe that we're going to have some other council folks have their own community office hours moving forward. Um police department, they wanted to remind you guys that if you see something, say something. It's always important, but it's also getting warmer,

so people are out more. You tend to see more speeding this time of year. Watch out for kids in the road. So, just be aware. It's just that time of year where things start to ramp up in the police department, so. Is the comprehensive plan survey still up? No, that closed a long time ago time ago.

Okay. Are you talking I don't know. Um Josh, you have the draft one, right? Yeah,

[clears throat]

there's currently an opportunity uh for for a feedback on a draft uh policy document.

Okay. I thought I saw something. Yeah, is that the one you're referring to? Okay. Yes. And when does that close? Um that closes at the end of next week and it's accessible through the project webpage. All right. All right. With that, I will close the town board meeting of April 16th, 2026. Thank you all for coming.