Town Board Workshop
All right, it is now 6:30. I will call to order the Town Board workshop of March 19th, 2026. We have a lot this evening, but up first is an update from the Stormwater Coalition Intermunicipal Agreement from our engineering department. And then they will go right into the yearly MS4 presentation. So, Keith and Mark, this is all you. All right, so the first one we're going to talk about is the Intermunicipal Agreement for the Stormwater Coalition that just needs to be updated. We're going to go over what the Stormwater Coalition is, what's in the IMA, and then we'll take questions. The Stormwater Coalition is made up of 29 towns, villages, the City of Rochester, and and Monroe County. Through through collaboration, the Stormwater Coalition of Monroe County complies with federal and state stormwater regulations. The IMA, the Intermunicipal Agreement that we have to be part of that is a formal legal binding contract between the 29 local governments, the city, the town, the villages, designed to perform shared services, share costs, manage common resources.
The agreement aims to increase efficiency, achieve economies of scale, manage issues that affect all the municipalities. Currently, the IMA that we're working under was signed in 2019. It was a 5-year term with the option to renew it three additional times for another 5-year term each. We are renewing our first update right now. But because of some of the audits, one which was the EPA audit on the Town of Webster Stormwater program, and a few of the DEC audits of other towns, it warranted some rewording in the IMA. So, as part of the IMA, there's one paragraph that got changed. And that change basically was just to show that the Stormwater Coalition was not responsible for any part of the permit. Every all the responsibility falls to the town or whoever's MS4 it was. So, if we had an issue, we couldn't say, "Well, the Stormwater Coalition was supposed to take care of that." So, it's basically just stating that the town is responsible for everything. The cost per this IMA for us for the town is roughly about 11,300 a year.
That's based off of calculation they have based on populations and each town is a little different. But that's where we stand with the IMA.
[snorts]
So, if there's any questions on the IMA. What was the cost 5 years ago, if you know? I don't know off the top of my head. We have them in there. I don't believe there was much of an increase. I think it was still in like the 10,000 range. Anyone else? Jen, anything? I'm good. All right, thank you both. Now, move on to your yearly MS4 presentation. Okay, so following right up with Stormwater, this is the 2025 MS4 Annual Report presentation. Um Webster is its own MS4, which stands for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System, which means all the stormwater that falls in Webster, we manage it all. The purpose of the MS4 is to reduce stormwater pollution and protect the water quality. It's regulated by both the EPA and the
DEC. The permit that we're currently working under started in 2024, and it's a 5-year permit. The crux of the permit has six minimum control measures that the town has to meet. The first one is public education and outreach. The second is public involvement and participation. Both of those we rely a lot on the Stormwater Coalition to do a lot of the work. A lot of the education and outreach is done at the zoo. If you go to an Amerk game or Red Wing game, you'll see billboards out there talking about different stormwater educations. We also work with the Stormwater Coalition for rain barrels and stuff like that, which just an easier to have the whole county get involved with it than each town try to get involved. The third one is illicit dis- detection and elimination. That's just making sure if we find anything in the creek that's not supposed to be there, we research and make sure we find out where that's coming from. Fourth would be the construction site stormwater runoff control, which any construction site in Webster we manage to make sure that they're following all the proper protocols. Following that, post-construction stormwater management. All the ponds within the town have to be monitored a
certain way. Some of the ponds are owned by us, the town. Some of them are owned by private corporations. Some of them are owned by a townhouse management groups. And finally, it's pollution and prevention and good housekeeping within our municipal operations. The highway garage, for example, we have to they have to follow certain regulations as part of the MS4. Why do we have to do an annual report? It helps monitor the progress. It allows the EPA and DEC to see how well we're doing with our program. It allows us to verify the compliance of the minimum control measures that we were just talking about. It informs the public to let them know where we stand within our program. It helps us in future planning. It allows us to monitor where we stand with our stormwater ponds, so we know where we need to move our resources around. And finally, and most importantly, it's our environmental stewardship. You know, it shows that we are committed to protecting the environment. And what's in the annual report? This year is roughly 75 questions. Stem from administration questions, our town, our permit number, how many ponds do we have in the town.
Our SWMP questions, which stands for Stormwater Management Plan. So, we have a plan that's roughly 125 pages long that outlines exactly how we handle all our stormwater in the town, so there's questions about that. And the majority of the questions go back to those six minimum control measures. Most answers are yes or no answers. If there's a no answer, this report is all done electronically through a DEC website. So, if we click no, there's a pop-up on there, and we have to explain why we're saying no. And the majority of our no answers are questions that they're asking us, "Have we done something yet?" and those we haven't done yet because they're not needed until the fourth or fifth year of the permit. And finally in the part of this annual report, we have an interim progress certificate which every 6 months we have to do a progress certificate showing the DEC that we're in compliance. So they just lumped in our final 6 month into the annual report. It's easier, less paperwork. So if there's any questions on the MS4 report, I'll take those. Yeah, I just have a quick question is I know we've had issue with storm runoff
for development before. Do you have a count of how many instances we've caught that before it got bad or had issue with stop work order? Yeah, so part of the questions were how many times have we informed them and it's a very hard number to come up with but we we say it's somewhere around 50 to 75 because every day I'm out there talking to somebody. Today there was an issue at Coastal View that they started water was starting to leave their site and get onto somebody's property. So you know, it's very proactive. It's almost an everyday thing and um our coalition meeting today, the head of the DEC was there and complimented Monroe County as one of the better counties for stormwater because we're so proactive. Um that's one of the that's the most important part of it is being proactive out there. Catching it the day before it happens. So. Awesome. Thank you. Nothing else for me. Are there copies of the report It's all online? I do have copies of the report. I meant to hand them out to you. So I'll I'll give them to you. Um where
[snorts]
where for where we stand, um everything's entered in there except for two questions which would be if we receive questions from the board or if we receive questions from the from the uh from the town anywhere else. Yeah, I got nothing else. You are yet again up for uh This one's GIS public facing. Yeah, so this one's less um a little more fun. So we put together a public facing GIS. We've been working on it a while. Uh this is going to allow the public to jump on GIS through the town website. Uh let me put this in presentation mode for everyone. So GIS for quick starters, it's just a mapping system online that allows you to have many different layers all in one map. You can turn on and off each layer depending on how you want to see it. It's going to be accessible 24/7 from anybody's computer or from your iPhone. It provides open access to our town maps, our zoning, property information. Some of the key features and benefits of having this is you know, you'll be able to get zoning information that way. There's a parks layer in there that'll show you the
different trails. We have creeks and streams on there. There's um a great historical aerials starting from 1930 all the way through present so you can see where what the town looked like at that level. Um the benefits are along with other town services that we do have on our website that we're hoping that it's going to save people time that there won't be so many trips to the town hall. And it does enhance transparency and it really is hopefully it's going to foster community engagement with the town. It's going to be very easy to use the portal. You'll there'll be a link on the website. Um it's very user-friendly. Um if anybody hasn't used it, we will have a guidance video put up. And if there's any questions, you can link right through the town website as any other question and direct it to the engineering or the GIS department and we will be able to handle it that way. Um I could real quickly just show you what it what it it looks like. This will be the what you see when you get there. Um basically you can zoom in and out. You can move around the town for wherever you want. If you want to see parks layers, you just turn park layers on and it'll show you all the different parks.
Uh you can turn on the trail layers. It's a very useful tool and we do plan on adding to it as we move forward. We'll see what the public likes about it, what they don't like about it and we'll gear it to have what people would like to see. How do you see the historic view? How does it like surprise There wasn't imagery back then, right? Yeah, so there basically there was. There was a lot of um um aerial photographs all the way back to 1930. So this one This one's 1970. It's very interesting. I know I love these layers. You can you can overlay that's the good part of GIS is once you're on this, if you want to you can turn your property layer on and see where all the parcels were or weren't. It works a little slower on with the aerial cuz it's a lot of information in the aerials. And if anybody does use it, you can only zoom in so far on these old aerials before it's too pixelated. So we just have it so you can zoom in to a layer where it's comfortable to see. I find the historical imagery as a map person it's [laughter] it's really very interesting. But that's where we stand for that GIS. We hopefully it'll be live tomorrow. There'll be a link on the website for it.
What's the source of the imagery? Is this off the county contract or is it Nearmap or is it Eagle View? Um a little bit of everything. So the imagery So the aerials, I'm not 100% sure. We had aerials in our files somewhere. Um I believe there was a project years ago that somebody needed them for so we just kind of overlaid them into it. Um Esri who runs most of our GIS, they have all the different imageries and all the different background layers. I do believe some of it is uh through Nearmap and some of it is through um Eagle View. Eagle View. So um and part of as within the town we use Eagle View linked to our GIS. We have it within with that. So it does help out all the way around. But for the public, this is going to be a great tool. Sure is. Any questions from you guys? No. No, but I'm going to go once it's live, I'm going to go find my parents' house in 1970. Oh, I'm immediately
[laughter]
jumping on this the second I can. All right. Thank you, Mark and Keith. Up next is a guy we just can't seem to get rid of.
[snorts]
Uh this is Brighton Connard who'd like a moment of your time to discuss possibly contracting with Connard HR for our upcoming labor negotiations. Sorry, I just closed out the other presentation. I'm all set up. How are we standing with that? Brighton. Brighton, you're up next you said, right? Yep. There you go. You want to flip through it or Yeah, you can flip through it. I was going to speak I was going to speak from here. Okay. If that works. Can you see that far? Yeah. Yeah. No, [laughter] these are These cost at least $9.99.
[snorts]
Couldn't help myself. [laughter] Sorry. I just All right. Well, um thank you for the opportunity to address the town board during the workshop. Supervisor Sheldon invited me and um after a couple of conversations that we've had about the town's needs and services that I might be able to provide. And so I've got a couple of slides and some points to go over. And basically the proposal is for the town of Webster to enter into a professional services agreement with Connard HR Consulting for the purpose of labor negotiations with a $35,000 cap built hourly. So um Next slide. Why outside expertise matters. All right? Um New York State public sector labor negotiations is a niche specialty with unique rules that have major consequences for taxpayers including such elements as PERB and proper practice charges, impasse procedures,
mediation, fact-finding, imposition, and interest arbitration. Um it is um a process that is not like uh bargaining or negotiating the price of a item that you're going to purchase. There are specific rules around labor negotiations and highly specific rules around it in the public sector in New York State. Uh cost consequences. Uh this is a very important item for the town and for any public sector employer. Uh for instance, personnel expenses constitute 55% of the town's budget. Um and if you were to look at the difference in a labor settlement, uh a difference of as little as a quarter percent each year would cost uh $250,000 extra over the course of say a 3-year contract. Okay? So, um small differences in outcome can have big expenses. Um there are three contracts up this year. Uh the town has three unions, blue collar, white collar, and uh police union. And they have historically been
staggered so that the workload was spread out over 2 years. In our last settlement cycle, um the blue collar and white collar one an extended year, and so that put them on the same renewal cycle. So, all three unions' contracts are up in 2026. And that is an unusually high workload uh for one particular year. So, uh most towns use outside assistance for labor negotiations due to the uh spike in workload as well as the specialized nature of the process. Uh Webster has historically used outside assistance for labor negotiations, for example, from uh Pat Nailon and uh Bernie Winerman historically. When I was here, uh we did not use outside assistance because that happened to be one of the specialties that I possessed, so it was not required for us to use outside assistance during the uh time that I was here. Um the uh Town of Webster's director of finance and the director of human resources have stated uh to the supervisor that they uh think that it is in the town's best interest financially to engage outside
um outside expertise in this process in order to get good outcomes. So, that's the reasons why uh that you might want to choose outside assistance. Why would you want to choose Connerty HR Consulting? Uh in some, experience and value. So, experience, um Connerty HR Consulting is in its year of providing uh HR services to over 30 different clients. Um the founder, that's me, uh has 34 years of local government experience. Uh 21 years of experience as a lead labor negotiator with uh both large and small employers, including the Town of Webster. Uh 21 years as a chief human resources officer. Um I'm a certified professional in human resources. Uh I understand understand management's needs and the impact that contract language has once it has been adopted and put in place. Uh and I think that's something that uh I bring that others might not bring, which is um words matter in a contract, and you have to understand how they're going to be
implemented. And having lived on both the negotiating side as well as the contract administering side on a day-to-day basis, I think that that is um uh you know, a piece of value there. Uh I've authored over 50 tentative settlement agreements. I've negotiated with 12 different unions, including six law enforcement unions. And I have personal experience with all elements of the labor negotiation life cycle. Preparation, uh negotiation sessions, tentative settlement, contract votes, revotes, uh impasse, mediation, fact finding, PERB charges, interest arbitration, contract implementation, and collective bargaining writing. I've done it, you know, kind of from uh uh birth to death. And I've also served as an employer representative on a PERB police interest arbitration panel in the past. So, that's experience. Value, um I'm ready on day one. Uh there'll be lower billable hours due to familiarity with Webster's workforce, its management, as well as the collective bargaining agreements. I don't really need to come up to speed on the current environment. Uh that's a benefit of the uh
uh five and a third years that I was employed here. Uh mentoring and knowledge transfer. Uh so, part of the goal is uh mentoring and knowledge transfer for the human resources director so that outside assistance is not needed in the future. So, uh part of my goal is to work myself out of a contract. Um excellent outcomes. Historically, uh settlements that I have authored, the cost of living have been uh below peer comparables. Uh there have been mutual health insurance savings in those settlements. And um each of those settlements has strengthened uh management language in contracts. Um all doing this while con- maintaining the ability to recruit and retain top talent at the employer. Um you don't want to cannibalize your workforce while you're achieving savings. Both can be done when um you know, when uh done with wisdom and care. And uh discounted rate. So, uh my rate uh that I am offering to the Town of Webster is $165 an hour, and that's between 36 and 80% lower than other providers. It's also 13% lower than my standard rate. Um I am engaged
with other towns, and I charge them my standard rate of 190. And um because of [clears throat] my relationship with Webster, I would offer a discounted rate of 165. Uh probably the next question is how much would it cost? So, as stated above, a settlement difference of as little as a quarter percent uh could cost the town or Town of Webster $255,000 over the course of 3 years. Um Services provided will be billed on an hourly fee basis not to exceed $35,000. Total cost will depend on the length and intensity of each contract negotiations, but again, with that contract cap not to exceed 35,000. For comparison, Webster's last negotiation cycle, we for the three unions, we had 21 uh negotiation days um between the town and the three unions over a 2-year period. Between preparation and post-meeting follow-up, there's usually a 2:1 ratio in time at the table versus prep and follow-up time. Um so, I estimated that it was 252 hours spent on contract negotiations. And if that was done at the 165, that would have been $41,580.
Uh prelim- preliminary estimate for 2026 would be about 16 negotiating sessions for a total cost of 31,680. Uh but actuals will vary greatly based on bargaining positions of both the unions and the town. Right? Um if everybody uh knows exact- if everybody is in agreement on day one, you can sign a contract in 15 minutes. I've done it. But it's not often that parties are in complete agreement. And so, sometimes that takes time. And it takes the amount of time that it takes. So, um but again, there's a $35,000 cap on contract. That's the material that I wanted to share with the board. And I guess there's Is there another slide there that says questions or just No, just us. All right. Questions. I mean, I I have several questions, but I want to see if you guys have anything first. So, John. So, you you're talking about the First of all, thank you for coming in. Your your expertise in this in this area, we're very well aware of it. And um I think everybody on this board has a great deal of respect for the work that you've done. Um just Thank you, counselor. You hit the $35,000
cap. You don't have a contract. What happens? Um then what would happen is that the I would have to come back and have a conversation with the town about whether the town wants to move ahead without me or whether the town wants to enter into a new contract. Uh and the reason is that as a retiree, even though I'd be an independent contractor, my pension my earnings from public sector employment can't exceed $35,000 without reducing my pension. So, if my pension was to be reduced, I'd have to make a decision about um you know, what is the cost and value of the continued work. And the town would have to make a decision about what is the cost and value of the continued work. The hope is that um that we're not in that position. Um No guarantees, but what I would say is the last contract negotiation um with each of the unions extensively uh revolved around health insurance moving every single employee from um to
a high deductible only stance, um which takes a lot of education and bargaining. And uh so, that doesn't have to be repeated. Uh so, I would think that um that would reduce many of the meetings. Um you know, and then if things went very long, it would move into the next fiscal year. And um you know, the the clock would reset. So, when do you you envision, say we decide to proceed, when do you envision embarking upon this? Um so, I I do want to be cautious about uh
[cough]
I'm going to [clears throat] answer I'm going to answer that question in complete specificity. But, um it's not in the town's best interest to publicly discuss the town's bargaining stances. You know, you you wouldn't want to let the person you're bargaining with know exactly what your techniques and timetables are. Um, you know, it would it would put the town at at a disadvantage. And that's why
[clears throat]
uh usually these things are discussed in executive session. If we were to get into the nitty-gritty. But, um my thought is that blue and white-collar can be uh probably accomplished uh before the start of summer. And that uh the police uh union negotiations would start in the fall and be concluded before the end of the year. I guess the only other question I have is um because I know you negotiated um last contracts. What input will of the board have with respect to things that we'd like to see in these contracts or not in these contracts as it relates to the existing contracts uh because I don't recall having very many conversations um as a board member even though I was not the liaison to the police department. Um, my position is we we should all have at least before you get started or whoever gets started, um some desires or concerns that we have with the existing contracts. I mean, are you open to that? We could talk about it in executive session.
Yeah, well, I I don't think that needs to be in executive session because um ultimately um you know, if the town retains me, I'm a contractor of the town. You know, I uh am not an officer of the town. So, um so I would I would say that that's not for me to say uh how much input the town board has on it, right? What I would say though is that I was just going to say
understanding my understanding of town law and civil service law is that the contracts are between the um the supervisor and the unions and they require town board approval for the authorization of funding. Um so, I would think that and most often it does that town board input comes through the supervisor as the town executive.
Okay. Thanks. Nick, anything? No, thank you, Brighton. Jim? Yeah, cuz we talked about that you mentioned it goes through the supervisor, but can a town board member be present one other town board member be present during those negotiations? Uh well, I'm going to say that there have been. You know, um I'm I'm I'm I guess I would leave the final answer on can they be to the town attorney. But, I would say that in some cases there have been. Okay. Um my question is are you open to doing just maybe one of them? Um like do we have to if we consult with you or contract with you, do we have to use all three negotiations save on cost? Maybe just bring you in for police or just bring you in for blue-collar and then or white-collar and then use Kelsey um take the knowledge transfer and utilize her. Or we're are you looking specifically for all three? Um so, as a uh you know, fee for service billing on hourly basis, um um I would like to do all three, but um
and we haven't we haven't written up a contract or anything, but I would anticipate it that it would be to the extent that the the moment that the town doesn't need my services, they stop asking me to come in and I stop billing and that's that. And so, whether it's um all three, two of three, uh the third one, the first one, you know, whatever combination, that's for the town. That's that's I would say that's not my role uh to make that kind of decision. Oh, not to make the decision. It's just that if we came to an agreement that we only wanted you for one or two of them.
fee for service. It's not a package. Um you know, I mean, we um you know, it it it could be structured where it is um you know, a flat amount for the full year or a flat amount per contract or whatever and and the town and and and me as a uh uh independent contractor would have to figure out, you know, what is the right value on that. But, um you know, what we discussed and what I'm proposing is hourly billing. Don't you want to retire and just live your life? Um well, I spent the month of February in Florida and I did think about that highly. But, um I have a strong um I don't know. I I have a feeling that I want this town to be very successful and I want the human resources director to be very successful and I think I still have value to offer in achieving those two things. And so, um you know, I look forward to uh being able to do that through the end of the year or the end of the contract period or until the town has tired of me. Um and then I will uh absolutely. Well, and actually I'll
never be 100% retired. I don't know if I ever. But, I'm already engaged with some other towns, too, on some work. So, you know. Um been doing it for 19 years as an independent contractor, doing it for 34 as an employee. How will that impact if you're working for other municipalities and you have a $35,000 cap, how will that impact Webster? Uh any of those municipalities, um I'm engaged through another law firm and um therefore I am not a an employee or an independent contractor of those towns, so therefore it doesn't count against my pension cap. All right. If there's nothing else, thank you, Brighton.
I can make a comment or two or I think Kelsey wanted to say a couple words. Just a couple words. Um so, prior to Brighton's retirement in January of 2026, um Alex Paul Brighton and myself met about the upcoming contract negotiations. Um we all thought it would benefit the town greatly to bring Brighton in um and his consulting firm um just from his his experience doing it. Um unfortunately, contract negotiations don't happen all the time, so the chance to get the opportunity to learn is not always there. Um so, I feel that this would be a great opportunity for me to benefit and learn from Brighton as well as um the town. Yeah. The first time I worked for the town, which was many years ago, we uh always had a negotiator present and I saw the value in having someone at the table that was very versed in the Taylor Law, uh which which governs [clears throat] um labor relations in New York State. Um so, I I thought it brought a lot of value and I just sat through all three contract negotiation with Brighton 3 years ago and he seemed to bring the same value if not more. So, I'm definitely in favor of having him by our side. All right.
All right, we will be in touch with you, Mr. Connard. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you. Thanks, Brighton. All right, we are actually moving pretty quickly through these. So, up next is uh Josh Artuso to discuss a pres- to a presentation on our proposed development moratorium in the town of Webster. All right, thank you.
[cough and clears throat]
So, I'm going to start off for those that may not uh be familiar with uh what a development moratorium is. Um it is essentially a temporary halt on approvals for new development projects meeting specific criteria. It serves as a temporary pause to thoughtfully evaluate our existing regulations, policies, and procedures before additional development occurs. And some common reasons uh for implementing a moratorium include um rapid growth and development pressure, overloaded infrastructure, and in the case of Webster, um I would be referring to our many of our main roads and transportation network, as well as the uh electric grid, as well as outdated zoning regulations that are in need of updating uh to reflect modern uses, standards, and community priorities.
So, why Webster and and why now? Um so, the town of Webster has been and continues to experience increased development pressure uh and interest for large-scale development projects. While at the same time, we're in the process of updating our comprehensive plan that is approximately 18 years old at this point. And we are anticipating changes to the town zoning code following the adoption of the updated plan. So a temporary moratorium would essentially allow the town to complete this work to ensure that any future proposed development is consistent with the community's long-term vision. And as I mentioned, typically coincides with upcoming policy updates that come from a comprehensive plan update which as most everyone is aware is currently underway and is expected to be completed within the next 6 months. So included in the proposed moratorium are major residential subdivisions and
that primarily means anything including five lots or more. It also would include new development in all commercial districts. So we have the LC1 and LC2 which stands for our low intensity commercial districts. The MC zone which is the medium intensity commercial primarily located along the Ridge Road corridor. The HC is our high intensity commercial district which is primarily the north side of Ridge Road and bounded by Route 104 between 5 Mile and Rachel Drive. And then we have the CO zone which is commercial outdoor storage. That is the north side of Ridge Road between Hatch and 5 Mile Line Road where a lot of our existing car dealerships are located. It would also include new development in the OP Office Park North District which is primarily north of Route 104 between 5 Mile Line Road and Holt Road.
It would also include any new proposed data centers as well as any additional large-scale solar projects. So what would not be included in the proposed moratorium? Minor residential subdivisions. So these are your lots particular piece of property that could be subdivided into no more than four additional parcels. Any renovations, maintenance, repairs to existing residential dwellings would not be included in the moratorium. Your common home improvements such as you know constructions of decks, sheds, fences, in-ground and above-ground swimming pools, and accessory structures would not be included. Redevelopment of existing commercial spaces. So any of the vacant tenant spaces within our existing commercial plazas would also not be included. Any properties within the Village of Webster would not be included. Industrial development
and any utility and infrastructure maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. So in terms of duration as I mentioned, moratorium is is temporary. The proposed moratorium would be valid for a period of 6 months with up to two additional 3-month extensions that would be at the town board's discretion. So a brief summary of the process and some next steps we have a proposed local law number two of 2026 which is the proposed development moratorium. We are basically presenting the proposal for the first time this evening. We would hold a public hearing to hear some feedback from the residents and property owners in town. The town board and town staff would review any public comments. And then it would be brought back before the town board ultimately for a vote. So we put together a dedicated webpage that's accessible on the town's website
where folks can get more information. It's www.websterny.gov/moratorium and that will have a link to the actual language in the document. It'll also have answers to frequently asked questions. There will be an opportunity for an online submittal for community feedback and other ways to contact the town board members. And then we would also post information on the public hearing and updates regarding any future meetings that are held on this topic. So I just want to close out the presentation just with an important note reiterating that a development moratorium is only temporary and it is intended to ensure that future growth and development aligns with our community's goals and priorities. And with that I will open it up to any questions or comments that anyone may have. I got nothing so we'll defer to So I I just want to comment first and
in that we are embarking upon you know new comprehensive plan. I think your timing is fantastic. Um and you had mentioned updating the zoning codes which are badly in need of that.
I was wondering if you could just expand a little bit on you know how that's going to happen. Do you have a team working on that? Is Is that something that our consultants are going to work on? Um but I agree the zoning codes are badly in need of updating. Yes, sure. So the current scope for our consultant team is strictly relating to the update of the comprehensive plan. Um once the plan is finalized and adopted by the town board, there is a whole another subsequent effort that needs to take place and and that's to really take the existing zoning code and revise it to align with the new vision and priorities of the adopted plan. So that is a major intensive effort. Um our plan is to pursue the second round of funding associated with the smart growth
grant that we got for the current comprehensive plan update. The state has now added a a zoning revision component to the program. So our intent is to apply pursue the opportunity through this year's upcoming CFA grant process so that we can hit the ground running essentially once the plan ultimately gets adopted. When is when what's the date when that when the state's open for submission to request funds? I believe it typically occurs in late May or early June and the deadline for submittal is July 30th usually. So we've already met with our grant consultants Gina O'Connell um kind of explained to her where we were in the comprehensive planning process and she also agrees that I think we'll be far enough along that we can put ourselves in a good position to pursue the next set of funding. Perfect. Thanks Josh. Jen, I have a I just want to say thank you for the very thorough presentation. We've had a few projects that have come to the board and that has been the
general comment especially with the the change in board construct this year and the comprehensive plan. Those two things coming together makes a lot of sense to do this now and it's very good news to hear about the zoning update grant and since we're so far with the comprehensive plan think those two things are going to come together quite nicely. My only question is about the the timing because if this goes into effect I don't know when I'm say in a month and the comprehensive plan is done sometime over the summer how much longer will the zoning plan take and will it will it take the full year? Will it be longer than a year?
[snorts]
Well there's there there are a couple of variables at play but if everything were to fall into place and we were able to complete the comprehensive plan by late summer, I'd say by August or September is our target date. Um you know depending on the public feedback that we get and how, you know, if there are suggested edits or changes to the proposed moratorium, that may add some additional time. Um, but the thought is if it were to be in effect by June, uh, the initial 6 months would bring us through the end of 2026. Um, in
[clears throat]
in full transparency, I don't anticipate we would have a completely revised zoning code. Um, and depending on how that plays out, we could potentially need to come back to the town board um, for an extension. But timing, that's a very good point. It is critical and we want to make sure that uh, everything's aligned properly. Thanks, Josh. Now, just for the extensions, we have the option for two 3-month extensions. That is correct.
Okay. I I would imagine that would be sufficient time to do everything then. Within the 12 months, do you think?
Yes, I mean, I think that a 12-month time span for the zoning code update portion is pretty realistic.
Okay, great. Thanks. Mhm. Okay. No, thank you so much. Very thorough. I appreciate it, Josh. Thank you. All right. Um, that is that. I will now close the town board workshop for March 19th, 2026. Uh, we will begin the town board meeting at 7:30. So, stretch your legs, go to the bathroom, and we'll see you then.