[0:00] Recording in progress.
[0:05] » Good evening.
[0:09] Today is Wednesday, August 12th, 2026.
[0:12] The time is 7:05. I'm going to call the
[0:16] regular RTM August meeting to order. I
[0:19] will turn it over to the town clerk to
[0:20] do roll call.
[0:55] » Better?
[0:56] >> Yes.
[0:57] >> Okay.
[0:59] DeGrasse and right?
[1:04] Doughty? [snorts]
[1:05] >> Here.
[1:07] >> Dutton?
[1:09] Fitzgerald?
[1:12] Fox?
[1:13] >> Here.
[1:15] >> Frickman?
[1:18] Garner, A?
[1:19] >> Here.
[1:20] >> Garner, M?
[1:22] >> Here.
[1:23] >> Gibbs?
[1:26] Hume?
[1:27] >> Here.
[1:29] » Kenniston?
[1:32] Massett?
[1:33] >> Oh.
[1:34] >> Here.
[1:36] >> Yes, sorry.
[1:37] >> Okay. Kenniston
[1:40] and Massett are here.
[1:42] Matter?
[1:43] >> Here.
[1:45] >> McElroy?
[1:46] >> Here.
[1:47] >> Norman?
[1:48] >> Here.
[1:50] >> Norris?
[1:52] Aubrey?
[1:53] >> Here.
[1:55] >> Parella?
[1:56] >> Here.
[1:57] >> Peterfroyne?
[1:59] >> Powers came.
[2:01] >> I'm here.
[2:02] >> Powers S.
[2:03] >> Here.
[2:04] >> Pulaski.
[2:05] >> Here.
[2:06] >> Spoden.
[2:07] >> Here.
[2:09] >> Thackston.
[2:12] >> Here.
[2:14] » Thompson.
[2:15] >> Here.
[2:17] >> Umholtz.
[2:19] >> I'm here.
[2:21] >> Watson.
[2:22] >> Here.
[2:23] >> Weaver.
[2:26] Wells.
[2:27] >> Here.
[2:28] >> Whitney.
[2:30] >> Here.
[2:32] >> Woods.
[2:32] >> Here.
[2:34] >> Zelsolka.
[2:35] >> Here.
[2:36] >> And moderator, Umholtz.
[2:38] >> I'm here.
[2:39] Got 30.
[2:40] >> I have 30.
[2:41] >> All right, we got a good count.
[2:44] 30 members present. There's a quorum.
[2:47] We'll move on to moment of silence,
[2:48] salute the flag. Flags are behind you,
[2:50] one in front.
[3:03] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the
[3:06] United States of America, and to the
[3:09] Republic for which it stands, one nation
[3:12] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[3:16] justice for all.
[3:18] Thank you.
[3:19] All right.
[3:21] Next item is approval of the minutes for
[3:22] our July 8th, 2026 meeting. The meeting
[3:26] minutes
[3:27] draft was given to you with this
[3:30] agenda packet. If there are any
[3:32] additions,
[3:34] revisions, omissions, or whatnot, um
[3:39] please state them now, or else we'll
[3:41] approve the minutes as given to us by
[3:43] the town clerk's office.
[3:46] >> 2026.
[3:48] >> All right.
[3:50] Okay, meeting uh move are approved for
[3:53] July 8th. Um we now have 31 members
[3:56] present. Sugra Fenwright has arrived.
[4:01] Okay.
[4:03] All right, public petitions. This is the
[4:04] portion of the RTM agenda where RTM
[4:06] welcomes comments from the public. Each
[4:08] presentation should be limited to no
[4:09] more than 5 minutes or less as directed
[4:11] by the moderator and if possible submit
[4:13] written comments.
[4:15] Presentation should be limited to
[4:16] matters pertinent to the town of Groton.
[4:18] The matter moderator or members through
[4:20] the moderator shall ask questions only
[4:21] in order to clarify the speaker's
[4:23] presentation. Responses may be given by
[4:25] the moderator and or by the town
[4:27] manager. Individuals should state their
[4:29] name and address for the record. Are
[4:30] there any
[4:32] No one signed up. Anyone online?
[4:35] >> No.
[4:35] >> All right, we're going to
[4:37] close public petitions.
[4:39] Proceed to communications.
[4:41] Uh just to let you all know that uh
[4:43] representatives Morgan, Cadden, and
[4:45] Fitzgerald um
[4:47] identified that they would not be in
[4:48] attendance this evening. Uh does anyone
[4:50] else have any communications?
[4:54] All right, and I know we just had a
[4:57] pretty massive storm
[4:59] a week ago Monday. I just want to thank
[5:00] all of our first responders, public
[5:03] works, uh Board of Ed, uh public works
[5:06] people, um
[5:07] parks and rec folks that have worked
[5:09] hard to try to make sure that we stayed
[5:11] safe during that storm as well as
[5:13] maintaining all of our roadways after
[5:16] the storm which had a lot of down trees
[5:18] and flooding in certain areas with
[5:20] disabled vehicles and whatnot. So,
[5:22] again, thank you to all that have
[5:24] uh helped to keep our community safe.
[5:28] Moving on, we've got our town manager's
[5:30] report. So, I'm going to turn unless
[5:31] this Oh, Representative Wells, I
[5:32] apologize.
[5:33] >> I wasn't sure where this went in, but I
[5:35] think it's a communication.
[5:36] >> Yes, sir.
[5:37] >> I was uh at the hairdresser's getting my
[5:39] hair cut and I mentioned about appearing
[5:42] at a talking to Brenda and telling I got
[5:45] at the bridge opening and then um,
[5:48] this a middle-aged woman said, "Wow, I
[5:50] saw that bridge. It's fabulous. That's a
[5:52] wonderful bridge." And then, Brenda
[5:54] says, "Where is it?" She says, "I don't
[5:55] know."
[5:56] >> [laughter]
[5:57] >> And I couldn't tell them how to get how
[5:59] to get there.
[6:00] >> Yeah, and that's the Quaker Hill bridge,
[6:02] you
[6:02] >> Yeah, the Quaker Farm bridge.
[6:03] >> Okay. Yep.
[6:04] >> Anyway, so, anyway, so, the reviews are
[6:06] good from people who didn't know where
[6:08] it was.
[6:10] >> Okay, and then, for for those that don't
[6:11] know, and I might be I'm I'm gearing it
[6:14] towards how I get there from the disc
[6:15] golf or transfer station. If you go
[6:18] directly across Flanders Road across 184
[6:21] and head down the hill,
[6:23] you you run into it on the right-hand
[6:25] side. That's That's the bridge that has
[6:27] been rebuilt. Looks very very good.
[6:30] So, thank you again for our our our
[6:32] folks for building that up.
[6:34] All right, any other communications?
[6:37] All right, I'll turn it over to Town
[6:39] Manager Bert, uh, for his report of the
[6:41] town manager.
[6:43] >> Good evening. Uh, first, the financials.
[6:45] Now, we are in that time of year where
[6:47] we've
[6:48] got where we've we're past the end of
[6:50] the fiscal year and now running paying
[6:52] all the bills, so, just take this
[6:54] information with a grain of salt.
[6:55] There's a lot of bills still to be paid.
[6:58] The preliminary fund balance as of June
[7:00] 30th, '26, unaudited, is approximately
[7:03] 46.1 million, which is 27.8% of the FYE
[7:07] '26 general fund adopted adjusted
[7:09] budget. As I said, there's still bills
[7:11] to be paid. I I think, for instance,
[7:13] Board of Ed still has about 2.8 million.
[7:15] I'm sure much of that will be, uh, paid
[7:17] out eventually.
[7:19] The approved fund balance applied to FYE
[7:21] '27 budget is 1.6 million. The general
[7:24] contingency budget is set at 300,000.
[7:28] And the capital reserve fund balance as
[7:30] of June 30th, '26, is approximately 7.2
[7:32] million. However, much of that is set to
[7:34] be used for this upcoming year.
[7:37] Uh, few updates. Uh, affordable housing
[7:39] trust fund, you may have remember we had
[7:41] allocated funding recently for a mobile
[7:43] home housing rehab program that should
[7:45] be up and running in the next couple
[7:47] weeks and planning will get the notices
[7:49] sent out to people. There's already a
[7:51] list of people interested in that for
[7:52] mobile home repairs.
[7:54] Uh athletic field update the Fitch High
[7:56] School the there were some should be
[7:58] some soil boring work going on this week
[8:00] there and then we're going to have kind
[8:02] of an official kickoff with the
[8:04] engineer uh next late next week.
[8:08] Let's see uh
[8:11] Pavement indexes
[8:13] updated. I think the last time was 2019
[8:15] that we updated the PCI index the
[8:17] pavement index. That's what we use to
[8:19] decide which roads to pave. Those were
[8:21] rerun recently and um
[8:24] they're on our website but I know
[8:26] planning is working on a more robust
[8:27] website where you can It's going to be a
[8:29] pretty neat where you can have a map you
[8:30] can turn on and off see what the 2019
[8:32] index number was compared to the new one
[8:34] and kind of see how roads are faring
[8:36] over that time period. That should be
[8:37] live if not now soon.
[8:40] Uh Gary stole my thunder on Quicker Farm
[8:42] Road bridge. Um
[8:45] Uh route 1 117 sign which I get asked
[8:48] for a lot. There's always another issue.
[8:49] They They have the sign in they were
[8:51] going to put it in they had it marked
[8:52] out. There's a major gas line right
[8:54] there. So now they're looking at
[8:55] options. So still in progress and Sutton
[8:59] Park is going very well. The The skate
[9:01] ramp is really neat if uh if you've seen
[9:04] the photos online and I'll send you a
[9:05] couple photos. And the veterans rep
[9:08] position is
[9:10] uh out I um out accepting applications
[9:14] and that that closes August 17th and
[9:16] that is it.
[9:18] >> All right. Thank you town manager Bert.
[9:20] Uh Representative Thompson, do you have
[9:22] a question for the town manager?
[9:27] » Thank you. Just a quick question. Have
[9:29] you had any applicants for that
[9:30] position?
[9:31] >> I don't see we don't
[9:33] uh
[9:34] we HR keeps them until the closing date
[9:37] so we won't see them until after that.
[9:38] So, I hope. But
[9:40] >> Thank you.
[9:41] >> How how long is the posting open for?
[9:42] >> Oh, yeah. How long is the posting open
[9:44] for? Do you know?
[9:45] >> is the final day.
[9:46] >> Okay. So, yeah. We should be able to get
[9:48] an update.
[9:49] >> interested out there, go to our website
[9:50] under departments under human resources
[9:53] and jobs.
[9:57] » Okay. Any other questions for town
[9:58] manager?
[10:02] All right, great. We're going to move on
[10:03] then. Uh economic development, do we
[10:05] have anything this evening?
[10:06] >> No.
[10:07] >> Okay.
[10:08] All right. Report of the superintendent
[10:10] of schools. Uh I'm going to turn it over
[10:12] to uh Superintendent Austin
[10:14] uh for Groton Public Schools. Uh if you
[10:16] haven't received it, I believe there's a
[10:18] handout here. Did you get this?
[10:21] Rep Degraffenreid, I'll give you mine.
[10:24] » And I've got I can get others, too.
[10:34] I'm going to pass you mine when I'm
[10:35] done.
[10:36] I'll use it as my cheat sheet first.
[10:40] All right.
[10:41] Um
[10:42] I hope everybody's having a really good
[10:44] summer. This has been a very busy summer
[10:46] for Groton Public Schools, and I just
[10:48] figured instead of giving you a report,
[10:50] I'd take you for a little walk-through
[10:52] of our buildings and the the great
[10:54] accomplishment. Sam Kilpatrick and Tom
[10:57] Bingham and the team um I have to say
[11:00] Clint Dr. Clint Kennedy and Shannon
[11:03] Weigel, while she goes and gets the
[11:05] grant, she doesn't only do that, she
[11:06] ensures that we're following up on
[11:08] things, and she helps project manage
[11:10] some of this, and she's worked so hard
[11:12] this summer. As have the whole custodial
[11:14] and maintenance team,
[11:16] um and it's been fabulous. So, we have
[11:19] quite a bit going on. When you open up,
[11:21] you see the robotics, and I'll be
[11:22] talking about the T-Mobile grant and
[11:25] some of the support that they're going
[11:26] to give us in supporting robotics. We
[11:29] took the old wood shop, and we created
[11:31] the robotics shop. And we actually have
[11:34] a new military science teacher who does
[11:37] robotics and is very excited. And his
[11:40] goal was to get 50 students in military
[11:42] science and guess what? He's got them
[11:45] already. He's been working at a STEM
[11:47] camp and it when it when we get that
[11:49] magic number 50, guess what happens?
[11:51] Guess who pays for military science?
[11:54] Federal government, even the PE teacher.
[11:56] So, I'm feeling really pretty good this
[11:58] summer, but he has been wonderful,
[12:01] um Mr. K and um
[12:03] so, you see the robotics being um really
[12:06] taken and cleared out and we put we
[12:09] followed the charter and we worked Tell
[12:11] me the gentleman that we worked with at
[12:13] the town.
[12:14] >> Oh, Joe Cerella.
[12:15] >> Joe Cerella has been so helpful and so,
[12:18] we put it up for auction and there
[12:19] actually some funds came through, about
[12:21] $8,000. So, that went to the town. And
[12:24] so, um that was terrific and now the
[12:27] robotics is nestled into the the old
[12:29] wood shop and they still will do some
[12:31] woodworking. There's still things for
[12:32] them to do woodworking with. Um so,
[12:35] we're very excited for them and then
[12:37] we're imagining that that field, which
[12:39] is going to be supported by T-Mobile and
[12:42] a few others that I've been talking
[12:43] with, um will be right outside. There's
[12:46] a garage door in the wood shop robotics
[12:49] shop and it would be placed right out
[12:52] there, you know, um based on course our
[12:55] fire marshal's
[12:57] expertise. And then I think the next
[12:59] page is on the summer STEM camp. We've
[13:01] had several camps. We've had it for
[13:03] elementary. The one that you see here is
[13:05] at Groton Middle School and it was
[13:07] really run by our robotics aluminum
[13:09] falcon robotics teammates and they're
[13:12] you know, sophomores, juniors, seniors
[13:15] and they were wonderful. A couple of the
[13:18] Ledyard um robotics team that I happen
[13:20] to know, they're my grandsons. They've
[13:22] been going to the camp and they were
[13:23] also there. So, it was really the older
[13:25] kids who mentored them And um I shout
[13:29] out for Ben Moon who is our STEM
[13:31] coordinator for putting this together.
[13:33] It was so well received and we had quite
[13:35] a few eighth going into ninth graders
[13:37] who got very interested in taking a
[13:39] robotics class and and joining the team
[13:43] when they get there. So that's good. A
[13:45] big thank you to Electric Boat and the
[13:47] US Navy. Those machines came in on
[13:50] riggers. You couldn't believe it. I had
[13:51] videos. I had pictures. I was on a
[13:53] little bit of a vacation but I kept
[13:55] getting pictures showing me how it was
[13:57] coming in. They are like some of the
[13:59] state of the art machines and our kids
[14:02] and the community will be able to use
[14:03] these machines and have viable jobs. We
[14:06] had 10 kids at Fitch High School before
[14:08] they graduated who had a job at EB. And
[14:11] that was double double that was a
[14:12] factorial number from what we've had in
[14:14] the past. So I just keep seeing this
[14:16] grow and it's going to be wonderful. I'm
[14:18] hoping in the evening that we could you
[14:20] know with a teacher we could do adult ed
[14:23] and maybe invite some members of the
[14:24] community in who would like to learn on
[14:27] the machines. So that will be the next
[14:30] part of the dream.
[14:31] And then you can see the pictures of
[14:35] you know under the dream this is still
[14:38] the old auto shop. Anybody in here was
[14:41] in the auto shop when you were at Fitch
[14:42] High School? Did anybody take anything
[14:44] in the old auto shop? It would became
[14:46] really just a a big container filled
[14:49] with junk. You know we we keep too many
[14:51] things we shouldn't be keeping. So it's
[14:53] been a great year for purging. Things
[14:55] that are unnecessary. And then our Mary
[14:58] Morrison is ready to go. I am super
[15:01] excited. We've been doing walk-throughs
[15:03] with our board.
[15:04] You see the cleaned out classroom and
[15:07] then you see one with the furniture in
[15:09] there ready to go and and our
[15:11] playground. And all of this thank you to
[15:13] the office of
[15:15] you know early childhood and
[15:18] 1.7 million dollars and that will keep
[15:20] us rolling with um, going into next year
[15:23] and we're just hoping that those um,
[15:25] endowment funds continue. It's looking
[15:28] pretty promising, so. But, because we
[15:31] have that, parents don't have to pay
[15:33] anything. There's no other pre-K like
[15:36] this. I mean, if you go to the
[15:37] Friendship School, parents have to pay.
[15:39] It might be on a sliding scale, but they
[15:41] have to pay. So, um, and we have other
[15:43] places where they have reduced fees,
[15:46] too. So, um, and we're going to have an
[15:48] early childhood of actually Tree House
[15:51] program before and after school with
[15:53] child care for kids where that will be
[15:55] on a sliding scale. So, if you have fit
[15:57] working families, there'll be an hour
[15:59] and a half before school starts and an
[16:00] [clears throat] hour and a half after
[16:01] that they can have their children there.
[16:03] So, parents, we have a lot of parents
[16:05] who are, you know, getting second jobs
[16:07] because of this opportunity, which is
[16:09] great. Ribbon cutting, I'll let you know
[16:12] once we get all the kiddos in there and
[16:14] everybody. Um, we're going to be
[16:16] inviting dignitaries and you're some of
[16:19] our dignitaries and you've supported us
[16:21] in all of this, so we'll let you know
[16:22] the date for both, um, Mary Morrison
[16:24] Early Childhood Center and also for, um,
[16:27] the Machine Shop. I'm sure Congressman
[16:29] Courtney will be there with us. So,
[16:32] thank you so much. I just can't thank
[16:33] you enough for all of your support in
[16:36] getting this to come true. It really
[16:38] takes a community, you know.
[16:40] So, thank you.
[16:42] >> All right. Did Does anyone happen to
[16:43] have a question for, uh, Superintendent Austin? All right,
[16:47] I'm going to just take them
[16:49] names. Powers, S, Weaver.
[16:53] All right.
[16:54] >> Thank you, Superintendent Austin.
[16:56] A quick question. The, um, the total
[16:58] amount of money that we have for
[17:00] renovation, has it been all used?
[17:04] >> We have done the first grant and that
[17:06] was 600,000.
[17:08] And then the second grant came in at
[17:10] 1.150,000.
[17:13] >> So, that's 7
[17:14] >> 750,000.
[17:15] >> 50, yeah.
[17:16] >> Has Has all the funds been expended to
[17:18] fix the school? Okay. And they've been
[17:21] done. Has the work all been done in the
[17:22] building, Peter?
[17:23] >> I'd say the work is 90% 99%
[17:26] >> Great. So, for the those that can't hear
[17:28] at home, the work is 90% done and the
[17:30] majority has been expended
[17:33] and are waiting completion for the
[17:35] finishing touches. Is that correct?
[17:37] >> Yes, we welcome the kids back on
[17:39] September 1st for meet and greet with
[17:41] their parents.
[17:42] >> Okay. So, we have a full amount of we
[17:43] have 10 classrooms. So, we have a full
[17:44] amount of we have 10 classrooms.
[17:46] >> come to school on the 2nd of September.
[17:49] And I can hold 180, so we hold a few
[17:51] slots for special needs kids who might
[17:53] be moving into the area. And it's their
[17:56] balanced classrooms just like at the
[17:57] elementary school with, you know, um
[18:00] [clears throat]
[18:00] >> I'd love to go see everything.
[18:01] >> Oh, I really want you guys to. It we
[18:03] will definitely do so. Yeah.
[18:06] And then because it it had, you know,
[18:08] anytime a school is left and of course
[18:10] we've had Ernie there with um food
[18:12] services and we've had Jeff there with
[18:15] uh um
[18:16] with Treehouse, but it's not like this
[18:19] whole building has been brought back to
[18:21] life. When I walked through with the
[18:22] fire marshal, he said, "They just don't
[18:24] build them like this anymore, Susan."
[18:26] And he's right, you know? And these
[18:29] buildings were meant to last and but
[18:31] just giving it the facelift, the
[18:32] refurbishing, making sure everything is
[18:34] safe and having HVAC and air quality and
[18:37] all that checked out. It's a good thing
[18:40] and it's just been brought back to life
[18:41] and it shines. It really shines. So.
[18:45] >> Thank you. Uh Representative Weaver
[18:46] followed by Norman.
[18:50] » Thank you, moderator. I just have a
[18:51] follow-up question from the last
[18:52] meeting, two actually. So, the first one
[18:55] is um we had spoken about the robotics
[18:57] field and you said that you had gotten
[18:59] $50,000 from T-Mobile and then I just
[19:02] think I heard you say that you were able
[19:04] to get another 8,000, but you said the
[19:06] total
[19:07] um additional expenditure that you
[19:09] needed was 200,000. If you don't get
[19:11] those funds, will you be seeking them in
[19:13] the next budget cycle? That's the first
[19:15] question.
[19:16] Second question is relative Second two
[19:18] questions are relative to the program.
[19:20] That's excellent. It looks beautiful, by
[19:21] the way. Um I was just wondering, you
[19:23] had said that you were going to need I
[19:25] believe 12 staff members, and I noticed
[19:27] on the site that you've been trying to
[19:29] hire paras. How are you doing at hiring
[19:32] the staff to fill that? And what is the
[19:34] parent-teacher ratio? Lastly, in the
[19:37] last meeting you had said that you
[19:38] presented the budget proposal since the
[19:40] funds are only for 1 year to the Board
[19:43] of Education, and I respectfully asked
[19:46] if the budget and the budget plan
[19:48] proposal for how those funds are going
[19:49] to be expended can be shared with the
[19:51] RTM. Thank you.
[19:53] >> Boy, I don't know where to start with
[19:55] that.
[19:55] >> start with the first one. It was the
[19:56] >> [laughter]
[19:57] >> robotics expenditure.
[19:59] So, I know um
[19:59] >> Yes, for the field. So, I am in
[20:01] communication. Shannon, of course, is
[20:04] our wonderful grants um coordinator, and
[20:08] we've been talking to groups in the
[20:10] state level and at the federal level to
[20:13] be able to support that $200,000. It
[20:15] would not come before you. I'm really
[20:18] determined to make sure we get that. Um
[20:22] we are looking for space in the interim,
[20:24] like gym space or space that they can
[20:26] rock and roll with that robot in
[20:28] between. But we really we really have
[20:30] this idea in mind, and it would you
[20:33] know, we're not intending to bring it to
[20:35] >> [clears throat]
[20:35] >> So, the goal right now is to look and
[20:37] search for grants through the grant
[20:39] coordinator, and uh
[20:41] >> Yeah.
[20:41] >> it is optimistically
[20:43] >> Yes.
[20:44] >> stated that it's not going to be in the
[20:46] budget to try and find the field money.
[20:49] We're going to find it somewhere else.
[20:51] All right. The next [clears throat] one
[20:52] was
[20:53] >> actually was for the equipment that was
[20:55] sold goes to the town. And then John
[20:57] will decide how that comes out. Yeah.
[20:59] >> All right. And then the next one was
[21:01] paras uh hiring process on paras. How
[21:03] are we looking on hiring paras?
[21:05] >> We
[21:06] >> actually had two or three additional
[21:08] classrooms that we had to add
[21:11] outside of what we budget for.
[21:13] >> altogether?
[21:14] >> 10 classrooms altogether, but we had had
[21:16] eight.
[21:16] >> Eight originally, yeah.
[21:17] >> Yeah. So, it's the addition of two
[21:20] teachers, the Paris that go with them,
[21:23] um
[21:24] some other different positions like the
[21:26] nurse and the nurse's aide and the
[21:28] secretary. And those are all afforded
[21:31] within
[21:32] the operating costs. And the first
[21:35] operating budget was 600,000 and then
[21:37] the second one came in at
[21:39] >> The total operational
[21:41] grants that they received are 975,000.
[21:44] >> I well
[21:47] While I respect and appreciate that, my
[21:48] clarification question was, so obviously
[21:51] you're expecting 163 out of 170
[21:54] students. You had initially quoted 12
[21:56] staff members and you're quoting the
[21:58] 975,000.
[22:00] I was the part and parcel question was,
[22:03] how many of those staff members have you
[22:05] hired? How many are outstanding? And
[22:08] because there's an assertion that we may
[22:10] or may not get the funding for the
[22:12] center next year,
[22:14] I asked if you had the budget and if you
[22:16] presented it. You said you presented it
[22:18] to the board and I think that it would
[22:19] be a really good idea if you could
[22:21] consider presenting that budget to our
[22:24] town council and the RTM so we can look
[22:26] at how those funds are going to be
[22:27] spent.
[22:28] >> Yeah, we have the budget for that. We
[22:29] can send that out to you, no problem.
[22:31] >> And what is the parent-teacher ratio?
[22:33] >> Parent-teacher
[22:34] >> teacher-student ratio, my apologies.
[22:36] >> to 18 and we're probably at about
[22:39] >> You said 173.
[22:41] >> And it's 173 students. So, it and we
[22:44] have a little bit of a waiting list. So,
[22:46] we're just kind of waiting to see. We're
[22:48] double-checking to make sure everybody
[22:49] who signed on is there and making sure
[22:52] we didn't miss anybody. So, um
[22:55] >> And and so, Superintendent Austin, we're
[22:57] fully staffed on teachers for the early
[23:01] childhood learning center. We're still a
[23:03] little light on the paras. Is that
[23:05] correct?
[23:05] >> I don't I think we're pretty good with
[23:07] the paras, too. I there might be one or
[23:10] two more that we have to hire, but I
[23:12] think we're we're in a good place with
[23:14] them.
[23:15] Um
[23:16] >> For the whole school or just for the
[23:17] center? Cuz I know
[23:18] >> For the center. For the whole school,
[23:20] we're actually doing better than we've
[23:21] done in a long time. With COVID, it was
[23:23] really hard. But we are really close to
[23:27] our our number, like within a handful,
[23:29] maybe six, seven. So that's really good
[23:32] >> The advertising has been really good for
[23:34] that lately.
[23:34] >> Good. Good. And they're so valuable.
[23:37] They're just worth their weight in gold.
[23:38] And
[23:39] >> And honestly, Representative Weaver, I I
[23:41] forgot the third one.
[23:42] >> That was it.
[23:43] >> Oh, okay. I did have a moment.
[23:45] >> My only question is is how soon could
[23:46] the budget be presented to the town
[23:48] council and the RTM just to review?
[23:52] Um could you
[23:53] >> I mean, I can send it out tomorrow. Or
[23:55] no, not tomorrow. Friday. Or we'll we'll
[23:58] talk about it. Shannon has it. Shannon
[24:01] has it.
[24:02] Shannon's going to take her daughter to
[24:04] college.
[24:04] >> specifically for the budget of the early
[24:06] childhood learning center. Is that
[24:08] correct?
[24:10] >> spending.
[24:10] >> Where that money had went. Okay.
[24:11] >> We've got that. That's easy to give you.
[24:14] >> Thank you very much.
[24:14] >> All right, thank you.
[24:16] Representative Norman.
[24:22] » My questions are so much less intense.
[24:25] >> [clears throat]
[24:25] >> My first one wasn't sorry if this is not
[24:28] necessary, but um
[24:30] I had some questions from folks around
[24:33] for donations of whether it's school
[24:34] supplies or books particularly for the
[24:36] early childhood center. Is there a place
[24:38] to drop that off or a person that folks
[24:40] should reach out to if they're
[24:41] interested in making
[24:42] >> It's really not necessary. We actually
[24:45] have banned books who every summer gives
[24:47] to Groton Public Schools because I
[24:49] answered the call and say yes, we want
[24:51] your books. And we send our library
[24:53] media specialist and they boxes and
[24:55] boxes of books. And this year we asked
[24:57] for the donation to come to make a
[25:00] library at the early childhood center.
[25:01] >> So you're getting supplies for older
[25:03] >> all the supplies that's all in the
[25:05] grant. Now there might be chances when
[25:08] you have families that are with a
[25:09] teacher and they say we'd like to donate
[25:11] this or that. They can work that out
[25:13] between in the classroom if there's
[25:15] something that they want to do.
[25:16] >> Work with the teacher if there's
[25:17] something that they do.
[25:18] >> And then could you give me I missed the
[25:19] last meeting I'm so sorry a little more
[25:21] context on the robotics field and what
[25:24] that is that you're looking for? Like is
[25:26] it a literal field?
[25:27] >> It's a you could call it a STEM robotics
[25:29] field. It's a full-size field like the
[25:31] size of a basketball court all enclosed.
[25:34] >> Got it.
[25:34] >> used at Fitch High School for lots of
[25:37] things but during robotics season it
[25:39] would be for the robotics team.
[25:40] >> and so
[25:41] >> And it's indoors. Yep.
[25:43] >> And so you're looking for a location.
[25:44] >> We We know the location. We just have to
[25:47] make sure it's right with the fire
[25:48] marshal and with Mr. Burke and
[25:51] >> [laughter]
[25:52] >> And um but and we need to get the funds.
[25:55] >> Okay, got it. So that pays for the
[25:57] location for the
[25:59] >> doesn't. The location is Fitch High
[26:01] School so
[26:01] >> Got it. It's just setting up the
[26:04] location
[26:05] >> for the robotics
[26:06] >> Right.
[26:07] >> fights? Or is that Is that what it's
[26:08] going to be like?
[26:10] >> [laughter]
[26:10] >> I don't know.
[26:11] >> battle bots.
[26:12] >> know that's what I was thinking.
[26:13] >> that's what I was thinking too battle
[26:14] bots.
[26:15] >> Yeah and and just like our sports teams
[26:18] you know our kids invite other they
[26:20] [clears throat] they get competitions
[26:21] they actually call it coopetition in
[26:23] first robotics. And they can have robots
[26:26] and their friends come over. They
[26:27] actually did this at Pleasant Valley
[26:29] when they had all that space in the gym.
[26:31] >> cool. Someone just showed me a picture.
[26:33] You should like see if you could rent it
[26:34] out for dog agility training when you're
[26:36] not using it for robotics. Like people
[26:38] might spend a lot.
[26:40] Okay that's it. I'm done.
[26:42] >> something every time I come here.
[26:44] >> [laughter]
[26:45] >> And and Superintendent Austin just to
[26:47] clarify for the folks
[26:49] >> [snorts]
[26:49] >> the the robotics field is still about
[26:51] 200,000 short from
[26:54] >> being
[26:55] built. a thing yeah or approved so we
[26:58] can
[26:58] >> That was an AI generated image.
[27:01] >> Oh, okay.
[27:06] » Uh is there any other questions from
[27:08] membership? Yes, Representative Fox.
[27:13] » Um I'm looking at the pictures of this industrial equipment that it
[27:17] that EB is giving I guess giving us
[27:20] that. And that looks really great.
[27:22] That's that's that would be a great
[27:23] experience for the
[27:25] students that get the opportunity to
[27:27] practice on those things.
[27:29] Well, one of the concerns I have is is
[27:32] that heavy-duty equipment is has some
[27:34] dangers associated with it. Do we have a
[27:37] corresponding safety program that goes
[27:39] along with the use of this and is there
[27:42] a is there a criteria being established
[27:44] for supervision of of kids using this machinery?
[27:47] >> a great question. That's absolutely the
[27:50] first part of the course any course and
[27:53] um we work with YMPA the state
[27:55] organization which is the manufacturing
[27:58] curriculum offered by the state. The
[28:01] person who we've hired was a Fitch
[28:02] Falcon himself and he coaches football
[28:05] but he's been at EB working in machines
[28:08] and he's also getting specialized
[28:09] training to start the class because EB
[28:12] also supports us with the training of
[28:14] the teachers. So, it is just hands down
[28:18] just such a marvelous opportunity. I saw
[28:20] another school that had a welding
[28:22] situation Joe Courtney sent it out all
[28:25] proud of it. I said he's got to come
[28:26] over here. So, when we have the the
[28:29] ribbon cutting I I really will make sure
[28:31] you all get invitations and come and see
[28:34] any any other time too when the kids are
[28:36] in there you know if you're interested
[28:38] in that we can go and look but safety is
[28:40] number one absolutely. And our robotics
[28:42] team is the same way. They wear the
[28:44] safety glasses at all times. Um so, the
[28:48] kids get the message pretty quickly and
[28:50] it's a good lesson to learn.
[28:52] >> Yes.
[28:54] Representative Thompson.
[28:56] >> Thank you, Mr. Moderator.
[28:58] Is the Fitch robotic Ted, is it the same
[29:02] robotics that we used to be involved
[29:04] with?
[29:05] My husband provided
[29:07] the robotics team about 3 years ago with
[29:11] all the pamphlets for the OSHA
[29:13] guidelines, for regulations and safety.
[29:17] That might be something maybe somebody
[29:18] can dig up somewhere.
[29:20] >> Yeah. Yep, we'll do.
[29:22] And that's same thing with robotics.
[29:23] That's kind of the first part of any
[29:25] course and it continues all the way
[29:27] through the course.
[29:29] It as the necessary ingredient.
[29:32] >> Are
[29:33] >> [clears throat]
[29:33] >> Superintendent Austin, are our students
[29:35] leaving
[29:37] Fitch if they're taking any of these
[29:38] trainings with OSHA 10
[29:40] certification at all or
[29:42] >> I will look into that.
[29:43] >> Okay. Um, that might be something
[29:45] >> Yeah.
[29:47] >> spitballing some stuff to have that OSHA
[29:49] 10 training cuz a lot of
[29:51] um
[29:52] folks in the industry uh
[29:54] look highly at at them having that. And
[29:56] there might be grants
[29:58] OSHA 10.
[29:59] might be grants out there
[30:01] >> [laughter]
[30:01] >> to to to have somebody come and train uh
[30:04] whether it be through uh state
[30:05] Department of Labor or something to that
[30:07] nature. So,
[30:08] >> We will look into that. Thank you.
[30:09] >> And
[30:10] I think that's all I had. Does anyone
[30:12] else have a question for the
[30:14] Superintendent?
[30:15] Um, I'd like to thank you uh
[30:17] Superintendent Austin for coming and
[30:19] giving us all this information. I know a
[30:20] few terms back we had
[30:23] asked for a bit more uh communication
[30:25] and and I and I cannot appreciate it
[30:27] enough through you and the uh the the Board of Ed uh to um
[30:32] uh come down and and give us an update
[30:33] and then answer questions and follow
[30:35] whatever.
[30:35] >> it. I really am.
[30:37] Thank you.
[30:38] >> All right. Appreciate it.
[30:39] All right. And I'm going to
[30:41] go out of order so we can get them out
[30:43] of here
[30:44] um if if that's okay. John, you don't
[30:47] mind. Oh,
[30:49] we good with that?
[30:51] Um I'm going to I'm going to recognize
[30:52] uh
[30:53] Chair Chase if we can get through those
[30:54] accounts, so we can get them out of
[30:55] here, and then we'll uh finish up with
[30:57] those other accounts if you don't mind.
[30:59] We have uh some some grants to approve
[31:03] this evening.
[31:14] » Thank you, Mr. Moderator. The uh
[31:16] Representative Town Meeting Education
[31:17] Committee met tonight, Wednesday, August
[31:20] 12th, 2026 at 6:30 here at the
[31:23] Thrive 55. In attendance were
[31:26] Representatives
[31:27] Jackie Massett, Christine McElroy,
[31:29] Francis Whitney, Pantea Umres, myself,
[31:33] uh Grant Coordinator Shannon Weigel,
[31:35] Superintendent Susan Austin, and Clint
[31:37] Kennedy, the Director of
[31:39] Technology. And the first grant that we
[31:41] did was the 2026-624
[31:45] T-Mobile Hometown Grant BOE
[31:47] resolution
[31:49] um
[31:50] for the Aluminum Falcons Robotic Team.
[31:53] And the resolution accepting the
[31:55] T-Mobile Hometown Grant for the Board of
[31:57] Education. Now, therefore, be it
[31:59] resolved that the Town Council hereby
[32:01] authorizes acceptance of the $50,000
[32:04] T-Mobile Hometown Grant, authorizes Town
[32:07] Manager John Burt to sign any necessary
[32:09] documents for said grant, refers the
[32:10] item to the RTM per rule 6.5.3, and that
[32:14] was 5-0-0.
[32:16] >> All right, and you move that real quick.
[32:18] >> Oh, I so move.
[32:19] >> Second.
[32:19] >> All right, good.
[32:21] Thank you. Moved by Chair Chase,
[32:22] seconded by uh Dean Shinbrot, so we can
[32:25] talk about it now.
[32:27] Is there anything else to add to that?
[32:30] And again, it's a it's an it's not
[32:32] There's no local matching funds. It's grant. It's just part of our
[32:36] process to go through the RTM and
[32:38] approve it. Um so there really isn't
[32:40] much else to it. We kind of discussed
[32:42] this prior to
[32:43] >> to get it started in the foundational
[32:45] work, the circuitry, and that kind of
[32:46] thing. Now [clears throat] for the next
[32:48] big part.
[32:49] >> All right. Anyone online or in the dais
[32:52] have any questions or comments on this
[32:54] main motion on the floor?
[32:57] All right. Seeing none, I'll call for a
[32:59] vote on 2026-624
[33:01] T-Mobile Hometown Grant uh in the amount
[33:05] of $50,000. All those in favor, please
[33:07] say I.
[33:07] >> I.
[33:10] >> Is there anyone opposed?
[33:13] Any abstentions?
[33:16] All right. Motion carries unanimously.
[33:17] We have 32 members present, so it's
[33:20] 32-0-0.
[33:21] All right. Thank you.
[33:24] >> Uh the next one is 2026-648
[33:26] USDA Farm to School Implementation Grant
[33:29] BOE Resolution.
[33:31] The resolution authorizing acceptance of
[33:32] the USDA Farm to School Implementation
[33:35] Grant. Now, therefore, be it resolved
[33:37] that the Groton Town Council hereby
[33:39] authorizes the acceptance of the USDA
[33:41] Farm to School Implementation Grant in
[33:43] the amount of $100,000, authorizes Town
[33:46] Manager John Burt to execute all
[33:48] documents and refer the item to the RTM
[33:51] per rule 6.5.3.
[33:55] >> So moved.
[33:55] >> I so move.
[33:57] >> All right. Motion was moved by Chair
[33:58] Chase, seconded by Powers S
[34:01] uh for the amount of $100,000 for item
[34:04] 2026-648.
[34:07] All right. Is there any uh discussion on
[34:08] this that you'd like to share with the
[34:10] group?
[34:11] >> That was a 5-0-0 vote.
[34:13] >> Okay.
[34:13] >> Um there is a match that for this grant
[34:16] and they I was told that it was already
[34:17] in the current budget. And 1/3 of this money goes to salaries, 1/3 to
[34:23] large equipment such as refrigerators,
[34:25] which are $12,000 apiece, roughly. And
[34:29] 1/3 goes to programming, um
[34:31] professional development, supplies, etc.
[34:34] >> Okay. And and again, in the resolution
[34:36] it tells you what the matching grant was
[34:38] or or the money that was required. It
[34:40] was $42,684,
[34:42] which was approved by this group
[34:46] for the uh the fiscal year of ending in
[34:49] '27. So, if there's any questions, we
[34:51] could open up the floor for discussion
[34:53] on this.
[34:56] Anyone?
[34:57] All right.
[34:59] Seeing none, I'll call for a vote on
[35:00] 2026-648 USDA Farm to School
[35:02] Implementation
[35:06] Grant. The amount is $100,000.
[35:09] All those in favor, please say I.
[35:10] >> I.
[35:13] >> Anyone opposed, please say no.
[35:16] Any abstentions?
[35:18] One abstention.
[35:19] Uh so, it passes 1 uh 31-0-1
[35:24] abstaining, Perella.
[35:26] All right. Thank you very much. Uno mas.
[35:30] >> The next one, 2026-647
[35:32] Department of Emergency Services and
[35:34] Public Protection Grant BOE Resolution.
[35:37] authorizing acceptance of the
[35:39] Department of Emergency Services and
[35:40] Public Protection DESPP Grant. Now,
[35:44] therefore, be it resolved that the
[35:46] Groton Town Council hereby accepts the
[35:47] Department of Emergency Services and
[35:50] Public Protection DESPP Grant in the
[35:53] amount of $191,030
[35:55] for the Groton Public Schools.
[35:57] Authorizes the Town Manager, John Burt,
[35:59] to execute any and all documents
[36:01] necessary and to refer the item to the
[36:03] RTM per rule 6.5.3.
[36:06] I so move.
[36:07] >> Second.
[36:08] >> All right. Motion was moved by Chair
[36:09] Chase, seconded by Representative Adams
[36:12] for of $191,030.
[36:19] All right. And I open up the floor for
[36:21] discussion on this.
[36:22] >> This one also has a match of $47,758,
[36:25] which has already been budgeted.
[36:28] >> All right. And And what was the vote
[36:29] total on this one?
[36:30] >> Oh, 5. I mean, five
[36:32] to zero to zero. I'm sorry.
[36:34] >> All right. I open up the floor for any
[36:36] discussion on this, Representative
[36:37] Weaver.
[36:38] >> I was just wondering, could you just
[36:39] give a brief overview of what the funds
[36:41] will be used for?
[36:42] >> Sure.
[36:43] >> [clears throat]
[36:43] >> Hi, Clint Kennedy. I'm the tech
[36:44] director. Um we wrote this in '23,
[36:48] submitted in '24. It was put on hold for
[36:50] a while, that's why you may see some
[36:51] earlier dates. We were very excited 6
[36:53] months ago when it resurfaced. Um
[36:56] there's It really is in kind of two
[36:58] parts. It's It's adding protection
[37:00] locally to our network and our end-user
[37:02] devices.
[37:03] Um and the second piece is engaging in licensing with a SOC. It's called a
[37:08] security operations center. There are
[37:11] those out there. It's
[37:12] I guess the best analogy is if you own a
[37:14] castle, it's a provider you ask to come
[37:16] in and build a moat around it. So, it's
[37:18] a really an early warning um opportunity
[37:21] or or or engagement so that as
[37:25] um
[37:25] we see cyber attacks happening, other
[37:27] bad actors in the area, um we get some
[37:30] early warning before it actually comes
[37:32] in. Um I'm on a few of the boards at the
[37:34] state level, and we're actually
[37:36] discussing how this can be implemented
[37:38] through the Connecticut Education
[37:39] Network, which is a public-private
[37:41] partnership uh that really that provides
[37:43] internet access for all 169 um
[37:47] municipalities and school districts and
[37:49] so forth. We're hoping that this will
[37:50] become an offering, a lower-cost
[37:52] offering.
[37:53] This grant would cover our access to a
[37:56] SOC in the interim. No promises that CEN
[37:59] will have this, but the hope is that
[38:01] this would be a bridge so that we would
[38:02] have a far lower cost through the CEN in
[38:04] the future. Um I always, when I write
[38:06] these, I want to keep in mind, am I Am I
[38:09] adding to the burden of an operating
[38:10] budget and so forth? But this was really
[38:12] that part of this particular grant we
[38:14] wrote was as a bridging agent to get to
[38:16] it before we get that low-cost solution
[38:17] through the state.
[38:19] >> Follow-up question. So, how long will
[38:21] these funds cover What period of time
[38:23] will these funds cover? And if we don't
[38:25] get them, will they be in the next
[38:26] cycle, fiscal cycle?
[38:27] >> From the distributor [clears throat] of
[38:29] this grant, we have to until November of
[38:32] 2028 to use these funds.
[38:34] >> Wow.
[38:35] Great.
[38:36] >> Yeah, they kicked it down the road a
[38:36] little bit because they made us wait for
[38:38] a while, so.
[38:39] >> Thank you so very much.
[38:40] >> Yeah, sure.
[38:41] >> All right. Any other questions for this
[38:44] main motion on the floor?
[38:49] Okay. Seeing none, I'll call for a vote
[38:51] on 2026-647,
[38:54] Department of Emergency Services and
[38:57] Public Protection Grant in the amount of
[38:59] $191,030.
[39:02] All those in favor, please say I.
[39:04] >> I.
[39:06] >> All those opposed, please say no.
[39:09] Any abstentions? One abstention.
[39:12] So, motion passes, 31-0-1
[39:16] abstention. That's Perella.
[39:18] Okay.
[39:21] Just add the Just need to move the
[39:23] minutes, please.
[39:24] >> I'd like to move to to accept the
[39:26] minutes of tonight's meeting.
[39:27] >> Second.
[39:28] >> All right. Motion was moved by Chase,
[39:30] seconded by DeGraffenreidt, to move the
[39:32] minutes. Any questions on the minutes?
[39:35] All right. Seeing none, all those in
[39:36] favor, please say I.
[39:37] >> I.
[39:38] >> Opposed, please say no. Abstentions?
[39:42] All right. Motion carries unanimously,
[39:43] 32-0-0. Thank you, Chair Chase, and
[39:46] thank you, Board of Ed. Appreciate you.
[39:49] All right. Moving on
[39:53] to our other committees,
[39:55] uh Finance. Chair Powers, yes. You got
[39:58] something for us here?
[39:59] >> I sure do.
[40:00] >> All right.
[40:00] >> We had a meeting tonight. It started at
[40:02] 6:00. Representative Chase was late.
[40:05] Representative Shinall was excused. Uh
[40:08] our new business was the Community
[40:10] Collective Grant Resolution. I'd asked
[40:12] Representative Gardner to read that into
[40:14] the
[40:15] record tonight, please.
[40:16] >> [clears throat]
[40:17] >> Resolution authorizing acceptance of a
[40:19] community connectivity grant for the
[40:21] Groton Crosstown Greenway Wayfinding
[40:23] Project.
[40:26] Now, therefore, be it resolved that the
[40:27] town
[40:29] that the Groton Town Council hereby
[40:30] accepts the community connectivity grant
[40:32] in the amount of $141,791
[40:37] and authorizes the town manager to
[40:39] execute all documents necessary to
[40:41] implement the Groton Crosstown Greenway
[40:44] Wayfinding Project and refers the item
[40:46] to the RTM per rule 6.5.3.
[40:51] >> So moved.
[40:52] >> I got it.
[40:52] >> All right. Motion moved by Gardner M.
[40:56] Seconded by Zizulka.
[40:58] I open up the floor.
[41:00] >> Well, it was pretty straightforward um
[41:06] as far as the grant was concerned.
[41:08] >> All right. And what was the vote? What
[41:10] was the vote?
[41:10] >> was 6 to 0 to 0.
[41:12] >> All right. Are there any matching funds
[41:14] that are required in this?
[41:16] >> I don't believe so.
[41:20] » Town Manager Burt?
[41:21] >> Regarding the grant, there was already some money budgeted, 60,000 I
[41:25] believe.
[41:26] >> Okay.
[41:26] >> In advance. [snorts]
[41:27] >> That was Was that a CIP? Was that a CIP
[41:30] or was it a Just Okay. All right. So,
[41:33] there was already money allocated
[41:34] through a CIP in this fiscal year's
[41:37] budget that we already approved for this
[41:39] project. Um I happen to watch the Town
[41:41] Council meeting and this is just trying
[41:42] to tie in
[41:44] a hiking trail that basically goes all
[41:48] the way around the town of Groton. So,
[41:50] that if you wanted to hike from my house
[41:53] and go back to my house, you could find
[41:56] the
[41:58] outer perimeter of Groton uh through
[42:01] these waypoints. Uh we also have
[42:02] Director Barry here um in case any
[42:05] anyone has any questions.
[42:06] >> We talked about the greenways and the
[42:08] bikes and the different signages and
[42:10] things [clears throat] like that. And I
[42:11] mean, Marcus here, we talked a little
[42:12] bit about the emergencies and the
[42:14] different classifications of bikes
[42:16] between pedestrians and and cycles and
[42:18] >> Okay.
[42:19] >> Representative Weaver, do you have a
[42:20] question?
[42:21] >> I guess this is probably random silly
[42:23] question, but the connectivity, of
[42:24] course, if you're going to be connecting
[42:26] paths through the woods, is this to pay
[42:28] for the clearing and the creation of it?
[42:31] >> I don't think all areas are
[42:33] trails, is that correct?
[42:35] >> What does What does the funds cover
[42:36] again?
[42:36] >> This is uh
[42:38] there will be no new construction
[42:40] covered under this. This is
[42:43] uh essentially we're creating a
[42:44] wayfinding plan for
[42:47] uh existing sidewalks, roads, and paths
[42:50] and things like that. It's to
[42:53] um
[42:54] improve connectivity through better
[42:57] signage, so that people feel more
[42:59] comfortable getting from point A to
[43:01] point B. This crosstown trail starts
[43:04] over in the city and actually goes all
[43:06] the way over to Mystic. Uh
[43:09] yeah, and we're utilizing We have worked
[43:12] with
[43:13] uh Avalonia, Groton Open Space. We're
[43:15] working with the city, the town, and
[43:18] we'll be working with the state to get
[43:19] all the signage uh along this entire
[43:22] route, so that people feel more
[43:23] comfortable being out and not getting
[43:26] lost because of a lack of signage.
[43:30] >> So, the predominant cost will be the
[43:32] creation and placement of the signage, I
[43:34] would say.
[43:34] >> Yes, that is correct.
[43:35] >> Thank you so much.
[43:36] >> Yeah.
[43:38] >> I have just one question. Director
[43:39] Avery, can you do us one favor and just
[43:41] tell us about the master plan that we
[43:43] had together? This is all part of that
[43:45] plan.
[43:45] >> Uh sure. So, in 2022, we did a um
[43:50] a recreation master plan. We updated the
[43:52] previous master plan, which I think was
[43:54] done in 2009.
[43:56] Um part of that master plan was a
[43:59] recreational needs assessment. So, and
[44:01] this was a statistically valid survey
[44:04] that um
[44:06] we sent out and got over 400 responses
[44:09] back and you know, one of the questions
[44:12] was future needs of the community and
[44:15] um,
[44:16] one of the highest future needs was
[44:18] better connectivity to parks, open
[44:21] space.
[44:23] Um, so this
[44:24] uh, this particular project aligns with
[44:27] what the community said they wanted
[44:30] uh, in 2022.
[44:33] >> Thank you.
[44:34] >> Yeah.
[44:34] >> Okay.
[44:36] Are there any other questions on this
[44:37] main motion?
[44:41] » Make I make a motion to move 141 back.
[44:43] >> already did
[44:44] >> Oh, you did already?
[44:45] >> Yeah, we already did that. M. Gardner
[44:47] did that, so we're good. Um,
[44:49] any other questions before I call the
[44:51] vote?
[44:53] All right, seeing none. Uh, I'll call
[44:56] for a vote on 2026-584
[44:59] community connectivity grant in the
[45:00] amount of 141,000
[45:03] $791.
[45:05] All those in favor, please say I.
[45:06] >> I.
[45:09] >> Is there anyone opposed?
[45:11] Any abstentions?
[45:13] All right, motion carries unanimously
[45:14] 3200. Thank you.
[45:16] >> Thank you, Director Barry.
[45:18] Next one on the list was 2026-672
[45:22] the Deep River Conic Bridge Neighborhood
[45:24] Resilience Hub Planning Project. Uh,
[45:27] Representative Pulaski, could you read
[45:29] that into the record for me, please?
[45:33] » Resolution to enter into an agreement
[45:36] with the Connecticut Department of
[45:37] Energy and Environmental Protection
[45:39] CTDEEP
[45:41] to accept the Climate Resilience Fund
[45:43] Grant. Resolved that the Groton Town
[45:46] Council accepts the Climate Resilience
[45:48] Fund Grant in the amount of 250,000,
[45:53] enters into contracts with CTDEEP for
[45:56] said grant, and refers the item to the
[45:59] RTM per rule 6.5.3,
[46:02] and be it further resolved, John Burt,
[46:05] the town manager, is duly authorized to
[46:07] enter into the and sign said contracts
[46:10] on behalf of the town of Groton. John
[46:13] Burt currently holds the title of town
[46:15] manager and has held that office since
[46:17] May 2017. The town manager is further
[46:20] authorized to provide such additional
[46:23] information, execute such other
[46:25] documents as may be required by the
[46:28] state or federal government in
[46:30] connection with said contracts and to
[46:32] execute execute any amendments,
[46:34] rescissions, and revisions thereto. So
[46:37] moved.
[46:39] >> Second.
[46:40] >> All right.
[46:42] » Yeah, we got one revision, right?
[46:44] >> Okay. Uh all right. Pulaski moved it.
[46:48] Gardner M seconded it. I'm going to make
[46:51] an an amendment to that motion to change
[46:54] the
[46:55] uh wording under be it further resolved
[46:57] since instead of saying since May 2017,
[47:00] it should say July 2017. So, that's the
[47:04] typo.
[47:05] Is that all right?
[47:06] >> Yeah.
[47:07] >> Okay. So, now we we can chit-chat. All
[47:09] right, go ahead. Oh, did Wait, did
[47:10] anybody second my amendment?
[47:12] >> Second.
[47:13] >> All right. Uh seconded by
[47:15] Aubrey. Thank you. Okay, so now we have
[47:17] the amended motion on the floor.
[47:20] >> So, we talked about the different areas
[47:21] of the resilient program. We talked
[47:23] about uh funding for Fort Hill Homes, uh
[47:27] the community center, urban heat
[47:28] environment. There's different things
[47:30] that went on with the discussion and
[47:32] Director Reiner's here to
[47:34] give us any further discussion on it.
[47:35] >> Okay. I open up the floor if anybody has
[47:38] any questions for Director Reiner.
[47:40] Representative Weaver.
[47:42] >> As with the others, I think it's
[47:43] important because this is videotaped and
[47:45] a lot of people can't be here. Could you
[47:47] just give a brief overview of what the
[47:48] funds will be used for?
[47:49] >> Sure.
[47:50] Thank you. John Reiner, Director of
[47:51] Planning Development and Public Works.
[47:53] So, this is a planning grant. It's a
[47:55] $250,000 grant. There's no matching
[47:58] funds required. And this will allow us
[48:00] to look at how we can design our
[48:02] community center, which we've already
[48:03] put a number of CIP dollars into it that
[48:06] we awarded in this current budget year
[48:10] as a resilience hub. So that is
[48:11] something that will allow us to look at
[48:14] having a cooling station for people, a
[48:16] heating station for different times when
[48:18] climate might not work well for us,
[48:20] having backup power there, as well as
[48:23] also making that accessible indoors and
[48:26] outdoors for people in the community.
[48:28] Again, that's a center that we're
[48:29] already putting a lot of focus into.
[48:31] This was an item that was called out in
[48:33] both our climate action plan as well as
[48:35] in our plan of conservation and
[48:36] development. And anytime that we look to
[48:39] do these policies and plans, we do our
[48:42] best to try to find grants to do that,
[48:44] and that's what we did in this instance.
[48:47] >> Follow question. I know we were looking
[48:49] into something with the community center
[48:51] and using a portion of that space in
[48:52] something. A proposal went forward as
[48:55] for us the cooling center or type thing
[48:57] for our community. Has that been moved
[49:00] in it is that being in consideration
[49:02] with this as well? Cuz I had to put this
[49:03] worry, you said that.
[49:05] >> Yeah, so one of the
[49:07] design portions of this is looking at
[49:09] our community center as a heating and
[49:11] cooling center.
[49:12] >> Okay, thank you very much.
[49:14] >> You're welcome.
[49:15] >> All right, any other questions on the
[49:16] main motion on the floor?
[49:22] Very well.
[49:24] Seeing none, I'll call for a vote on
[49:27] item 2026-672
[49:30] DEEP Pequannock Bridge Neighborhood
[49:34] Resiliency Hub Planning Project in the
[49:36] amount of $250,000.
[49:39] All those in favor, please say aye.
[49:40] >> Aye.
[49:43] >> All those opposed, please say no.
[49:46] Are there any abstentions?
[49:48] Motion carries unanimously on the
[49:50] amended figure on the uh the amended
[49:53] motion on the floor.
[49:54] >> Yes.
[49:54] I just want to make sure I say that.
[49:56] All right, great.
[49:58] Continuing on, sir.
[50:00] >> Uh uh 2026-673-2
[50:04] reallocation of ARPA funds resolution.
[50:06] Uh Representative Norman brought it
[50:08] forward. I ask her to read the
[50:09] resolution into the record, please.
[50:17] » Resolution amending the allocation of American Rescue Act Plan Act funds
[50:23] and establishing an automatic
[50:24] contingency reallocation to the Sutton
[50:26] Park revitalization project.
[50:29] Um
[50:32] Be it resolved that the Grafton Town
[50:34] Council hereby approves the following
[50:36] adjustments to the town's ARPA funding
[50:38] structure and refers the same to the RTM
[50:41] per rule 6.5.3 reallocation of $200,000.
[50:46] The $200,000 ARPA allocation previously
[50:49] designated for the housing
[50:50] rehabilitation and home buyers
[50:52] assistance program is hereby rescinded
[50:54] and reallocated directly to the Sutton
[50:56] Park revitalization project cover
[50:59] documented bid overruns and automatic
[51:02] contingency catchall. Any and all
[51:04] additional excess ARPA funds returned to
[51:06] the town from previously obligated
[51:09] projects to December 31st, 2026 shall
[51:12] automatically be reallocated to the
[51:14] Sutton Park revitalization project for
[51:16] upward cost adjustments without
[51:18] requiring further council action. And
[51:20] may it be further resolved that John
[51:22] Burt in his capacity as town manager be
[51:25] and hereby is authorized and directed to
[51:27] execute on behalf of the town any
[51:29] necessary administrative amendments,
[51:31] interagency agreements, or documentation
[51:33] required to confirm these updated ARPA
[51:35] obligations.
[51:37] >> That motion passed committee 6-0-0.
[51:39] >> Can we just move that real quick?
[51:41] >> So moved.
[51:42] >> Second.
[51:43] >> All right, motion was moved seconded by
[51:45] Chase. Sounds good. All right. All
[51:47] right, we can open it up.
[51:48] So, we've talked about the insolution
[51:50] insta-
[51:51] installation of lights,
[51:53] curving. We talked about
[51:55] funding and over the you know, the money
[51:57] over overage
[51:59] that we had for the project. We
[52:01] discussed you know, what's the use it or
[52:03] lose it play that we return it or we use
[52:05] it and this is
[52:06] an allocated fund for the ARPA funding.
[52:09] Rep-
[52:10] Director Reiner is here for any other
[52:11] questions.
[52:13] Representative Weaver.
[52:15] >> So,
[52:16] thank you, moderator, and thank you.
[52:18] [clears throat] Um
[52:19] my obvious question is is because when
[52:21] we do project planning as always and
[52:23] various things over the years,
[52:25] we come into these overruns. So, I guess
[52:29] I would like to know like what the
[52:30] actual project was initially bid for and
[52:33] what was the cause of the overruns? Was
[52:35] it materials, products, labor? And
[52:38] although this is being taken away from
[52:39] home buyers program, which we're having
[52:42] all this growth in Groton, which is
[52:44] going to inhibit people who aren't aware
[52:47] of how to do that and to come here. So,
[52:49] we're kind of inhibiting growth in one
[52:52] area to pay for overruns of a project
[52:55] that was perhaps bid on appropriately in
[52:57] the first place to the tune of almost a
[52:59] quarter of a million dollars. Can you
[53:00] please explain how that happened?
[53:03] >> Sure. So, all of our projects are bid
[53:05] appropriately. Um
[53:07] >> Well, I meant competitively. Sorry.
[53:08] >> It was bid very competitively and we are
[53:11] seeing this on basically every project
[53:13] that we bid now. We do estimates, we
[53:15] work with architects, we work with our
[53:16] design engineers, with our team and
[53:18] projects are consistently coming in
[53:20] significantly over what the estimated
[53:22] cost is because there's a shortage in
[53:24] construction, materials, labor,
[53:26] everything you mentioned, it's it's
[53:28] higher than we expect and what the
[53:30] previous cost was. I mean, we're seeing
[53:32] houses in neighborhoods sell for a lot
[53:34] more money than any of us think that
[53:35] they're worth. So, um unfortunately,
[53:37] there's not a lot we can do about the
[53:38] cost overruns that we have. We would
[53:40] love to spend this money on the housing
[53:43] program that we initially
[53:45] wanted to. The problem is we cannot find
[53:48] the consultants and the people to
[53:49] actually help us process those and spend
[53:52] that money. So, this is either a use it
[53:53] or lose it and if we don't spend this
[53:55] money by December 31st of 2026, we lose
[53:58] it. The federal government made some
[54:00] changes to how we can spend ARPA money,
[54:03] which this falls under, and said the
[54:05] excess money we can't start a new
[54:06] project. We can only take that extra
[54:08] money now and reallocate it to a project
[54:11] that was bid previously and had money
[54:14] allocated to it prior to December 31st,
[54:17] 2024 that had cost overruns. And the
[54:20] only eligible project that we had under
[54:22] that was Sutton Park. So, for example,
[54:26] Representative Powers who brought it up
[54:28] in the bid that we received for Sutton
[54:30] Park, we received a bid that included
[54:33] the cost of buying the lights, but they
[54:34] left out the cost the $200,000 cost of
[54:37] installing the lights. So, that's
[54:39] something that we will be able to do
[54:40] with this, as well as additional things
[54:42] like curbing, [clears throat]
[54:43] >> [snorts]
[54:43] >> some sidewalks, and other improvements
[54:45] that we had to cut out of the bid in
[54:47] order to get it to the budgeted amount
[54:49] that we had. So, we will be able to put
[54:51] things back in that we had to cut out of
[54:53] the project so we can get those things
[54:55] done.
[54:56] >> That's very informative and it makes
[54:57] complete logical sense why you made the
[54:58] decisions. So, lastly, because I'm sure
[55:01] all of the people that want to utilize
[55:02] Sutton Park have these cost overruns
[55:04] changed the end date and the
[55:06] reoccupancy, do you have a scheduled
[55:07] date when it'll be available back to our
[55:09] public?
[55:10] >> Um I believe uh too bad Mark Berry left.
[55:13] Um I believe right now we're shooting
[55:15] for it's going to be late spring of '27,
[55:18] early summer '27.
[55:20] >> Thank you very much.
[55:21] >> You're welcome.
[55:23] >> Great. Any other questions on the main
[55:25] motion on the floor?
[55:28] » Moderator, we have 30 in attendance.
[55:30] >> Yes. Yeah, uh
[55:32] Representative Zizalka informed me he'd
[55:34] be leaving so we're at 31.
[55:36] >> Um
[55:37] we're at 29 then.
[55:39] >> What what happened?
[55:39] >> We lost um
[55:42] Baxton and um Red
[55:44] >> Oh boy.
[55:44] >> Sizolka, so we're at
[55:46] 29.
[55:47] >> Who who else did we lose?
[55:49] >> Um
[55:49] >> Baxton, oh and Ambrechts, okay. I
[55:51] apologize.
[55:53] All right, let me get that number right.
[55:56] We're at 29.
[55:58] Ambrechts
[56:00] and Baxton, 29, okay. Thank you.
[56:05] All right,
[56:06] uh seeing no hands, we're going to call
[56:08] for a vote on 2026-673
[56:11] reallocation of ARPA funds resolution
[56:15] and that's in the amount of $200,000.
[56:20] All those in favor, please say aye.
[56:22] >> Aye.
[56:24] >> All those opposed, please say no.
[56:28] Are there any abstentions? All right,
[56:30] motion carries 29-0-0.
[56:34] Okay.
[56:34] >> Okay. The last but not least.
[56:36] >> Last one.
[56:37] >> 2026-612-2,
[56:39] the Groton Heights property transfer
[56:42] agreement with the Bill Memorial
[56:43] Library. I'd ask Representative Chase to
[56:46] read into the record the resolution,
[56:47] please.
[56:48] >> Thank you. Resolution authorizing
[56:50] property transfer agreement with Bill
[56:51] Memorial Library.
[56:53] Uh res- be it resolved that the town
[56:56] approves the boundary line and easement
[56:58] agreement with the Bill Memorial Library
[56:59] and authorizes the town manager to make
[57:01] minor non-substantive revisions
[57:05] and execute all documents necessary to
[57:07] effectuate the property transfer and
[57:09] related easements and be it further
[57:11] resolved, acceptance and transfer of the
[57:14] property from and to the Bill Memorial
[57:16] Library and to the easements
[57:18] uh and the easements to the state of
[57:20] Connecticut is referred to the
[57:22] representative town meeting pursuant to
[57:25] rule 6.5.3. I so move.
[57:27] >> Second.
[57:28] >> All right, uh moved by Chase, seconded
[57:31] by Adams for the motion on the floor for
[57:35] 2026-612.
[57:39] » Uh basically the committee asked a few
[57:41] questions. It passed 6 to 0 and nothing
[57:43] to 0. And was more about the land swap
[57:46] and the
[57:47] >> Yes.
[57:47] >> I actually have a diagram and a drawing
[57:49] that
[57:49] >> Yep. And I know we spoke of this several
[57:52] times over the past few years. There was
[57:54] a
[57:55] In order to
[57:56] I'll leave it over to town manager Bert
[57:58] to give the little bit of description
[57:59] here.
[58:04] Up there. There we go.
[58:06] >> Okay. Just familiarizing you with where
[58:09] we're at. We're of course uh
[58:11] You see at the lower part of that aerial
[58:13] photo where the uh monument is.
[58:16] Just north of that you see Groton
[58:18] Heights and that long sidewalk heading
[58:22] west there.
[58:23] So everything
[58:25] if you can see it, everything within
[58:26] this yellow box, this parcel is all part
[58:29] of the Groton Heights parcel.
[58:31] This is owned by Bill Memorial Library
[58:33] including this offshoot here. Now this
[58:35] has been leased this section right here
[58:37] has been leased to the town since I
[58:39] believe 1992.
[58:41] Uh
[58:42] For several years the town has been
[58:44] working with Bill Memorial Library.
[58:45] They're interested in swapping this
[58:47] piece here to the west of Groton Heights
[58:50] for this piece here for the north which
[58:52] when you look at it looks like it's
[58:53] already part of the Groton Heights
[58:55] property cuz we've leased it for so
[58:57] long.
[58:58] With the Bill Memorial Library and this
[59:00] is a This is 0.52 acres down here and
[59:02] this is 0.41 acres up there. It'd be an
[59:05] even swap. Uh the Bill Memorial Library
[59:08] has a grant and opera grants to do an
[59:10] outdoor education space. They want to do
[59:12] some landscaping here, make sure no
[59:14] development happens between the library
[59:16] and the monument, and do some outdoor uh education space.
[59:21] So what we're looking for is approval
[59:23] just to accept uh
[59:25] the this property to the town.
[59:29] >> And then give them the other piece.
[59:31] >> Yes. The that's that's not part of this
[59:33] piece. I mean, it is, but the approval
[59:36] is only for the
[59:37] >> It's only for that piece.
[59:39] >> already been approved for the lower
[59:40] piece.
[59:40] >> Would we have to do another one, uh,
[59:42] eventually for that other piece?
[59:45] >> No.
[59:45] >> Okay.
[59:46] >> It's just an easement.
[59:47] Okay.
[59:49] >> No, not we're we're swapping. We had
[59:51] already had previous approval to sell
[59:53] the property, but [clears throat] we
[59:55] have to have approval to accept any
[59:56] property over 10,000 in value. So, the
[59:59] that north piece is assumed to be over
[1:00:01] 10,000.
[1:00:02] >> Understood. And that's all part of
[1:00:04] that's all charter.
[1:00:09] >> [clears throat]
[1:00:09] >> Yes, for the charter.
[1:00:13] » Don't mind me.
[1:00:15] All right.
[1:00:17] Any other questions? Main motion on the
[1:00:19] floor, Representative Weaver.
[1:00:21] >> So, a simple question. Since it's a land
[1:00:23] swap and it's only like a matter of an
[1:00:25] acre, so it won't really change taxes or
[1:00:27] assessments that much.
[1:00:28] >> Well, neither of them are taxed right
[1:00:30] now.
[1:00:30] >> Oh, they're not?
[1:00:31] >> No.
[1:00:31] >> Oh, okay.
[1:00:33] Thank you.
[1:00:33] >> All right. Any other questions? Main
[1:00:35] motion? I have, uh, Representative
[1:00:37] Watson.
[1:00:38] >> Yeah, yeah.
[1:00:40] uh I I seem to recall years ago
[1:00:43] there was a uh a paper road through Groton Heights property. Is that
[1:00:50] still part of on the deed or whatever?
[1:00:53] >> Yeah.
[1:00:53] >> Kind of between
[1:00:58] » Yeah.
[1:00:58] >> It was It was on the Groton Heights
[1:01:00] property about where the line ends up
[1:01:03] where that piece we leased forever. I
[1:01:06] think seem to seem to remember there was
[1:01:07] some kind of
[1:01:08] uh, paper driveway or something there
[1:01:11] that was in the in the deed. Is that
[1:01:13] still going to stay there?
[1:01:15] >> There There is a paper driveway all the
[1:01:17] way across from Bill Memorial Library.
[1:01:19] It's approximately where that drive into
[1:01:22] Bill Memorial is
[1:01:23] and it goes across um
[1:01:25] I anticipate at some point uh
[1:01:28] removing the paper street.
[1:01:32] >> Okay, that would that's my question
[1:01:33] because that would be in
[1:01:35] >> it's not needed right now, but it is in
[1:01:36] progress.
[1:01:38] >> Okay, thank you very much.
[1:01:41] >> Yes, Representative Massett.
[1:01:43] >> I
[1:01:44] Oh, excuse me. I will be abstaining from
[1:01:47] this vote. I sit on the board of Bill
[1:01:50] Memorial.
[1:01:52] >> Thank you for declaring that.
[1:01:54] Any other questions about the main
[1:01:56] motion on the floor?
[1:01:59] Very well, seeing none, I'll call for a
[1:02:01] vote on 2026-612
[1:02:03] Groton Heights property transfer
[1:02:05] agreement with Bill Memorial Library.
[1:02:07] All those in favor, please say I.
[1:02:09] >> I.
[1:02:12] » All those opposed, please say no.
[1:02:15] And one abstention, Massett.
[1:02:18] >> Yes.
[1:02:18] >> All right, so that motion carries
[1:02:20] 28-0-1.
[1:02:22] Thank you. I'll just need a motion to
[1:02:24] approve the minutes, please.
[1:02:25] >> Yeah, we we adjourned at 6:25 and uh
[1:02:30] Representative Norman O'Flaherty
[1:02:32] make a motion to accept our minutes to
[1:02:34] the meeting, please.
[1:02:35] >> Second.
[1:02:36] >> All right, motion was moved by Powers as
[1:02:38] seconded by Weaver to approve the
[1:02:39] minutes from the Finance Committee from
[1:02:41] this evening. All um any questions?
[1:02:44] All those in favor, please say I.
[1:02:46] >> I.
[1:02:47] >> Any opposed, please say no.
[1:02:49] Any abstentions?
[1:02:51] All right, motion carries unanimously
[1:02:52] 29-0-0. Thank you, Director Rynder, for
[1:02:55] uh coming on down this evening.
[1:02:57] All right, are there any other committee
[1:02:58] reports?
[1:03:01] Um again, this is this is August and I'm
[1:03:04] just throwing this out to our um
[1:03:06] our folks in Community Development and
[1:03:08] Services. We still have that active
[1:03:09] referral related to uh finding a student
[1:03:12] liaison, so uh just keep it on your
[1:03:15] radar that school is almost starting. I
[1:03:16] don't want to say that out loud or else
[1:03:19] it'll, you know, happen too quickly, but
[1:03:22] if if you guys can think about meeting
[1:03:24] or speaking and reaching out. Do you
[1:03:25] have any updates on
[1:03:26] >> Yeah, just a quick one. I
[1:03:28] um
[1:03:29] we had a phone call to the
[1:03:30] superintendent um
[1:03:33] today and she's been so busy, so we will
[1:03:35] be meeting soon when the school starts.
[1:03:38] >> Great. Thank you.
[1:03:39] All right. Just want to keep it on the
[1:03:41] radar so we can find somebody
[1:03:43] fresh and ready to go for the school
[1:03:45] year. Add more on their plate, right?
[1:03:48] Okay.
[1:03:49] Uh any other committee reports or
[1:03:51] referrals? All right. I don't see any.
[1:03:53] Liaison reports. Do we have any liaison
[1:03:55] reports?
[1:03:56] Nothing. All right.
[1:03:58] Any budget discussion? Item K, budget
[1:04:01] discussion.
[1:04:04] Yes, Representative Aubrey. Just grab
[1:04:06] the microphone if you don't mind,
[1:04:07] please.
[1:04:13] » Uh I just wanted to mention that uh for
[1:04:15] your
[1:04:16] for the town's night out
[1:04:18] uh we we got the beautification
[1:04:21] committee got a call from the recreation
[1:04:24] director, Mr. Barry, who was here
[1:04:26] tonight.
[1:04:27] And uh as you enter
[1:04:30] the park where they were having
[1:04:31] everything, it looked pretty bad and a
[1:04:34] bunch of us got down there from the
[1:04:37] beautification meeting and committee and
[1:04:39] got it cleaned up. So,
[1:04:41] working together.
[1:04:43] >> Thank you. And thank you to you and the
[1:04:45] other folks that went out there and and
[1:04:47] cleaned that up in preparation for
[1:04:49] that night out. Um
[1:04:51] >> There was nothing to say about anything
[1:04:53] that was
[1:04:53] >> got to You just got to rip those weeds
[1:04:55] on out. Just pull them out, roots and
[1:04:56] all. Root to stem, okay? Um
[1:04:59] one other thing and I know one of our
[1:05:01] former members of the RTM is now a town
[1:05:04] councilor.
[1:05:05] Good, he brought it up. There is a need
[1:05:08] throughout this town for folks to help
[1:05:10] clean up certain areas of town. We're
[1:05:12] all from seven different districts.
[1:05:15] I am willing to help out anybody in any
[1:05:17] district
[1:05:18] pulling out weeds, digging a hole,
[1:05:20] putting a plant in, watering it up. Um
[1:05:23] if if you know of an area that is in
[1:05:25] distress that needs some assistance,
[1:05:28] send an email to me or the town manager
[1:05:31] or the town clerk and we'll we'll work
[1:05:33] on trying to get a group of folks. It
[1:05:34] usually only takes about an hour and a half tops to to get like some
[1:05:39] real good work if you had
[1:05:42] a good amount of hands to do it. Um and
[1:05:46] I I I
[1:05:47] hope that we could all get together and
[1:05:49] just kind of keep adding to the the
[1:05:51] beautiful Groton that we have here. Um
[1:05:54] there's a lot of adopted areas that
[1:05:56] we've taken on whether it's Town Hall
[1:05:58] Annex
[1:05:59] um down near Poquonnock Plains Park, the
[1:06:02] police station um even at
[1:06:05] the Town Hall so we can all get together
[1:06:07] and just do that.
[1:06:09] Yes.
[1:06:10] >> Jeez, I should never stop cuz then I
[1:06:12] forget.
[1:06:13] >> I should have just kept rambling, huh?
[1:06:15] >> Yeah. I'm going remember, remember, Yeah, forget it.
[1:06:19] >> I [laughter] apologize. I
[1:06:21] stole your thunder right there.
[1:06:23] All right. Well, you could you could
[1:06:24] talk if it comes up in other business
[1:06:25] right now, we can talk about it there. I
[1:06:27] mean unless there's some other budget
[1:06:29] discussion. Was there any other budget
[1:06:30] discussion?
[1:06:31] Bef-
[1:06:32] Was there budget discussion or can we
[1:06:33] move it to other business,
[1:06:35] Representative Chase?
[1:06:37] >> I have a
[1:06:38] liaison report for the Town Council.
[1:06:40] >> Oh.
[1:06:41] All right.
[1:06:42] Well, we kind of we kind of buzzed right
[1:06:44] through there. So, let's let's wait
[1:06:46] until other business and then we'll go
[1:06:47] for it.
[1:06:49] Representative Chase, we're at other
[1:06:51] business now. So, you can go for it.
[1:06:53] >> [laughter]
[1:06:55] >> I didn't make you wait that long.
[1:06:57] Okay.
[1:07:00] Thank you.
[1:07:00] >> The Town Council met on August 4th and
[1:07:03] they had a lot of stuff on their agenda
[1:07:05] this week. It was um, miscellaneous
[1:07:08] I mean last week sorry, miscellaneous
[1:07:10] regional committee appointments LL HD
[1:07:12] and aquarium regional water district RPB
[1:07:15] resolution Harbor Management Commission
[1:07:18] reappointments.
[1:07:19] Committee connectivity grant T-Mobile
[1:07:23] hometown grant BOE USDA farm to school
[1:07:26] implementation grant BOE Department of
[1:07:28] Emergency Services and Public Protection
[1:07:30] grant BOE
[1:07:32] USWA collective bargaining agreement new
[1:07:35] lead talk telecommunicator job
[1:07:38] description golf professional job
[1:07:40] description updates non-union wage range
[1:07:44] updated CDBG program income reuse plan
[1:07:48] 2026 CDBG small cities grant climate
[1:07:52] action plan endorsement grant Knights
[1:07:54] property transfer agreement with Byram
[1:07:56] River Library
[1:07:58] DEEP Byram River neighborhood resilience
[1:08:01] hub planning project and the
[1:08:03] reallocation of our budget funds.
[1:08:05] >> All right.
[1:08:06] So again, most of the things that we
[1:08:08] dealt with this evening
[1:08:11] was what they dealt with last um,
[1:08:14] last meeting.
[1:08:15] Representative Ober.
[1:08:17] >> Came back into my mind.
[1:08:20] What I wanted to mention that in the
[1:08:22] very near future the beautification
[1:08:24] committee is going to be doing a
[1:08:25] presentation.
[1:08:27] And we're going to show the before and
[1:08:28] after of the areas that we've been
[1:08:30] working on. Because I I don't think most
[1:08:33] people understand right now the
[1:08:35] magnitude of what we're really taking
[1:08:37] care of and what a difference it's made.
[1:08:40] So we wanted to share that so that
[1:08:42] everybody would uh,
[1:08:44] maybe even become more interested in
[1:08:46] coming out and working with
[1:08:47] >> Great. We we'd love to have you. Are you
[1:08:49] going to come here or is beautification
[1:08:52] All right. So whenever that comes up
[1:08:54] we'll make sure that we share that
[1:08:55] YouTube video link with the RTM so that
[1:08:58] they'll know
[1:09:00] uh, what you guys are up to.
[1:09:01] >> Appreciate that very much.
[1:09:02] >> My pleasure.
[1:09:03] Any other other business, Representative
[1:09:05] Weaver?
[1:09:08] » Yes, actually, it's, um, because it's
[1:09:11] relative to our town and the town
[1:09:13] safety,
[1:09:14] of course, our Groton forum has like
[1:09:15] 12,000 members and we always have people
[1:09:18] that are disgruntled about one thing or
[1:09:20] another. So, I just want to say, in
[1:09:21] light of the recent election for the
[1:09:23] primary, in the entire state of
[1:09:25] Connecticut, only 33,000 people showed
[1:09:27] up. So, if you want your voice and
[1:09:28] choice to matter in the actual election
[1:09:31] in November, please make sure you're
[1:09:32] registered to vote and actually go vote
[1:09:34] to make your voice count and heard. So,
[1:09:37] secondly, on the forum, because I'm a
[1:09:39] homeless advocate, there's also been
[1:09:41] some uncompassionate comments about the
[1:09:43] homeless people in our area. Our poverty
[1:09:46] rate has grown to 20% in New London and
[1:09:48] 10% in Groton. People have to be aware
[1:09:51] that we do not have any shelters during
[1:09:53] this time and it's not just due to
[1:09:55] addiction, it's due to homelessness,
[1:09:57] it's due to mental illness, families
[1:09:59] with domestic violence. So, if you can't
[1:10:01] be compassionate and understanding, you
[1:10:03] have a choice to look away. If you want
[1:10:05] to help, that's your choice as well.
[1:10:07] It's all about what you feel comfortable
[1:10:09] for. Hand-in-hand with that, if you
[1:10:10] don't feel comfortable, you can pick up
[1:10:12] the phone and call someone for
[1:10:13] assistance to get assistance for that
[1:10:15] person or to be evaluated. So, I just
[1:10:17] wanted to put that out there. Thank you
[1:10:19] very much.
[1:10:20] >> Thank you. Um, and
[1:10:22] piggybacking off of what you just said,
[1:10:24] Representative Weaver, I'd like to thank
[1:10:25] the, uh, Town Clerk's office for all the
[1:10:27] hard work they did to organize and and
[1:10:29] get that primary going as well as
[1:10:32] register our voters, uh, so that we had
[1:10:34] that primary and it went quite smoothly.
[1:10:36] We had early voting going on now,
[1:10:39] absentee ballots going out. Um, I also
[1:10:41] like to give a shout out to our City
[1:10:42] Clerk as well because they have to also
[1:10:44] maintain, uh, that location as well. So,
[1:10:47] just want to pass that along.
[1:10:49] >> Lastly, the biggest complaint now is the
[1:10:51] announcement of the traffic cameras. I'm
[1:10:53] so thankful to our city and town for
[1:10:55] finally considering those because of the
[1:10:57] speed limits and the two fatalities that
[1:10:59] just happened this last weekend. People
[1:11:01] need to be mindful about where they are,
[1:11:04] that what's around them in their
[1:11:05] surroundings, and they need to go slower
[1:11:07] because it only takes a moment to end or
[1:11:09] change a life. Thank you.
[1:11:10] >> Sure. Um
[1:11:12] and I we don't have speed cameras yet in
[1:11:14] the town, but we're we're working on
[1:11:18] doing that we've Again, I'm just
[1:11:20] speaking as a city councilor.
[1:11:22] We've approved the speed cameras in the
[1:11:25] city and we're having four of them. Two
[1:11:27] are going to be on Clarence B. Sharp
[1:11:29] Highway in both directions. One's going
[1:11:32] to be on Mitchell Street and one's going
[1:11:33] to be on Thames Street. Um
[1:11:37] I don't usually get out very much around
[1:11:38] 2:00, but it
[1:11:40] I can only I can only describe it as
[1:11:43] Frogger.
[1:11:44] All right, and most of us in here know
[1:11:45] Frogger. And whether it's cars zooming
[1:11:48] in and out or people going running
[1:11:50] across the street, it it is a highly risky proposition to go
[1:11:57] out at 2:00. So, I usually wait until
[1:11:59] 5:00 or go out earlier than that, but um
[1:12:02] I I've I've spoken directly with with
[1:12:05] our city mayor to try to increase
[1:12:07] our uh
[1:12:09] signage if possible, if there's grants
[1:12:10] available. We're working with uh
[1:12:13] EB or Pfizer to try to increase that so
[1:12:15] that we have those stop for pedestrians
[1:12:18] because it is a law. If you're at the
[1:12:19] stops if you're at the crosswalk,
[1:12:22] you need to like all drivers need to
[1:12:24] stop.
[1:12:25] And again, that's that's very common in
[1:12:27] Switzerland. Like if
[1:12:29] I went there years ago, but if you're
[1:12:31] anywhere near it, it's an automatic
[1:12:33] stop. There's no sign, there's no
[1:12:34] nothing. It's it's just basically
[1:12:36] ingrained on you, and hopefully we get
[1:12:37] to the point in in our culture where,
[1:12:40] you know, if you see anyone even
[1:12:42] remotely close, you're already yielding
[1:12:44] uh the road to them. So, hopefully we'll
[1:12:46] get that, too.
[1:12:48] Any other other business?
[1:12:51] All right. Seeing none, I'm looking for
[1:12:54] one motion.
[1:12:58] » [laughter]
[1:12:58] >> All right. Motion moved by Power,
[1:13:00] seconded by Adams for adjournment. All
[1:13:02] those in favor, please say I.
[1:13:04] Opposed, please say no. Motion carries
[1:13:07] unanimously. Thank you all for coming.
[1:13:09] Enjoy the rest of your summer.