Southtowns Record

January 13, 2026 Agenda

Government
Town of Wales
Board
Town Board
Meeting
Jan 13, 2026
Kind
Agenda
Topics
Energy and data center siting, Audits and oversight, Public safety, Roads and traffic, Budget and taxes, Parks and recreation, Zoning and land use, Short-term rentals, Water, sewer and drainage

Original document

Same meeting

Text · page 4 of 5

WHEREAS, the Town Board has thoroughly reviewed the Full Environmental Assessment Form (FEAF), the proposed local law,
 and all supporting documentation, and has evaluated the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action pursuant to SEQRA;
 and
 WHEREAS, based on this review, the Town Board finds that the adoption of the Solar Energy Systems Local Law will not result in
 any significant adverse environmental impacts, and that issuance of a Negative Declaration is appropriate;

 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE TOWN BOARD OF THE TOWN OF WALES THAT:
  The Town Board, as Lead Agency, hereby determines that the adoption of Proposed Local Law No. 5 of 2025, “Solar Energy
  Systems,” will not have a significant adverse impact on the environment and hereby issues a Negative Declaration pursuant to
  SEQRA, 6 NYCRR Part 617. The Town Board hereby authorizes the filing, publication, and distribution of the SEQRA
  Negative Declaration in accordance with the applicable requirements of 6 NYCRR Part 617. This resolution shall take effect
  immediately.

  TOWN OF WALES
  RESOLUTION TO ADOPT LOCAL LAW NO. 5 OF 2025
  TO BE KNOWN AS CHAPTER 196 – “SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS”

  WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Wales has determined that an update to the Town Code is necessary to establish
  clear and comprehensive standards for the placement, design, construction, operation, and decommissioning of solar energy
  systems within the Town; and
  WHEREAS, with the assistance of professional planning consultants and the Town Zoning Code Committee, the Town has
  prepared a draft local law entitled “Solar Energy Systems,” to be codified as Chapter 196 of the Code of the Town of Wales; and
  WHEREAS, the Town Board duly introduced Proposed Local Law No. 5 of 2025, entitled “A Local Law to Add Chapter 196 –
  Solar Energy Systems to the Code of the Town of Wales,” and held a public hearing on the 12th day of November 2025, during
  which all interested persons were given the opportunity to be heard; and
  WEREAS, the Town Board, as Lead Agency, completed a coordinated environmental review of this action pursuant to the State
  Environmental Quality Review Act (“SEQRA”), 6 NYCRR Part 617, and issued a Negative Declaration, determining that
  adoption of the Solar Energy Systems Local Law will not result in any significant adverse environmental impacts; and
  WHEREAS, the Town Board has carefully reviewed and considered all public and agency comments received during the public
  review process;
  NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Town Board of the Town of Wales hereby adopts Local Law No. 5 of
  2025, entitled “A Local Law to Add Chapter 196 – Solar Energy Systems to the Code of the Town of Wales”; and
  BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Town Clerk is directed to file said local law with the New York State Secretary of State
  and to undertake all other actions necessary for its lawful filing and implementation.

  Roll Call Vote
  ROLL CALL
  Supervisor Tim Howard Aye
  Councilman David Newman Aye
  Councilman Donald Gallo Aye
  Councilwoman Brenda O’Connor Aye
  Councilman Donald Butcher Absent  Ayes 4 Absent 1
4. 13748 Big Tree Solar Project
Robert Klavoon - No action for the board this evening. We are still waiting for the noise/sound study from the applicant. We've been asking
them for a couple months. They're working on it. The escrow account is under $1000.00. So, I will reach out to them and let them know.
5. Intro Local Law 7-2025 Battery Storage
Supervisor Howard said we will table it tonight, bring it up at the workshop and fix the language.
 Motion#__ By Councilman Newman and second by Councilman Gallo to table and discuss at the workshop, so the language can be
  corrected. 4 aye, 0 noes Carried
6. Update on Dog Control
Supervisor Howard stated that Mindy and I have both been in ongoing contact with Wyoming County.
a briefing on this and am now waiting for the Wyoming County's Board of Supervisors to vote on. One of the issues they were fearful of is that
we would have a hoarding complaint where 40 or 50 dogs were being brought to them. We assured them that our contact with the SPCA ,
that we would contact them. Our normal average impounds complaints have been two to three dogs per year. As we continued to negotiate
this, some suggestions made that if we were to sign with Wyoming County, we might send $150.00 as incentive. That would be non-
reimbursable if we have no dog to drop off, if the dog control officer does drop off a dog it would be one fee of $50.00. So again, this is just
discussion purposes. Our last contract we had was for $3,700 as our initial contract for dog control plus $25 a day for boarding. If we can get
this Wyoming County contract, it would be a big savings.
7. Constable Position
We had interviews with two new applicants, one of them was former animal control officer for the town of Lancaster before his career in the
State Police. The other was a retired sheriff with a wildlife management degree. Both have agreed to help as necessary to handle any dog
complaints also. Our Building Inspector has agreed to be listed as the primary Dog Control Officer; he will be registered with the county for
contact purposes. So, hourly rate would be treated as the constable's rate. we would pay mileage and the constable pay rate. All of which is
significant savings than what we’d paid before. So that's the direction we're going in if the board doesn't object, we'll continue to negotiate with
Wyoming County and final approval of whatever comes back from the board. The Constable positions I shared information with the board is
we scheduled the interviews. Paul Solomon has been a court officer for about 10 years for the town of Wales.
He's expressed a desire to continue in that position. We have four other applicants for what we've agreed to be two positions which we were
hoping for town residents. But it would be my recommendation or motion to the board that we appoint Paul Solomon. Councilman Newman
participated in the interview with these next two individuals. William Garland, a retired State Trooper and former animal control officer from
Lancaster and Evan Badgley, who is a lifetime resident of the Town of Wales, a former Eagle Scout, an EMT and a Police Officer. That put
himself through the Police Academy in Wyoming County and a part-time court Officer in the Town of Arcade in Wyoming County. The
recommendation is that those would be the three appointments to the Constable position. Councilwoman O’Connor said she would be recusing
herself from this because I've a conflict of interest of professional relationships with them.
Motion#__By Councilman Newman and second by Councilman Gallo to appoint Paul Solomon as the primary Constable, also appointing
William Garland and Evan Badgley as Town constables. 3ayes 0 noes 1 rescued from Councilwoman O’Connor