Vroman, Dibble Honored in Summit - Town Awaits Constitution Pipeline Answers

SUMMIT — The monthly regular Summit town board meeting opened with the pledge and a prayer to an audience of over 25 people. Following a couple of modifications to the February minutes they were approved.

Past Supervisor Harold Vroman was called up to receive the annual 2026 G. Jeffrey Haber Leadership Award for the town of Summit from representatives of Comp Alliance who supplies the town with Worker’s Compensation Insurance. The award recognizes the leadership and commitment required by elected officials, and the discipline required by employees at all levels, to maintain a safe work environment. Supervisor Gural also called up Jim Dibble as he is the main reason that Summit has an excellent safety record. Comp Alliance also gave the town a check for $1,400.

Highway Superintendent Jim Dibble reported that the new dump truck is finally arriving tomorrow after about three years from the date it was ordered.

Deputy Clerk Jason Andra reported that he processed monies for 14 dog licenses, two building permits, four searches and town taxes. Inquired about setting up a special Amazon Business account to expedite ordering basic supplies, approved. Asked about ordering a hard drive to back up the clerk's computer. It is fine to use the clerks' contractual line item for this.

Assessor Mike Yorke reported that everything is going smoothly and asked if the previous assessor, Dave Jones, could be kept on for an additional 10 hours during grievance period. Approved, not to exceed $200.

Board of Appeals Chairperson, John Foote, asked the Board if they would appoint Desiree Josephson as the alternate on the board of appeals; approved.

Code Enforcement Officer Jesse Wilcox reported he is keeping up with open building permits and working on 2026 fire inspections.

Historian Karen Cuccinello reported she wrote a few articles about families in Summit that included old photos of the family and the history of 212 Baldwin Road, then posted on the Summit History Facebook page, went with Dave Ullman while he took drone photos of Summit/Charlotteville and purchased Grace Hamm certificates of promotion from Eminence school dated 1895-1901 then wrote an article about Grace. Deb Wollaber, of Summit, gave the town an interesting fungus that was found in a cabin off Baldwin Rd. then wrote an article about the names of the fungus.

A Youth Programs report from Lori Baratta stated that all 2026 summer programs are all lined up.

From Supervisor Gural: Priced a laptop through the county and state contract for $1,000. He will be purchasing a laptop so that he can stop using his personal computer. - Would like to contract a cleaner for the town hall to clean once per month in the summer and twice per month in the winter. He will put together a list of duties before looking for a cleaner. He sent the annual payroll certification to the county. - Will contact National Grid about getting all LED lights in the town's street lights. - Spoke to Midtel about lowering the town Midtel bill and reviewed possible options. The Board will look over the options before the next meeting April 16th.

There will be a public hearing April 16 at 7:15pm to discuss a possible franchise agreement with Spectrum.

Discussion about keeping the towns electricity usage below 2000 kwt’s in order to prevent rates going up. Superintendent Dibble looked into possibly using the generator for a short period of time to lower electric usage before the next National Grid bill comes due.

There was a complaint about the razed house at 2878 Rte 10 not being cleaned up. CEO Wilcox is working with the owner about getting the debris taken care of.

The supervisor and superintendent met with the Williams Company who oversees the Constitution Pipeline project potentially coming through Summit. The supervisor gave an overview of the project and potential hazards. He has been asking them numerous follow up questions about concerns, pertaining to the project, that have not been fully answered to date. He will continue to try and get answers.

Meeting open to the floor.

Jen Stinson, of the Summit Neighbors, handed out and read a proposal for the renewal of the old Summit General Store at 2844 Rte 10 that burned on March 12, 2026. They would like to collaborate with and get a commitment from the town to create a new town center there. Possible ideas were: a store, playground, place to gather, a park or a combination of possibilities. Discussion followed and there will be more discussions after finding out what the current owner does with the property.