SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
120 FIRST
STREET
MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING
Monday, July 23, 2012
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Ronald Kilburn, Village President; Chris Leach,
Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau,
Village Manager; Lynn Paradis ,
Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day ,
Village Clerk; and Channel 16.
Ronald Kilburn, Village
President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the
meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Unless otherwise noted, all
motions carried unanimously.
1. Approve and Accept the
Minutes from Monday, July 9, 2012 Meeting:
Adam Paxman made the motion
to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, July 9, 2012 as presented. Eugene
LaBombard seconded. Eugene
2. Approve Village
Warrants Through July 20, 2012:
Eugene LaBombard made the
motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through July 20, 2012 as presented.
Adam Paxman seconded. Chris Leach asked about the Westfalia invoice. Lynn Paradis explained that was repairs to the centrifuse
at the Waste Water Plant. Ron Kilburn asked what Open Arms Embroidery was for? Lynn Lynn
3. Solar Aerators:
Reg Beliveau informed the
Board he contacted Aeromix regarding the shipping charges and he is waiting to
hear back from them. The last figure received for shipping was $3800. Adam
Paxman stated if the insurance value was less they could ship it for between
$3000 and $3400. Reg also informed them they were looking into leasing the
aerators from either Aeromix or Municipal Leasing. He said if they lease with
Aeromix and something goes wrong with the aerators they could terminate the
lease, return the aerators and receive half of the Village’s payments back. He
explained that they put that stipulation in their lease agreement because some
companies made cuts in their budgets and returned their aerators and also a
change in Board members could cause a municipality to change their minds. He
said this gives them an avenue out if they would need one. He said Jim Irish
does not see a downside to this at all. Lynn Paradis
said she would receive final numbers at the time of the lease but there was
only a small difference between Aeromix and Municipal Leasing. Lynn and Reg
stated they would prefer leasing with Aeromix because of the ability to return
the aerators if they had to.
Chris Leach stated he would
go ahead with their recommendation and approve leasing with Aeromix. He also
mentioned the $1 buyout at the end of their five year lease. Reg stated he
wanted to get the final numbers for the Board before moving forward. Chris
Leach advised they table this item until Reg has all information necessary.
Adam Paxman asked what they would do if they did have to return the new
aerators. Reg advised that the original 16 aerators will remain in place. Reg
explained the lagoon eco system and how they will work. Lynn
4. Park Improvements:
Reg Beliveau informed the
Board that six trees have been removed from the Village Green and two have been
removed from Flat
Iron Park Flat Iron Park Adirondack
chairs in their park. He said it looked very nice. Adam stated that the Chamber
of Commerce has 5 picnic tables and once the Field Days are over he would put
them in the Park if they were interested. Ron Kilburn asked for a budget plan
of what has been spent so far or will be spent. They discussed putting a new
sidewalk in by the Village Green Apartments, purchasing the six new trees,
adding six benches before the end of summer and two benches in Flat Iron
Park Flat
Iron Park
5. Request to Take Over Thibault Parkway/Evelyn Lane
Reg Beliveau explained to the
Board that he spoke with Andre Leduc’s engineer regarding the Village taking
over ownership of Thibault Parkway and Evelyn Lane. He said they have met the
Village’s criteria of maintaining the roads one year and have also filled out
their Right of Way. Reg said he talked with Mike Menard and Mike is fine with
the Village taking over these streets. He said he was there when they did the
work and that the roads have been well maintained. The Board acknowledges the
Village taking over ownership of these two roads.
6. Follow Up On JLB
Meeting Next Steps:
Chris Leach mentioned the
Equipment Tax issue and said they are trying to find a resolution to this
issue. Reg stated he met with Dave Jescavage and they contacted some of the
neighboring towns who charge an equipment tax and are waiting to hear back from
them. They are asking them their procedure when it comes to this issue. Chris
stated it needs to fair, reasonable and the money needs to go to a specific
place and said they need to be able to police it. Ron Kilburn stated that
without policing it they are still bringing in $38,000 per year. Eugene said
they need to police it more fairly and said that once the word gets out there
it will happen.
Chris Leach also mentioned
the anti-smoking signs. Reg stated he is waiting to hear back from the printer
at the Correctional Facility. Chris said the Chief of Police is working on
putting together an Advisory Committee as well. Chris stated that Harold
Garrett had a good idea, that was installing a sidewalk from the bridge to the
Rail Road Depot. Eugene LaBombard stated he would rather see a sidewalk from
the Village to MVUHS to be safer for our children. Reg stated he was working on
a grant along with Northwest Regional Planning to get a sidewalk installed from
here to MVU. He said he joined forces with the Town and are hoping they get the
grant.
7. Discussion on Vacant
Building Code and Possible Ordinance:
Reg stated that when a house
is vacated or foreclosed upon he is wondering if the Village should have a
vacant building code or ordinance to follow. He said the Town of Ludlow has one
in place and this helps them know whose house is vacated and a permit is filled
out. Ron Kilburn asked if this was problem enough in the Village to warrant an
ordinance. Reg stated that several vacated homes have been broken into and some
are safety hazards. Ron asked if the homeowners would respond by getting a
letter from the Village Manager instead. Adam Paxman stated this is a valid
concern and said he would like to hear more from Chief Stell on this when he
returns. The Board tabled this item until their next meeting.
Reg stated he wanted to move
to Item #9 because Item #8 may go into Executive Session if they discuss a
customer’s account.
9. Any Other Necessary
Business:
Adam Paxman said their
Chamber of Commerce Car Show is Saturday, July 28th and said he
hopes to see everyone there. Chris Leach said this shows the potential of using
the Village Green for other events such as concerts, car shows, fall harvest
festivals, etc.
Any Other Business: Ron Kilburn showed a picture of the Lavoie Avenue and Spring Street
intersection stating it hasn’t been addressed and is a safety hazard. Reg said
he hasn’t talked with Mike Menard about this yet but would do so.
Any Other Business: Lynn Paradis advised the Board that at their last meeting they
authorized Reg Beliveau to sign the lease for the police cruiser. She said she
had the Resolution for that lease and it needs to be signed by the Village
President. Ron Kilburn signed the Resolution.
Any Other Business: Lynn Paradis advised the Board that the Village’s 2nd
quarter SQRP report was complete and needed their review. Eugene LaBombard
stated he acknowledges receipt of this report. Chris Leach said excellent job
and thanked everyone involved.
8. Rate Review:
Chris Leach made the motion
to enter into a Water Commissioner’s meeting at 8:20 p.m. Eugene LaBombard
seconded. Lynn Paradis advised the Board that she has been looking into the
water rates and how it is billed and said she was looking into changing the
billing method. She said at their last meeting she mentioned billing by water
meter size but after talking with Aldrich & Elliott meter size billing and
our rate structure now is very close. She said it would entail a lot of time
and work to set up all twelve classes for billing by meter size and is
recommending to the Board that she keeps the rate structure we now have. She
said this will simplify the billing part of it and said she is also
recommending a rate increase and showed the Board a couple of examples she is
looking into. The Board asked her when she would like the rate increase to take
place and she advised them by the fourth quarter of this year. She said that
way they can hold a public hearing and the rate payers would have advance
notice. Reg stated they are also promoting water conservation, the less water a
customer uses the lower their bill will be. Lynn advised the Board she would
put together some bill examples showing the amount with our current rates and
the amount with her proposed rates for their next meeting. She said she would
include some residential accounts, commercial accounts and industrial accounts.
Chris Leach made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s Meeting at 8:39 p.m.
Adam Paxman seconded.
10. Executive Session to
Discuss Personnel:
Chris Leach made the motion
to enter Executive Session to Discuss Personnel at 8:40 p.m. Adam Paxman
seconded.
Chris Leach made the motion
to exit Executive Session at 9:23 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn at 9:25 p.m.
Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Ron Kilburn,
Village President, adjourned the Regular Board of Trustees meeting at 9:25 p.m.
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Ronald Kilburn, Village
President Date
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