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Monday, January 14, 2013

Trustee Meeting Minutes - January 14th, 2013

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488


REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, JANUARY 14, 2013
7:00 P.M.


PRESENT: Ronald Kilburn, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Wayne Elliott, Aldrich & Elliott; Leonard Stell, Chief of Police; 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, December 17, 2012 and Wednesday, December 19, 2012:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, December 17, 2012 and Wednesday, December 19, 2012 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Ron Kilburn stated that in the Monday, December 17th minutes, paragraph #6 under Any Other Necessary Business was incorrect. He provided a typed correction as to what he wanted recorded in the Minutes. I made the changes he provided. Motion carried.

2. Approve Village Warrants Through January 11, 2013:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants (#508-#519) through January 11, 2013 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what vendor EMaintenance was for. Reg explained that was for the maintenance program purchased by Joe Letourneau to maintain a maintenance schedule for all departments within the Village. Eugene LaBombard asked why a check was written to the Village of Swanton for $56,338.00, Reg said he would look into that further but believed it was reimbursement. Motion carried.

3. Winter Parking Ban Ordinance:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve the Village of Swanton Winter Parking Ban Ordinance change to extend the date from March 15th to April 15th of each year. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

4. Aldrich & Elliott – Water Transmission and Distribution Lines:

Wayne Elliott presented to the Board their findings on several water system transmission and distribution system improvements and provided a priority ranking to aid the Village in identifying the next steps for improvements. The four highest ranked waterline improvements identified in the report are: Reservoir Transmission Main, Fourth Street, Second Street and Canada Street. Wayne provided an Estimated Construction Cost for each job which includes all engineering, permitting and associated fees. Those costs are: Reservoir Transmission Main (Contract No. 2) – Estimated Cost is $2,070,000; Fourth Street, Second Street and Canada Street (Contract No. 3) – Estimated Cost is $1,000,000. Wayne informed the Board that there is approximately $800,000 in surplus funds remaining from the Water Treatment Plant Upgrade Bond and recommended getting voter approval to use those funds toward the cost of this project.

Discussion took place regarding the necessity of these projects and Chris Leach stated now is the time to do it saying they would be paying more for water in five years but said these are vital repairs that need to be done. He said he doesn’t see any other major improvements coming down the pipe in the Village for the next 10 years. Adam Paxman asked what the construction timeframe would be like. Wayne said he thought construction would begin in the Fall of 2014 if approved. All Board members agreed that they should move forward with seeking bond approval for this project.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to seek voter approval to use $800,000 in bond surplus funds from the Water Treatment Plant Upgrade toward a $3.07 million dollar bond to replace the Reservoir Transmission Main (Contract No. 2) and to replace Distribution Lines on Fourth Street, Second Street and Canada Street (Contract No. 3), for a total bond of $2.27 million dollars. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

5. Adopt 2013 Budget:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and adopt the 2013 budget as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Reg Beliveau stated that the proposed budget amounts to an increase of $52.16 annually on a home assessed at $150,000. He said the 2012 tax rate was .6524 and the 2013 tax rate will be .6872, with an overall increase of 5.33%. The majority of this increase comes from the purchase of the new fire truck, he stated. Motion carried.

6. No Parking in Downtown Village Ordinance Discussion:

Adam Paxman stated the Village has done a great job cleaning and beautifying the downtown area and he would like not having any overnight parking as well. He stated a parking ban year round would be beneficial. He said certain streets look bad with overnight parking. Eugene LaBombard stated the downfall to this would be enforcement. Chief Stell advised the majority of kids they deal with do not have vehicles and said vehicular crime is very slim downtown. He said some of the cons are this is convenient parking for some of the residences in that area, especially for their guests. Chief Stell said he has worked evenings and there aren’t that many vehicles on the streets between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. He also wondered how they would handle Cody’s Café opening at 5 a.m. and sometimes earlier for hunting, etc. Reg Beliveau stated the intent is there but suggested they look into it more. Adam advised he would put this on the back burner for now and will look at it again this summer. Chief Stell suggested designating a few parking spaces for Post Office and Cody’s Café customers only, making them a 15-30 minute parking space. Ron Kilburn stated vehicles that park on both sides of Church Street are dangerous. He said it’s hard to get two vehicles through sometimes and suggested either one-lane traffic or one side parking only. Adam stated he would table this item for 3-4 months, do more research and get back to the Board.

7. 250th Anniversary Celebration Discussion:

Chris Leach made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to match the Town of Swanton’s contribution of $2500.00 to cover expenses for the 250th Anniversary of Swanton Celebration. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris stated there is a committee formed and they need these funds to proceed.


8. Any Other Necessary Business:


Adam Paxman asked if there was an update on the proposed Message Board for the park. Reg Beliveau advised one quote came in. Adam opened and read said quote from Neal Speer Construction. His quote for the Board is $5200.00. Chris Leach made the motion to accept Neal Speer Construction’s quote to build a Message Board to be placed in the Village Green or by the Chamber Office. Eugene LaBombard seconded. It was determined a separate line item would be added to the Warning for the proposed Message Board. Motion carried.


Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated he saw an 18 wheeler parked in the front of the Post Office a few days ago. Chief Stell advised that 18-wheeler had broken down and it was towed from there in approximately 15 minutes.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that at their next meeting he would have a slideshow of the 2012 activities at Swanton Village for the Board to view. He also stated he would forward the Manager’s Report for the Village Report on to the Board members when he was done with it. Chris Leach stated he would have a Solid Waste District Report for the Village Report as well.


9. Executive Session (If Needed).


Chris Leach made the motion to enter into Executive Session at 8:32 p.m. to discuss Real Estate. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:50 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.



ADJOURN: Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of Trustees meeting at 8:50 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand Ron Kilburn, Village President; adjourned the Regular Board of Trustees meeting at 8:50 p.m.





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Ronald Kilburn, Village President                                Date


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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                           Date