SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, MAY 13, 2013
7:00 P.M.
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; Wayne Elliott,
Aldrich & Elliott; and Ch. 16.
Ron Kilburn welcomed all to
the Regular Board of Trustees Meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:00
p.m.
1. Approve and Accept
Minutes from Monday, April 15, 2013 Meeting:
Chris Leach made the motion
to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, April 15, 2013 as presented. Adam
Paxman seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard stated that his comment under Any
Other Business he meant to say all street signs not just stop signs would be
covered by trees. Made change. Ron Kilburn stated the flower boxes that would
be placed on the bridge would be cared for by the Village of Swanton and by group
members. Motion carried with changes.
2. Approve and Accept
Village Warrants through Friday, May 10, 2013:
Eugene LaBombard made the
motion to approve and accept Village Warrants (#556-#566) through May 10, 2013
as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what vendor
Rodney Hunt on Warrant #558 was for. Reg stated he would find out but he
believed it was something for the Hydro Plant. Adam also stated the Village has
paid a lot to VPPSA lately for purchase power because it has been extremely
dry. Ron Kilburn asked about vendor Mountain Air on Warrant #561. Reg stated
they maintain the air conditioning contract and they also did work at the
Foundry Street pump station. He also asked about vendor VEEU. Reg stated that was
the Efficiency VT program and said the Village pays them approximately $350,000
per year. Ron also asked about VEPP Inc. Reg stated that was for purchase
power. Eugene LaBombard asked if the $46,936.00 paid to EJ Barrette was for two
new trucks. Reg advised yes it was. Motion carried.
3. Swear in Police Officer
Joshua Hooper:
The
Board recessed at 7:15 p.m. so the Village Clerk could swear in new Police
Officers Joshua Hooper and Robert Stanley. Resumed meeting at 7:24 p.m.
4. Wayne Elliott, Water
Transmission Project -- Financing:
Chris Leach made the motion
to enter into a Water Commissioner’s meeting to hear Item #4, #5 and #6. Adam
Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Wayne Elliott advised the
Board that the State of Vermont has recommended combining Contract #2 and
Contract #3 into one application for $149,675.00 instead of doing them
separately. He said if they agree to this it will replace last month’s motion
to apply for Contract #3. He said the reason for this is cleaner financing and
he concurs. He said the first payment won’t be due until two years after
completing the last contract. He believes the first payment will be due in
2015. Wayne also informed the Board that they had originally stated Contract #2
would be $122,500 but the actual cost is $96,400 so they saved money on that
contract. Ron Kilburn asked when they would go out to bid on this. Wayne stated
he is hoping for an August timeframe for the distribution contract and next
spring on the transmission contract. Wayne said the distribution work should begin
in early September of this year. Eugene asked if they would be repaving the
whole street they work on or just doing a patch job. Wayne stated they would
only repave the trench patch but sometimes there may be an exception. Eugene
asked if Mike Menard was involved and Wayne stated yes he was.
Eugene LaBombard made the
motion to name Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager, as authorized representative
in connection with this project. Chris Leach seconded. He also made the motion
to authorize the Village to apply for the Drinking Water State Revolving Loan
Funds (DWSRF) necessary to finance and construct Contract #2 and Contract #3 as
recommended by the State of Vermont and authorized the filing of the
application. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
5. Martha Guarino – Water Connection Request at 432
Maquam Shore Rd.:
Reg Beliveau advised the
Board that Martha and Pat Guarino are requesting permission to hook onto the
Village Water System on 432 Maquam Shore Rd. He said they are requesting a 450
gpd water allocation. Chris Leach stated they certainly now have the capacity
to do so after the Water Treatment Plant upgrade. Chris Leach made the motion
to approve the Guarino’s request to connect to the Village Water System at 432
Maquam Shore Rd., with the appropriate fees. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion
carried.
6. Tom Michels – Water Connection Request at 94 Maquam
Shore Rd.:
The Village Clerk advised the
Board that Tom Michels is requesting permission to connect his garage to the
Village Water System at 94 Maquam Shore Rd. He is requesting a 200 gpd water
allocation and is aware of the necessary fees. Chris Leach made the motion to
approve Tom Michels request to connect his garage at 94 Maquam Shore Rd. to the
Village Water System with the appropriate fees. Eugene LaBombard seconded.
Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion
to exit the Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:45 p.m. Eugene LaBombard
seconded. Motion carried.
7. 2012 Audit Review:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant
Village Manager, presented the Board with the Kittell, Branagan & Sargent
(KBS) Audit Report. She stated they received an unqualified opinion again this
year, which means KBS found no auditing problems. Lynn went over the Basic
Financial Statements – Village-Wide Financial Statements, Statement of Net
Position, Statement of Activities, Fund Financial Statements, Balance Sheet –
Governmental Funds, Statement of Revenues, Expenditures and Changes In Fund
Balances – Governmental Funds; Statement of Net Position – Proprietary Funds;
Statement of Revenues, Expenses and Changes in Net Position – Proprietary
Funds; Statement of Cash Flows – Proprietary Funds; Notes to Basic Financial
Statements and the Budgetary Comparison Schedule.
The Board discussed the ARRA
grant which involved getting over $600,000 worth of projects at 50% the costs.
Lynn said that was a three year grant. They also discussed the taxes paid to
the Town of Highgate which amounts to approximately $400,000.
Lynn also advised the Board
she received a letter stating there were no issues, no disagreements and that
everything was in order regarding the audit. She said it was very standard. Ron
Kilburn asked how much this audit cost. Lynn advised it cost approximately
$20,000 annually. Chris Leach stated this is another reason why he feels the
Town and Village should not merge, because the Village is running three
businesses and needs to meet a lot of criteria.
8. First Quarter SQRP Report:
Chris Leach made the motion
to accept the 1st quarter SQRP report. Eugene LaBombard seconded.
Discussion: Chris Leach stated this shows another good job done by the Village
staff. Motion carried.
The Board agreed to move to
Item 10.
10. Swanton Village Dental Coverage Review:
Lynn Paradis advised the
Board that there will be a 1% decrease in the premium for dental coverage. She
said she was also informed that they can now cover kids until age 26 like they
do on their medical insurance. She stated she would like permission to offer
this benefit to the Village employees and said it would only affect two
families. Chris Leach stated he was in
favor of this. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize the Village of
Swanton to offer dental insurance to families with kids up to age 26. Adam
Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
The Board agreed to move to
Item 12.
Chris Leach made the motion
to enter into a Water Commissioner’s meeting at 8:17 p.m. to hear Item 12. Adam
Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
12. Executive Session – Customer Account:
Chris Leach made the motion
to enter into Executive Session to discuss Customer Account at 8:17 p.m. Adam
Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Chris Leach made the motion
to exit Executive Session at 9:14 p.m. and go back into regular session. Adam
Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN:
Chris Leach made the motion to deny customer’s request to void $1500.00 from
their water and sewer account, however the Board agreed to void all overdue
interest charges accrued since May 2011 on that customer’s account. Eugene
LaBombard seconded. Chris Leach and Eugene LaBombard in favor, Adam Paxman
abstained from vote. Motion carried.
Eugene LaBombard made the
motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting at 9:15 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded.
Motion carried.
The Board moved to Item 9.
9. Swanton Village Electric Rate Case:
Lynn Paradis advised the
Board that a notice went out in the utility bills regarding the pending
Electric Rate Case public hearing to be held on May 20th at 7 p.m.
here at the Complex. Ron Kilburn asked what the role of the Board would be that
evening. Lynn advised they would be there in attendance as spectators. She said
the Village attorney as well as their VPPSA representative would be there. She
advised they have filed for a 10.69% increase in the electric rates. Reg
Beliveau stated that the customers going to solar power has hurt the Village.
The Board moved to Item 11.
11. Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach mentioned that
Gallup Court was dug up to repair a sewer service and asked if it was going to
be patched. Reg advised the company that dug it up would repair it. Chris also
asked if the “Children At Play” sign could be attached to the state speed sign
on Gallup Court. Reg said he would ask Mike Menard about that.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated that the swans, Sam and Betty, would be in the
week of May 20th in the Village Green.
Any Other Business: Ron Kilburn stated the fountain in the Village Green was looking bad
but Public Works crew member Tod Jones worked on it all day and did a very good
job. Ron also mentioned the upcoming 250th Anniversary events. He
said there would be an event held on Wednesday, May 15th at the
Library at noon. He said they will host Franklin and Grand Isle Counties
Historical Societies History Appreciation program. Ron also advised they
received their Resolution from the Legislature on celebrating the 250th
Anniversary. He said August 10th through the 17th will be
a full week of activities.
Any Other Business: Lynn Paradis advised the Board she may need to borrow money in
anticipation of taxes this year and stated she would have the necessary
paperwork ready for their next Board meeting. She also stated the new fire
truck is due to be here the first week of June. She said she couldn’t exceed
five years on that loan and is seeing interest rates in the 2.5% range. She
said their first payment will be due right after taxes are in this year. She
stated she is looking for permission from the Board to go ahead with the lowest
interest rate she finds. She said she would also have that paperwork ready for
their next meeting as well.
ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular
Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:45 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no
further business at hand, Ronald Kilburn, Village President, adjourned the
meeting at 9:45 p.m.
_____________________________________ _______________________________________
Ronald Kilburn, Village
President Date
_____________________________________ _______________________________________
Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date