SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, June 9, 2014
7:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee;
Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reg Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk;
David Mullett, Brian Callnan, and Steve Farman, VPPSA and Ch. 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all
motions carried unanimously.
Neal Speer, Village President,
welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to
order at 7:08 p.m.
1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, May 12,
2014:
Adam Paxman made the motion
to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, May 12, 2014 as presented. Chris
Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
2. Approve and Accept Warrants through Friday, June 6,
2014:
Adam Paxman made the motion
to approve and accept the Warrants through June 6, 2014 as presented. Chris
Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
3. VPPSA Purchase Power Discussion:
Reg Beliveau explained to the
Board that David Mullett, Brian Callnan and Steve Farman were present tonight
to explain to them what they do for Swanton Village, how the last rate case
evolved and how that affects Swanton Village. David started the discussion by
stating how VPPSA was a joint action agency that was formed in 1979 and went on
to explain some of the responsibilities of VPPSA and what they do for Swanton
Village. Adam Paxman stated that the Board was concerned over the purchase
power budget and said that’s why they wanted VPPSA here to explain why they are
so over budget on that number. Chris Leach asked if Swanton Village was the
largest hydro in VPPSA and David said yes they are.
Steve Farman went on to
explain the process of the rate increase beginning with budgets. Reg stated how
stringent the Public Service Board was during their last rate increase on
Swanton Village. He said that caught the Village off guard. Steve explained the
rate case failures and discussed depreciation.
Brian Callnan discussed the
purchase power budget and stated that VPPSA gave Swanton Village a $2.2 million
dollar budget but ended up charging $2.8 million dollars. He further explained
how the market affects the rates and also how the weather does. They discussed
how things have affected the Hydro plant since 2008 and how the rates have
worked since then also.
Chris Leach stated he wants
to go ahead with a rate increase and to be in a position where Swanton Village
can’t be bought out and also be able to make purchases without voter approval.
David Mullett said those days of purchasing are probably over and said the
Village would have to get voter approval on large purchases. The Board thanked
David, Brian and Steve for coming in and explaining everything to them. They exited
at 8:40 p.m.
4. Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman stated they had a
very successful Memorial Day Parade and said he would like more support towards
next year’s parade. He said Col. Joel Clark did an excellent job on his speech
and said they had a very good crowd. Chris Leach asked when the Farmer’s Market
would be set up on the Village Green. Adam said on June 21st from 9
a.m. to 2 p.m. He said they have approximately 10-12 vendors coming in and said
Jack, Hannah and Sharon did an excellent job getting this set up.
Any Other Business: Neal Speer stated the Border Patrol Building on Grand Avenue is going
to be up for grabs here shortly. He said Bruce Cheeseman told him they would
like to donate that building to the municipality. Reg stated this would be
great because the Police Department could use the building we are in now for
their space.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked where we were getting the money for the pipe work
being done on the bridge. Reg stated he believed Lynn Paradis, Assistant
Village Manager, has some money in savings for this but said the rest will have
to go into a loan. Chris also stated the park looks excellent with all the new
trees. He also said when the Boy Scout memorial goes up the park they can take
down the wooden one that’s in the Village Green.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that Betsy Fournier from the Recreation
Department contacted him and said they are having issues with people smoking by
the fence at the ball field. She said they want a no smoking policy put in
place. Reg stated he told her that the Village put up “Thank You For Not
Smoking” signs in the park because they would have a hard time policing this
policy. He said he would continue to work with Betsy on this issue until they
get it resolved. He said he would let the Board know what happens. Reg also
stated he was contacted by Friends of Northern Lake Champlain about a BBQ they
are having a Marble Mill Park on July 17th. He said they have
requested permission to serve alcohol at one of their booths that evening. The
Board stated that the Village Ordinance states no alcohol in the Village Parks
and suggested Reg ask the Chief of Police his thoughts on this before they make
a decision on their request. Reg stated he would ask the Chief his thoughts and
get back to the Board.
5. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:
Chris Leach made the motion
to enter into Executive Session to discuss Real Estate at 9:08 p.m. Adam Paxman
seconded. Motion carried.
Chris Leach made the motion
to exit Executive Session at 9:22 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN:
None.
ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board
of the Trustees meeting at 9:22 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no
further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting
at 9:22 p.m.
_____________________________________ _______________________________________
Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date