SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
SPECIAL MEETING
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
7 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager, Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Wayne Elliott, Aldrich & Elliott; and Channel 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed everyone to the Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees and called the meeting to order at 7:25 p.m.
1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, August 11, 2014:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, August 11, 2014 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
2. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, August 15, 2014:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, August 15, 2014 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what the First Niagra Leasing payment for $4,564.25 was for. Reginald Beliveau stated that was for the police cruiser and vactor lease payment. Motion carried.
3. Wayne Elliott – Discuss Phase III Recovery for the Archeological Investigation on Waugh Farm Rd:
Wayne Elliott stated their main concern at this time is the lower part of the Waugh Farm Rd. He said UVM found some sensitive areas and now need to do further field work. He said they have had several meetings with the State of Vermont Historic Preservation Committee and UVM and the field work recovery dig will cost approximately $317,294. The work will include digging 4' deep in a 1000' section on Waugh Farm Rd. This will allow Swanton Village to then shallow bury the pipe in that area only. They are looking at about 30 days of field work. Adam Paxman asked if UVM could exceed that $317,000 amount. Reginald Beliveau stated they don't have the ability to negotiate it. Wayne agreed with Reg and stated he feels this price is in line with other recovery's they've seen. Eugene LaBombard stated the price is lower than we he expected. He asked where would they display the artifacts they find. Reg stated he would like to have them displayed at Swanton Village for some time since they are paying $317,000 for the recovery of them.
Wayne stated the other amendment he needs to make the Board aware of tonight is the Rail Trail Amendment #3. He said initially they were going to follow the Rail Trail but now the Federal government is saying one day they may return that rail trail back to the rail bank and so Plan B is to minimize the impact to the Rail Trail. He said they will go along Waugh Farm Rd., Route 78 and Lafar Drive instead of going down the middle of the Rail Trail as originally planned. He said they need to update some permits with VTrans and get some easements. Adam Paxman asked when he thought they would begin construction. Wayne stated next spring would be realistic. Wayne also stated that the Fourth St. and Second St. job came in under budget and the archaeological dig is over what they planned. He said the numbers are still coming in good with construction so they are keeping an eye on everything.
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Archaeological Phase III Scope-of-Work for Data Recovery Mitigation at Site VT-FR-12 Within the Village of Swanton Water Transmission #2 Project at a cost of $317,294. Adam Paxman seconded. Eugene LaBombard also moves to give Village Manager Reginald Beliveau authority to sign all necessary documents pertaining to this Project. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve Amendment #3 Rail Trail and Waugh Farm Road Archaeological A&E Project #13032 at a cost of $37,000. He also moves to give Village Manager Reginald Beliveau authority to sign all necessary documents pertaining to this Project. Adam Paxman seconded. Motions carried.
4. Set 2014 Swanton Village Tax Rate:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, provided the Board with the 2014 Village Tax Rate. Village Clerk Dianne Day stated that because the Grand List is a bit lower and the voters approved $10,000 in holiday decorations the tax rate for 2014 will be .7231 if approved. On a home assessed at $175,000 the 2014 tax bill will be $1,265.47 and a home assessed at $200,000 the 2014 tax bill will be $1,446.25. This amounts to a 5.61% increase this year. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the 2014 Swanton Village Tax Rate at .7231. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
5. Sanitary Survey of Swanton Village Water System:
Reginald Beliveau informed the Board that State Inspector Matt Guerino inspected the Water Treatment Plant on August 12, 2014. He stated he received a letter from Matt stating "the Water System appears very well operated and maintained. There were no significant or minor deficiencies identified during the survey." The Board was pleased with this report. Neal Speer stated Brian Bishop is doing a good job as usual. Reg stated that he keeps such good records and the state was impressed with this.
6. Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman thanked everyone for their support and voter approval on Tuesday, August 19th on the electric bonds. He also reminded everyone to come out and vote on the MVU budget on Tuesday, September 9, 2014.
7. Executive Session (If Necessary):
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session at 8:12 p.m. to discuss a customer's account because it is confidential and to also discuss Real Estate due to discussing the facts in open session could hinder negotiations. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:40 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
ADJOURN: Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Special Meeting of the Board of Trustees at 8:40 PM. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:40 PM. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date