SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, June 8, 2015
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; 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 7:00 p.m.
1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, May 11, 2015:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, May 11, 2015 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
2. Approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 5, 2015:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 5, 2015 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked what vendor Mountain Air for $70,000 was used for. Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, explained that was to replace the pipes and valves at the Waste Water Plant. He said they were originally installed when the plant was built in the 1970’s. Adam Paxman asked what vendor LN Consulting for $2000 was for. Reg Beliveau stated he couldn’t remember but would find out and explain at their next meeting. Motion carried.
3. St. Albans City Police Chief Taylor – Dispatching Discussion:
Chief of Police Taylor and Lt. Judy Dunn were present for this discussion. Chief Taylor handed out an Explanation for SAPD, Central Dispatch Budget and Breakdown of Franklin County 60/40 Dispatch Fee Structure. Chief Taylor explained how they came up with the 60/40 rule for establishing the Franklin County fee structure. He said they simply add the total number of emergency calls in the City for any given year and do the same for the Fire, 1st Response and Rescue calls in Franklin County (outside the City) to arrive at usage. He said between 2007 and 2014 those numbers averaged out to 60% for the City of St. Albans and 40% for the other Franklin County stakeholders and those numbers do not include law enforcement calls outside of St. Albans City, for Franklin County. Chief Taylor presented the City’s total expenditures for Central Dispatch which is $896,164. He divided that number by 40% which is $358,466 then divided that by Franklin County’s population outside of St. Albans City (40,828) which equals a per capita rate of $8.78 per person is established. That number is then multiplied by your community’s population, which then equals your dispatch fee he explained. He provided the Board with what all the neighboring community’s pay as well. Chief Taylor also presented what Hartford PD charges their communities and what Lamoille Sheriff’s Department charges for dispatching services.
Discussion took place regarding the Dispatch Center and the training that goes into an individual before they are ready to work full time on their own. The Board stated they would like to tour the facility and advised they would give notice to the Chief prior to requesting a tour. Lt. Dunn stated she would like to get them in for a tour of the facility. The Board thanked them both for coming in and explaining how their department works, how they came up with a dispatching fee and for explaining it to them.
4. Sign Certification of Compliance for town Road and Bridge Standards and Network Inventory:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize the Board of Trustees to sign the Certification of Compliance for Town Road and Bridge Standards and Network Inventory. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Motion carried. The Board of Trustees signed the Certification of Compliance and the Annual Financial Plan – Town Highways certifying that funds raised by municipal taxes are equivalent to or greater than a sum of a least $300 per mile for each mile of Class I, 2, and 3 Town Highway in the municipality.
5. Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach stated it was good to hear the local bank robbers were now in jail. He also said the flowers throughout the Village looked good. He stated he read the article in the St. Albans Messenger about Jim Irish’s award and was pleased to see that. Reg Beliveau stated that they went to Killington where Jim Irish was awarded the Green Mountain Water Environment Association’s Operator Excellence – Wastewater Award.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked how things were going at the Power Plant. Reg Beliveau stated Joe Letourneau did an analysis there today and found they weren’t managing the pond levels correctly so he had to re-educate that employee. He also said the Hydro & Assets group task force at VPPSA did an analysis of the plant and he’s waiting to see the results of that and will let the board know as soon as he sees it. He said he will ask Joe to come in to their next meeting and give the board an update on the Hydro Plant. He also said they are waiting on their MacNeil credits and are 63% into their purchase power budget. He also said he put in for a reimbursement for the new hydro on Unit #5 and Swanton Village was awarded the funds, he is just waiting to hear how much they’ve been awarded.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated that he spoke with Fire Chief Tim Girard and he informed him that four Firemen have passed the Level 1 Firefighters course and they are Jonah Snide, Troy Campbell, Justin Hazard and Charles Sweeney. He also said he received a letter from the Franklin County International Firefighters Association informing them they have revisited and made additions/cost increases to their fee schedule for their regional mutual aid agreement.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he would like to start working on the Village of Swanton Employee Handbook and making changes and updates to where it is necessary. The Board members stated they would stop by the office and pick up a copy of the handbook, look it over and be ready to make changes and/or updates at their next board meeting.
Any Other Business: Neal Speer stated the overlook was installed by the river and said maybe they should put some steps in for grading because it’s very steep and slippery. Reg Beliveau stated he would check it out first. Reg also noted the electric crew helped the Abenaki’s erect their totem pole on the Monument Road back in May. Neal also stated the Farmer’s Market was going pretty good in the park on the weekends and is growing. He said the Downtown Enhancement Committee has been very busy and the free standing flower pots they put throughout the Village look very good.
6. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate at 7:54 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:43 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
ADJOURN: Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:43 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:43 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date