SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, January 22, 2018
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; David Jescavage, Town Administrator; Joel Clark, Chair Selectman; James Guilmette, Selectman; Ron Kilburn, Historical Society; Catherine Dimitruk, Northwest Regional Planning; Tim Girard, Fire Chief; Pete Prouty, Jason Cross, Jason Butler, Nick Schuster, and Alex Bourdeau, Firefighters; Butch Patch and Ch. 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
1. Call to Order:
Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.
2. Agenda Review:
None.
3. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, January 8, 2018:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, January 8, 2018 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked if we knew what the payment made to Cross Machines was for. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that was for the trash rake at the Hydro Plant. He also asked about BAU/Hopkins. Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he hadn’t had a chance to look that one up but would do so. Motion carried.
4. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through January 19, 2018:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through January 19, 2018 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked what the payment of $35,031.27 to Cogsdale was for. Lynn Paradis stated that was for the Village’s annual maintenance agreement, software support and upgrades for the billing system. Motion carried.
5. Sign Hydro Bond Sale Documents:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated these loan documents were for financing the installation of the rubber bag at the Orman Croft Generating Facility at a cost of $2,200,000. This was voted on and approved at a Special Meeting held September 19, 2017. The Village of Swanton board members and Village Clerk signed all necessary loan documents.
6. Town Selectboard to Discuss Issues of Mutual Interest:
Joel Clark, Town Chair of the Selectboard, stated that he wanted to begin by saying how impressive the cooperation between the Town and the Village was during the recent flooding disaster. He said they are very fortunate to have Reg Beliveau and Joey Stell as he witnessed them handle the flooding event. Neal Speer stated it was amazing how much help they got from the State of Vermont and how quickly they responded to Swanton. Reg Beliveau stated he is still having weekly meetings with the National Weather Service and said during that event the river rose more than 10 feet. He said he is hearing talk that if the rubber bag was installed at the Hydro Plant this wouldn’t have happened. He said that’s not true, it would have because the plant can only handle so much water. He said maybe with global warming this may be the new norm. Reg stated that the night of the flooding Assistant Chief Jason Cross worked out in the field and Chief Tim Girard worked here. He said this worked very well. He was also impressed that he didn’t have to hunt for assets, agencies were calling here and offering their services. He said during the 1998 Ice Storm it was very difficult getting help but with this event help came fast. He said Joe Flynn and Governor Scott arrived on Saturday and he was very thankful for that. Ron Kilburn stated as a private citizen he was very proud to see the response he saw and said it made him feel good and safe. Reg Beliveau stated that so far 96 homes have been inspected. He said 14 homes are unaccessible, 2 have major damage, 24 have minor damage and 10 have electrical issues. He said the state has provided water test kits free of charge for residents who need their water tested after the flooding. Catherine Dimitruk from the Northwest Regional Planning Commission, stated that there are individual case managers assigned to folks that were affected by the flooding. She said unfortunately there isn’t anything that can be done about expenses that have already been paid but for any future expenses there is help out there for this through the Red Cross, local churches and the AmeriCorps. She said some residents will need to have zoning/building permits for repairs and she is hoping the Town of Swanton would waive any fees associated with this. She also said they would need to go before the Development Review Board and she hopes the Town can waive that too. She said two homes have major damage and they may not be able to rebuild in that location. David Jescavage, Town Administrator, stated that himself and the Zoning Administrator are already working on this and are planning on waiving all fees associated with this. Joel Clark stated they would have an emergency meeting tonight to act on waiving all fees associated with this disaster. David also commented that he was at the Village on Friday when the Red Cross was there and said he heard numerous times how much praise residents have for the Fire Department. Tim Girard, Fire Chief, stated this was a great team effort.
Joel Clark stated the other topic they wanted to discuss was the purchase of the two fire trucks. He said the presentation that the Fire Department gave them was very informative and great. He said they now have a better understanding of the numbers and he wants to go on record as supporting this purchase. Reg Beliveau stated he talked with Lynn Paradis and they feel it will be in everyone’s best interest if next year when discussing the Fire Department’s budget they do it as a joint board meeting. That way the Fire Department only needs to give their presentation one time. Both boards agreed to this. More discussion took place on the replacement truck fund. Eugene LaBombard was upset that there will no longer be a fund there for the future generation.
Joel Clark said they also wanted to discuss doing a fireworks display this coming summer. He said the Town will seek donations for this purchase but said they need to figure out when to have them. They mentioned the car show, the art spectacular event, National Night Out, and the 4th of July. He said let’s start thinking about when and where and hopefully they can get another event planned. Joel said on April 12, 2018 at 11 a.m. the VT National Guard is planning an event to be held in Flat Iron Park to honor Cpl. Lord. He was the first Vermonter to die in World War I. He said there will also be an event at the Armory on Ferris Street.
Ron Kilburn stated that back in October 2017 he talked about repairing the bandstand and fountain in the Village Green. He said a committee was formed and they received some quotes on what the repairs would cost. He is asking if there is enough money set aside for these repairs. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated she put $4000 in the budget for the fountain. Ron asked if the Village could come up with at least $2000 for the bandstand so both could be done this coming summer. Lynn stated she could use funds from the Swan account for the bandstand as well.
7. Missisquoi Valley Lions Club Request Coin Drop June 2, 2018:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve Missisquoi Valley Lions Club request for a coin drop on Saturday, June 2, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, with a rain date of Saturday, June 9, 2018. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Neal Speer congratulated Adam Paxman on receiving the Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year award. Motion carried with two yays, one nay.
8. Update on Missisquoi River Flood:
This item was already discussed on Item #6.
9. Adopt 2018 Budgets as Presented:
Eugene LaBombard asked if Lynn needed to make any changes to make sure the repairs get done to the bandstand. She stated she didn’t have to because she would use funds that are in the Swan fund. Lynn advised the Board that the solar project on the Frontage Road is online and generating revenue. She said Swanton Village, the Water Treatment Plant and the Wastewater Treatment Plant are getting some of the benefit. She said she is not anticipating a rate increase in the electric department until 2019. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and adopt the 2018 budgets as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Lynn Paradis stated that she doesn’t need a water rate increase at this time but she does need one in the sewer department. She said she needs to raise the customer charge from $33.88 to $34.04 and the water consumption charge from $4.01 per one thousand gallons to $4.10 per one thousand gallons. She said she would like this to go into effect March 1, 2018. The Board agreed to this. Chris Leach thanked Lynn for a good job as usual on the budgets. Motion carried.
10. Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman said that on last year’s ballot the Village asked the question if Village taxpayers were in favor of holding coin drops or not. He said that passed by only four votes so he is considering having it put on the ballot again this year. He said he would know for sure by next week.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, sent grant paperwork to review. He said this grant applies to roads and streets and it is a matching grant. He said the match can be in the form of labor. He said they also need to form a board for the historic preservation committee. He said so far he is on the board as well as Ron Kilburn. Neal Speer said he would be on the board as well.
11. Public Comment:
None.
12. Executive Session (If Necessary):
None.
13. Adjournment:
Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:06 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:06 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date