This page is maintained by Swanton Village, Inc and is intended to be the official online posting of public meetings and minutes in accordance with Vermont’s Open Meeting law (Amended July 1st, 2014).

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

January 8, 2018

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, January 8, 2018

7:00 PM

 

 

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Tim Girard, Fire Chief; Pete Prouty, Jason Cross, Jason Butler, Nick Schuster, and Alex Bourdeau, Firefighters; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager via telephone 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 7:04 p.m.

 

2.   Agenda Review:

 

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated that the Selectboard would not be attending so Item #5 could be skipped.

 

3.   Approve and Accept Minutes from Tuesday, December 19, 2017:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Tuesday, December 19, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried. 

 

4.   Approve and Accept Village Warrants through December 29, 2017:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through December 29, 2017 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what the payment made to Cross Machine for $16,705.82 was for. Reg Beliveau stated that was for the crane for the Hydro Plant or for the centrifuge at the Waste Water Plant. He said he wasn’t for sure but would find out and let them know. Adam also asked about the payment made to BAU/Hopkins for $4498.26. Reg said he would look that one up too. Chris Leach asked about the payment made to Paul Nolan LLC and Reg stated that was for work done on the rubber bag. Chris also asked about Holland Company and Reg stated that is where the Village buys their chemicals. He asked about the payment made to Wesco for $6531.86 and Reg said that is where the Village buys their electric supplies. Motion carried.

           

5.     Discussion with Town Selectboard on Issues of Mutual Interest:

 

Selectboard could not attend, move to Item #6.

 

 

6.    Fire Department Discussion on New Fire Trucks:

 

Tim Girard, Fire Chief, stated they were present tonight in case the Board had any more questions regarding the purchase of two new fire trucks. Chris Leach stated he would like the department to explain to the taxpayers what kind of fires they are responding to and why they need these particular kind of fire trucks. Reg stated he ran some numbers and since the year 2000 to present there has been an increase of only $21.25 in the fire department budget. He said that’s a pretty low number over an 18 year period. He also mentioned the Fire Department purchased three trucks in that time period as well, two with money raised by the Fire Department and not the taxpayers. Chris Leach also stated their call volume has increased over the years as well. Eugene LaBombard asked the Chief if they ever need assistance from St. Albans. Tim said occasionally they do. He said they ended the year 2017 with a record number of calls, 310 to be exact. He said their ladder truck goes out at least once per week. Adam Paxman asked how accurate the article was that ran in the St. Albans Messenger today. Reg stated he talked with reporter Tom Benton and he is doing a retraction with the correct information. He said the Town transposed one of the numbers and also didn’t account for any interest on the bonds. Tim Girard stated the truck committee is present tonight and he wanted to thank them for all their hard work. He said they have put a lot of time and energy into this request and will continue to do so if the trucks are purchased. He said he appreciates all their hard work. The Board thanked them all for coming in.

 

7.   MVUHS Substance Free Graduation Committee Request Coin Drop May 5, 2018:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve MVUHS’s request for a coin drop on Saturday, May 5, 2018 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon, with a rain date of Saturday, May 12, 2018. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Chris said they cannot have May 26th for an alternate date because of the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Motion carried with two yays, one nay.

 

8.    Request for Increase in Water Allocation for 456 Maquam Shore Road:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into a Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:25 p.m. to hear the following request. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Reg Beliveau informed the Board that TDH Surveying & Design is requesting an increase in water allocation at 456 Maquam Shore Road. He said they added a mother-in-law apartment over their garage and need this increase in order to get a certificate of occupancy from the Town. He said this is not a separate building and will not be rented out. They currently have an allocation for 450 gallons per day (GPD) and are requesting an allocation for 600 GPD. Chris Leach made the motion to approve TDH Surveying & Design’s request to increase the water allocation from 450 GPD to 600 GPD at 456 Maquam Shore Road. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:28 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

9.   Approve Extending the Interfund Borrowing Agreement for 2018:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve extending the Interfund Borrowing Agreement for 2018. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

10.   2018 Budget Discussions:

 

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, called Lynn Paradis for this discussion. Eugene LaBombard asked Lynn if there were any significant increases or changes in the budgets. She said the Police Department budget went down a little bit because of a change in healthcare coverage. She said the Sewer Department should have a rate increase in the very near future but the Water Department should stay the same. The Board stated they have studied the budgets and are fine with what they are seeing. Lynn stated she would put the budgets on the next agenda to be adopted. The Board thanked Lynn for all her hard work on this.

 

11.   Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Chris Leach stated he liked the choice of having a picture of the swans on the Annual Report cover.

 

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated the Arts Council would like to use the Village Green for another Arts Spectacular event on Saturday, August 25, 2018. Eugene LaBombard and Chris Leach agreed to this request. Adam also stated the Chamber of Commerce would be doing another Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 28th. He said he has reached out to Chief Stell for permits, etc. He said if anyone was interested in having a float in the parade to contact him. He also said himself and Mark Rocheleau are working on the 9th Annual Car Show to be held on Saturday, July 28th in the Park. He said they are also working on their 10th Annual Car Show as well. Adam said there was an article in the Messenger about having fireworks this summer and they are trying to figure out a night to hold them.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated he has been working with MVUHS on the water line completion and he is hoping the Village taxpayers approve this request which will be on the Village ballot in March.

 

12.   Public Comment:

 

None.

 

13.   Upcoming Meetings:

 

Village Board of Trustees Meeting January 22, 2018

Village Board of Trustees Special Meeting Monday, January 29, 2018 – Approve Warning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14.   Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss real estate at 7:49 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:24 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

15. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:24 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:24 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________          _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

 

 

 

 

__________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date