SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 26, 2019
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Leonard “Joey” Stell, Police Chief; Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator; and Ch. 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
- Call to Order:
Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
- Agenda Review:
None.
3. Public Comment:
None.
4. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, August 12, 2019 Meeting:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from the Monday, August 12, 2019 meeting as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked Reg Beliveau if he had a chance to call the engineer he mentioned regarding the traffic pattern downtown. Reg stated not yet but said he would look into it. Motion carried.
5. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through August 23, 2019:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through August 23, 2019 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
6. Approve and Accept Minutes from the Wednesday, July 10, 2019 Multi-Board Meeting:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from the Wednesday, July 10, 2019 Multi-Board meeting as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman stated that on page 6 it states “silver wheels” and it should say “super wheels”. Elisabeth Nance stated that correction has already been made. Motion carried.
7. Approve and Adopt Historic Preservation Commission Ordinance Change:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and adopt the Historical Preservation Commission Ordinance Change as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Elisabeth Nance stated they need to change the number of members from ten to seven. Motion carried.
8. Appoint Historic Preservation Commission Members:
Elisabeth Nance stated they have the following members for the Historic Preservation Commission: Fred Wiseman, Reg Beliveau, Neal Speer, Ron Kilburn, Jason Barney, Glen Gurwit and they have one open slot. Adam Paxman made the motion to appoint Fred Wiseman, Reg Beliveau, Neal Speer, Ron Kilburn, Jason Barney, and Glen Gurwit Historic Preservation Commission members. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
9. Economic Development Coordinator Update:
Elisabeth Nance stated she has been working on the sidewalk grant and should be hearing something this week about that. She said they are also working on the Marble Mill Revitalization and have held some public forums. She said there will be an ice cream social held there as well. She said they have their final draft on revamping Marble Mill and there is some controversary about whether or not to keep the basketball/tennis courts at that location. Reg Beliveau stated whether they are eliminated from Marble Mill or not they will be put in another space. Elisabeth mentioned a slideshow of new businesses in Swanton since 2015. She said there is not a lot of vacant storefronts in Swanton. The Board thanked Elisabeth for her update.
10. Village of Swanton Police Department Update:
Chief Stell was present for this update and stated the Village police responded to 142 incidents for the month of July. He said this covered everything from checking on property to agency assists. He said they issued 21 traffic warnings and gave six tickets totaling $2029. He said it was a pretty busy month. Chief Stell stated Patrolman Kyle Gagne just finished an urban and wilderness tracking program with K9 Scout. He said he is doing great and is very smart. He also said National Night Out was well attended and everyone had a great time. Reg Beliveau said he was contacted about the Homecoming Parade being held by MVU on September 20th around 6 p.m. He said they will travel down Canada Street this year instead of First Street. Neal asked if the police received any complaints about the intersection at the traffic lights. He said the road is becoming “rippled” in that area. Chris Leach asked how the department stood regarding general crimes. Chief Stell stated crime is down but said they are on par with petty crimes. He said they are finding less needles around town. Reg Beliveau mentioned the article in the St. Albans Messenger regarding the recreation department and the drug use in the dug outs. He said Linda Cross approached him upset because it sounded like that was a hangout for use drugs. He said that’s not the case and never was.
11. Approve and Set 2019 Village Tax Rate for Swanton Village Tax Bills:
Reg Beliveau informed the Board that their estimated tax rate increase was 2.04% but it is actually only 1.98% with a tax rate of .8431. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and set the 2019 Village tax rate for Swanton Village at .8431. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
12. Any Other Necessary Business:
Reg Beliveau stated the Efficiency VT Distribution Utility Quarterly Report for Swanton Village is out. He said this report shows what Village ratepayers paid into this program as well as what Efficiency VT has paid out in difference programs for this area. He said Public Power Day will be held on October 5th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. He said they are getting the schools involved this year as well as Channel 15. He said they will have a show on Channel 15 with Efficiency VT, VT Gas and VPPSA. He said he is hoping this really helps the rate payers.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated the Fire Department’s Open House went really well and said their new ladder truck has some really great features. He also said the Ice Cream Social at Marble Mill was very nice. He asked about the dotted line on Maquam Shore Road about a mile from the Newton Road. Reg stated he believed that had to do with the bike path when the Governor did his bike ride visit. Chris also mentioned the lights at Merchants Row have been installed and look great. He said the NEPPA conference wasn’t as enlightening as he had hoped. He said hydro power was not discussed a lot and he said it’s very green energy. The board discussed the Village ratepayers being the owners of the public power utility and that they benefit greatly being the owner and not the user. Chris said it’s not in the Village charter to make money but to keep cost low and provide quality power. Chris also mentioned the car charging stations and said they should be located where people park which is downtown. Reg stated the Village received a grant for a park and ride so that’s why they were placed here. Reg said Maplefields is looking at a Level 1, 2 and 3 charging station as well. Chris asked if solar customers are paying any of the transmission or distribution charges and Reg said yes they still pay a customer charge each month.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman asked if it was possible to look into having the Lady Liberty statue cleaned that is in the Village Green. He suggested the Historic Preservation Commission look into this.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked how often the Village’s electric car chargers are being used. Reg stated more often lately. He said there is a monthly charge of $7.50 per unit and he hopes they get used more eventually.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau mentioned that at their NEPPA Conference Lynn Paradis received the “Distinguished Service Award” for 25 years of service in the electric utility business. He also stated that NEPPA may send apprentices to the Navaho nation because there are places that do not have any electricity. He said instead of sending them to school they will go to this nation and help install lines. He said they also worked on clarifying their Mutual Aid agreements and made the cost normalized.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau regarding the condition of the Merchants Row Bridge. He said he had to search for an email he received from Jim Cota from the VT Agency of Transportation regarding the downtown bridge last year. He said one expansion joint is broke and the July 2018 report stated the structure needs a rehab project in the very near future. Discussion took place regarding what the bridge needed and who would have to pay for it. Adam Paxman wondered what the State would do if they shut the bridge down.
13. Executive Session (If Necessary):
None.
14. Adjournment:
Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:20 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date