SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
120 FIRST
STREET
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2012
7:00 P.M.
PRESENT: Ronald Kilburn, Village President; Chris Leach,
Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau,
Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Kathy Lavoie and Sally Sargent, Operation
Happiness; Kim Gates Maynard, Tri-Town Recreation Committee; Brian Savage and
Channel 16.
Ronald Kilburn, Village
President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees Meeting and called the
meeting to order at 7 p.m.
Unless otherwise noted, all
motions carried unanimously.
1. Approve and Accept the
Minutes from Monday, August 27, 2012 Meeting:
Eugene LaBombard made the
motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, August 27, 2012 as
presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked what the
$200,000 debt forgiveness was and Reg Beliveau explained that when the Water
Treatment Plant Upgrade was complete, there would be a forgiveness on the bond
debt of $200,000 and said that was set up that way when they purchased the bond.
Motion carried.
2. Approve Village
Warrants Through September 7, 2012:
Eugene LaBombard made the
motion to approve and accept Village Warrants (#465-#473) through September 7,
2012 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked what
vendor VEEU was. Reg explained that is Efficiency VT and said that is figured
into everyone’s electric bill based on consumption and that is what the Village
pays them monthly. Chris also asked what vendor Capco was. Reg advised that was
factored into the budget and was for fixing the gate on the penstock at the
Hydro Plant because it didn’t open and close properly. Motion carried.
3. Kathy Lavoie to Discuss
Operation Happiness:
Kathy Lavoie explained that
Operation Happiness is part of United Way and they work in conjunction with
Franklin Grand Isle United Way. She said they come together in the Fall to help
prepare food for the needy for the Holiday season. She said there are
approximately 650 boxes put together for families in Franklin County. She said
they have always worked out of the Armory in St. Albans but have outgrown that
space. She is requesting permission to use the Village Auditorium from December
8th through December 15th to sort and fill the boxes that
stay in Swanton, Highgate and Franklin which amount to approximately 255 boxes
of food. She said she would like to consider this location their satellite
space and continue this each year. She explained the whole process to the Board
and how much work is involved with this. She said the food drive in the local
schools would come to the Complex and the Operation Happiness group would sort
and pack boxes that week. She stated that 200 of the food boxes stay in
Swanton.
Kathy stated this location
would be perfect for this project and hopes to get great press, more donations
and more food to meet the need. Chris Leach asked if any of the food needed
refrigeration. He also asked since they are currently using the Armory in St.
Albans, if they considered using the Armory here in Swanton. Kathy stated that
space is too small and the food didn’t require refrigeration. She stated she
would do whatever was necessary to use this space. She agreed to use the Park
& Ride spaces for parking and also stated they would enter through the front
of the building. Chris asked if those dates were open in the Auditorium and I
told him yes. Reg Beliveau stated that his initial thoughts were to try this
and see how it goes. He said if it interrupts business the Village would have
to say no for the next year but he would like to try it for this year.
Sally Sargent stated that
when she started working with Operation Happiness 11 years ago they filled only
250 boxes and now fill almost 700. Kathy stated she would give the Village
their exact schedule of activities for the week when she had it. Reg stated he
would make himself available for that week in case they needed anything from
him. Chris just asked that they do not use the Fire Department parking lot in
case there is an emergency and Kathy agreed to this. Chris also asked if they
needed dollies or the fork lift to help with the operation. Adam Paxman and
Eugene LaBombard both stated this was an excellent initiative and asked how
this would affect the local food shelf. Kathy stated she hoped it would benefit
it and said they are hoping for the Swanton community to be more involved. Reg
stated that the Fire Department has done Thanksgiving food boxes in the past
and have offered to partner with Operation Happiness. He also stated that the
Cub Scouts and National Guard would also be interested in helping. Kathy stated
it’s incredible to see the help and that there is a sense of community having
it here. She said if any small businesses could help that would be great and
she said they would need the use of pickup trucks that week. The Board
unanimously approved her request to hold the Operation Happiness event here at
the Village Complex December 8th through December 15th.
She thanked the Board for their time and for their approval of this event.
4. Tri-Town Recreation
Committee, Kim Gates Maynard – Arena Update Before Public Meeting:
Kim Gates Maynard was present
for this discussion. She stated she wanted to present the Board with their
Feasibility Study of the Highgate Sports Arena. She explained that Option 1
would renovate the existing facility to address necessary code and safety
issues including structural integrity, dehumidification issues and the failing
ice system. This option would cost $3,290,157. Option 2A and 2B would be a full
renovation and addition to improve all aspects of the arena, including the ice
surface, thermal envelope and programmed amenities. This option would cost
$6,604,845 without indoor track. Option 2B would provide similar amenities of
Option 2A, but with the addition of a walking track around the inside of the
ice rink. This would cost $6,989,351. Option 3 would be a partial renovation
and addition. This option adds four new locker rooms, a weight room and
community room with an addition to the north. This would also include minimal
work to existing spaces to improve them without a full renovation. This would
cost $4,093,666. Option 4 would be a significant renovation and addition. This
option adds six new locker rooms with an addition to the north. Existing locker
spaces to be renovated to accommodate other uses such as a weight room and/or a
community room. This option shows a modest addition to spectator seating. This
would cost $4,148,433. Option 5 would look at using the floor plan of Option
2B, which includes the indoor walking track, but is a complete rebuild from the
ground up. This exercise serves to determine the value of the existing arena
structural system. This would cost $7,093,688.
Kim stated they are looking
from feedback from the community and said there is a public hearing on
September 26th at 6:30 p.m. at the Arena. Chris Leach asked if there
were any projections on how many kids will use this showing how robust the use
will be. He also asked if it would be self-sustainable. He asked Kim if they
thought about bonding this project for 20 years. He said a business would have
to cover debt service and said that would be easier to take than what is
coming. He also said there is a whole movement in Swanton for health and asked
if there were ways to get adult people in the building for a fee. He said
hockey is an expensive sport and wondered if there were more programs available
where more kids could participate.
Kim said the main users are
for ice time and said there is a men’s league that get done around 9 p.m. She
said there are skating programs for the school, pre-schoolers and also a Learn
To Skate program. Chris asked if the whole grounds were part of this or just
the parking area and building. Kim said there are ownership issues going on
right now and said Highgate is very willing to work with the community.
Kim stated she has worked on
this study for the last two years and said they have visited several rinks in
Vermont. She said the Highgate Arena sits in a rural community and that means
less money so she cannot say they will be able to cover debt services. She said
this Arena gives people a place to go and have fun. The Board thanked her for
her presentation and urged residents to attend their meeting on September 26th.
5. Any Other Necessary
Business:
Brian Savage stated he was
present to talk about the condition of First Street and North River Street and
asked what the State of VT is saying and at what point are they willing to help
with this. Reg Beliveau advised he met with Jim Cota and Ted Domina on
September 3 and said the Village hasn’t seen any Class I money for First Street
since 2001. He said Mike Menard used two years worth of paving funds to do
First Street last summer and said they should have used a Type 3 top coat
instead of a Type 4. He said the hot temperatures this summer along with heavy
truck traffic have caused the rippling of the pavement. He said they have
$36,000 in the budget earmarked to pave North River St. and the estimate to
re-pave First Street is $77,000. Reg said he sent Dave Blackburn a note as well
as Brian Searles and hasn’t heard back from them as of yet. He said he is also
waiting for an application from Jim Cota. He said any help Brian could offer
would be greatly appreciated. Reg said they have reserved Pike Industries for
the 2nd week of October in hopes they get the funds. He said he
worked hard with Pike to lower his price from $96,000 to $77,000. Brian stated
he would write to Mr. Blackburn and copy Mr. Searles and ask for assistance.
The Board thanked Brian for coming in and offering to help.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau informed the Board that on Saturday, September 8th
he received his first call of a tree down at 4:15 p.m. He said the Fire
Department was called out 12 times for various calls. He said Enosburg Electric
and Burlington Electric were also on site to help the electric crew restore
power. He said they worked until 12 noon on Sunday and at that point had 98% of
their customers electricity back on. He said he made a notification to
Emergency Management, not a declaration. He said once he has the actual dollar
amount of what the storm cost he might make a declaration and would need a
letter from the Board at that time. He said they had three broken poles and he
stressed on Facebook to people to not take their kids out or near downed lines.
He also stressed the importance of not cutting trees until they talked with the
line crew to make sure there were no down power lines in the branches. He said
thankfully no one was hurt during the storm and cleanup. The Board thanked him
for the update.
Any Other Business: Reg advised the Board the Fit N Healthy no smoking signs were in and
being installed in the local parks and on the walking path.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked how the sign for the Complex was coming. Reg
advised he has a deposit down on it and they are working on it.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach said he knew Reg was working on a grant application for
signs for the Veterans Memorial Auditorium building. He said he would like to
see if they can order something with a sun dial on it stating their
appreciation to their veterans is timeless. The Board liked that idea and Reg
stated he would research it and get a price.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated he would like to try and get a JLB meeting
scheduled between October 1st and 12th and asked me to
contact Dave Jescavage to do that.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said the park benches are all in and said the concrete is
ready to be poured. He said they are putting one in Flat Iron Park, one by the
Chamber Office and six in the Village Green. He said the swans, Sam and Betty,
are gone for the winter and will be back in the spring.
6. Executive Session to
Discuss Real Estate Matters:
Adam Paxman made the motion
to enter into Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. to discuss real estate matters.
Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Chris Leach made the motion
to exit Executive Session at 9:40 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN:
None.
ADJOURN: Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular
Board of Trustees meeting at 9:40 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no
further business at hand Ron Kilburn, Village President; adjourned the Regular
Board of Trustees meeting at 9:40 p.m.
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Ronald Kilburn, Village
President Date
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