SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, July 11, 2016
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; Amanda Holland, Northwest Regional Planning Commission 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 7:00 p.m. He also asked for a Moment of Silence for all the shooting victims all over the United States.
2. Agenda Review:
Reg Beliveau advised that he would discuss the Electric Rate Case under Any Other Business. He said he would need an Executive Session to discuss Real Estate and Legal Matters.
3. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 27, 2016:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, June 27, 2016 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
4. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, July 8, 2016:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants (#77-#79) through Friday, July 8, 2016 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
5. Amanda Holland, Northwest Regional Planning Commission, Water Quality Presentation:
Amanda Holland, Northwest Regional Planning Commission, explained to the Board that she was there tonight to explain Act 64 the Vermont Clean Water Act 2015 and Lake Champlain TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) which is phosphorus that's allowed into Lake Champlain. She said one of the things that has come about with the Clean Water Act since 2015 is the emphasis that "We're All In". She said this will affect agriculture, State and Municipal roads, developed land, Municipal Wastewater Treatment Facilities, Municipal Separate storm and sewer systems (MS4) permits and Natural Resources for forests and streams requirements. She said this will get actions on all fronts to help with the quality of water in Lake Champlain. She said this is called the Clean Water Fund. She said there is funding that can help fund some of these improvements. Reg Beliveau stated that the Village received a $74,000 grant to install swirl basins in at Merchants Row. He said there is more grant money available but they are still in negotiations with a landowner where they want to install a filtration system. He also said that he and Jim Irish have looked at prototypes for filtration systems to reduce phosphorus and they are very interested in one of them. He said they will remain proactive with this. Amanda said she wanted to talk about Stormwater Management: Municipal Roads Purpose of the Municipal Roads General Permit. She said
Municipalities would need to bring priority or "connected" road drainage systems up to basic maintenance standards by the end of the year. She said this is based on proximity to streams. She said they would have to implement additional corrective measures necessary to reduce erosion to meet Lake Champlain Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) of phosphorus. The following information was part of her slideshow presentation given to the Board of Trustees:
Road Permit Framework
• Draft permit in 2016
• Final permit by end of 2017
• Phase in permit coverage across state
– all municipalities regulated under the permit by 2021
Municipalities would need to develop a Road Stormwater Management Plan which would entail inventory, prioritize and implement. She said an example of this would be:
Town has 50 total local road miles
• 25 miles are 'priority' road segments
• 25 miles not considered 'priority', no BMP work is needed
• 15 miles currently meet the MRGP standards
• 10 remaining miles to be brought up to MGRP standards over 20 years, .5 miles per year
àEquates to 0.5 miles of road per year would need to be brought up to standards for 20 years
Amanda said key factors in identifying and prioritizing projects would be:
• The area of concern is near a stream or other surface water
• Sediment from the road is reaching surface water
• Degree of impact (function of topography, road condition, and length of ditch runs)
Amanda stated that Support for Roads – Educational, Technical and Financial Assistance, would come from:
VTrans: Local Roads Program, Better Roads Grants, VTrans District staff
DEC: Ecosystem Restoration Program Grants
OTHER:
• Regional Planning Commissions,
• Watershed groups, and
• Natural Resource Conservation Districts
More of Amanda's slideshow presentation included:
Stormwater Management: VTrans – New TS4 Permit (Transportation Separate Storm Sewer System)
• Entire state transportation network and facilities
• Requires prioritized impervious surface retrofits
• New permit requirements for Municipal Separate Storm Sewer System (MS4)
• Only designated Cities and Towns
Amended MS4 permit requirements will include:
• Long-range Phosphorus Control Plans (PCPs)
• Municipal Road permit requirements
• Entire municipality will be designated (including areas outside of the UA & SW impaired watersheds)
Existing Development >3 Acres. She said the goal here is to treat stormwater runoff from existing impervious surfaces.
• Current target: Parcels with ≥ 3 acres of impervious surface
• Require stormwater retrofits of existing impervious surface
• New Stormwater Standards developed as part of permit development process
• ANR to adopt a general permit by January 2018; Parcels in Champlain Basin must have permit by 2023
She showed examples of what Impervious Surface on >3 Acres would be:
BFA High School – St. Albans
• Parcel = 7.08 acres
• Impervious = 5.67 acres
• Grass/Trees = 1.41 acres
St. Albans Town Educational Center
• Parcel = 11.02 acres
• Impervious = 5.89 acres
• Grass/Trees = 5.13 acres
Swanton Elementary/Middle School
• Parcel = 16.08 acres
• Impervious = 5.69 acres
• Grass/Trees = 10.39 acres
Swanton Village Office Area
• Parcel = 4.51 acres
• Impervious = 3.53 acres
• Grass/Trees = 0.98 acres
Tactical Basin Planning – Clean Water Implementation
• 15 Planning Basins & 5 Staff
• Basin Plan stages :
• Monitoring + Assessment
• Planning
• Implementation
• Plans revisited every 5 years
• Plan Implementation table updated continuously
Amanda then showed what the requirements for Agriculture would be:
Agricultural Water Quality
• Accepted Agricultural Practices (AAPs), to be referred to as "required agricultural practices (RAPs)
• Past spring 2nd draft comment period
• Proposed rule released May 13, 2016
• RAPS are working to define "Small farms" which would need to be certified for RAP compliance annually after 2017
Revisions to the RAPs:
• Reduces the "tolerable soil loss" from field erosion
• Increases restrictions on manure stacking near water
• Increases nutrient management planning on ALL farms, including small farms
• Increases vegetative buffer standard for:
• Surface waters − 25 feet**
• Ditches −10 feet** (**Noted Minimums)
• Require standards for:
• Livestock exclusion from waterways
• Soil conservation such as cover cropping in critical areas
• Tile drainage by January, 2018
• Eliminates requirement that AAFM pay for water quality BMPs on farms
• Enhances the AAFM's authority to bring enforcement actions against persons that violate RAPs and other WQ protections, including
• Emergency orders
• Ability to remove land from the Use Value Appraisal program;
• Requires farmers to receive training on agricultural water quality practices
• Requires training and certification of commercial manure applicators
Wastewater Treatment Facilities
• Reductions from currently permitted phosphorus loads at 25 of 59 facilities in the Lake Champlain Basin
• Discharge permits issued according to five-year tactical basin planning schedule (2016-2020).
Amanda then talked about the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and how much money is available. Currently there is $83.4 million dollars available.
STEPS:
Planning/Feasibility à Design à Construction
LOAN OPTIONS:
S CWSRF Planning- 5, 10, 15 years/0%
S CWSRF- up to 30 years/2%
S Subsidy
S Delayed Repayment
S Technical Assistance and Project Oversight
Amanda informed the Board that the role of Northwest Regional Planning Commission is to offer Municipal Technical Assistance, Clean Water Advisory Committee by designating a volunteer member, to offer education and outreach and help with tactical basin plans. The Board thanked her for her slideshow presentation and all of her information.
6. Any Other Necessary Business:
Reg Beliveau informed the Board that they are working on another rate case and it looks like there may be a 4.5% increase in the electric rates. He said purchase power costs are up significantly and the wholesale market price is down. He also said workman's compensation rates went up across the board as well as benefits and insurance costs and this is what is driving this rate increase. He said they may file this in a couple of weeks. Chris Leach stated Swanton Village has been known for having the lowest rates in the State of Vermont but this doesn't seem to be the case anymore. The Board advised Reg to move forward with this rate increase.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated he has been doing research on the rubber bag issue at the Hydro Plant. He said to replace the bag it would cost approximately $620,000 and to repair it would cost approximately $778,000. He said the cost of the rubber bag itself is around $1 million dollars and it would be cheaper to replace the bag instead of repairing it. He said he still needs to talk to an engineer about concrete vs. rubber and would also need to get permits in place beforehand. He said the initial rubber bag has a lifespan of approximately 30 years and it has already been 25 years since it was installed. He said they have been monitoring it very closely and will continue to do so.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said he stated at the last meeting that the basketball nets were fixed. He said they were not, they had just received some parts to fix them. He said they are now fixed and ready to be used.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman asked the public to have patience while exiting I89 because of the backed up traffic. He said if people continue to get stuck there they should call the State of Vermont. Adam also stated the Chamber of Commerce will be holding their Annual Car Show on Saturday, July 31st in the Village Green. He said they are expecting a great show and urged everyone to come out and support their community.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if there will be a National Night Out this year. Reg stated there is and it's going to be held on August 2nd in the Village Green. Chris said the park looks great, the flowers are real nice and the flags and flag poles look great also.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked if the training manual for the power plant operators was in place. Reg said the manual is done now they just need to implement it.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated an ATV woke him up Saturday evening because it was very loud and driving up Spring Street with no lights on. Reg said he would talk to the Police Department about that.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated there was an article in Fridays St. Albans Messenger about the lower Swanton Dam. He said it's aggravating that the State doesn't contact the Village and ask what they can do to help with the situation rather than contact the media with their concerns. He said the Village is working with a developer whose company shows river improvements. He said they will continue to work on this issue until it's resolved. He said it's not only the State working against the Village it's also the Walleye Association. Reg said it's disturbing they use the media instead of calling the Village and offering to help. Adam Paxman said he was not surprised by this.
7. Public Comment:
None.
8. Executive Session (If Necessary)::
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session at 8:27 p.m. to discuss Real Estate and Legal Matters. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:58 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
9. Adjournment:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:58 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:58 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date