January 24, 2022

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, January 24, 2022

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; Brian Savage, Swanton Town Administrator; Earl Fournier, Town Selectman; and Channel 16. Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Suzanne Washburn, and Gordon Winters.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

1. Call to Order:

 

Neal Speer, Village President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

Adam Paxman stated he needed an Executive Session to discuss personnel.

 

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, suggested the Board enter executive session prior to public comment. Chris Leach made the motion to enter executive session to discuss real estate. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session and enter Open Session at 7:16 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, January 10, 2022 and acknowledge the Minutes from Thursday, January 13, 2022:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, January 10, 2022 as presented and acknowledge receipt of the Thursday, January 13, 2022 minutes from the Town and Village joint board meeting. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, January 20, 2022:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #2-#7 through Thursday, January 20, 2022 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked about the payment made to Nexom. Reg Beliveau stated that was for work done on phosphorus removal at the Wastewater Plant. Motion carried.

 

7. Approve and Adopt Village of Swanton 2022 Annual Warning as presented:

 

Neal Speer stated he talked with some locals and he thinks they should consider adding an article on the warning to get voter approval for the retail sale of cannabis. He said St. Albans Town has added it to theirs and they should too so they will know how the voters feel. Village Clerk Dianne Day added that to the 2022 annual warning. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and adopt the Village of Swanton 2022 Annual Warning as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

8. Approve New Water and Sewer Rates to be Effective March 1, 2022:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:30 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the new water and sewer rates to become effective on March 1, 2022. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

9. Acknowledge 4^th Quarter SQRP Report:

 

Chris Leach stated he noticed an error in section 4a of the SQRP report. Village Clerk Dianne Day made correction to the report. Chris stated this is an internal report on how well we treat our customers. He said the Village does very well and response times are also very good. The board acknowledged receipt of the 4^th quarter SQRP report.

 

10. Any Other Necessary Business.

 

Adam Paxman stated the Chamber of Commerce would like permission to announce the Chamber’s Citizen of the Year award at the Village and Town Informational Meeting to be held on February 22^nd. The Board agreed to this. Adam also stated his word for the week is PATIENCE and suggested everyone have a little.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard urged everyone to be careful and said he lost a family member to Covid 19.

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked how the relicensing was going at the Hydro Plant. Reg Beliveau stated he had a meeting with the Agency of Natural Resources and said it’s not going very well. He said they are making demands that are unreasonable and will end up potentially costing the Village ratepayers a lot of money. He said it could raise the electric rates astronomically and the Town of Highgate would lose as well since their tax bill to them is based on generation from the Hydro plant. He said he is frustrated and is going to call the Governor and request a meeting with him to discuss what the Agency of Natural Resources are demanding.

 

11. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:15 p.m. to discuss personnel. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

12. Adjournment:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:30 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

January 13th, 2022

 MINUTES

SPECIAL SELECTBOARD MEETING

TOWN OF SWANTON

VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Village Municipal Complex, 120 First Street, Swanton, VT

Thursday, January 13, 2022 @ 7:00 p.m.

 

 

DRAFT MINUTES NOT YET APPROVED BY THE

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

 

Minutes taken by Joe Cava, Administrative Assistant for

the Town of Swanton

 

Present: James Guilmette, Selectboard Chairman; Earl Fournier, Nicole Draper, Mark Rocheleau, Ed White, Selectboard Members; Brian Savage, Town Administrator; Joseph Cava, Administrative Assistant; Reg Beliveau, Village Manager; Neal Speer, Board of Village Trustees President; Dianne Day (Zoom user), Village Clerk; Adam Paxman, Eugene LaBombard, Christopher Leach, Village Trustee Members; Ron Kilburn; Darci Laroche; Lynn Paradis; iPhone; Gordon Winters; Michelle Nordberg

 

*All motions carried unanimously unless otherwise specified.

 

1. Call to Order

 

Mr. Speer called the Board of Village Trustees meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

Mr. Rocheleau consecutively called the Special Selectboard portion of the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance – Mr. Speer led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Discuss Village and Town Mutual Interest

 

Mr. Beliveau opened by saying that the Town and the Village is united in providing transparent services to the community with an open-minded approach to moving forward with the goals for the greater Swanton community. Mr. Rocheleau added expressing a need for a United Swanton. In the age of social media, we see a lot of self-guided interest that strays from these goals of unification.

 

1. Infrastructure Improvements

 

1. Expansion in the Southern Growth District

 

Mr. Savage spoke about the Vermont League of Cities & Towns and the COVID funding that is available for community projects. This funding has an extended deadline of the mid 2020s so there is time to allocate funding.

 

Mr. Fournier spoke about a Selectboard meeting with St. Albans Town for the mutual goal of expanding water and sewer infrastructure off Exit 20 in the Southern Growth District in Swanton. He emphasized the mutual growth potential for the Town and the Village. Joint meetings like this are an excellent start to the process.

 

Mr. Speer added that business expansion in Swanton is good for the Village and the Town because it adds to the tax base and provides long-term incentives for residential taxpayers. Mr. Speer continued by saying that the consensus from the St. Albans Town Selectboard joint meeting is to begin the next step in the process. This includes completing a feasibility study through an engineer to link the connections.

 

Mr. Leach added that the electrical infrastructure is already built up in the area from the construction of Tractors Supply and Handy car dealership. Mr. Beliveau added that the electric supplied to Handy’s is from Green Mountain Power (GMP) and recommended bringing them to the table in the future as well.

 

2. General Infrastructure

 

The hydro facility in Highgate is a good example of towns working together to meet mutual energy and infrastructure goals according to Mr. Beliveau. He also added that the upcoming expansions planned for the Highgate Airport are an excellent example of how one town’s project is beneficial for surrounding communities.

 

Mr. Beliveau expanded that in addition to the Highgate Airport project there is a rise in the need for housing, which can spill over from Highgate into Swanton. An important mention is that Swanton has the second lowest energy rates in the State of Vermont, which is a huge selling point for Swanton. This is important when compared to other forms of renewable energy like solar power. Solar power fields have a limited life span, where hydro is still in continuous operation. The startup for hydro is more expensive, but its lifespan justifies the cost.

 

Mr. Savage raised a concern with 911 addressing. He will be working with the State, but Swanton has one of the worst systems in place in the State for structuring roads, buildings, and addresses. The process will involve renumbering properties along certain roads and renaming roads to prevent duplicate road names.

 

3. Downtown Bridge Improvements

 

Mr. Beliveau made an important note that the Town has been fighting since 2011 to make necessary repairs to the bridge in the Downtown Village sector. This previous summer the damage to the expansion joints could be heard echoing down the river. Funding has finally been secured to fix the bridge, but it could cause significant disruption to traffic patterns.

 

Mr. Savage recommended coordinating the downtown bridge project with the Beebe Road Culvert project. Both projects will cause major traffic disruption.

 

4. MVU Sidewalk Project

 

The current update for the project according to Mr. Guilmette is securing easements along the state highway for the sidewalk and crosswalks. Ms. Draper recommended connecting it with sections of the rail trail down Waugh Farm Rd.

 

5. Merchants Row Streetscape Study

 

A streetscape study on Merchants Row and the Village Green has been completed and Ms. Nance is working on grant funding to implement project phases. Mr. Fournier recommended making the downtown more pedestrian friendly with expansions in small businesses within the area. According to Mr. Speer, architects have been contacted to redesign merchant’s row. The Masonic Lodge for example is 3500 sq. ft. upstairs and down for a total of 7000 sq. ft. which is a lot for a small business retail space.

 

2. Planning for the 2023 Municipal Plan

 

1. Updates

 

Mr. Beliveau had a request from Mr. Daniel on the Planning Commission about having a joint meeting to discuss planning and zoning and the goals as they relate to the 2023 Municipal Plan edits. Mr. Speer stressed the importance of local input from community residents.

 

Ms. Draper agreed that more community input is essential for understanding the needs of the communities. Ms. Draper expanded on this community collaboration by talking about the relationships between the Recreation Department, Public Library and Book Mobile and how these services appeal to a variety of community groups. She expressed underutilized areas like the Fourth Street property and Marble Mill Park are up and coming areas and are assets for greater community use beyond Swanton.

Mr. Speer spoke about the Village’s goals to update and expand water and sewer infrastructure while being good environmental stewards. Part of these goals also involve working closely with the State of Vermont and the Federal Government according to Mr. Savage.

 

Mr. Leach described the regional plan as an almanac laying out the groundwork for planning, but it does not specifically delve into what types of businesses or how many employees an employer hires for new businesses. He also stressed a need to do a study for Route 78 and how trucking can be rerouted, so it doesn’t tear apart the road fabric through the Village of Swanton. He also emphasized that the Highgate Airport project is a big deal because the increased air traffic provides growth to the surrounding community.

 

4. Adjournment

 

Mr. Paxman made a motion to adjourn the Board of Village Trustees meeting at 8:31 p.m., seconded by Mr. Leach. Motion carried.

 

Ms. Draper made a motion to adjourn the Special Selectboard meeting at 8:32 p.m., seconded by Mr. White. Motion carried.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Joseph Cava, Administrative Assistant

January 10, 2022

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, January 10, 2022

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; Matthew Sullivan, Chief of Police; Hank Lambert, Swanton Enhancement Project; David Winchester; Jason Cross and Dan Chevalier, Swanton Village Fire Department and Channel 16. Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dillon Dupont.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

1. Call to Order:

 

Neal Speer, Village President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

Adam Paxman stated he needed an Executive Session to discuss a legal matter.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Wednesday, December 29, 2021:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, December 13, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, January 6, 2022:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #124-#1 through Thursday, January 6, 2022 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Police Update with Chief Matt Sullivan:

 

Chief Sullivan stated that in the month of December the Swanton Village Police Department responded to 74 calls for service. He said there were 4 thefts, 24 traffic enforcement contacts, 3 motor vehicle complaints, 4 welfare checks, 1 domestic assault, 9 citizens assists and 3 citizen disputes. Adam Paxman asked if there was any speed control being done at this point. Chief Sullivan said yes and out of the traffic contacts there were 17 warnings issued and 7 were for speeding. He said there was also 3 tickets issued. He said there are officers out there and said he has a very positive impression so far. He said there are three young officers who are really interested in learning and seem dedicated to law enforcement and drug enforcement. He said he is very impressed so far and said he’s still getting his bearings as far as learning what the department is up to but said he’s very impressed. He said personally at this stage because he’s only one week in, he’s looked at their policies and they have some very good ones in place. He said he will look at training and staffing as well. He said they are down one officer and he will take a look at this and will be actively working on it. He said he has 3 or 4 looking to join the department at least on a part time basis.

 

8. Approve and Adopt Village of Swanton 2022 Budget as Presented:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and adopt the Village of Swanton 2022 Budget as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard stated that this budget will keep our services where they are now. He said fuel expense is up and they need to keep their employees’ salary level up to be competitive. Lynn Paradis stated she adjusted the overtime and vacation pay line items and this will bring the tax rate increase to just under 8 cents on the grand list. She also showed them the increase in the water and sewer departments. She said she is seeing increases in fuel, maintenance repairs, and it’s difficult receiving items. She said they can’t get street lighting right now and have been waiting over a year for transformers to come in. Chris Leach stated he fully supports the budget and said this will ensure the services everyone expects. He said he feels confident that Swanton Village is presenting a good and prudent budget. Adam Paxman said he agrees and commends Lynn on all her number crunching because it wasn’t easy. He said this is setting up Swanton Village so that nothing is lost. Motion carried.

 

9. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said his word for this week is KINDNESS. He said be kind and show kindness.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard said he wanted to remind everyone to be aware of the Covid issues out there and be diligent. He said it’s changing, adapting, mutating and if they don’t get a handle on it soon it will affect the economy even more than it already has.

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach said Eugene was a chemist and knows what he talks about. He said he’s glad the schools are open because it’s good for the kids to be in school. He said he’d like to thank the public works department for cleaning the streets and making sure they are safe.

 

Any Other Business: Neal Speer said he is glad to be here tonight because he was stuck in the I95 mess in Virginia. He said he also wanted to address an anonymous viewer who sent him information regarding the health concerns with the smart meters. He said they didn’t identify themselves but said VPPSA is aware of this claim and they wouldn’t endanger our customers. Neal also said they are dealing with brownfield issues with the Rivieria Hotel property and it’s becoming frustrating. He said the building isn’t down yet and hopefully they may use some ARPA funds on the cleanup and removal of this building.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau informed the Board that they have a joint meeting on Thursday, January 13^th at 7 p.m. here at the complex with the Town Selectboard. He said they will discuss items that are of mutual interest and will also discuss ARPA funds. He said a public hearing will be held at a later time to get input from the public. Eugene LaBombard asked if this meeting was open to the public because of high cases of Covid. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated she would discuss it with Brian Savage tomorrow and let them know.

 

10. Executive Session to Discuss Contract Matter and Legal Matter:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 7:26 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 7:55 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

11. Adjournment:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 7:55 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

December 13, 2021

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, December 13, 2021

7:00 PM

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Ken St. Amour, Ken Nolan; Gordon Winters and Ch. 16.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

1. Call to Order:

 

Neal Speer, Village President, called the meeting to order at 7:03 p.m.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

None.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, November 22, 2021:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, November 22, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, December 9, 2021:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #112-#119 through Thursday, December 9, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the payment made to Champlain Divers in the amount of $10,170. Reg Beliveau stated that was for diving services to inspect the clear wells and reservoir. Motion carried.

 

7. Ken St. Amour – AMI Meter Presentation:

 

Ken St. Amour and Ken Nolan were present from VPPSA to give this AMI presentation to the Board. AMI stands for Automated Metering Infrastructure and Ken St. Amour said the Village has been working with him for over 3 years now on this. The Village plans on installing AMI meters for both electric and water/sewer meters. Mr. St. Amour discussed the timeline and said they hired Lemmerhirt Consulting in 2018, had some initial education meetings and did site visits and interviews. He also said in 2019 they worked on the analysis of work needed to implement AMI, attended Distributech and started the RFI process with 11 vendors. He said this was also evaluated by a large group of stakeholders. In 2020 they began the RFP process and narrowed it down to 3 vendors. After thorough evaluations and follow-up questions they went down to 2 vendors. He said they did reference checks and were ready for final vendor selection. He said they also began working on documentation preparation such as the cost/benefit analysis, cash flow analysis and cyber security issues. Mr. St. Amour said this year they have begun negotiations on complicated contract terms, multi-tenet model, statement of work, legal review, financing options and regulatory filing. He said they have chosen Aclara Solution as the vendor and went on to explain how electric meters with radios would be installed. Mr. St. Amour also explained how the network works and how the data is collected. He said instead of monthly consumption readings the Village will now be able to read meters every 15 minutes if needed. He said customers will be able to better track their usage and the Village will see power loads and adjust accordingly. He said the projected cost for this project is approximately $1.7 million dollars. He also showed the annual costs projected for the next 15 years.

 

Ken Nolan went on to explain the operational efficiencies and the regulatory side. He said the regulatory side is the driving factor because the legislature last year slipped energy issues into the transportation bill stating that every utility has to have either a specific rate for electric vehicles or a whole home time of use rate meaning rates that vary throughout the day implemented by 2024. He said it’s almost impossible to do with the historic mechanical meters and utilities have to go with an AMI meter where they get a 15 minute or hourly reading. Mr. Nolan said on the positive side once these meters are installed there are lot of benefits with time and analytic availability. He said VPPSA will be able to use this data for forecasting when they buy power on the open market. Mr. Nolan went on to discuss the electric and water AMI 15 year summary. He said benefits begin accruing in year 2 and continually increase through year 15 and cash flow is expected to be positive in 1.7 years and the AMI system payback is 5.71 years. He said because the Village is doing water as well they will see a better return. Ken said VPPSA will finance member utilities to do the AMI installation and they are hoping to get some ARPA funds to help defray the cost which is approximately $12 million dollars. He said they have asked the legislature for about $6 million dollars and said if they did get these funds it will be a 3 year payback period instead of 5.7. He said there are no guarantees but they are getting a pretty good response. He said they are talking to banks now about how they can structure the financing of this project on behalf of all their members and just have the utilities pay for it over time. Eugene LaBombard asked if the Village would need to go out for a bond vote. Lynn said she would on the water meters and they are hoping to lump that in with the river crossing water line job and will put it on the Village ballot. She said she wouldn’t have to for the electric meters. Ken said the timeframe for this project is sooner rather than later and they are working out the final details now. He said three utilities will do the install at the same time and contracts should be ready to be signed in the next few months. Reg said the Village has been working on this for a few years now and he appreciates all the work that has gone into this. Ken said the Village will move forward with this it’s just a matter of working out how they will structure the financing of it. Mr. Nolan said the next time they come in regarding this topic they will have contracts and financing options and more structure. The Board thanked both for their presentation.

 

8. 2022 Budget Discussions:

 

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, said these budgets are not final and she is still fine tuning because she doesn’t have solid wage numbers yet. She said she has all her insurance rates and she is still finishing up her November financials. She said they’ve just renegotiated their uniform contract and will see a savings there, especially in the electric department. She said across all the budgets she has a COLA (cost of living adjustment) built in at 5.84%. She said every company is looking for help right now and there are some areas where the staff isn’t being paid competitively and could go some place else and make more money. She said she is trying to adjust those wages so they don’t lose good employees. She said that also affects social security and what they pay into retirement.

 

ELECTRIC FUND: She said she would highlight the bigger changes. She said she increased the hydro maintenance to $77,800 because there is work to be done on a generator and they will begin the start of a 5-year maintenance plan. She said the purchase power budget will be overbudget because of the dry summer they had. She said at this point they are almost $200,000 overbudget and that will end up being higher. She said VPPSA has budgeted them at $2.1 million dollars and they will also see a savings in 2022 because generation at the hydro plant is now behind the meter and they will also see a savings being 100% renewable. She also said the VPPSA administrative budget is up this year. She also said Workmans Compensation is down almost $9000. She said employee benefits such as retirement and dental have increased some and health insurance has gone down. She said interest on long term debt is down quite a bit and she will have a bond paid off in 2023. She said she doesn’t feel like she needs a rate increase in 2022 but she will revisit that in 2023.

 

WATER FUND: Lynn said under maintenance of reservoir she is decreasing that budget by $9000 because they only have to clean and inspect it every 5 to 7 years. She said her chemical budget is down about $12,000 because they are not using as many chemicals. Reg said there has been a change in the operator due to retirement and the new operator is monitoring the plant more and not using as many chemicals in how he operates. She said her maintenance of lines is up some because they have some hydrants and gate valves that need replacing. She said the employee benefits are going up a little bit in this fund. She said she hasn’t raised the water rates in a few years and there may be a slight increase in 2022.

 

SEWER FUND: She said there is an increase in the plant maintenance because a centrifuge needs work. She said that is done every 3 years. She said there is a reduction in their chemical budget as well. She said she has an employee retiring at the end of the year and the new operator has reduced the budget. She said the flows are down so their chemical usage is down. Reg said they have reduced the phosphorus levels as well. Lynn said she has increased maintenance of storm drains from $8,000 to $15,000. She said health insurance has decreased some. She said they also need to purchase a camera to be used in sewer lines.

 

HIGHWAY FUND: Lynn said the first three budgets she discussed are funded by rate payers and the highway fund and general fund are funded by taxpayers. She said grant income isn’t usually budgeted and because she knows they have a grant to do the bridge repairs she budgeted that this year. She discussed how she budgets their labor as well. She said health insurance has gone up in this fund because employees have made some changes. Transportation is up a bit because of some repair issues and gas and parts prices are up. She increased that budget some. She explained what was in the equipment budget.

 

GENERAL FUND: Lynn said the rent line item was down a bit and she said she removed some capital funds for building repair. She said property insurance was up a bit as well as health insurance. She said she will continue to budget for two part time summer help jobs.

 

FIRE DEPARTMENT FUND: She said the Town Fire Assessment is going up a bit and said this is based on the grand list split. She said if the Town grand list grows anymore it will change the split from 76%-24% to 77%-23%. She said the dispatching line item has stayed the same for another year, their workmans compensation is going down and they are asking for an increase in the transportation line item for repairs, tires, gas, etc. She said they are also asking to increase the equipment replacement fund and the radio equipment fund. She said they kept their personal protective equipment the same.

 

POLICE DEPARTMENT FUND: Lynn said the School Resource Officer position is partially funded through a federal grant so the line item amount is what will be billed to the high school. She said right now they have a full time SRO and a part time SRO officer. She also mentioned the Town Police Contract and are waiting to hear back from them on what they want for sure. She said she budgeted $13,000 for the fingerprinting they do. She mentioned the COPS grant and said she receives $41,667 and the fourth year is fully funded by the school. She said the telephone budget is increasing quite a bit and she has more work to do on that. She said property insurance has also increased as well as the liability insurance and health insurance. Workmans Compensation went down some. She said the transportation expense is up too and that’s because of the gas prices. She said they will be ordering a new cruiser in 2022 as well. She said when they try to stretch out the number of years they keep a cruiser they end up having to put too much money in them for repairs because they have so many hard miles on them. She said they get about 3 years out of a cruiser and less than 200k for miles. Reg said they’ve looked into electric vehicles but the alternator can’t run all the necessary equipment.

 

COMMERCIAL BUILDING FUND: Lynn said the only thing in this fund is the property taxes on the Riveria Hotel property.

 

ESTIMATED TAX RATES: General Fund tax rate is going from 0.0927 to 0.1010 for a change of $0.0083; the Fire Department tax rate is going from 0.0496 to 0.0515 for a change of $0.0601; the police department tax rate is going from 0.4210 to 0.4811 for a change of $0.0601; the Highway Fund tax rate is going from 0.3172 to 0.3477 for a change of $0.0305. She said the total tax rate would go from 0.8805 for 2021 to 0.9814 for 2022, about 10 cents on the tax rate. She said the main thing driving this tax hike is because of the workforce right now. She said if they don’t adjust labor rates in some of the department’s she said they are going to lose employees, specifically public works and the police department. She said the police department especially, some agencies are recruiting heavy and offering sign on bonuses and are actively pursuing employees, even here at the office. She said when an employee can leave here and make more money doing manufacturing there is a problem and she feels they will lose employees. Reg said they could face a mass exit. Chris Leach said his theory for 30 years has been to pay good wages to keep good employees. She said as the budget stands right now a $200,000 home would pay $103.08 per year for fire protection and $962.30 per year for police protection. She said people give the police a lot of flack but when your house gets broken into that’s who you want to call. She said the highway fund would cost $695.42 and the general fund would be $201.91 for a $200,000 home. She said she has never given the board a budget with this high of an increase so it was tough for her. The Board agreed that everything is increasing and said our wages need to be competitive in order to keep employees. Lynn said they have a really good staff right now and they want to keep them.

 

9. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said the Fire Department held their annual Christmas party on Saturday, December 11^th and presented Lindsay Potter with the 2021 Firefighter of the Year Award. He said she is the first female firefighter to receive this award and said it was well deserved. Reg stated he has worked with Lindsay quite a bit in fire prevention and he along with the board congratulated her. Adam also said Christmas in the Park was held on November 27^th and said he went well with a good turnout. He wanted to thank everyone who helped to make this event happen and also thanked the Chamber of Commerce. He said his word for the week is FAMILY. He urged everyone to spend all the quality time they can with their family.

 

10. Executive Session If Necessary:

 

None.

 

11. Adjournment:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:28 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:28 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

December 29, 2021

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

SPECIAL MEETING

Wednesday, December 29, 2021

7:00 PM

 

PRESENT: Chris Leach, Village Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk. Via Zoom: Channel 16.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

1. Call to Order:

 

Chris Leach, Village Trustee, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

None.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, December 13, 2021:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, December 13, 2021 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, December 23, 2021:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #120-#123 through Thursday, December 23, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. 2022 Budget Discussions:

 

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, said this is draft #3

 

ELECTRIC FUND: Lynn said she is still waiting on her revenue numbers and needs to adjust wages and overtime hours. Lynn said they still need to bill cycle 4 so her numbers in this fund will change some. She said interest on long term debt has gone down and they are showing a net income of over $600,000. She said she won’t need to go in for a rate increase but said she would keep an eye out. Chris Leach stated they had very little water this past year and that will affect purchase power numbers.

 

WATER FUND: Lynn said she has calculated her revenue in this fund and also needs to do a wage adjustment as well. She said she has budgeted for a loss of about $30,000. She said she feels a water rate increase of .67 cents for Village residential customers will be necessary in her variable rates. She said the Village hasn’t raised water rates for quite some time now.

 

SEWER FUND: Lynn said her plant labor line item is over budget because they had a retirement this year and had to hire a third person and train. She said they have very little debt service in this fund and also said they are struggling some because of a couple of special sewer account customers. She said over the last couple of years what they’ve put through our plant has decreased and she will need to make that revenue up elsewhere. She feels an increase in this fund is necessary also and would need an increase of $1.58 in her variable rate and an increase of $.67 cents in her fixed rate.

 

HIGHWAY FUND: Lynn said nothing has really changed in this fund and she will do a final run through on the wages. She said this fund is showing a profit of $52,000 and she will ask to put approximately $24,000 in the equipment replacement fund. She said they bought a new truck and hopefully it gets here soon.

 

GENERAL FUND: Lynn said this fund is up $43,000 and she needs to do a wage allocation here as well.

 

FIRE DEPARTMENT FUND: Lynn said she is in the final stages with this fund and doesn’t see any other changes coming in. She said they have asked to increase the equipment replacement fund to $45,000. She said they have had quite a few truck repairs this past year and gas prices are up.

 

POLICE DEPARTMENT FUND: Lynn said the new Police Chief starts on Monday and they have been trying to figure out their shift schedule. She said they are contemplating working either an 8 hour shift or a 10 hour shift and will continue to work on that. She said they need to really work on pay rates in this fund so they don’t lose officers. She said she needs to do some adjustments in salaries and also said the Town Contract numbers aren’t solid yet. She said the Village’s invoice for the SRO officer will be paid and more grant income has come in so she hopes to flip the loss to a profit.

 

COMMERCIAL BUILDING FUND: Lynn said the only thing in this fund is the property taxes on the Riveria Hotel property.

 

ESTIMATED TAX RATES: General Fund tax rate is going from 0.0927 to 0.1010 for a change of $0.0083; the Fire Department tax rate is going from 0.0496 to 0.0511 for a change of $0.0015; the police department tax rate is going from 0.4210 to 0.4719 for a change of $0.0509; the Highway Fund tax rate is going from 0.3172 to 0.3477 for a change of $0.0305. She said the total tax rate would go from 0.8805 for 2021 to 0.97167 for 2022, about .09 cents on the tax rate. She said her biggest concern is in the police department with an almost .5 cent increase. She said as the budget stands right now a $200,000 home would pay $102.14 per year for fire protection and $943.87 per year for police protection. She said the highway fund would cost $695.42 and the general fund would be $201.91 for a $200,000 home.

 

CAPITAL PROJECTS/EQUIPMENT: Lynn said the following are some of the items needed in different departments: Electric Department: Air Switch for $35,000. Battery and charger at the Hydro plant for $50,000; wire puller & tensioner in Electric Department for $85,000; Unit 3 bearing for $500,000 at Hydro plant; servers in the front office for approximately $20,000; insertion valves in the water department for $63,000, new sander for the sidewalk trackless for $8800.

 

Adam Paxman asked if the grand list had any potential to grow. She said all she could think of was the Riveria Property and the Fourth Street property. She said the grand list is determined by a 5 year average and right now it’s 76% Town and 24% Village. She said it’s so close to flipping that next year she feels it will be 77% to 23%.

 

8. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said his word for this week is HOPE. He said let’s hope 2022 is a better year for everyone.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard said he wanted to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, showed a picture of a large clump of sludge. He said it was the size of a basketball filled with anti-bacteria wipes and dental floss. He read a list of things that cannot be flushed and reminded everyone to be more careful.

 

9. Executive Session If Necessary:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:00 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:20 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

10. 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, Chris Leach, Village Trustee, adjourned the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date