May 8, 2023

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

                       SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX                      

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

                                                                                                                                  

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, May 8, 2023

7:00 PM

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman; Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Matthew Sullivan, Chief of Police; Priscilla & George Rogow, SPAN; and Ch. 16.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

1. Call to Order:

 

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

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

Neal Speer stated that Tim Smith, FCIDC, could not make the meeting tonight and the Swanton Armory Update with Cpt. Tiffany Ferrer, US Army, couldn’t make it either. He said both those items would be rescheduled.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, April 24, 2023 as presented:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, April 24, 2023 meeting as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, May 4, 2023:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #43-#46 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Tim Smith, Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation (FCIDC) Update:

 

Will be rescheduled.

 

8. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

 

Chief Matt Sullivan provided the Board with handouts showing in the month of March the Village Police Department responded to 99 incidents in the Village; conducted 13 traffic stops; issued 4 tickets and 12 warnings and made 8 arrest charges. The top ten incident types were 13 suspicious person/circumstances; 13 traffic stops; 8 citizen assist; 8 welfare/suicide checks; 7 community outreach; 7 theft; 6 information reports; 5 motor vehicle complaints; 4 agency assistance; and 4 citizen disputes. He said in the month of March the Village Police Department responded to a combined 184 incidents in the Town and Village; conducted 27 traffic stops; issued 16 tickets and 21 warnings and made 30 arrest charges. The top ten incident types for both were 27 traffic stops; 22 suspicious person/circumstances; 16 community outreach; 13 agency assistance; 12 welfare/suicide check; 9 citizen assistance; 8 information report; 8 thefts; 8 motor vehicle complaints; and 6 DUI alcohol or drugs.

 

Chief Sullivan showed that in the month of April the Village Police responded to 100 incidents in just the Village; conducted 9 traffic stops; issued 1 ticket and 9 warnings and had zero arrest charges. He said the top ten incident types were 11 suspicious person/circumstances; 11 information report; 9 traffic stops; 6 citizen assistance; 5 agency assistance; 5 alarms; 5 crash w/damage; 5 welfare/suicide check; 4 community outreach; and 4 directed patrols. He said for the Town and Village combined there were 225 incidents; conducted 35 traffic stops, issued 8 tickets and 29 warnings; made 3 arrests and had 6 arrest charges. He said the top ten incident types for both the Town and Village were 35 traffic stops; 28 directed patrol; 18 suspicious person/circumstance; 14 agency assistance; 13 information report; 9 community outreach; 9 citizen disputes; 9 alarms; 9 crash w/damage; and 8 motor vehicle complaints. He said the Town asked how they track where they are patrolling when they do a directed patrol so he is having his officers put that information into the system as well. Chief Sullivan said in general the officers are doing a great job. He said some of the drug work they have been involved in caught the attention of a human trafficking specialist so one of his officers is now working on getting a Homeland Security Investigator’s pass work and they are looking forward to having a federal partnership which will help in getting officers up here to help with some of their investigations. He said he is in the process of doing

an evidence room audit and it is very tedious and will take quite a bit of time. He said they currently have two officers at death investigation school and it will be great having them certified. He said as of now it’s himself and Officer Gagne who are certified. He said they recently completed patrol rifle qualifications and participated in the Big Rig event. Chief Sullivan said as far as the drug activity in the Village and/or the Town, he feels his officers have pushed it out of the Village and more into the Town and surrounding communities. He said there are two target locations his officers are currently working on at this time. Discussion took place on the “suspicious person/circumstance” call for service. Chief Sullivan said that’s kind of a catch all for when someone calls with a concern or complaint and officers respond to it. He said it's hard to actually track the data on that because it could mean several different things. Adam asked if the thefts were in a specific area. Chief Sullivan said he would need to read the narrative on the case to see where they are located and said he would try and get more details on that. Neal Speer asked if the new Rail Trail head will add incidents to the police department. Chief Sullivan said he didn’t think so but said it would definitely have more use. He said there may be injury calls and figuring out how to access the trail but didn’t think it would affect his department too much. The Board thanked the Chief for his update.

 

9. Swanton Army Update with Cpt. Tiffany Ferrer, US Army:

 

Will be rescheduled.

 

10. SPAN Request to Paint Outside Walls of Maquam Beach Outhouse:

 

Priscilla and George Rogow, members of SPAN, were present for this discussion. They talked about painting sunset scenes on the bathhouse there as well as painting the concrete benches that are there. She said flowers, butterflies, dragon flies, etc. would be added over time. They discussed what would be painted and the Board suggested maybe windsurfing, boats, etc. They also talked about incorporating swans into one of the paintings. The Board agreed that this was a great idea and approve SPAN painting at the Maquam Beach. Priscilla said they are looking forward to getting started and will begin once the water is turned on at the beach house for Memorial Day weekend. The Board thanked her for coming in and said they look forward to seeing the artwork there.

 

11. Village Manager Update:

 

Swanton Village Manager William “Bill” Sheets, gave the following updates:

 

1. 6 South River Street:  We received the SSI (Supplemental Site Investigation) report from KAS. There are some additional soil mitigations that will need to occur. The study identified some lead and some benzopyrene and the soil in that area (shallow) will need to be removed. This report must be reviewed by VT DEC and the timeline to have a draft Corrective Action Plan (CAP) in place is October of 2023. Any plans to sell this property will occur in 2024. Bill said the Village would apply for Brownfield funds to help defray the cost for this. He also said they would do an RFP this summer. They also talked about how the CAP would get done. Chris Leach said it seems like there is no end to all the issues and that they’re being preyed upon. Bill said the Village is responsible as owners of the property and said it would get done.

 

2. Heidi Valenta-Britch started part-time today and will migrate to her full-time role on June 1^st. She is already paying dividends based on past relations with a number of people, to include the USDA.

 

3. 124 First Street:  Weimann Lamphere work continues, the RFP is out to select a Construction Manager. The small building on the property has been torn down and the aggregate tower is next. Civil engineering is underway, and a stormwater analysis will be one the first steps on overall design and building placement.

 

4. Ecopixel:  The new website is progressing well. Internally we will review the website on May 11^th and then receive training on May 18^th. We will conduct a final review on May 25^th. The launch date is tentatively set for May 31^st.

 

5. BFA Building Trades:  Two classes will be touring both the WWTF and our Hydro facility. We hope to continue to provide tours for the trade schools to engage students who might be future employees.

 

6. Monday May 15^th (Governor’s cabinet tour):  Heidi and I will be going to Richford at 0900 on the 15^th for the Governor’s kickoff. Secretary Flynn will be holding an open house at Highgate airport from 11:30 to 1:30. We will be hosting Agency of Commerce members here at 1300 hours and will take a tour of the downtown area (Gordon’s Champlain building). We will also highlight existing projects and have a conversation about overall economic development.

 

7. Adjustments at the water plant. For employee safety we are adjusting staffing to ensure that Tod Jones is not operating the plant alone, specifically during any high-risk operations. Avery will be working 50 percent of his time at the Water plant, with the other 50 percent at Maintenance and Hydro. We will test this, at no cost to the taxpayer, for the rest of the year to determine whether we can make this work for all three sections of the organization.

 

8. Safety Committee/training updates:  Our safety committee has been up and running for the past couple of weeks, with safety officers named in each section. We have attended a significant amount of training with more to follow soon.

 

9. MicroTransit:  Brian Savage and I attended a meeting last Friday where we will combine with St. Albans to work with agencies to get Micro Transit set up. This will take at least a year to pilot and any pilot would last for three years.

12. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Neal Speer said he wanted to add that he attended the SEP meeting last week at the Abenaki headquarters and they were very well received by Debbie Dubois Lavoie. He said they toured the food pantry and said it was a great place to hold a meeting. He said they also got to meet Chief Joanne Crawford as well. Neal said Hank Lambert and other SEP members wanted to thank the community for all their participation. Neal also wanted to thank David Shea for doing such a great job at 6 South River St. and said the fencing came down today.

 

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said the Memorial Day parade is Monday, May 29^th at 2 p.m. He said if you’re interested in joining them be at the Mary Babcock school at 1:45 for line up. He said the Flags for Veterans will go in Saturday at 9 a.m. on May 27^th and will come down June 3^rd. He said the Chamber of Commerce office will be open Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. beginning May 15^th.

 

13. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Real Estate:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:07 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:13 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

14. Adjournment:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:14 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:14 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

__________________________ ________         ____________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

April 24, 2023

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

                                                                SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX                                          

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

                                                                                                                                  

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, April 24, 2023

7:00 PM

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman; Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Paul Nolan, Swanton Village FERC Attorney; Dean Ryan, Public Works Foreman; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager.

 

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:

 

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated there was a coin drop request to be heard under Any Other Business; she also stated Cody Hemenway was coming in on behalf of the Abenaki Tribal community for a Village Green request to be heard under public comment.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

Cody Hemenway didn’t show up for their request. No public comment.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, April 10, 2023 as presented:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, April 10, 2023 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, April 20, 2023:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #36-#42 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Paul Nolan, Discussion on FERC Relicensing:

 

Paul Nolan, Village FERC Attorney, is here to discuss our relicensing at the Hydro Plant. He said this started back in 2017 and the most recent issue is that FERC has issued a second scoping document and in that document they’ve asked for some additional studies for them to assess. They are now saying they don’t expect them to be ready until February 2024. He said this process is dragging out to 2025 or 2026 before the Village get’s their new license. He said we keep operating as usual until that happens. Neal Speer asked if this is coming from the State of Vermont. Paul said Vermont is the tail that wags the dog and said he’s not taking cheap shots because they’re not here but said they have their own agenda about the water quality standards. Those standards which VPPSA and the Village tried to get them to respond to, are that they want to regulate the discharge for water quality but are against the whole activity of hydro operation. He said they take a very expansive view, want to include recreation, aesthetics, birds, and loons. He said a lot of things they could have focused on and didn’t but clearly want the Village to convert to run of the river year round and monitor what we’re doing downstream. He said they contradict themselves. Paul said they’ve recently found and produced a memo that’s still in draft form stating that in 2021 Sheldon Springs did a study of releasing flows in May, when they’re not supposed to be peaking at all, but they want to do this for white water recreation. He said that’s the key, that’s a special, unique niche of East Coast elitist. Paul said downstream that release of water, levels that they propose, had no significant adverse impact downstream. He said he’s in the process of recommending they go back to FERC and say this is not a transparent exercise anymore, show them the study they just found and ask them to reconsider this massive study they’ve just been asked to do. Paul said the bottom line comes down to you have the FERC licensing proceeding going on, you have the 401 certificate proceeding and the State has been very good at making us do what they want us to do. He said some of the thinking here is to say we have to recognize this apparent tension between Vermont and FERC. He said Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is the tail that wags the dog and it’s been allowed to happen through the courts. He said those decisions more than 20 years ago have set the tone that whatever Vermont wanted in their 401’s is what had to be in their license. He said now they have before the courts a whole new regime of regulations that are favorable to hydro and are pending before the court. He said he’s hoping the court rules in favor of them because there are some still before the courts from 15 years ago. Paul said his recommendation is to do the studies one way or another, we have a team in place and are doing the studies FERC has asked them to do. He said they will be able to respond to any questions the agencies ask of them moving forward. He said they’re going to tread water and do what they have to do. Adam Paxman asked if this was to appease the Agency of Natural Resources. Paul said they need to prove that they are not harming the environment and more discussion took place regarding all the different studies they have done and will be doing. He said there are some alternative directions they could go in and that should be discussed in executive session. They talked about the licensing process and what this entails. The Board all agreed this is a frustrating process and thanked Paul for his update. The Board of Trustees wanted it noted that they support Paul Nolan in the discovery of the Sheldon Springs study and also agree with his recommendation to conduct the supplementary support studies. The Board agreed that they wanted to proceed with his recommendations.

 

8. Review and Acknowledge 2023 1^st Quarter SQRP Report:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to acknowledge the Board of Trustees have reviewed the first quarter SQRP report for 2023. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

9. Village Manager Update:

 

William “Bill” Sheets informed the Board that the Hotel Riveria is finally down and they are now waiting on some supplemental boring results to come in probably in mid-May. He said KAS will then provide them with a corrective action plan and RFP’s will go out accordingly. He said he would like to have an official survey of the property done before putting it on the market to sell. Neal Speer said he’s heard a lot of positive feedback and he said he wanted to thank Jason Barney and his students for the presentation they did at the Swanton Library. He said the detail was very impressive. He said he also wanted to thank David Shea and the demolition crew, Elisabeth Nance for hanging in there, Northwest Regional Planning for dealing with all the Brownfield issues and Butch Patch for providing everyone with coffee and donuts on the day of the demolition. He wanted to thank everyone involved.

 

Bill also informed the Board that he began the Scott Mueller Scholarship Award interviews for the internship program. He said they conducted three interviews and all three could do the job. He said they’ve decided to hire Daulton Laplant and he will start right after graduation. He said Daulton is also interested in going to lineman school in the near future.

 

Bill also said he’s been working on easements for the Missisquoi River water line job at 15 Webster Terrace. He said Reg Beliveau met with DRB on April 20^th and they now have their conditional use permit to move forward. He said this will help Lynn get her numbers ready for the bond.

 

Bill also informed the Board that the Village now owns 124 First Street and they are doing utility mapping. He also said the next steps are to remove both structures at no cost to the Village. He said they have worked out a deal with Hodgdon Brothers and there will be no charge for this.

 

 

10. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated Maquam Bay of Missisquoi is requesting to have a coin drop on Saturday, July 1^st with a rain date of Saturday, July 8^th to benefit the local food shelf. Dianne stated the food shelf feeds approximately 300 to 500 family members per month and really needs some local assistance with donations. She also said an individual doesn’t have to be Native American to use the food shelf and said it’s open to anyone. Eugene LaBombard stated he believed July 1^st was a holiday weekend and preferred it be held the week after. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to allow Maquam Bay of Missisquoi to hold a coin drop on Saturday, July 8^th with a rain date of Saturday, July 15^th from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried with two yays and one nay.

 

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman reminded everyone about the Memorial Day Parade to be held on Monday, May 29^th. He said there will be a BBQ after the parade that will benefit Josh’s House again this year. He also said they will be putting the Veterans flags out for the week on May 27^th and could use volunteers. He also said there will be a Citizen’s Band in the Village Green on June 28^th and said the Chamber’s Annual Car Show will be held on Saturday, July 29^th.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked if there were going to be any food trucks in the park this summer. Dianne Day stated there will be along with the Outdoor Market that will be held on the 3^rd Sunday of each month beginning May and running through September 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, asked Paul Nolan to stand up with him. He presented Paul with a plaque stating:

 

The Swanton Village Board of Trustees and Management would like to recognize

Paul Nolan for his 30 years of service to the Orman Croft Hydro Facility.

Paul’s dedicated service to Swanton Village

is greatly appreciated.

Thank You Paul!

2023

 

 

11. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel, Real Estate and Legal Matter:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 7:40 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:23 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

12. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:24 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:24 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

__________________________ ________         ____________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

April 10, 2032

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

                       SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX                      

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, April 10, 2023

7:00 PM

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman; Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Duane Couture, Electric Foreman; Jeff Lewis, Aldrich & Elliott; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Emily Hackett, State of VT CWSRF and Wayne Elliott, Aldrich & Elliott.

 

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:

 

Added Public Comment to #4, was mistakenly left off agenda.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and accept Minutes from Monday, March 27, 2023 and Minutes from the Special Meeting, Wednesday, April 5, 2023 as presented:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, March 27, 2023 as presented and the Minutes from the Special Meeting held on Wednesday April 5, 2023 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach stated he wanted to thank Dianne Day, Village Clerk, once again for the excellent report she did on the lien collection process of Swanton Village. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, April 6, 2023:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #31-#35 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what the payment for $2889.84 made to Empower was for. Lynn Paradis explained that was for the additional employee 457 retirement plan that is 100% employee contributed. He also asked what the payment for $3323.09 to Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cram was for. She said they are Village attorneys and were used for the upcoming water project. Motion carried.

 

7. Aldrich & Elliott: Wastewater Treatment Facility project update, environmental review/mitigation measures required:

 

Jeff Lewis introduced himself as the project engineer for the Wastewater Treatment Facility upgrade and said he’d like to open their public hearing on this topic. He said he wanted to go through some ongoing work they’ve been doing at the facility. He said a little background on this plant is that it was built in 1972; had some secondary treatment upgrades in 1989; did sludge dewatering in 1996; the latest discharge permit was issued in 2018; in 2019 they did a 20-year evaluation and in 2021 filed a pilot test and preliminary engineering report. Jeff said this upgrade is necessary because of age related deficiencies and phosphorus removal capabilities. He said typical wastewater equipment has a 20-to-30-year lifespan and multiple processes are still in service from 1989 making them 33 years old. He said the proposed project is to repair the curtain in the lagoon; refurbish solids contact clarifiers; construct a new tertiary filtration system; replace sludge pumps, air diffusion system and aeration blower; and also replace aged motor control centers at WWRF and the Pump Station. Jeff went on to explain the timeline. He said in September 2021 and January 2023 they finalized PER; in February 2023 they started final design; December 2023 they will finish final design; April 2024 they will advertise for bids; May 2024 they will begin construction and December 2024 construction will be complete. He said there will be some environmental review steps even though they are working on an existing wastewater treatment facility. He said they anticipate the following nine reports: 1. Environmental Justice Considerations; 2. Cultural, Historic, and Archeological Resources; 3. Land Use; 4. Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs; 5. Wetlands, Floodplains, Coastal Zones, Wild and Scenic River; 6. Fish and Wildlife, and Endangered Species; 7. Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection; 8. Air Quality, Noise, and Emissions; and 9. NEPA Related Considerations. He also said work will be required within the wetland buffer area. He said measures would include wetland delineation and wetland permits will include minimize impact, protection and restoration. He said the state protects the wetlands and a 50-foot buffer from the wetlands. He said they are currently in that process now. Chris Leach asked if our facility was typical or unique. Jeff said not all facilities have the dewatering capabilities like the Village does and said this is definitely a benefit for the Village. Chris asked about the ultraviolet system and Jeff said that is up to date and no need to make any changes there at this time. Adam Paxman asked what added cost the nine environmental issues would cause. Jeff said this is a process through the State and said it was included in the project cost and they are not adding any additional costs because of that. Chris Leach asked if the plant had enough capacity because they are adding water and sewer up into Highgate for the airport job. Jeff said there are two ways to think about capacity and said the Village is in good shape and have sufficient capacity to add more users. Jeff said the purpose of his presentation tonight is to get them thinking about it and said the public would have multiple opportunities to come in on this project as well. He said the goal is to make everyone aware of the project and what they plan to do. Eugene LaBombard said he thought the Village was at about 60 to 70% capacity at this time. Wayne Elliott said the Village’s flow capacity is at 60% and dewatering is at 65-70%. Eugene said this is good to know that capacity is not unlimited. Neal Speer asked about the new phosphorus levels mandated by the State. Jeff said they are planning on adding a step onto the back end of what we are already doing and this will reduce the use of chemicals. The Board thanked Jeff for his presentation. Wayne asked Emily with Clean Water if she was all set at this time. She said there is a 30 day comment period for questions on this topic and people can email her with any questions they may have.

 

8. Swanton Village Electric Department Update with Duane Couture, Foreman:

 

Duane Couture, Electric Foreman, was present for this and first showed his organizational chart showing who works alongside him in the electric department. He said Al Mosher works alongside him as the Village’s electrical engineer and has a key role in everything that he does for them with the SCADA system and designing other parts of their electric system. He said he is an exceptional asset to the Village. He showed Daren Plouff as his lead lineman; Jody Benoit, 1^st Class Lineman; Tanner Benoit, 1^st Class Lineman; Paul Bouchard, Lineman Apprentice; and Marc Longway, Meters. Duane said their responsibilities include supplying power to roughly 4000 customers and maintaining the substation and power lines or transmission and distribution. He said they also provide mutual aid to local and non-local power companies during times of natural disasters like wind, snow and ice storms. He said because of Swanton’s exceptional system they are able to offer help to other utilities. He said Swanton belongs to NEPPA (Northeast Public Power Association) and that is how they are notified about who needs help. He said they also need to maintain a safe work environment and have monthly safety classes. Duane said part of supplying and maintaining power lines includes maintaining their existing lines, doing line improvements such as moving power lines from cross country lines closer to roadside to increase power

reliability; manage tree trimming to minimize tree related issues; building new lines as needed; creating cost estimates for new customers; ensuring equipment is well maintained and in working order; and ensuring a safe work environment by providing continuous safety training and ensuring work gear is in compliance with regulations and policy. Duane said they also maintain the existing current metering system by physically reading meters for approximately 4000 customers each month. He said they also do disconnects for non-paying customers as well as reconnections. Duane said Swanton Village Electric is currently working to integrate a new smart metering system which will feed the data from the meter back to the metering system eliminating the need to physically read the meter. He said it will also integrate with GIS Mapping system which will allow for outage management. Duane said this won’t happen overnight and could take a year and a half to complete. Duane mentioned Mutual Aid again and said they are currently working with Enosburg power to help alleviate some on-call issues. He said they’re now working with them and a guy from each company covers calls for after hour or weekend issues. He said this allows someone to be on call every four weeks instead of every other weekend. He said this also saves money. Duane said his crew maintains required safety training by providing monthly safety training sessions to include pole top rescues, ensures yearly CPR certifications are maintained, and ensures work gear and equipment (rubber gloves, sleeves, bucket trucks) are in compliance with required regulations, policies and standards for electric companies. Duane said his upcoming projects include to continue to upgrade the system by replacing aged poles within the system and moving cross country lines roadside to increase reliability and decrease repair time. He said some challenges he’s facing is identification of future line maintainers, retention of existing, skilled members; identification of a future leader and concerns about future rate increases and demands. Chris Leach asked what a SCADA system is. Duane stated this is like a television screen that watches our entire service system. He said there are 6 circuits and 3 substations and we are watching all of it at all times. He said when there is a power outage they can see where it is. He said this is run through a fiber optic system and we are the only ones who can see it. Chris asked if there were any openings for new linemen. Duane said they are getting to the point where some don’t have much time left before retirement. He said keeping his younger linemen at the Village is always at the back of his mind and something they work on. Chris thanked him and his crew for all their work. Adam Paxman asked about the dual wood in their system and Duane said he’s been working on that for some time now. He said he may need to follow the ordinance and start placing fines. Adam said to definitely look into that.e

 

 

9. Village Manager Update:

 

William “Bill” Sheets stated that the Hotel Riveria is scheduled to be torn down on Monday, April 17^th. He said they will enhance the fencing around the property before they begin but said it shouldn’t take long to demolish it. He said he has met with all the neighbors in the surrounding area.

 

Bill said Kathy Lavoie from Northwest Regional Planning reached out to him and said Joel Clark is willing to be the Swanton representative for the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize appointing Joel Clark as the Swanton representative for the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Bill informed the Board that the Village now owns 124 First Street (old Carroll Concrete property) and said they closed on Friday. He said he would be having meetings to determine the potential and cost for a new police and fire public safety building. He said they will be working on Tier 1 and Tier 2 mitigation as well. He said they need to take down the tower and building and said there is no longer any communication equipment on that tower. He said they will be working on a study for building size and cost.

 

Bill also informed the Board that there is a very old turbine at the hydro plant that is no longer in use so Dan Chevalier wants to polish it up, paint it and put out by their sign for educational purposes. He said they will put up a placard and said this is a good use for it.

 

He also informed the board that an archaeological assessment will be taking place on Foundry Street near the fishing access because of the waterline job. He said they will be boring in the riverbank area.

 

Reg Beliveau informed the Board that he would like the Trustees to sign a letter of interest he drafted for the Northern Border Regional 2023 Catalyst Program. He said this would be for possibly applying for a grant to help with the cost for a new police and fire public safety building. Chris Leach made the

motion to authorize the Village Trustees to sign the Letter of Interest to the NBRC Program Manager. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

10. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said the Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday, May 29^th not May 26^th as previously stated. He said the 150 Flags for Veterans will be going up on May 27^th for the week. He also said there is a lot of speeding cars on Spring Street and he asks that people slow down and stop speeding. Eugene LaBombard said he agrees with what Adam is saying. He said he needs to turn his air conditioning on to drown out the speeding cars. He also said he sees cars going through the stop sign by Ace Hardware and said 1 out of 10 cars actually stops there. Bill said he would bring this to the

attention of the police department and said traffic safety is very important.

 

Any Other Business: Neal Speer asked if the airport runway was closed. Duane Couture said yes it is now closed and said construction crews are now in there doing some work.

 

Any Other Business: Dianne Day, Village Clerk, said she wanted to thank a few homeowners and landlords for paying off some old liens last week. She said the Village collected over $3000 in liens.

 

11. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Real Estate:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:03 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:00 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

12. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:00 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Motion carried.

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

__________________________ ________         ____________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

March 27, 2023

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, March 27, 2023

7:00 PM

 

 

PRESENT: Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman; Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Matthew Sullivan; Chief of Police; Suzanne Washburn, Mark Rochleau, and Ch. 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. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, March 13, 2023 as presented:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, March 13, 2023 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

5. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, March 23, 2023:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #26-#30 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

6. Appoint Representative to Northwest Communications Union District Legislative Body:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to appoint Larry King as the Swanton Village representative for the Northwest Communications Union District Legislative Body. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

7. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

 

Chief Matthew Sullivan presented the Board with his January 2023 and February 2023 monthly reports. He said in the month of January the Village Police Department responded to 84 incidents in the Village with the top ten calls being 10 traffic stops, 8 motor vehicle complaints, 7 search warrants, 6 fraud, 6 welfare/suicide checks, 5 careless & negligent, 4 information reports, 4 citizen assists, 4 threatening and 13 suspicious person/circumstances. He said they had 13 traffic stops and issued 3 tickets and 12 warnings. Chief Sullivan said they had 10 arrests for traffic and 19 arrests. He showed for the month of February they responded to 89 incidents with the top ten calls being 11 citizen assists, 9 community outreach, 9 traffic stops, 6 service abuse prevention orders, 5 directed patrol, 5 citizen dispute, 5 welfare/suicide checks, 5 motor vehicle complaints, 4 property/home watch, and 11 suspicious person/circumstances. He said they did 10 traffic stops and issued 4 tickets and 6 warnings. He said they had 34 arrests for the month of February. Chief Sullivan said the department has been very busy with search warrants the end of 2022 and early 2023. He said they recovered 235 grams of crack cocaine, 73 bags of heroin and 10 guns. He said his officers have done a tremendous job because it takes a long time to get probable cause. He said they’ve had excellent results and have worked with other agencies on these search warrants. He said they’ve been exchanging information and are aware of four different crime organizations in the area that distribute narcotics. Chris Leach asked if these are local residents. Chief Sullivan said they are from New York, Massachusetts and the New Jersey area known as the Burr Street Gang. He said they also had two known Blood Gang members in the area and said there is a lot of drug activity happening. He said these search warrants take time but they are having fantastic results. Chris asked about the Nashville school shooting that just happened. Chief Sullivan said it’s hard to predict underlying mental health issues. He said this is unfortunate but thankfully they haven’t had to deal with this in Vermont and said they need more robust social services here. Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said the drug dealers are here because there is a drug market. He said he thinks the State Police aren’t doing as many search warrants as Swanton is and said they need this enforcement. Bill said the accolades are pouring in and our department is fully staffed due to Chief Sullivan’s leadership. Bill showed the Board a letter he received praising Chief Sullivan and his department from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration program. Chief Sullivan said they work hard trying to get individuals help so they get well rather than get arrested. He said they try to get them wrap around services to help with all their issues. Adam Paxman said he applauds his efforts. Chris Leach said he’s heard numerous positive comments regarding the police department. Mark Rocheleau asked if these search warrants were just here in Swanton. Chief Sullivan said some were but also in the surrounding area not just the Village. The Board thanked Chief Sullivan for his report.

 

8. Credit Card Resolution:

 

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, said that Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, would like to switch from Bank of America to M&T Bank for the Village corporate credit cards. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and authorize Dianne Day, Village Clerk, to sign the Businesscard Resolution Form for the Village of Swanton and M&T Bank for corporate credit cards for authorized employees. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

9. Report on Electric, Water and Sewer Lien Process:

 

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, provided the Trustees with a report detailing all the electric, water and sewer liens that have been paid over the last seven years. They had asked her to research this to see what demographic of individuals were impacted the most financially when it came to paying off liens. Her report is as follows:

 

In 2009 the Village of Swanton presented a Charter change to the VT Legislature which would allow the Village to impose property liens on all unpaid electric accounts. They approved this change and then it was brought to the Village voters who also approved the Charter changes.

 

I was instructed at our last meeting to research all liens paid to see who was being impacted the most because this procedure is upsetting to local landlords. I researched 2016 through 2022 and have found the following:

 

In 2016 a total of 57 electric liens were paid totaling $19,672.36. Twenty eight (28) of these liens were paid by tenants and homeowners; 20 were paid by mortgage companies, banks or churches and 9 were paid by landlords. We paid $1108.82 to National Recovery. Also in 2016 15 electric, water and sewer liens were paid totaling $12,821.20. Seven of these liens were paid by homeowners and 8 were paid by banks or at the sale of the home. We sent $410.04 to National Recovery. The Village also had 5 water and sewer liens paid in 2016, totaling $3293.09. Two were paid at tax sale, 1 paid by a bank and 2 paid by owners. There were a total of 77 liens paid with the majority coming from tenants and homeowners (37), banks, mortgage companies and other agencies paid 31 of the liens and 9 were paid by landlords. The Village collected $35,786.65 in liens in 2016.

 

In 2017 a total of 37 electric liens were paid totaling $23,969.99. Twenty of these liens were paid by tenants or homeowners; 6 paid by mortgage companies or at closings and 11 were paid by landlords. The Village paid $682.52 to National Recovery. There were 10 electric, water and sewer liens paid totaling $12,167.47. Four were paid by owners; 4 were paid by mortgage companies and two were paid by landlords. We paid National Recovery $457.36. The Village also collected 3 water and sewer liens totaling $3,296.04. One was paid at closing and two were paid by owners. There were a total of 50 liens paid with the majority coming from tenants and homeowners (26); 11 banks, mortgage companies and other agencies paid and 13 were paid by landlords.  In total, the Village collected $39,433.50 in unpaid utilities in 2017.

 

In 2018 a total of 37 electric liens were paid totaling $11,005.75. 20 were paid by tenants and owners; 6 were paid by mortgage companies or at closings and 11 were paid by landlords. We paid National Recovery $1,023.98. We had a total of 13 electric, water and sewer liens paid totaling $9,413.28. Seven were paid by property owners; 5 were paid by mortgage companies and one tenant paid. We paid National Recovery $38.15. The Village also collected 1 water and sewer lien totaling $607.45 which was paid at closing. There was a total of 51 liens paid with the majority coming from tenants and homeowners (28); 12 were paid by mortgage companies or at closings and 11 were paid by landlords. In total, the Village collected $21,026.48 in 2018.

 

In 2019 a total of 78 electric liens were paid totaling $30,478.41. Eighteen of these liens were paid by tenants or owners; four were written off by the Village; six were paid by mortgage companies or at closings and 50 were paid by landlords. We paid National Recovery $3,452.34. There were a total of 7 electric, water and sewer liens paid totaling $6,145.38. Four of these liens were paid by property owners, one by a mortgage company and one paid by a tenant. There were two water and sewer liens paid totaling $2,388.30 with one being paid by the owner and one by an estate attorney. It looks like landlords were impacted the most in 2019 by paying 50 out of the 87 liens that were paid. Twenty four were paid by owners or tenants and 9 were paid by mortgage companies or at closings and 4 were written off by the Village. We collected a total of $39,012.09.

 

In 2020 a total of 40 electric liens were paid totaling $31,043.54. We paid National Recovery $1,302.19. Eleven were paid by tenants or owners; 1 was written off by the Village and 28 landlords paid off liens left by tenants. There were 11 electric, water and sewer liens paid in 2020 totaling $10,335.99. We paid National Recovery $271.73 in 2020. Seven liens were paid by owners; 2 were paid by mortgage companies and 2 were paid by tenants. There were two water and sewer liens paid totaling $801.20 with one being paid by the owner and one by a bank. There were a total of 53 liens paid with 28 being paid by landlords, 20 were paid by tenants and/or owners; and 5 were paid by banks or at closings. The Village collected a total of $42,180.73 in liens in 2020.

 

In 2021 there were 51 electric liens paid totaling $31,761.80. Thirty five of these liens were paid by tenants or owners; two were written off by the  Village and 14 were paid by landlords. We paid National Recovery $1,114.92. There were 21 electric, water and sewer liens paid totaling $26,925.31. Seventeen of these liens were paid by property owners and 4 were paid by banks or at closings. There were 11 water and sewer liens paid in 2021 totaling $13,576.87. Two were paid by tenants and 9 were paid by property owners. There were a total of 83 liens paid in 2020. Sixty-three of these liens were paid by tenants or owners; 14 were paid by landlords and 6 were paid by banks or at closings. The Village collected $72,263.98 in liens in 2021.

 

In 2022 the Village collected 37 electric liens totaling $27,419.44. We paid National Recovery $452.09. Twenty one of these liens were paid by tenants or owners; 9 were paid by landlords; the Village was court ordered to remove 4 liens and wrote them off (abandoned mobile homes) and 3 were paid by mortgage companies or at closings. There were 8 electric, water and sewer liens paid totaling $9,718.21. Four were paid by property owners; 3 paid by mortgage companies and 1 paid by a landlord. There were two water and sewer liens totaling $1,995.13. One was paid by a tenant and one by a landlord. Overall in 2022, the Village collected 47 liens. Twenty-six were paid by tenants or owners; 11 were paid by landlords; 6 were paid by mortgage companies; and 4 were written off. We collected a total of $39,132.78.

 

Over the last 7 years 448 property liens were paid. Two hundred twenty-four (224) came from tenants and homeowners and 136 came from landlords. The rest were paid by mortgage companies, tax sales, closings etc. which ultimately comes from the property owner. I think it’s fair to say that homeowners and tenants are impacted the most by this lien process. The Village has voided interest accumulated on landlords when they come in to pay their liens. As long as the bill amount, recording fees and fee to National Recovery is covered we void interest to help landlords out.

 

We work extremely hard for the landlord trying to make sure their tenants pay but also have to follow state rules when doing disconnections. We have a form in place asking tenants to sign to give their landlord access to their account. This will allow the landlord to receive a copy of their tenants disconnect notice so they will have an understanding of how their tenant is paying. They can call the Village at any time to check the status of their tenants account if this form has been signed.

 

ACTIVE ELECTRIC LIENS AS OF 3/27/23 = $47,577.98

ACTIVE ELECTRIC, WATER & SEWER AS OF 3/27/23 = $50,393.03

ACTIVE WATER & SEWER AS OF 3/27/23 = $4,740.28

 

Dianne said that the Village Auditor stated we are carrying too much debt with the active liens so we really need to start collecting those unpaid liens. She said she would have to start working with Betty Cheney to possibly tax sale some properties to get these liens paid. She said she would start with sending the landlords another letter with copies of their active liens and ask them to pay them off. The Board thanked her for her report.

 

10. Village Manager Update:

 

William “Bill” Sheets stated that the Riveria Hotel is on track to be torn down on Monday, April 17^th. He said they have talked with all the neighbors and landlords and will remain in touch with them until the job is complete.

 

He stated that they have three finalists lined up for the Scott Mueller Internship job and interviews will take place on April 19^th. He said this is a great opportunity for whoever they select and they might be able to hire a student for summer help in the Public Works department.

 

He said the Village has received some great applications for the Grant Specialist position and interviews will be held on April 3^rd  and April 6^th.

 

Bill said the website the Village and Town will share looks fantastic so far. He asked the Board about how many years worth of archived Minutes should be stored. The Board agreed that all the Minutes that are on our existing website should be brought over.

 

Bill said the Village will go before the Development Review Board on April 20^th regarding the Missisquoi Water Line job. He said because Webster Terrace is considered to be in a flood plan this requires some additional permitting. He said Aldrich & Elliott have sent the DRB everything they needed.

 

Bill said more MVU school tours will take place tomorrow. He said he’s received some great

Feedback and he enjoys seeing the genuine expressions of the students.

 

Bill informed the Board that the bandstand and fountain in the Village Green are in desperate need of repair. He said he’d like to do a field trip there and really look these over and come up with a plan on what to do. He said they have approximately $60,000 left in ARPA funds and said maybe they can use these funds for this. He asked the Board to come up with some ideas for a new bandstand or a repaired one. Suzanne Washburn asked if there were any grant funds available for this. Bill said the Village would definitely look into it. Mark Rocheleau also said the Lady Liberty statue needs to be professionally cleaned as well.

 

Bill said the new signs at the car charging stations are now up on behalf of the Paxman family.

 

11. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman stated the Easter Egg Hunt will be held on Saturday, April 8^th at 9 a.m. in the park. He also said the veteran flags will be up in the Village Green again for Memorial Day. He said at this time they have 150 flags and there is a waiting list for people wanting more. He said it’s a lot of work for the few volunteers they have so it may be a while before more are sold. He said they will hold their Memorial Day parade on Monday, May 26^th and if anyone wants to volunteer to contact him. He also said the Chamber of Commerce would like permission to use the Village Green for their annual car show on Saturday, July 29^th. Eugene LaBombard made a motion to approve the Chamber of Commerce to use the Village Green for their Annual Car Show to be held on Saturday, July 29^th. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard said he wanted to thank the group of MVU high school students who stopped at his house the day of the snowstorm last week and helped shovel his driveway. He said this was a great gesture from the students and he appreciated it.

 

12. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:

 

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

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:57 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

13. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:57 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Chris Leach, Village Trustee, adjourned the meeting at 8:57 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

__________________________ ________         ____________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date