SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
120 FIRST
STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
MINUTES
BOARD OF TRUSTEES PUBLIC HEARING
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2012
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer , Village President; Chris Leach , Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard , Trustee; Reg Beliveau, Village
Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village
Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Ronald F. Kilburn, Sandy Kilburn, Connie
Prouty, Richard Thompson, Al Kinzinger, Glen Gurwit, Jason Guyette, Betty Cheney,
Peter Prouty, Jason Cross, Dan Chevalier, Travis Greeno, Anthony Russo and
Channel 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all
motions carried unanimously.
Slideshow Presentation of 2011 Projects:
Neal Speer read the Village
Warning to the public. Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, presented a slideshow
presentation of the various projects and events that happened in 2011. He
started the show mentioning the March snowstorm and then the May Mudslide that
took out power to all our electric customers. He showed pictures of the Water
Treatment Plant upgrades including the new lagoon that was installed and a fire
hydrant installed at the Plant for fire protection. Next was the new roof at
the Wastewater Treatment Plant. He mentioned the State Inspection that the WWTP
had and successfully passed as well as the UVM Phosphorus Pilot Program being
conducted with the new cheese plant and WWTP.
Reg showed pictures of
several water line and sewer line breaks that the Highway crew had worked on
during 2011. He also told them about the water line break they were presently
working on and that MVU had to cancel their basketball game because of it. He
showed pictures of the aging pipes in the ground, some of them being made of
wood and clay.
Next shown were pictures of
the Unit #5 turbine being installed at the Hydro Facility. He explained that
the voters approved the $1.4 million dollar project in 2010 and that
installation is almost complete. He showed pictures of damage found while
dewatering and how PC Construction fixed that damage and remained on schedule.
He said Swanton Village Electric Department did an excellent job helping PC
Construction with the work.
Next Reg showed pictures from
the Fire, Police and Rescue Open House held in September 2011 and also showed
pictures of a drinking and driving exercise done at MVU. Pictures of National
Night Out, the Walking School Bus, installing the Northern Forest Canoe Trail
sign and local students’ art work being displayed at the Village Office were
also shown.
He showed pictures of Gary
Bouchard, Highway Department, being presented with a plaque for 25 years of
service to Swanton Village and a plaque for 45 years of service being presented
to Henry Banyea. He operates the rake at the Dam site every day of the year,
removing debris that collects at the dam.
Reg ended the slideshow
showing numerous pictures throughout Swanton Village.
1. Public informational meeting to discuss the various
departments and their budgets for 2012:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant
Village Manager, started off her presentation by showing the audience that
Swanton Village has the lowest rates in the State of Vermont. She explained
that for 600 kwh’s a Swanton Village ratepayer would pay $73.73 and a Vermont
Electric Coop ratepayer would pay $116.31 for 600 kwh’s of energy. She stated
that we generate about 80% of our own power and that helps keep our rates low.
She then explained the sales,
purchase power and generation in the Electric Department. Lynn stated that our
sales were down due to customers purchasing energy efficient appliances. She
then showed the tax rate by each department showing a .00010 decrease in the
General Fund, a .00320 increase in the Fire Dept., a .01903 increase in the
Police Dept., a .00007 increase in the Highway Fund, totaling .02220 increase
overall. She showed an example of a tax bill for a home assessed at $150,000 would
be $978.45; a $175,000 home would be $1,141.53 and a $200,000 home would be
$1,304.60. This amounts to an increase from last year to $33.30 on a $150,000
home, a $38.85 increase on a $175,000 home and an increase of $44.40 on a
$200,000 home.
Lynn stated that Article 7 on
the Ballot is asking for $8,000 for Village Park Enhancements. She said this
will help purchase new park benches, new garbage receptacles and the
replacement of some trees. This will add $7.67 to a $150,000 home, $8.93 to a
$175,000 home and $10.20 to a $200,000 home.
She advised that Article 8 on
the Ballot is asking for a new Fire Truck not to exceed $475,000, with
approximately $150,000 from the Capital Reserve Fund being put against the
purchase price. The estimated taxes are the Village’s portion only and will be
a $17.02 increase on a $150,000 home, a $19.78 increase on a $175,000 home and
an increase of $22.60 on a $200,000 home.
She also showed with all
Articles passed the proposed 2012 tax bill for a $150,000 home would be
$1,003.14; a $175,000 home would be $1,170.24 and a $200,000 home would be
$1,337.40.
Neal Speer stated that the
2012 Candidates for 2012 were for a Village President, Ronald Kilburn and that he
is retiring after 14 years as Village President; Chris Leach for Village
Trustee for a three year term, Dianne Day, Village Clerk, for a one year term,
and Betty Cheney, Delinquent Tax Collector for a one year term.
Neal asked if there were any
questions from the public.
Village President Candidate
Ronald F. Kilburn introduced himself and said he was asking for approval to
succeed Neal Speer. He said he was reluctant to try and fill his shoes but he
realizes someone needs to step up and contribute so as to maintain the rhythm
established by Neal. He gave some background on his work experience and also
read the thank you from the Village Manager’s report. He thanked everyone and
asked for their support.
Chris Leach said he wanted to
take the opportunity to say a few things about working with Neal Speer over the
last 14 plus years. He said Neal has mentored other Trustees through this
process over the years and said he has been a great leader, a team player and a
people person. He said there have been numerous accomplishments on his watch
including the new office system, having no union in place, great support within
the departments that often help each other out. He said he has been involved
with the Downtown Development as well as the Northwest Regional Planning
Commission. He said Neal’s involvement with these committees have helped make
this a better place to live and work. He said Neal has been involved with the
Water Treatment Plant upgrade, new fiber optic cable project, several
Electrical upgrades, the Memorial Building upgrade as well as working behind
the scenes when hiring the new Police Chief and the new Village Manager. He
said Neal has helped keep this a safe and lower cost place to live and that he
has left the Village in great hands, with low taxes and the lowest electric
rates in the State of Vermont. He thanked Neal for a job well done and
presented him with a plaque from the Village Board of Trustees and Swanton
Village employees thanking him for his dedication to Swanton Village.
Chris stated that he was
running as Village Trustee unopposed and said he would continue to do a good
job keeping this a safe, wonderful place to raise a family. He said he would
appreciate everyone’s support for another three years as Trustee.
Neal stated that his father
instilled in his children the importance of being a team player and that
Swanton Village was a great community. He said we will continue to have a great
team, that they’ve done a good job and said he appreciates all the past members
of the Board as well. He thanked everyone for their support over the years.
2. Any Other Necessary
Business:
Sandy Kilburn asked Chief
Stell if they were accepting expired prescription drugs on Town Meeting Day.
Chief Stell advised there will be a drop box for all unwanted or expired
prescription drugs and that it would be manned all day by an officer.
Chris Leach mentioned he
would appreciate everyone’s support for the Swanton Village Police Department
covering the Town of Swanton on the Town Ballot. He urged everyone to vote yes
on that article.
ADJOURN: Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Board of
Trustees Public Informational Hearing at 8:00 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded.
There being no further business at hand Neal Speer, Village President;
adjourned the Public Informational Hearing at 8:00 p.m.
_____________________________________ _______________________________________
Ronald Kilburn, Village
President Date
_____________________________________ _______________________________________
Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date