Trustee Meeting Minutes - August 13th, 2012

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

MINUTES

BOARD OF TRUSTEES REGULAR MEETING

Monday, August 13, 2012

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Ronald Kilburn, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Jim Irish, Waste Water Treatment Plant Foreman and Channel 16.

Ronald Kilburn, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

1. Approve and Accept the Minutes from Monday, July 23, 2012 Meeting:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, July 23, 2012 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

2. Approve Village Warrants Through August 10, 2012:

Chris Leach asked what the St. Albans Police invoice was for, Reg advised him it was for dispatching services. He asked what Triple P Painting invoice was for, Reg advised the Complex upgrade, they painted the concrete.  He asked what Allen Engineering invoice was for, Reg advised that is where they buy chemicals for the water and waste water plants. They asked what the Ray Gadue invoice was for, Reg advised it was payback of an electric estimate. They asked about Reynolds & Son invoice, Reg advised they purchase tools, supplies, and spare parts for the Hydro Plant. Ron asked what Necco Inc. was for. Reg advised the Water Treatment Plant upgrade. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to accept and approve Village Warrants through August 10, 2012. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

3. Solar Aerators:

Reg Beliveau and Jim Irish gave a brief update of the Waste Water Plant and how it was designed for 16 mechanically run aerators. Jim stated that they are beginning to fail and as of now they have 14 aerators running and said they are in need of new ones. Jim said that usually the motor is what goes on them and a replacement motor cost $1300 and takes 6 to 8 weeks to get. He said if they went with the Solar Aerators five would do the job of the 16 they currently have. He explained that the Solar mixers bring water up to the surface to get oxygen. He said if they go this route they will be the first in the State of Vermont and have chosen Aeromix to purchase the aerators from. He said these aerators have two amp motors on them for back up. He said two other wastewater plants in Vermont are looking into Solar Aerators as well.

The proposal for this purchase would be to finance the full amount through Municipal Leasing Corp. The cost of the five units is $159,500 plus approximately $4000 for shipping. Lynn stated she would bank Efficiency Vermont grant money and funds saved on the reduced electric bills at the plant and use that as part of the monthly payment. The proposed electric savings is approximately $25,000 per year. She stated she would use Municipal Leasing Corp. for the purchase with an interest rate of 4.3%. Jim also stated that Aeromix manufacturer will come in once per quarter to perform any necessary maintenance on the five aerators for one year at no additional cost. He also said the existing aerators would stay in place as a fail safe in case the solar aerators don’t work, they can turn the old ones back on. He said the solar aerators have a life span of 20 years.

Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, to lease five solar aerators through Municipal Leasing Corp at an interest rate of 4.3% for a term of five years. The amount to be leased is $163,500. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Reg advised he would like to discuss Item #5 before Item #4.

5. Water and Sewer Rate Increase Discussion:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter into a Water Commissioner’s meeting. Chris Leach seconded.

Lynn Paradis advised the Board that the last rate increase was in 2006. She said there is no money in the rates for future Capital Replacements. As assets age they don’t have any money in the bank to replace them. She said as of now the rates are set in tiers and she wanted to simplify the rate structure from this point forward. She said there is a base charge and then a per gallon charge. Lynn stated they financed $4 million dollars for the Water Treatment Plant upgrade and received $200,000 forgiveness on that loan so would have to pay back $3.8 million dollars with an interest rate of 3%. If they spend the whole project amount the yearly payment will be $255,420 beginning one year after the project is complete. The first payment will be due in 2014. She said what they need in their water rates are $255,420 in order to make the payment.

She informed the Board that in the wastewater department as of July 31^st they have a revenue bond of 5.8%, which is backed by their rates. They also have general obligation debt which is backed by property taxes. She said there is also a general obligation note in this department as well. Lynn stated the principal and interest payments for this year are $238,866 and that amount is currently in their rates. She said in the water department they need to prepare for water infrastructure replacement and said some of their old pipes are 2 inches and need to be replaced as well. There are fire hydrants on 4 and 6 inch lines that need to be served by 8 inch lines. Lynn said in the sewer department the UV disinfection system needs replacing, and that is critical. The vactor was purchased when they did the CSO project and is showing its age. She said the pickup in the sewer plant needs to be replaced at least by next year.

Lynn recommends they bring the water rates up this year to begin setting money aside for future capital purposes. She recommends they raise the rates again next year because their fist debt payment is due in 2014 and they are going to need to have enough money to cover the debt in their rates. She recommends they review the rates each year to see if they cover the budget and at some point decide how much money they are comfortable putting away each year. She stated that what she is recommending for an increase still does not meet the State average.

Lynn stated that with the sewer rates she followed the same methodology using the same 65/35 split for fixed costs and variable costs. She said the UV disinfection system costs approximately $200,000 so they need to put money aside for capital replacements in the sewer department also.

Lynn recommends increasing the residential Village customer charge from $7.66 per month to $14.00 per month and charging a flat fee of $1.25 per thousand gallons of water. She showed the different rate classes and recommends changing only the base customer charge per month and leaving the water usage fee at a flat rate of $1.25 per thousand for all customers. Lynn showed an estimated bill using an average usage of 5,000 gallons per month for a Village customer. That bill now would be $16.01 and with the new rates it would cost $20.25. Reg stated the increase for the average customer is approximately $7.64 per month and that is including the proposed sewer increase. She also showed them the commercial and industrial estimated bills with a usage of 30,000 gallons per month and those bills decreased because of the tier of the rates. Reg stated he hopes this ultimately helps with the conservation of water. Lynn explained that both Town and Village customers have the same sewer rates and that is because of the CSO project.

The Board stated they wanted to hold a Public Hearing this month to inform the residents of this rate increase. Chris Leach stated it was fair and a good idea. He said the plants are non profit and they are not making money on this. He said it was a good idea to put money away in these departments. Lynn advised she would like to implement the rate increase in October 2012. She said she would like to send an insert in the bills in September advising of the rate increase and hold a Public Hearing at their next Board meeting this month.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the water and sewer rate increase as proposed by Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit the Water Commissioner’s meeting and enter back into the Regular meeting. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

4. Community Update:

Reg Beliveau gave a community update to the Board and presented a slide show of the water plant upgrade, the new border patrol building, the demolishing of the Mobil station, electric line projects, the new transformer, wastewater centrifuse, aerators, and new sidewalks. Ron Kilburn asked if there is any fix to the First Street paving.  Reg said he is working on it and has met with the contractor that did the work and he also has a call in to Jim Cota with the Agency of Transportation.

6. Relay for Life Coin Drop Request:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve Ben & Jerry’s Relay for Life request to hold a Coin Drop on Saturday, August 25, 2012 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. with a rain date of September 8, 2012. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

7. Any Other Necessary Business:

Chris Leach asked when the next JLB meeting was and was informed August 20, 2012 here at the Village Complex. Reg stated he looked into the Equipment Tax issue and said Swanton is not alone, that other communities are doing the same thing. He said he will give Dave Jescavage what he has learned so far for the next JLB meeting. Chris Leach stated he would like to discuss the Merger topic at the JLB and asked the Board members to jot down their thoughts for the meeting. Adam stated he would like to add the Tri-Town Arena on the JLB agenda as well. Chris Leach also stated he appreciates the efforts of everyone involved with National Night Out.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman thanked everyone involved, especially Swanton Village, for the awesome Car Show held on July 28, 2012. He said there were 121 cars entered. He also said the Chamber of Commerce is holding a Concert in the Park this coming Saturday.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman showed the Board pictures of the Park benches he is looking at purchasing.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau advised the Board that back in 2008 they did a treatment on the lamprey in Lake Champlain. He stated that they will be doing it again this fall. Reg also advised the Board that David Jescavage, Town Administrator, gave him a letter from the Selectboard thanking the line crew for cleaning the front of the Town Office building.

8. Executive Session (if necessary):

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Contracts at 9:02 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:12 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn at 9:15 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Ron Kilburn, Village President, adjourned the Regular Board of Trustees meeting at 9:15 p.m.

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Ronald Kilburn, Village President                                Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                           Date