This page is maintained by Swanton Village, Inc and is intended to be the official online posting of public meetings and minutes in accordance with Vermont’s Open Meeting law (Amended July 1st, 2014).

Monday, January 13, 2014

Trustee Meeting Minutes - January 13th, 2014

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488


REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY, January 13, 2014
7:00 P.M.


PRESENT: Ron Kilburn, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reg Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager Dianne Day, Village Clerk; and Ch. 16.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

Ron Kilburn, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:06 p.m.



1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, December 23, 2013 and Monday, January 6, 2014:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, December 23, 2013 and Minutes from Monday, January 6, 2014 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach stated they discussed the grand list topic some more and he has tabled it for now. Adam asked Reg if he spoke with Channel 16 about being able to choose which meetings were shown online. Reg stated he hasn’t but would do so. Chris Leach stated that Northwest Solid Waste District is using Peoples Trust Company in St. Albans for their line of credit with great success. He said this is just something to think about. Motion carried.

2. Approve and Accept Warrants through January 10, 2014:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Warrants through January 10, 2014 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked about the VT Department of Health payment. Lynn stated that was for test bottles for the Water Treatment Plant. Motion carried.

3. Adopt 2014 Budgets:

Chris Leach made the motion to adopt and approve the 2014 budget as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: The Board asked when the Village would hold their annual informational meeting. They decided on Wednesday, February 26th at 7 p.m. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that the budget included a two percent increase in payroll, which was consistent with the cost of living adjustment (COLA). Adam Paxman asked if the final purchase power numbers were in yet. Lynn stated not as of yet. Motion carried.

4. Sign Electric Department Line of Credit:

The Board of Trustees signed the Line of Credit and Resolution documents for the One Million Dollar line of credit from Union Bank that was approved at their January 6, 2014 meeting. They also signed the  post issuance compliance procedures and tax certificates.

5. FCIDC Building Lot 2 Park C Request for Water and Sewer Allocation:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:22 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.


Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, asked the Board to please not mention the company’s name as of yet. He stated that FCIDC is requesting a Water and Sewer Allocation for Building Lot 2 Park C next to Vermont Precision Tools. They are requesting a water allocation of 775 gpd and a wastewater allocation of 700 gpd. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve FCIDC’s request for their water and wastewater allocation for Building Lot 2 Park C as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.


Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:27 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.


6. Any Other Necessary Business:

Lynn Paradis asked the Board if they were comfortable adopting the water and sewer rates that were in the 2014 budget. She stated she wanted to get notice out to the customers as soon as possible stating that the rates were increasing.


Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the water and sewer rates as presented in the 2014 budget. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried. Chris Leach stated that this increase is based on need for the bond payment for the Water Treatment Plant upgrade through 2017 and that the voters approved these rates increases.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated that the internet access is down right now on the downtown camera and he said Channel 16 is sending someone up to refigure the IP address. Adam also stated he would like to announce that he is running for Village Trustee again and said he would deliver the same or even better service as the last three years. He also stated at their last JLB meeting he brought up the need for a point person for Swanton. He said this person would tackle issues such as downtown development, bringing new business to Swanton, bring new money to Swanton (grants for all kinds of things) etc. and he said he has come up with a job description for this individual. This person would live in Swanton, is passionate about making Swanton a prosperous community, has grant-writing abilities or has the contacts for grant-writing, has or would acquire contacts throughout the State that would help Swanton prosper, would be a full time employee of the Town, would have the responsibility to meet with prospective businesses about locating in Swanton, would work closely with the Town Administrator and Village Manager to understand the strengths and weaknesses of Swanton as a whole (what we offer and what we can’t), and would report to the Swanton JLB. He said this is just a rough draft and he would like this added to the next agenda for their next JLB meeting so they can further discuss it in February. He said he believes this is important for the future of Swanton. Ron Kilburn asked if this position would be grant funded. Adam said he didn’t know how they would be paid yet, that’s why he wants it on the next agenda to discuss it further.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated the streets are in better condition this week and said the ice is melting. He said it’s been impossible to keep up with and he wanted to thank the Public Works crew.


Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that the Cub Scouts decorated the Park Band Stand this year. Adam Paxman said Christmas in the Park will be held earlier next year.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if the Village picked up the Christmas trees. Reg stated yes they are, they bring them to the compost pile at Hudak’s. Chris advised residents to check out Northwest Solid Waste District’s website for recycling information. Their web address is nwswd.org.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated there is a tree at the north end of the Village Green that should be cut. He said it is in very bad shape.


Any Other Business: Ron Kilburn stated that he would like to announce that he chooses not to run for another term as Village President for the Village of Swanton. He stated he feels someone younger should run as President and said he will feel more comfortable in his retirement giving this up. He said he enjoyed his two terms and was made to feel welcome by everyone.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that the Town and Village of Swanton would be coordinating their Village Report covers this year using the 250th Anniversary as their theme. Chris Leach asked if I received the Solid Waste report for the Village Report, I told him yes I did. He said he would like to see something mentioned about picking up Christmas trees and leaves in Reg’s report. Ron stated he would have a report on the 250th Anniversary for the Village Report as well.

7. Executive Session (If Necessary):

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session at 7:56 p.m. to discuss personnel. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:24 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.


ACTION TAKEN: Personnel Issue Resolved.


ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:25 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Ronald Kilburn, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:25 p.m.



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Ronald Kilburn, Village President                    Date


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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date