SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, July 28, 2014
7 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager, Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Joey Stell, Chief of Police and Channel 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed everyone to the Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7 o’clock.
1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, July 14, 2014:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, July 14, 2014 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
2. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, July 25, 2014:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked about the Radio North Group payment, Lynn Paradis advised that was the grant for the Fire Department for their new radios and that it would be reimbursed at 100%. Chris Leach asked about the payment made to Iron Brook, Reginald Beliveau explained that was for the Ultra Violet system at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. Adam Paxman asked about the payment made to Bergeron Protective Clothing, Reginald Beliveau explained that was for the Fire Department. Motion carried.
3. Section 108 Update Discussion:
Reginald Beliveau presented of Board of Trustees with an insert that will go into the utility bills explaining the two articles coming up for a vote on August 19, 2014 if approved by the Board. Neal Speer read aloud the insert. Article one is asking the voters to approve $1.3 million dollars for the purpose of establishing a line of credit facility to support the operation of the Swanton Village Electric Department. Chris Leach asked if this was normal accounting practice and Lynn advised it was and stated one way around it would be to have a separate checking account for each department. She stated she would need to modify her software program in order to do this and maybe in the future the Village would work on doing so. Lynn stated these figures were not in the rate case yet and said that the ratepayers would not be affected by this until 2015. She said this year they have gone in for a 7.42% rate increase and that still keeps Swanton Village the lowest in the state. Chris Leach stated the insert is very informative and he would approve it being mailed soon as possible. Lynn stated article 2 is asking the voters to approve a note not to exceed $1.45 million dollars for the purpose of purchasing utility vehicles and making capital improvements to its Orman Croft Generating Facility. The only change the board thought should be added to the insert was to add the length of the loans. Lynn advised she would make those changes and get that insert mailed as soon as possible.
4. Approve and Adopt Special Warning for Electric Bond Vote August 19, 2014:
Chris Leach made the motion to Approve and Adopt the Special Warning to vote on the two Electric Bonds August 19, 2014 with a public hearing to be held on Monday, August 11, 2014 at 7 PM at the Village Complex. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
5. Wayne Elliott – Discuss Phase III Recovery for the Archaeological Investigation on Waugh Farm Road:
Wayne Elliott didn’t show for this article, the Board of Trustees decided to table this item until further notice. Item tabled.
6. Electric Rate Case Discussion:
Reginald Beliveau stated that as of the last meeting they hadn’t filed their rate case yet so he couldn’t discuss the percentage being asked for. He said as of this week they have filed and they are asking for a 7.42% rate increase in the electric department. He said their consultant has met with the Public Service Board and some of the items they are working on include purchase orders and quotes. He said the Public Service Board has 30 days to review their requests and he would keep the Board updated as soon as he heard anymore on this rate increase. Reg stated in the maintenance budget they are increasing it from $45,000 to $100,000 and the Public Service Board wants to know why. He said they have now included a five year maintenance plan in each department at the Village and will be hiring a new maintenance technician. He said Swanton Village has a very good accountant and his hat goes off to Lynn Paradis for all her hard work. Lynn stated the Public Service Board wants to see financial policies in place for all utilities and wants them to be very similar in nature. Lynn also stated she is waiting to hear back on her depreciation study and she also wants to hear from the Village auditors to see if they are on board with that study. Reginald advised the Board he would keep them updated as soon as he had more information regarding this rate increase.
7. Second Quarter SQ RP for Review:
Lynn Paradis presented of the Board of Trustees with the second quarter SQRP report for review. She explained there was one escalation issue out of almost 11,000 customers. Chris Leach stated the percentage numbers were always very low and that Swanton Village employees always do a good job. Board of Trustees accepted this SQRP report.
8. Discuss the Sale of Used Vactor In Sewer Department:
Lynn Paradis advised the Board she has had interest expressed in purchasing of the old vactor. She asked the Board if she should put it up for sale and if so should she put on reserve/minimum bid on it. Neal Speer asked if they should get it appraised. Lynn advised they were given a value on the old vactor when they bought the new vactor. Chris Leach advised to go ahead and use that as the minimum bid. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Village of Swanton selling the old vactor in the Sewer Department with a reserve/minimum bid in place. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
9. Tree Inventory Discussion:
Reginald Beliveau read a letter of thanks from the UVM students that were in Swanton Village doing a tree study in the Village. He said UVM will be hosting a community celebration on Thursday, July 31, 2014 from 6 to 8 PM and said anyone from the Board was welcome to attend. He said UVM will send a complete report on their findings in the very near future.
10. Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman stated he would like to thank Jay and Duane from the Electric Department for painting the old utility poles. He said they look brand new and he has heard nothing but great things. He said it’s the little things that make a big difference. Adam also stated he would like to thank everyone for coming out to the Car Show. He said they had 154 cars and had a very good turnout. He said he wanted to thank the Public Works crew for all their help and said the parks and streets looked great. He also wants to thank the Swanton Village Fire Department for their help on the car fire. He said he wanted to thank the Village for supporting on their annual car show each year. Neal Speer stated the park has never looked better.
Any Other Business: Reginald Beliveau stated that Friends of Northern Lake Champlain held their BBQ last week at Marble Mill Park. He said that’s a great place to hold an event because you can have restricted access. Reginald stated that on Thursday, August 14 Northwest Access TV and the Swanton Recreation Department will be hosting a Movie Under the Stars event. They will be showing the movie Shrek at 8 PM at Marble Mill Park in Swanton and that it is free for everyone to attend. He said bring your chairs, blankets and bug spray and come out and enjoy a fun evening at Marble Mill Park. Reginald also stated at the Vermont State Firefighters Association two local firefighters were recognized. John Greer was named Maintenance Technician of the Year and Ronald Young Jr was named Firefighter of the Year. He said Swanton did a great job.
Any Other Business: Village Clerk Dianne Day advised the Board that there was interest expressed in the Food Arts Riot being held in Burlington. She advised them they could check their link out on Facebook.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked to reschedule Wayne Elliott at his convenience.
11. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate and Personnel:
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into executive session at 8:05 PM to discuss Real Estate Personnel. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:30 PM. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: Eugene LaBombard made the motion for Swanton Village to begin advertising to hire a Maintenance Technician. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Chris Leach made the motion to revisit the agreement regarding the Woodshill property and seek legal advice. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ADJOURN: Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the regular meeting of the Board of Trustees at 9:32 PM. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:32 PM. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date