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).

Friday, February 27, 2015

February 9, 2015

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, February 9, 2015

7:00 PM

 

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Jack Paige, Chamber of Commerce; and Ch. 16.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m.

 

1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, January 26, 2015:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, January 26, 2015 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked how the Community Visit went? Neal Speer stated there was an agenda item for that discussion tonight. Motion carried.

 

2. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, February 6, 2015:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through February 6, 2015 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach stated the Village is doing a lot of tree trimming lately and asked if it was a good time to do it when the ground was frozen. Reg Beliveau stated they are doing a lot and it was a good time to do it. Adam Paxman asked what the Fairpoint payment was for. Reg Beliveau stated that was for pole attachment work orders. Motion carried.

 

3. Chamber of Commerce Requests for a Farmer’s Market in the Summer of 2015 on Village Green:

 

Jack Paige, Chamber of Commerce President, request permission to hold a Farmer’s Market on the Village Green this summer beginning May 23, 2015 and running through October 17, 2015 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. each weekend. He is also requesting permission to hold an Open Market the first Saturday of each month during the same time period. He stated that this would be for non-profit groups selling antiques or furniture. He said no food would be allowed as well as no clothing or garage sale type items. He said the Chamber of Commerce would have an application on the website for interested groups or individuals to fill out. He said they are also interested in holding different events during the Farmer’s Market so if any business is interested in that he said to contact the Chamber for more information. Jack also asked for permission to put up a banner for the entire summer for the Farmer’s Market rather than the two week policy states. Chris Leach stated he felt the Board could make an exception to this policy and let the Chamber put up a decent looking banner for the summer advertising their Farmer’s Market.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Chamber of Commerce’s request to hold a Farmer’s Market from May 23, 2015 through October 17, 2015 with an Open Market the first Saturday of each month on the Village Green. Eugene Labombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

4. Community Visit Discussion:

 

Neal Speer stated the Community Visit was very well attended and said there was over 200 for the meal at MVU. Reg stated there were three sessions going on at all times with 40 to 60 people at each session. He said on February 17 at 6:30 p.m. the Village will be hosting a meeting to follow up on the substance abuse meeting here at the Village Complex. He said the Village and the Police Department will be hosting that meeting. Adam Paxman said approximately 45 people attended the Community Recreation meeting and there is now a group forming called the Swanton Arts Council group. He said they will do small events to begin with. Reg stated on March 5th there will be a follow up meeting here at the Village Complex to see if there is any funding available for Swanton. Reg said people love the services in the Village as well as the electric rates, the crews, the tree trimming, etc. He said some of the things he heard discussed where a traffic study by Merchants Row, parking issues and the flow of traffic there as well as the Robinhood Truck Route on Grand Avenue. Neal Speer stated that Canada’s Route 35 should divert a lot of truck traffic when it’s complete. They also discussed a Bike Path on Route 78 West and on Spring Street. Reg again reminded everyone about the meeting on Thursday, March 5th at 6:30 p.m. here at the Complex.

 

5. Electric Cost of Service Update:

 

Reg Beliveau stated the Village put Warnings in the utility bills for a public meeting that will be held on March 10 at 7 p.m. at the Swanton Complex. Reg stated this Public meeting will discuss the proposed percentage changes to rates by customer class as follows: residential: 4.6% increase; residential demand: 5.3% increase; small commercial: 6.6% increase; large commercial/industrial: 4.1% decrease; street lighting: 48.9% decrease; security lighting: 31.4% decrease.

 

6. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman stated that on Monday, May 25, 2015 he will join three others in putting on a Memorial Day Parade and BBQ in the Village Square. He said there will be a bouncy house in the park as well as other events for our Veterans who gave all for our country if the Board agrees. He said so far himself, Joel Clark, Camille Freeman and Chad Ste. Marie will be working to make this year’s event better than last years. Reg Beliveau suggested he contact the Swanton Enhancement Committee for help with this event. Adam said he already talked with the Police Department and said he would talk with the Enhancement Committee as well. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve Adam Paxman’s request to hold this event in the Park on May 25th, 2015. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if there has been anything done on VPPSA’s recommendation to have an engineering firm come in and look at the Hydro facility. Reg Beliveau stated they are forming a Hydro Subcommittee at VPPSA that will look at Hydro facilities. He said the Village is up for FERC re-licensing in 2024. He said Morrisville is going through it now and are having a lot of issues. He said the Village may group up with other Municipalities going through re-licensing at the same time. He said he met with Paul Nolan and discussed this as well as the Lower Swanton Dam. He said he has submitted an extension on that because they are looking at development and Paul will put together a Scope of Development and put it out to bid.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated some of our Village residents may have received a notice about an insurance company offering to insure their water line service. He said Police Chief Stell advised him they are not licensed to sell insurance in the State of Vermont. Reg advised the Board the Village put a notice on Facebook and on our Website informing the residents about this.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau informed the Board that Lynn did some re-vamping of the Financial Policies and she wants the Board to look them over and if they have any questions to ask her in the next week or so because she would like them approved and adopted at the next Board meeting. Reg said they are about to receive a $74,000 grant for Marble Mill and they will need some of these financial policies approved.

 

Reg Beliveau stated he would need an Executive Session for Customer Account, Personnel and Real Estate.

 

7. Executive Session (If Necessary):

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel, Real Estate and Customer Account at 8:12 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 10:00 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize Reg Beliveau to hire a new Hydro Plant Operator. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ADJOURN: Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 10:05 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 10:05 p.m. Motion carried.

 

_____________________________________          _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

 

 

 

_____________________________________          ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date

 

 

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

January 26, 2015

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, January 26, 2015

7 PM

 

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; David Mullett and Brian Callan, VPPSA; Joe Letourneau and Ch. 16.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

Neal Speer, 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, January 12, 2015:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, January 12, 2015 and as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

2. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, January 23, 2015:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through January 23, 2015 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the US Bank payment. Lynn Paradis explained that was for their monthly bond payments. Motion carried.

 

The Board decided to move to item #4 because Chris Leach was coming in late.

 

4. Electric Cost of Service Update:

 

Reg Beliveau stated the Village put Warnings in the utility bills for a public meeting that will be held the first week in March. He said they are waiting for an approval notice back from the Public Service Board. He said this is revenue neutral, the Village is just cost shifting but said this could take several more months to complete. He said this is normal course of business for the PSB.

 

5. Adopt and Sign 2015 Annual Warning:

 

Neal Speer, Village President, read the 2015 Annual Warning to the Board members. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adopt and sign the 2015 Annual Warning as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. 4th Quarter SQRP for Review:

 

Chris Leach stated he wanted to congratulate the electric crew and the office crew for another great quarter. Eugene LaBombard asked if anyone ever commented on a bill error that the Village had last quarter. Lynn Paradis advised no.

 

The Board moved back to Item #3

 

3. 2015 VPPSA Update:

 

David Mullett and Brian Callan from VPPSA were present for this presentation to try and explain to the Board how they determine Swanton Village’s budget for the coming year. They presented a handout covering some of the topics they look at at the Hydro Plant. The handout included the following:

  • Relationship of Market Prices to PS Budget
  • Historical Power Supply Budget to Actual Costs
  • Highgate Falls Efficiency Gains
  • Historical Power Supply $/kWh Relationship to Market Energy Prices (Forecasted View Also Provided)
  • Power Supply Cost Actual to Budget Variance 2003-2014
  • Avg Daily MWh Production (including Unit 5)/Avg Daily Million Cubic Feet of Water (Swanton Gauge)
  • Highgate Falls Average Daily Output Using Different Flow Values
  • 2013-2014 Missisquoi River Flows
  • 2014 Availability/Online Percentage for Highgate Falls
  • Next Steps?
  • Suggest technical engineering assessment of Highgate Falls – when to use which unit depending on flow of river in order to maximize value; upgrades needed?

 

Brian Callan stated that after all their research and data collected VPPSA feels Swanton Village would benefit greatly by having an engineering company come in and study the facility to see how it could run better. He stated over the last year they ran an experiment with running Unit #5 but feels an engineer can better read the collected data. He said the plant would also benefit with needed upgrades. The Board thanked Brian and David for coming in and giving them this presentation.

 

7. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman asked how the Village was doing with collecting their delinquent taxes. Lynn Paradis stated she feels some tax sales are needed at this time and said she is carrying numbers over from year to year and would like to see those cleared up.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau reminded everyone of the upcoming Community Visit being held on Wednesday, January 28th. He said he would be closing the Village office at 2 p.m. so that the employees could attend and he urged all residents to attend these meetings.

 

8. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel at 8:32 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 10:43 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 10:45 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 10:45 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

_____________________________________          _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

 

 

 

_____________________________________          ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date