SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, June 22, 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; Molly Lambert, Downtown Enhancement Project; Joe Letourneau, Hydro Plant Foreman 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, June 8, 2015:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, June 8, 2015 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked if Reg Beliveau found out how much the Village of Swanton would be receiving for the Hydro Plant grant for Unit #5. Reg stated he is still waiting to hear and would let the Board know as soon as he heard. Reg also advised the Board that vendor LN Consulting was used for an ARC Flash Study at the Sub Station which is an Osha requirement. He said the total cost will be $8000. Chris Leach stated he would like it mentioned in the Minutes that he is researching consolidating dispatching services with the Border Patrol, Customs, etc. to save money. Motion carried.
2. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 19, 2015:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 19, 2015 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Reg Beliveau stated that Almetek Industries Inc for $2880.42 was used for remarking the utility poles. He also said Jeffords Stell & Engineering for $7020 was used for an emergency repair of the rubber bag at the Hydro Plant. Motion carried.
3. Acknowledgement of Swanton Village Financial Management Questionnaire:
Reg Beliveau, Village of Swanton Manager, advised the Board that the Village has filled out their Annual Financial Management Questionnaire for 2015. He advised that Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager/Controller, fills this out for the State of Vermont auditors each year which describes the financial functions of the Village. This ensures that not one individual is responsible for all financial duties and list the names of employees who do each job in the Village Office. Chris Leach made the motion acknowledging receipt of the Village of Swanton’s Financial Questionnaire and also made the motion authorizing Neal Speer, Village President, to sign the document. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motions carried.
The Board elected to moved to Item #5 – Any Other Necessary Business to hear Molly Lambert’s discussion on the Downtown Enhancement Project.
5. Any Other Necessary Business:
Molly Lambert informed the Board that she wanted to stop by and first of all thank them for their support of the Downtown Enhancement Project and would like to come in quarterly and give an update to the Board. She said because of the Community Visit five task forces were created – the Outdoor Recreation Task Force, Swanton Arts Council, the Economic Development Task Force, Unite the Community to Prevent Substance Abuse Task Force and Downtown: Traffic, Walkability, Bikeability.
She said they had a spring flower planting project, a dam overlook was installed and a mural was painted at Maple City Candy building. She also said Rutland’s Project Vision Team is coming to Swanton for a community meeting July 15 to share resources and ideas.
She also said Mark Fenton, National Expert on Biking and Walkability and Healthy Communities, is coming to Swanton and surrounding communities. His visit is being paid for by Rise VT and the date will be announced.
She said the other reason she is there is to discuss the $10,000 grant the Downtown Enhancement Project received through the Village of Swanton being the applicant. Reg Beliveau stated that Lynn Paradis will need to open an account at Union Bank for these funds and create a separate line item and account number for the Downtown Enhancement Project grant funds for detailed accounting purposes. He also stated that in the future there is discussion with the Town of Swanton about asking for funds on the Town Ballot so that Village and Town taxpayers contribute to this Project and those funds would be allocated to the Town of Swanton. Eugene LaBombard asked if there would be a budget the Committee would keep. Reg stated yes like the Swanton Library. Molly said they have had several meetings setting up their 501C and still have a ways to go but are continuing to learn and welcome input. She again thanked the Board for all their continued support.
Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, to open an account for the Downtown Enhancement Project Grant for $10,000 at Union Bank. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
The Board elected to moved back to Item #4.
4. Village of Swanton Employee Handbook Changes/Updates Discussion:
Eugene LaBombard has volunteered to go ahead and make changes throughout the handbook and work with Lynn Paradis or Reg Beliveau at the Village of Swanton. Chris Leach and Adam Paxman liked this idea and stated they would look through the book and give their ideas and suggestions to Eugene to work on. The Board agreed this will be a work in progress until it’s complete and we will keep it on the agenda until then.
5. Any Other Necessary Business:
Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, advised the Board that at their last meeting they discussed having Joe Letourneau come in to give an update on what’s going on at the Hydro Plant and he said he is here tonight to do so. Joe said he took over being the supervisor at the plant in March 2015 and held a meeting to start things off fresh. He said things have been phenomenal since then. He said they hired a new operator, Noel Anderson and that’s help a lot. He said each operator now has two days off per week plus four days off each month. He said Floyd Tatro took it upon himself to create a training guide to help train Noel and he also now does the shopping for the plant and the ordering. He said one of the changes he implemented was each operator carries a cell phone with them to do their rounds and the main phone is programmed through the cell phone. This enables the operator to move freely throughout the plant and grounds and still be in contact with everyone and also saves the Village money because they no longer need to come in early prior to their shift. He said the biggest change he has noticed there is “teamwork” and how well they all work together now. Adam Paxman asked if he sees a need for a sixth person and Joe said not at this time because Greg Sargent can fill in if needed. Joe stated he created a training guide and each operator was able to rate the new operator on each shift and he is now fully trained and operating on his own. He said he has a new Log Book in place which will enable anyone to look back and see what took place on any given day.
Joe also said they just completed their FERC inspection at the plant and they did very well. He said Unit #5 is offline right now but he has ordered the necessary part and it should be in this week. He said the trash rake has been overhauled which included a new head, new controls and cab windows. He said they have completed emergency repairs to the rubber dam entrance hatch and are pleased with that. He said Unit #2 is still running at 80% and JF Messier from Enerserv will be bringing a camera up to see what’s going on inside that unit. Joe said overall things are going pretty good at the plant and they have determined that Units #1, 2 and 3 are performing where they should be. He said they are doing more testing on Unit #4 and JF will come during an outage in August when annual inspections will be done. The Board thanked Joe for coming in and for doing a good job at the Hydro Plant.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into a Water Commissioner’s meeting at 9:03 p.m. to hear a water allocation request. Chris Leach seconded. Seth Coleman is requesting 490 gallons per day for a single family house at the corner of Lake Street and Lasnier Road. Chris Leach made the motion to approve Seth Coleman’s water allocation request for 490 gallons per day for a single family house on the corner of Lake Street and Lasnier Road. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting at 9:06 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau read a letter of thanks from the Abenaki Tribal Council for helping to replace the totem pole on the Monument Road recently. Reg also mentioned all of the rain and the flooding in the Village this past week. He said if it continues they will contact Regional Planning for assistance and they will help the Village open a center if necessary. He said some residents had water up to their floor boards and the Fire Department helped drain water all day Monday. He said they expect more rain tonight and tomorrow morning.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked when the Gas company would begin construction. Reg Beliveau said he thought July 1st they were supposed to break ground. He said they are looking for more investors.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked about the grant received for the storm water treatment and asked Reg Beliveau if the Village needed to go out to bid for that. Reg stated because the Village was doing their own work and using their own equipment and staff to save money he didn’t need to. He also asked if the basketball net was lifted yet. Reg said not yet but he would check into it. Eugene also asked if Reg booked the NEPPA Conference yet and Reg said he would do that this week.
6. Executive Session (If Necessary):
None
ADJOURN: Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:15 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:15 p.m. Motion carried.
Minutes Typed by Dianne Day on 6/26/15
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date