SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, December 14, 2015
7:00 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; Fire Chief Tim Girard; Jason Cross; Jason Butler; Chief of Police Joey Stell; and Ch. 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
1. Call to Order:
Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:04 p.m.
2. Agenda Review:
Neal Speer stated they will move Item #7 up to #5 so the Fire Chief can give his report and not sit through the budget discussions.
3. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, November 23, 2015:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, November 23, 2015 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
4. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, December 11, 2015:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants (#126-#136) through Friday, December 11, 2015 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what Johnson Hardware was used for. Reg Beliveau explained that’s where Swanton Village buys their linemen clothing. Adam also asked about the Department of Public Safety. Lynn Paradis explained that was for the Police Department’s internet connection and data base. Motion carried.
5. Discussion with Fire Chief Tim Girard:
Fire Chief Tim Girard stated he brought along Deputy Chiefs Jason Cross and Jason Butler. Tim stated the call volume so far this year is down but is right on track. He said the duration of the calls has been a lot longer and that has caused salaries to be over budget. He said it is projected to be over $5000 this quarter. Chris Leach asked if Tim could show a chart showing this information over the last five years. Tim said he prints that in the annual Village Report. Tim said there have been a lot of new members added to the Fire Department. He said two thirds of them are Level I and Level II certified. He said because of the structure fires in the first half of the year payroll was almost gone in the first quarter of the year. Adam Paxman asked how the Village determines the Town Fire Assessment. Lynn Paradis said it is based on a 5 year rolling average. She said that her number is subject to change and she’s waiting on the grand list number from the Town. She stated none of these budgets are finalized yet. Chris Leach stated the Town grand list has grown considerably. Lynn stated because of the Dollar General store going in that will increase the Village grand list also. Neal Speer said that the Town fire assessment will go up if the grand list goes up because they are covering more places. Chris Leach stated they should show the school fire prevention program in the Village report. Tim Girard stated they went over budget on that as well stating they served 500 kids for about $800 for the week.
Tim Girard stated that by the year 2023 all air packs need to be replaced to meet state standards. He said this will cost approximately $6000 per pack plus face pieces. Tim said there’s some grant money out there and they are trying to get that. He said they would like to do at least six packs per year which cost $32,500 and another $7000 for the face pieces. Jason Cross stated this will increase annually by at least 5 to 7%. Jason Butler said if the face pieces can’t handle the temperature of fires they need to be replaced. Tim Girard stated he would like to reduce the radio equipment line item by $3000 and add that to the personal protective equipment line item. He stated they are asking for a $2000 increase in the personal protective equipment line item as well. He stated last year the fire department wages were brought up to minimum wage and that the firefighters are not in this for the money. Lynn Paradis stated that over the last three budgets the fire department’s budget has increased from $227,000 to $284,000. Tim Girard stated they don’t have a lot of control over line items such as Workmen’s Comp., rent, and dispatching. Reggie said that Swanton has the first fire prevention program documented fire save in the State of Vermont. Reg said if they gradually upgrade the air packs it would take six years to get it done and then the department would be in compliance. He said you could argue needs and wants but it’s equipment and viable for the fire department. Tim Girard stated they do a lot of specialty stuff such as boat rescues, hazmat calls and ice rescues. Eugene LaBombard asked what percentage the department is up from last year. Lynn stated there’s an 11% increase and their tax rate is going from .0391 to .0439. She said on a home costing $150,000 there would be a $66 tax bill. Lynn stated that in 2015 a home costing $150,000 had a tax bill of $56. Eugene LaBombard stated he feels Tim will meet some resistance from the Town. Eugene said he feels that they will ask some very hard questions. Reg Beliveau said to present this budget as preliminary. Chris Leach said it’s a very defensible budget and the safety of the people is important. He said it’s great that young people are joining the department also. Reg asked about the truck replacement fund. He said they have two years left and then the ladder truck is the next truck in rotation. Chris Leach asked how well we collect on invoices that are billed out. Tim stated we’re at 100% for the year 2015 and the year 2014 was about 50-50. Eugene stated a $10 increase sounded okay to him. Neal Speer stated they don’t have any choice regarding the air packs. Lynn stated they could go to the voters with a separate line item to purchase the air packs. Chris Leach stated he didn’t have a problem with the budget and Adam said he didn’t either. Lynn stated the budget is up $18,000 from last year. Adam said he appreciated Tim’s time and effort and Neil said the board stood behind him. Tim thanked the voters for all their support and thanked the Board of Trustees as well.
ice rescues.
6. Discuss 2016 Budgets:
Police Department: Lynn stated salaries are going up by about $20,000 in this department. She said it’s because of having to cover five part time shifts. She also said telephone and Internet coverage were going up because Comcast raised their rates. She said they had a savings with them at first but now their rates have increased. Lynn stated that the property insurance was going down in this department but that workers compensation was increasing. She said this is because of an increase in claims this past year. She said a claim in the electric department will affect all departments. Chris Leach asked about the school resource officer. Lynn stated that the high school covers those expenses. She also said health insurance was up by about 5% and dental coverage had a and dental small increase as well. She said their training line item was also increased a little bit. Lynn said the Town contract is the same as last year but said she wasn’t sure if they’re going out to bid on this for next year. She said five part time shifts would decrease if they don’t have the Town contract. Chief Stell said the training budget is up due to new legislative mandates. He said there are rule changes taking effect in January which will mean more training for all officers. Lynn said the tax rate in this department is up .3 cents from last year and on a home costing $150,000 the tax bill would be $555. Last year’s bill would have been $513. Lynn stated if they don’t have the Town contract the dispatching expense goes away. Adam Paxman stated everything is justified in this department and thanked Joey for keeping it as low as possible. Chief Stell said he would need an executive session to discuss personnel.
General Fund: Lynn stated this fund covers mostly the Complex building. She said salaries are up in this fund due to a straight increase. She said there are no new personnel. Lynn said property insurance was staying the same but workers compensation was increasing. She said there is a 5% increase in health insurance and dental insurance was staying the same. She said there is a big increase in plant maintenance because that covers cleaning, fixing sidewalks, the lunchroom repairs, parking lot signs, an awning over the front entrance, furnace repair, painting, sprinkler and fire alarm service work. She said rent is figured on square footage and she can determine what each department pays for tax purposes. She said overall this budget is down a little bit.
Highway Fund: Lynn stated she really hasn’t had a chance to sit with Mike Menard yet. She said wages are really the only thing that will change in this fund. She said the equipment number may change because this department needs a new backhoe. She said the one they have is a 2001 and they’ve only put tires and normal maintenance into it. She said Mike has gotten two or three quotes and with municipal discounts and the trade in they are looking at very good prices. She’s wondering if they ask the voters on a separate line item for a loan or if they should lease it. She said the interest rate on the digger truck is 2.25%. After a discussion the board asked her to put a separate line item on the ballot for voter approval. She said the tax rate is going from .2887 to .2924, a very small increase.
Electric Department: Lynn stated she is recommending they file for a rate increase in this department. She said her depreciation rates are not the same as what’s being booked and bond payments are coming out of depreciation rates. She stated purchase power is at $2.1 million dollars and those two items alone will drive a rate increase. She said wages at the power plant are budgeted to go down because of the new swing position. She said this has cut overtime hours considerably. She said when this operator isn’t working at the plant he’s working in the maintenance department. She said maintenance of plant is over budget because they are now doing a lot of preventative maintenance. She said purchase power is up to $2.9 million dollars from $2.6 million dollars. She said they are projecting 2016 purchase power costs to be over $3 million dollars. Lynn said there are salary increases in this budget and uniforms are up because of requirements. She said the new linemen need their gear. She said tree trimming is up as well.
Lynn also said bank charges are up due to the number of people paying by credit card. She said their SCADA system needs an upgrade this year also. She said workman’s compensation increased a lot as well as conventions, meetings and training because two linemen are in classes. She said this is the final year for the 1988 bond payment. She said she talked with VPPSA about a rate increase and they recommend between 7 and 10% for an increase.
Water Fund: Lynn stated chemicals were up in this fund and testing was about the same as last year. Reg stated they should be thinking about new water meters very soon for this department. He said he is going to have a demonstration done. Lynn said she reduced the training in this fund also. She said she is recommending a rate increase in this fund also, going from $22.14 to $23.18 for the fixed rate and $2.28 to $2.53 in the variable rates. This is for a Village residential account.
Sewer Fund: Lynn said they need a rate increase in this fund also. She would like to go from $29.39 to $35.50 in the fixed rates and from $3.61 down to $3.55 in the variable rates. She said there is an increase in the electric costs due to the aerators not working properly, chemicals have increased, testing costs are up and maintenance of lines labor is up. She said they made their final payment on one of the CSO bonds and there is one remaining bond for 2016.
Commercial Building Fund: Lynn said it is time to increase the rent in this fund but said everything else remains the same. She said she added a plant maintenance line item in this fund as well.
Lynn said she would like to meet next week with the board because she would have more solid budgets for them. She said she factored in a 3% wage increase as well. The board thanked Lynn for all her hard work on these budgets and agreed to meet on December 21st to review the budgets again.
7. Electric Line of Credit:
Lynn Paradis informed the Board that last year she drew funds out of the Village’s Return of Contingency bonds. She said she has paid some back but not all of it and she is requesting permission to open a $1.5 million dollar line of credit. She said she received a quote from Union Bank for .84% and from People’s United for 1.39%. She said she would like to go with Union Bank for the line of credit. She said it needs to be paid by the end of next year and she will put any excess money on that line of credit to pay it down.
Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, to open a $1.5 million dollar line of credit with Union Bank with an interest rate of .84%. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
8. Any Other Necessary Business:
Lynn Paradis stated this past weekend Boy Scout Troop #823 went to Arlington National Cemetery for the Wreaths Across America project. She said they raised $8000 over the last year for this trip. She said this was a great experience for them and they got to see several monuments and the Air & Space museum.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated he has received a copy of the Memorial United Methodist Church (MUMC) parking lot agreement and it looks good. He said they covered everything and downtown Swanton needs the parking spaces. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize Village Manager Reginald Beliveau to sign the final parking lot agreement between the Town of Swanton, Memorial United Methodist Church and the Village of Swanton. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman asked Reg if the Village was going ahead with ICloud. Reg stated it’s looking like it will be up and running the first quarter of 2016. He said they have a contract in place for it.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated he wanted to thank everyone who attended Christmas in the Park. He said over 600 people attended and they are working on getting a second carriage for next year.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked about the FERC visit to the Hydro Plant. Reg said the rubber bag was inspected and they said it’s the best they’ve seen for the age of it. He said they need to address a few things on it and will be getting a report. Chris asked if Reg has heard anything more about the gas compacting company. Reg said he hasn’t heard anything.
Any Other Business: Reg stated he had a meeting with Paul Nolan and a potential developer of the Lower Dam. He told them the Village wants to keep the dam and are interested in a small 500 KW generating facility. He said he would like this to be a training tool in renewable energy for local students. He said he needed an executive session for personnel also.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach said Marianna Gamache would like a tour of the Hydro Plant and he’d like to ask Brian Savage too. He said they’d like to do this before the legislative session starts back up.
9. Public Comment:
None.
10. Executive Session (If Necessary):
Chris Leach made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel at 9:37 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 10:25 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
11. Adjournment:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 10:25 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 10:25 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date