SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
SPECIAL MEETING
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
5:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; and Dianne Day, Village Clerk.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
1. Call to Order:
Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Special Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m.
2. Discuss Transco Equity Call for the Village of Swanton:
Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated that VT Transco would like to purchase equity on behalf of Swanton Village. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that they have done this for the Village several times over the years. She said some of this stock was purchased through VPPSA, who finances on our behalf, and some is solely owned. Lynn said VPPSA receives money from Velco or Transco, who finances for a bunch of utilities, they pay down the principle then they credit the Villages power bill. We get a check quarterly for about $20,000. Lynn said she records the principle paydown plus what they get as a credit from Transco, once debt is paid off the Village would get the whole return. She said the rate of return has been about 12.5%. She said the Village is making more purchasing equity this way, rather than purchasing it on our own. Chris Leach asked how much cash the Village had to come up with for this equity purchase. Lynn stated the Village didn’t need to pay anything up front for it because VPPSA finances it for us. She said there are 20,772 Class A Units available and 26,438 Class B Units available for $472,100.
Reg Beliveau stated Hyde Park is not taking any equity and VEC is only taking part of their share so there are some extra units available if the Village wanted them. Lynn stated they call this oversubscription and they are available to any utility who wants them based on a ratio share formula. She said the Village will get 47,000 units in total. She said the Village can take all that’s available or can designate a certain amount. She said the Village has done this in the past and there is no out of pocket expense. She said this investment amounts to a double digit return for the Village of Swanton. Chris Leach asked what the risk was and Lynn stated she didn’t feel there was one. She said Velco and Transco aren’t going anywhere.
Chris Leach made the motion authorizing Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager, to sign for and instruct VPPSA to purchase on the Village of Swanton’s behalf 20,772 Class A Units and 26,438 Class B Units for $472,100 and to also purchase as many Unsubscribed Units as are available. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
3. Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach stated that the head of VPPSA was leaving. He asked Reg Beliveau if everything was ok there. Reg stated that David Mullett was returning to private practice and said VPPSA is still in good hands. Reg stated Ken Nolan is taking his place and will take us to the next level.
4. Executive Session (If Necessary):
None.
5. Adjournment:
Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Special Board of the Trustees meeting at 5:28 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 5:28 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date