SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, January 23, 2017
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Tom Benton, St. Albans Messenger 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 7:00 p.m.
2. Agenda Review:
None.
3. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, January 9, 2017 and Monday, January 16, 2017:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, January 9, 2017 and the Minutes from Monday, January 16, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
4. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, January 20, 2017:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants (#3-#7) through Friday, January 20, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
5. Approve and Adopt 2017 Budgets:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, informed the Board the only change made to the budgets was in the General Fund. She said she changed the amount to be budgeted from $12,000 down to $3,600 for record preservation. She said the total tax rate is now .7949 and said last year’s tax rate was .7721. She said this is an increase of 2 cents per $100 on the tax rate. Adam Paxman stated this is an increase of 2.95% and he wanted to commend Lynn for that, he said she worked hard on reducing the increase and this is good. Lynn stated the Fire Department and Highway Department were level funded this year and the Police Department is up a penny and a half on the tax rate. All others are the same.
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and adopt the 2017 budgets as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: The Board stated they are very pleased the numbers came down. Motion carried.
6. Approve Renewing the Due To/From Between the Electric Department and General Fund:
Adam Paxman made the motion to renew the Due To/From agreement between the Electric Department and the General Fund. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated this was a necessary agreement to conduct business in these two departments. Motion carried.
7. Discussion on Hanging Banners in the Park (Now That Electric Sign is Installed):
Adam Paxman stated the new Electronic Sign in the Village Green is in full use now. He asked if there was a policy in place stating who could use the sign. He said he would like to see the banner signs at the end of First Street gone from now on. Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated the Village has a banner policy in place and he wondered if that would apply to the sign. The Board instructed the Village Clerk to send David Jescavage, Town Administrator, a copy of that policy and see where they stand. Adam stated this could be discussed further at their next meeting so that everyone understands how to use the new electronic sign.
8. Approval for Swanton Chamber of Commerce to hold Car Show on Saturday, July 29, 2017 on the Village Green:
Adam Paxman stated the Chamber of Commerce would like to request to hold their 8th Annual Car Show on the Village Green on Saturday, July 29, 2017. He said last year they put 241 cars in the park and they had a lot of fun. Neal Speer stated he heard a lot of positive feedback on the car show. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Chamber of Commerce’s request to hold their 8th Annual Car Show on the Village Green on Saturday, July 29, 2017. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
9. Discussion on Potentially Hiring a Building Inspector for Swanton Village:
Adam Paxman stated he has had some discussions about possibly hiring a building inspector and he thinks it’s time the Board do something on building inspections. He said this would help protect people in the community. He said Swanton is interested in future development, drawing businesses in and when they look at housing it’s important they’re all up to code. He said this would help landlords, help tenants and it’s a public safety issue. He said this is an opportunity to enforce safety codes with small businesses, etc. Chris Leach stated he would like to see a job description for this position. Reg Beliveau said inspections would need to be done from state law. He said last week they found a small gas leak during one of these inspections. Adam stated inspections of rental properties could be done annually or bi-annually. Reg Beliveau stated this was not intended to harass landlords or tenants, it was a safety issue. Adam said this position would serve under the Village Manager. Eugene LaBombard asked if this would be a full time position. Adam stated approximately 20 to 25 hours per week. Lynn Paradis stated if it was under 20 hours per week the Village doesn’t have to offer insurance. She said they may have to give retirement and five sick days per year. Eugene asked what a comparable wage would be for this position and Lynn stated $20,000 to $30,000 per year. Eugene suggested this be put on the ballot for the taxpayers to decide. Lynn stated revenue would be generated from potential fines. Reg Beliveau stated he would like to sign an agreement with the State confirming all fines stayed in the Village. Adam also said there would be a fee to do the inspection. Neal Speer stated this would really need to be studied more and find out exactly what this is going to cost the Village. The Board agreed to have this put on the 2017 ballot to let the taxpayers decide. Item will be tabled until further information is gathered.
10. Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman stated that the topic of Coin Drops is on the ballot this year. He asked if this was approved by the voters would the Board limit how many coin drops are allowed. Chris Leach said they only allow one per month right now but said this could be discussed further at the Village’s Informational Hearing to be held on Tuesday, February 28th at 7 p.m.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated that Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Village Trustee; Dianne Day, Village Clerk and Betty Cheney, Delinquent Tax Collector, were all up for re-election this year.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked how the Summer Festival meeting went. Adam Paxman said there is a lot of interest in having a festival again. He said there are about 8 to 10 people needed to form a committee. He said this is a 12 to 18-month long project and cost approximately $35,000 to $45,000 when they held the last summer festival in Swanton. He said this is a huge commitment to make. Eugene LaBombard suggested they meld two or three events together. Reg Beliveau stated National Night Out could he held on one day and then something else on day two. Adam said this takes a lot of time and effort and he doesn’t want to discourage anyone from helping out. He said this shows a very caring community and five years ago they wouldn’t have done this. He said there could be face painting, horse rides, fireworks, etc. Reg said there doesn’t need to be rides to have a good time and said the Village will support them.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked about the lighting on Merchants Row. Reg Beliveau said they’ve had several discussions on this and said they are working on it.
11. Public Comment:
None.
12. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel at 7:54 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session 8:35 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
13. Adjournment:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:35 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:35 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date