SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, September 25, 2017
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator; Suzanne Washburn, Chamber of Commerce; Ron Kilburn, Swanton Historical Society 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 7:05 p.m.
2. Agenda Review:
None.
3. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, September 11, 2017:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, September 11, 2017 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
4. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through September 22, 2017:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through September 22, 2017 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
5. Discussion on Rubber Dam:
Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, first stated that the Bond Vote for the new rubber bag was passed 139 yes to 11 no. He said it wasn’t a large turnout but the results were overwhelming and humbling that the people who did vote care as much as the Village does to keep the rubber bag here. He said he wanted to thank the voters who came out and he appreciates the positive support. Reg stated that the shipment of the rubber bladder for the dam is delayed. Originally it was due to arrive the second week of October, it now is due to arrive the second week of November. Reg is supposed to have a conference call next week to discuss this matter and get everyone on board. He said he assumes the recent hurricanes have something to do with this delay but he’s not 100 percent on that. He said he forwarded back to them their emails stating an October delivery but hasn’t heard anything back as of yet. PC Construction is still planning on building the road and demolishing the old dam as planned in October. He said he would have the engineer check the anchor bolts to make sure they’re solid and if not replace them now before the bag arrives. He said the weight of this bag is 96 tons and they want everything in order before it arrives. He said the bag is coming from China into Louisiana then to New Jersey and trucked here.
6. Discussion on Water Ordinance:
Reg Beliveau stated that the State of Vermont recommends the Village review their Water Ordinance on a regular basis. Eugene LaBombard stated he studied the Ordinance the last couple of days and didn’t see anything that really needed changing. He said there is a lot of detail in the Ordinance but said he couldn’t see much for changes. Eugene asked if anyone from the Village sees anything that needs to be changed. Chris Leach stated that nothing has or should change as far as he’s concerned. Chris said he had a customer call him and thank him because someone from the Village office called them and said your water usage is up and had them check for a leak. The customer said they found they had a toilet that was leaking and they really appreciated the phone call. After briefly reviewing, it was decided they would continue to review and make any changes necessary at the next trustees meeting in October.
7. Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman stated a customer called him about going paperless with his utility bill and said he couldn’t find the link on the Village’s website. He asked Reg to check it out and make sure the link is there in case customers want to go paperless.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated Gordon Winters is doing a great job with the green space on the corner of Merchants Row and North River Street.
Any Other Business: Neal Speer stated kudos to the Arts Council for the beautiful art boards in the Village. He said they’ve all been covered up and new artwork has been painted.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated kudos goes out to the Village Police Sergeant for his new initiative that was outlined in the St. Albans Messenger. He said he’s started an initiative where relatives can register a loved one with the Village Police Department if they have early onset Alzheimer’s or Dementia. He said this is in case that person wanders off and gets lost the Police Department will have their photo and basic information. Adam stated this is a great initiative, great for the community and a great job done by our local Village Police Department and Sergeant Kachajian.
8. Public Comment:
Elizabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, stated to the Board of Trustees that she had gone to a meeting a couple of weeks back in Enosburg and they suggested because of Swanton’s close proximity to the Canadian border that they may want to have a page on their website that’s in French. She said you can use google translate and translate something into any language that you want. She said she proposed this to the Town of Swanton and is also proposing it to the Village of Swanton for their website. They said a lot of French Canadian residents look for this and appreciate the effort. She asked the Village if they could talk with their website technician and see if this is possible to do. She said the other reason for her visit tonight is that next Wednesday, October 4th at 3:30 p.m. they have representatives from other state agencies coming to do a walk-thru of the Village. She said they are going to walk through the Town Office, the park and down to the northern gateway and back through the Village. She said there are nine places she would like checked out to see if there’s any possibility to refurbish. She said these agencies have funding available to potentially help. She said this is a semi informal way of talking with people who may have some input on funding and what’s possible to do or not possible to do. She said she sent 56 letters to residents and business owners advising them of this walk-thru. She said it’s open to everyone and she’s hoping for a good turnout. Neal Speer asked Elisabeth who she had signed up to be there. She said the Agency of Commerce and Community Development as well as others from the State of Vermont. Neal stated he was asked today about the compressed gas company that was supposed to locate in Swanton. Reg stated that company purchased the property but gas prices dropped and the project is on hold as of now.
Public Comment: Suzanne Washburn stated that this year has been a struggle to keep the Chamber of Commerce office open. She said they have collaborated with the Swanton Art’s Council and they are going to open the office to local artists who want to display their artwork in exchange for when someone stops by the Chamber Office with questions they would be helped. She said they are going to try this for the month of October and see how this goes. She said hopefully it’s well received. She said she is there because the Village owns the land the Chamber office sits on and she’s asking permission for artists as well as members of the Chamber to be able to set up their wares on the lawn as well as banners, etc. She said this would be similar to a farmer’s market. Chris Leach thought this was a good idea and encouraged it and so didn’t Adam Paxman. Eugene stated this may end up being a very positive idea and encouraged it as well. Suzanne thanked the Board for their time and approval of her request.
Public Comment: Ron Kilburn stated he wanted to talk about something people drive by or walk by every day and that is the fountain in the park. He brought pictures of an article from the year 2000 of Neal Speer and his family talking about the $10,000 renovation of the fountain in the park that replaced the original 1909 fountain, done with help from the Historical Society. He said this all started back in 1609 when Samuel De Champlain discovered the lake and in 1909 to celebrate that event they had a tri-centennial and created the fountain and the base in the park. In 1964 a plaque on the fountain was installed and dedicated to Harold Bliss for his years of service to the community. In 2000 the fountain was falling apart and the base was leaking and it needed masonry repair. He said they found a manufacturer in Boston that has the prints of the original fountain. He said in the year 2000 the Town put on their ballot an article to place $5000 toward this project and the Village voted to also place $5000 toward this project. Ron said this was 17 years ago and the fountain has deteriorated so much it will take extensive work to repair it. He said the contractor who is working on the Town is willing to give an estimate on the fountain base as well as another contractor. He said once he receives some bids they will have more to work with and is willing to do the leg work if they want him to. He is suggesting they have everything in place so that they can begin this work in the Spring. Neal asked where the Town stood on this because he talked with James Guilmette, Selectboard member, who told him the Town was ready to work on this also. Ron said the new fountain is fine, this is just for the base of the fountain. Neal said he also received a quote from the guy who worked on the bandstand a few years back. Ron said he was glad Neal mentioned the bandstand because he is recommending they do both at the same time. He said the bandstand is in need of repair also. Eugene stated 17 years ago it looked real good but not now. The Board agreed that they get some estimates so that they could move forward with this. Ron stated he could get this information for their next meeting. The Board thanked Ron for his information and agreed to move forward with this.
9. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter into Executive Session to discuss Real Estate at 7:56 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:24 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
10. Adjournment:
Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:24 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:24 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date