SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, April 9, 2018
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Debbie Winters, Winn Goodrich, Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator; Ron Kilburn, Boy Scouts 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. He stated members of the local Boy Scouts were present tonight to observe their meeting.
2. Agenda Review:
Neal Speer stated he would like to add Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Reg Beliveau stated he had an update on the Bridge Dedication.
3. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, March 26, 2018:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from the Monday, March 26, 2018 meeting as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
4. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, April 6, 2018:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, April 6, 2018 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
5. Debbie Winters Presentation on “Together We Can Rebuild Swanton’s Playground”:
Debbie Winters and Winn Goodrich were present for this presentation. Mr. Goodrich stated on behalf of the school board they are very much in support of this project. He said Debbie has been doing an outstanding job organizing this. He began this presentation by reading their mission statement: The Swanton School Board of Directors is proud that the Swanton School has always been an integral part of the Swanton community. That includes the Swanton School playground, which for many Swanton families serves as their community playground. But after years of wear and tear, this playground is in need of attention. By working together as a community we can create something special, something we can be proud of and something that our children so deserve.
Debbie showed the Board a map depicting the schools locations in relation to the recreation paths, etc. She then went on to give her presentation which included some of these highlights:
Why are playgrounds important to a community?
· Recreational assets create vibrant communities
· Health and Wellness
· Social interaction/Brings community together
· It is a factor in where people decide to live
· Increase value of housing surrounding it which increases tax base
· Economic Development
· If people choose to move here they: buy or rent homes, fix up their homes, work at our businesses or start businesses, eat at our restaurants, shop in our stores, children attend our schools
Why is this playground important?
· It is Swanton’s community playground – community pride
· Location on our Recreation Corridor
· Fit and Healthy Path
· Recreation Fields
· LV Rail Trail will bring visitors to Swanton – visible from the bike path
· Within walking distance of Village residents/central location
· Swanton fortunate to have a walkable village center
· Project achieves 2 goals – Our school will get an updated playground, and our community will get an amazing recreational resource that will encourage people to visit and settle in Swanton
Debbie then showed pictures of this existing playground. She also mentioned the condition of Marble Mill and said this new playground is definitely needed. She said this will help enhance community pride. She then showed pictures of the new playground structures they are hoping to have installed. She said many good things are happening right now in Swanton and she would like to keep the momentum going with this playground project. She feels this shows people are proud of Swanton and want good things to happen here. She said this “recreation corridor” is the perfect location. It ties in with the ball fields and the recreation path. She hopes this will bring bikers, etc. to the area as well. She said they are trying to draw people in and make it more pleasing. Debbie said the school will end up with an amazing playground and so will the community.
Debbie showed an aerial map showing the pavement behind the Babcock School and said that is causing a lot of issues. She said Cross Consulting is working on a site plan at this time. The swingsets have been there a very long time and needs to be replaced. She said right now the school is looking for bids from playground vendors. She said they are also looking at creating play areas around the play structures such as manmade hills, etc and this will give the playground some texture. Winn stated the swings they have were good in their day but they had a safety audit done two years ago and a lot of the equipment is no longer safe. He said they need to make some changes soon. He said their insurance company would like a new playground sooner rather than later. He said there are safety regulations that need to be followed.
Scope of Work:
· Existing Equipment Removal
· Site Work
· Fix drainage issues
· Remove excess pavement
· Prep for new equipment
· New playground structures – two playgrounds
· Donor recognition areas
Budget and Sources of Funds
· Budget = $200,000
· Awaiting quotes for playground equipment (allow $150,000) and site work (allow $50,000)
· Sources of funds
· Prior School Funds = $20,000
· Private Foundation Grants = $40,000
· Public/State Grants = $50,000
· Fundraising = $20,000
· Donations/Capital Campaign = $70,000
· Current Funds Raised = $30,000
Next Steps/Timeline
· Goal is to have funding in place for Summer 2019 installation
· Proposals for playground equipment by end of April
· Site Plan expected late April/early May
· Use site plan for site work cost budgeting
· Campaign Kick off in May/June before school ends
· Messenger article
· Highlight LeClair Foundation gift
· Online donation platform established
· Social Media campaign – TBD
· Fundraising to encourage community participation
· Engraved pavers? Benches? Trees?
· Major Donations/sponsorship of equipment – Debbie Winters
Chris Leach asked if this playground equipment was just for 10 year olds and younger. Debbie said the one by the Babcock school is designed for the younger ages, but overall it’s for ages 5 through 12. She said there is also the basketball court and soccer fields for the older kids, and a place for them to ride bikes.
Adam Paxman stated this new playground equipment is definitely needed and he applauds Debbie for doing this. He said there is a sign that states “Babcock Parking” and he wondered if this was open to the public. They thought that just applied during the school day. Winn stated this is a great opportunity to get the word out and to get support for this project. He said they will need the use of heavy equipment for a lot of the work and hoped that could be donated. Neal stated he remembers when the existing playground equipment was installed and said it was all done with volunteers. He mentioned the building trades class that came out and helped with that. He said he doesn’t think they will have any issues getting volunteers to help this time. He said it was all done in one weekend last time and he agrees that this definitely needs to be upgraded. Eugene LaBombard said this may be the only access from the rail trail where residents can enter into a playground. Debbie said Swanton Village is a “walkable village” and they are fortunate to have access to these things. Debbie said she would like to leave the Board with the message that this is “a community playground.” She said she might have a booth set up at the Maple Festival and Franklin County Field Days to help get the word out there. Neal stated she should contact the Veteran organizations for donations as well and said he would like it stated in the Minutes that the Village Board of Trustees are 100% in support of this project. The Board thanked Debbie and Winn for their presentation.
6. Elisabeth Nance – Appoint Historic Preservation Commissioners:
Elisabeth Nance stated she has four community members who are interested in being appointed to the Swanton Historic Preservation Commission. She said Fred Wiseman, Glen Gurwit, Rebecca Rupp and Randy Rupp are the interested individuals. She mentioned this would bring the total number of commissioners to seven, including Ron Kilburn, Neal Speer and Reg Beliveau.
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to appoint Fred Wiseman, Glen Gurwit, Rebecca and Randy Rupp to the Swanton Historic Preservation Commission. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Elisabeth stated all they need to work on now is the staggering of terms of the board members. Adam stated once they have determined the terms to just let the Board of Trustees know. Their next meeting is Thursday, April 12, 2018 at 4 p.m. in the Library. Motion carried.
7. Discussion on Purchasing Ton Truck and Pick Up Truck in Highway Department:
Reg Beliveau stated that he has received some quotes to purchase a new ton truck and a new pickup truck for the Highway Department. He said the Chevy dealership said they weren’t able to quote this because they couldn’t build the kind of ton truck the Village needs. He said the lowest quote is from EJ Barrette. He said to have the ton truck built it will cost approximately $70,000 between EJ Barrette and Iroquis. He said Iroquis has agreed to hold the quote price they gave Mike Menard in 2017. Reg said these funds are already in the highway budget which was approved in March 2018. Reg said the quote for the F150 from EJ Barrette came in at $29,700. Chris Leach made the motion to accept bids from EJ Barrette Ford and Iroquis Truck Bodies for a new pick-up truck and a new ton truck for the Highway Department. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
8. Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach said if the Board is supporting better playground equipment for the younger children they should really consider working on something for the older kids in Swanton. He suggested maybe the skate park at Marble Mill. Reg said there is a $5000 grant out there that he wants to apply for. Chris said he’s not sure how much use the basketball and tennis courts get in the summertime. Reg said they get a lot of use. Chris asked if the courts are lit up at night and Reg said they are but said maybe they can add some more lights. He said Marble Mill took quite a hit with all the flooding in January and they will be working on cleaning it up
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked Reg for an update on the rubber bag. Reg said they are hoping to install the bag in June but if they get a high amount of rainfall it will have to be postponed. He said one of the issues they had back in January and February were the cold temperatures. He said purchase power was high for that time period. Reg said they have been able to generate some power at a certain level but then the old bag starts to leak again.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said he talked with Joel Clark just before the meeting and said he has a rough draft for the bridge dedication ceremony. He said public works has done some trimming already and doing some clean-up work. He said in the next week or two the bridge will get swept. Neal stated for those who haven’t heard that the Town and Village of Swanton are working on dedicating the bridge just past Merchant’s Row to the Vietnam Veterans. He said a sign would go up stating “Vietnam Veterans Memorial Bridge.” He said the dedication will be on Memorial Day and they are in the process of organizing that. He said there will be some major guest speakers including the Governor. Neal said he would like to give credit to Reg Beliveau and Joel Clark for working on this. Reg stated he wasn’t involved and said Adam Paxman has been. Neal thanked everyone involved one way or another.
9. Public Comment:
Elisabeth Nance stated she met with Reg Beliveau last week and discussed a sidewalk grant. She said sidewalks are needed on First Street as well as King Street to Dunkin Donuts. She is hoping to secure a $50,000 grant for these sidewalks and the application deadline is mid June. She said she feels this is a high priority and a safety issue. Adam Paxman asked about the sidewalk in front of McDonalds and said that one is under water most of the time. Elisabeth said she has had some discussion about that as well and hopefully will be getting it fixed. Eugene LaBombard stated that sidewalk was put in when the shopping center was developed years ago. Elisabeth also stated she is working on a $10,000 grant through AARP.
Elisabeth stated the Swanton Enhancement group is having a 5 year anniversary get together on May 10th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. and is open to the public and will be held at the Swanton Central School. She also stated May 19th and 20th is the two day community yard sale that will be held in the Village Green. If you want to sign up for this and register your address will be added to a map so people will know where your yard sale will be.
10. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter into executive session to discuss personnel. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
Chris Leach made the motion to exit executive session at 8:48 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
11. Adjournment:
Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:49 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:49 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date