SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Sgt. Chad Parah, Swanton Village Police Department; 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:
Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he needed to add Contracts and Real Estate to the Executive Session.
3. Public Comment:
None.
4. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, April 8, 2019 Minutes:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from the Monday, April 8, 2019 meeting. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked if the coin drop schedule was posted. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated it was posted on Facebook and the Village’s website. Motion carried.
5. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, May 10, 2019:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, May 10, 2019 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked about the payment made to Santander. Reg Beliveau stated he believed that was for the Police Department’s new cruiser lease. Motion carried.
6. Review 1st Quarter SQRP Report:
Chris Leach stated he would like to thank the Village staff for another great report tracking how well the Village provides electric service to their customers. He said these numbers far exceed the average and he’d like it noted that the Board has reviewed this 1st quarter SQRP report.
7. Swanton Village Police Department Update:
Sgt. Chad Parah was present for this update. He stated the Police Department responded to 109 calls for service in the Village for the month of April 2019. He said they issued 18 warnings and wrote 5 tickets totaling $840.00. Adam Paxman asked if this was the same report that the Town of Swanton Selectboard gets and he said yes it is. Chris Leach asked if the police were seeing any certain trends. Sgt. Parah said their calls have been consistent and now that the warmer weather is getting here their calls will increase. Chris Leach asked if the 4 wheeler traffic has increased. Sgt. Parah said every now and then but said it is more in the Town of Swanton. Chris also asked about mutual aid and Sgt. Parah said they help VSP, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and occasionally the St. Albans City Police Department. Reg Beliveau stated this bodes well for the department that they offer assistance to other agencies. Sgt. Parah said they also assist the Fire Department, Missisquoi Valley Rescue, the Sheriff’s office, and DCF. He said the Border Patrol often helps them out as well.
Sgt. Parah stated he is also here tonight to propose the Police Department purchasing a UAS drone. He said he has received his FAA certification as a UAS Pilot. He provided the Board with a UAS Proposal with the following information:
What is a UAS?
· The FAA Classifies a UAS as a Unmanned Aircraft System
· Operated remotely from ground to 400 feet AGL (Above Ground Level)
· Wirelessly transmits data via video signal back to pilot on the ground
Why do we need a UAS?
· First and foremost to preserve human life
· Aid in natural or manmade disasters
· Assist in search and rescue operations
· Assist in firefighting operations
· Assist in infrastructure inspection (dams, bridges, power lines)
· Accomplish task faster, more efficiently, at a lower cost and in many cases more safely than previously before.
Types of Incidents where a UAS would be deployed
· First responder safety/accountability
· Missing persons
· Fire
· Possible suicide or barricaded subject
· K9 Tracks
· Crowd safety
· Bomb threats or acts of domestic terrorism
· Train derailment
· Semi-Truck crash – fly in ahead of first responders to inspect hazmat placard or thermal inspection for leaks
· Fuel and/or chemical spills at Industrial Park
· Boating/ice rescue
· Airplane crashes
· Documenting crime/crash scenes
Features of UAS requested
· FLIR Thermal imaging camera and optical camera (streaming and recording capability)
· 1080P video feed with a maximum transmission range of 5 miles
· Attachable speaker, spotlight & beacon modules
· Self heating battery system for cold weather
· All direction obstacle sensing
· Password protection for data security
· Up to 31 minutes of flight time
· Hover to 44 mph
Costs of the UAS
· Initial FAA certification for UAS Pilot – Already acquired
· UAS Package -- $2949.00
· Each additional battery -- $169 per battery, should have at least 3 total
· Tablet for viewing cameras and controlling UAS – iPad $329 per Apple
· Insurance: Covered under VLCT Umbrella Policy
· Additional Training for Pilot – PD Training Budget
· Parts and maintenance for UAS – PD Equipment budget
Amount requested from the capital equipment fund for the UAS program is $4000. The Board thought this was a great idea for the police department. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize the Village Police Department to purchase a UAS system costing up to $4000.00. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
8. Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach asked Reg Beliveau for a NEPPA update. Reg stated that it was a good session and said they had in-depth discussion regarding mutual aid. He also informed the Board that there is a bill before the Governor now waiting to be signed regarding distribution generation and the Village getting their 100% renewable energy status back.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated the public’s work crew has been doing a great job cleaning the streets and he said it’s obvious they take pride in their work. He also asked Reg if the “SLOW” stencil could be repainted on Gallup Court to help slow traffic down.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated he wanted to remind everyone about the upcoming Memorial Day Parade on Monday, May 27th. He urged everyone to stop by the Village Green to check out the flag display they started this year thanks to David Jescavage, Town Administrator. Adam also stated Efficiency Vermont is doing free energy audits for homes and businesses. Reg stated they will have a zero energy mobile home on display sometime this summer in the Village Green. Adam also wanted to remind the Village of Swanton customers to not use Doxo when paying their bills online, he said to go through the Village’s website and use Invoice Cloud free of charge.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated the Fire Department will be selling their ladder truck in two to four weeks and said the department is doing training on their new tanker truck. He said they still need a compressor and he is hoping the sale of the vehicles will be used for that purchase. He said as of right now they are $3000 short.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated the Village had their FERC visit today at the Hydro Plant and said it went very well. He said Scott Mueller has put a lot of work into creating a book on Dam Safety and Monitoring as well as their EAP. He said this way there should be no confusion in an emergency situation. Discussion took place regarding the re-licensing of the hydro plant and they discussed issues other utilities are having. Reg said Swanton Village, Enosburg and Sheldon Springs are all working on re-licensing and the Village is working together with Enosburg on documents, etc. Reg said the Village has submitted their Notice of Intent; Pre-Application Document and Request to Use Traditional Licensing Process.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, is back at work part time and said she is requesting permission to apply for the 2019 VTrans Bike Ped Grant Program to do a scoping study for the downtown parking area as well as the intersection of Canada Street and Route 78. A study was done in 2001 but given the amount of time that has passed another study needs to be done. The Board agreed to have her go ahead and apply for this grant. The Board also discussed the lighting on Merchants Row and Reg said Duane has been working on this and said he would get this back on his agenda. The Board stated they would like to see this being worked on.
9. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel, Contracts and Real Estate:
Adam Paxman made a motion, seconded by Chris Leach, to go into executive session at 8:04 p.m. to discuss Personnel, Contracts and Real Estate. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:58 p.m., seconded by Chris Leach. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
10. Adjournment:
Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:58 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:58 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date