SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 12, 2019
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Heather Buczkowski; Judy Paxman; member; Ch. 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
- 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.
- Agenda Review:
None.
3. Public Comment:
Heather Buczkowski stated the Marble Mill Project is moving along and said there will be another public hearing on August 22 and an ice cream social on August 24. She said there will also be a clean up day on August 20 and she said she would like to see more people help out with this. Heather also stated she went to a leadership conference with Karen Drennan, Joanne Reiter and Judy Paxman and it was very well attended.
4. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, July 22, 2019 Meeting:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from the Monday, July 22, 2019 meeting as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked if there was any progress made on the Merchants Row lighting. Reg Beliveau stated it is on their list of things to do and should be done shortly. Motion carried.
5. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through August 8, 2019:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through August 8, 2019 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked about the payment made to the VT Department of Sales Tax for $9897.89. Reg stated he believed that was sales tax we collected on our commercial accounts but said he would confirm that. Chris also asked about the payment made to Attorney Paul Nolan for $7301.20. Reg stated he is the Village attorney working on relicensing the Hydro Plant. Motion carried.
6. Village Fire Department Appoints Jason Butler as Fire Chief:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Village Fire Department’s recommendation to appoint Jason Butler as the new Fire Chief for a three-year term. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
7. Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach discussed power production being down at the Hydro Plant and asked about the power usage. He asked if there had been a peak usage day yet because of the extreme heat. Reg Beliveau stated he thought there was a peak usage day in early August. He said they completed plant shut down at the Hydro Plant and they are now back online as of Friday afternoon. Chris also mentioned the SLOW stencil on Gallup Court and said it looks nice. He also mentioned National Night Out and everyone agreed it was a great turnout with great music by Dual. He talked about the severe thunderstorm that hit Route 36 last week. Reg stated the electric crew worked all night long and went home at 8 a.m. the next morning. He said he received a thank you letter from residents on Maquam Shore Rd. Chris also suggested that Reg contact Hamlin Engineering and talk with Rick Hamlin about the traffic flow study downtown. He said this is his expertise and it may be worth looking into them. He said he thought that firm worked on this project years ago for the Village. Reg said he would look into this.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated the Fire Department will be having an Open House this Saturday, August 17th from noon to 2 p.m. He said this is their way of thanking the taxpayers for the two new fire trucks. He urged everyone to stop by the station and check them out and enjoy a free cook out. Adam also wanted to thank everyone who turned out for the 10th Annual Car Show last week. He said there were 217 cars in the park and himself along with Mark Rocheleau are very thankful to everyone who helped make this possible. He also said they had a great 50/50 raffle and $814 was donated to the Marble Mill fund.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said National Night Out was successful and he wanted to thank TDI for all the cooking, Geoff Domey, Rise VT, the Fire Department, Missisquoi Valley Rescue, and Crystal Lampman and her youth group. He said it was a great turnout and very well attended.
Any Other Business: Neal Speer stated he wanted to thank everyone who turned out for Rise VT’s bike ride with Governor Phil Scott. He said there were 30 riders from St. Albans to Swanton. He said they were able to speak with the Governor at his Swanton stop at the Ron Kilburn Transportation Museum about issues they are trying to address. He said Rise VT had a great local turnout as well. Reg Beliveau said he had a Hazmat Training day on Saturday and couldn’t make this event. Neal also wanted to mention all the work going on with the new Ace Hardware building. He said they are making progress.
8. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:
Adam Paxman made a motion, seconded by Chris Leach, to go into executive session at 7:32 p.m. to discuss Real Estate. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:38 p.m., seconded by Eugene LaBombard. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
9. Adjournment:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:38 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:38 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date