This page is maintained by Swanton Village, Inc and is intended to be the official online posting of public meetings and minutes in accordance with Vermont’s Open Meeting law (Amended July 1st, 2014).

Thursday, January 7, 2021

February 10, 2020

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, February 10, 2020

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; Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator; Leonard “Joey” Stell, Chief of Police; and Ch. 16.

 

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

 

  1. Call to Order:

 

Neal Speer, Village President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

 

  1. Agenda Review:

 

Reg Beliveau stated he needs to add “Personnel” to Executive Session.

 

  1. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

  1. Approve and Sign Minutes from Monday, January 27, 2020 as presented:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, January 27, 2020 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

  1. Approve and Sign Warrants through Friday, February 7, 2020 as presented:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and sign Warrants through Friday, February 7, 2020 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked what the payment made to Clark’s Truck Center for $83,934.00 was for. Reg Beliveau stated it was for the new bucket truck in the electric department. Chris Leach asked about the payment from Swanton Village to Swanton Village for $5787.79. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated that was for the utility bills generated. Eugene asked about the payment made to Cargill for $8664.67. Reg stated that was for salt for the Highway Department. Motion carried.

 

  1. Economic Development Coordinator – Downtown Scoping Study Update:

 

Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, informed the Board that the Request For Proposals for a Consultant for the Downtown Scoping Study was complete and ready for publication in the St. Albans Messenger. She mentioned the features the Village would like to see addressed such as: the right-angle intersection at First Street/VT Rt 78 causes delays throughout the day as large trucks attempt to make the turn; the confusion generated by multiple access points in and around Merchants Row parking area; the intersection of Canada St./Route 7 and Grand Ave./VT Route 78; Merchants Row suffers from a lack of handicapped accessibility, the one handicapped ramp is located in a service alley; the long crosswalk at the north end of the Village Green makes pedestrian safety an issue; and the parking area adjacent to Merchants Row has been labeled confusing and inaccessible by pedestrians and motorists. She said this project is being funded in part by the Vermont Agency of Transportation’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Grant program and the total available is $34,000. She said 80% is coming from the State and there is a 20% match that will come from the Village. Elisabeth said this RFP is Regional Planning and VTrans approved. She said they have a steering committee in place but would need two more members. Chris Leach and Neal Speer stated they would be a part of this committee. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve posting the Request for Proposals for the Downtown Scoping Study project as presented in the St. Albans Messenger. Eugene LaBombard seconded.

 

Elisabeth also informed the Board that last week the 5th anniversary of the VT Council on Rural Development Community Visit was held and was very well attended. She said some of the things residents would like to see developed are senior housing, better communication and marketing and a community owned restaurant. She would like to thank everyone who attended. She also said there will be a Small Business Workshop in St. Albans on February 19 from 9 to 11:30 a.m. at 14th Star Brewing Company. She said if you are thinking of starting a new small business or already have one to please attend the workshop. She also wanted to remind everyone about the upcoming Chili Cookoff being held on Monday, February 24th from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m. at the Village Complex before the Town and Village Informational meeting. She said there will be cash prizes and you need to be present to win, which will be announced following the meeting. Reg said the meeting with the Highgate Selectboard on the airport was canceled due to the snowstorm and is rescheduled for March 5th instead.

 

  1. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

 

Joey Stell, Chief of Police, began the update by telling the Board about the recent arrest and seizure of guns at a residence on Church Street. He said this all stems from the BB gun vandalism case they had and the individual involved was prohibited from having firearms. He said they got a search warrant for the firearms and that individual will receive a second offense for that. He said there were no issues and they received back up from the Border Patrol. He said several hundred manhours went into this investigation and he would also like to give kudos to the staff at Walmart for providing video surveillance and helping them out with that. Reg Beliveau stated this was a great team effort by all involved. Chief Stell stated they received 161 calls for service in the month of January. He said they issued 4 traffic warnings and issued 1 traffic citation. He said this information could be incorrect because of their new E-ticketing system not being able to upload warning and ticket data yet. He said the State is working on this issue. Chris Leach asked about the dispatching invoice and Reg explained that the City of St. Albans is charging $12 per capita and that he understands this formula now and they are all set. The Board thanked Chief Stell for coming in.

 

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said they are in the beginning stages of planning for the next Memorial Day Parade which will be held on Monday, May 25th. He said this is a great community event and they are looking for volunteers to help. He also said the Chamber of Commerce is seeking permission to use the Village Green on Saturday, July 25th for their 11th Annual Car Show. He said the Chamber also held their Citizen of the Year Banquet and Bruce Spaulding was this year’s recipient. The Board all agreed that Bruce is very much deserving of this award.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated he noticed the highway crew moving snow from the downtown area over to the ballfield now. He asked why they couldn’t move it any place closer. Reg stated they are trying to clean up Marble Mill and decided on the ballfield location. He said this helps keep a lot of sand out of the Marble Mill Park.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated VT Precision Tools will be holding a Health Fair on Wednesday and Thursday of this week and said they have asked him to give a fire prevention class. He said he contacted the Fire Marshall’s office and Liza Cominsky and they will be doing a presentation on smoke detectors and fire prevention.

 

Any Other Business: Neal Speer stated he is going to be out of Town from February 13th through March 4th so he won’t be able to attend the Informational Meeting on February 24th. He said Chris Leach can handle the meeting and they are in good hands. He also said he is running for Village President again this year and he appreciates all the past support he has been given and is hoping for their continued support this year. He also wanted to mention that at the 50th Anniversary of the Merchants Row fire they failed to mention that all the merchants had rebuilt their businesses within one year of the fire with no help from the State of Vermont.

 

 

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate and Personnel:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session at 7:40 p.m. to discuss real estate and personnel. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session and re-enter Open Session at 8:26 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize Neal Speer, Village President, to sign the Discharge of Mortgage Lien between the Village of Swanton and Maquam Holdings LLC. Discussion: Adam Paxman stated after review and discussion about the receipts paid in excess of $310,000 by Maquam Holdings LLC on the new ACE Hardware building the Village the Board approves releasing the lien on 3 Label Lane. Motion carried.

 

 

10. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:27 p.m.  Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:27 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

 

 

 

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