SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, March 8, 2021
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Via Zoom: Betsy Fournier, Mark Rocheleau; Span Members: Michelle Nordberg, Joanne Parah Reiter, Priscilla & George Connelly, and Janet Dimick; and Ch. 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
- Call to Order:
Neal Speer, Village President, called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Agenda Review:
Reg Beliveau and Adam Paxman stated they would like an Executive Session to discuss personnel. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated Tim Smith from FCIDC couldn’t make tonight’s meeting and would be rescheduled.
- Public Comment:
Mark Rocheleau, Town Selectboard member, stated on behalf of the Board they look forward to working with the Village Trustees and employees like they have in the past. He said they would see them all soon and have continued success working together. The Trustees thanked him and Neal Speer said they look forward to the same. Betsy Fournier said she wanted to thank the Trustees, Reg Beliveau and Lynn Paradis, for the additional funds for the local parks. Neal Speer said they appreciate everyone’s support and thanked everyone for coming out and voting. He said they will try to do better this year than they did last year.
- Swear in elected officials for 2021: Neal Speer, Village President (one year term); Chris Leach, Village Trustee (three year term); Dianne Day, Village Clerk (one year term) and Betty Cheney, Delinquent Tax Collector (one year term) were sworn in on March 3, 2021 to perform duties:
Neal Speer read aloud his Oath of Office for Village President for a One Year Term; Chris Leach read aloud his Oath of Office for Village Trustee for a Three Year Term. Dianne Day, Village Clerk and Betty Cheney, Delinquent Tax Collector, were sworn in on March 3, 2021 so they could conduct Village business.
- Appoint a Treasurer for the Village of Swanton for 2021 and swear in:
Chris Leach made the motion to appoint Dianne Day as Village Treasurer for a One Year Term. Adam Paxman seconded. Dianne Day read aloud her Oath of Office for Village Treasurer. Motion carried.
- Motion that the Swanton Village Board of Trustees Adopt VLCT Model Rules of Procedures for the rules of procedure for Village Trustees for the upcoming year through March 2022:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adopt VLCT Model Rules of Procedure for Municipal Boards, Committees and Commissions. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
- 2021 Official Voting Results:
Neal Speer, Village President, read aloud the Official Voting Results for Officers and Budgets. They are as follows:
Official Return of Voting Results
OFFICIAL RETURN OF VOTES
ANNUAL SWANTON VILLAGE MEETING BUDGET VOTE
MARCH 2, 2021
BALLOT ACCOUNTABILITY
Number of Voters on Checklist 1450
Number of Ballots Counted (including absentees) 247
Number of Absentee Ballots Counted 80
I, Dianne Day, Swanton Village Clerk, hereby certify that the results of the BUDGET VOTE by AUSTRALIAN BALLOT at the ANNUAL SWANTON VILLAGE MEETING held in the Swanton Village Complex in the County of Franklin and State of Vermont on the 2nd day of March A.D. 2021 were as follows:
ARTICLE II, General Fund, $151,242
Yes Votes 215
No Votes 29
Undervote 3
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
ARTICLE III, Highway Fund, $517,602
Yes Votes 218
No Votes 29
Undervote 0
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
ARTICLE IV, Fire Department, $80,833
Yes Votes 221
No Votes 24
Undervote 2
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
ARTICLE V, Police Department, $686,871
Yes Votes 181
No Votes 64
Undervote 2
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
ARTICLE VI, Surplus Hwy Funds, $19,131
Yes Votes 215
No Votes 31
Spoiled/Overvote 0
Undervote 1
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
ARTICLE VII, Surplus Gen Funds, $38,453
Yes Votes 185
No Votes 58
Undervote 4
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
ARTICLE VIII, Surplus Fire Funds $13,705
Yes Votes 198
No Votes 48
Undervote 1
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
ARTICLE IX, Surplus Police Funds $5,469
Yes Votes 185
No Votes 61
Undervote 1
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
Attest: _________________________ Dianne Day
Swanton Village Clerk
Official Return of Voting Results
OFFICIAL RETURN OF VOTES
ANNUAL SWANTON VILLAGE MEETING ELECTION OF VILLAGE OFFICERS
MARCH 2, 2021
BALLOT ACCOUNTABILITY
Number of Voters on Checklist 1450
Number of Ballots Counted (including absentees) 247
Number of Absentee Ballots Counted 80
I, Dianne Day, Swanton Village Clerk, hereby certify that the results of the ELECTION OF OFFICERS by AUSTRALIAN BALLOT at the ANNUAL SWANTON VILLAGE MEETING held in the Swanton Village Complex in the County of Franklin and State of Vermont on the 2nd day of March A.D. 2021 were as follows:
VILLAGE PRESIDENT, for one-year NEAL SPEER 223
Write Ins 6
Undervote 18
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
VILLAGE CLERK, for one-year DIANNE DAY 235
Write Ins 1
Undervote 11
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
COLLECTOR OF DELINQUENT TAXES, for one-year BETTY CHENEY 236
Write Ins 1
Undervote 10
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
VILLAGE TRUSTEE, for three years CHRIS LEACH 215
Write Ins 7
Undervote 25
TOTAL BALLOTS COUNTED 247
Attest: _________________________ Dianne Day
Swanton Village Clerk
- Approve and accept Minutes from Monday, February 8, 2021 and Minutes from the Informational Meeting Monday, February 22, 2021:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, February 8, 2021 and Minutes from the Informational Meeting Monday, February 22, 2021 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
- Approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, March 5, 2021:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, March 5, 2021 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
- Public Comment:
Chris Leach said only 247 registered voters came out and voted which amounts to 17%. He asked how they can encourage more people to vote because it’s so important.
- Tim Smith – Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation (FCIDC) Update:
Tabled.
- SPAN (Swanton Public Art Network) to Discuss Art Walls:
Joanne Reiter said they are wondering if the Board needs any further information other than what they have already submitted to them. She said they made some changes as requested and they would like to know if they are all set to go through with planning the locations for the art boards. Neal Speer said there are a lot of regulations in place and they are needed. He asked if there was going to be a trial period and said they pretty much agree with everything that’s been presented. He said they are a little gun shy and their one concern is should there be a trial period and should the contributing artist be screened and will they be local residents only? Janet said they will not screen where someone is from because if they’re in the area they are supporting them. Michelle Nordberg said the term is open until one or the other party decides to terminate and that could be in 8 months or 8 years. She said they would like to keep it open because of the investment from SPAN. She said there is an agreement with each participant but where they are from isn’t part of that. She said they need to follow the rules of Swanton and the art program. Chris Leach said the original plan was to give local artist the opportunity to display their artwork. He wondered if participants should at least be from Franklin County. He said the one year trial is not a bad idea and said he is in favor of the art walls. He said he would like to see more emphasis on no political signs and said he knows art is hard to define but it’s something that is joyful and not give you pause to be upset. He said people have approached him saying they enjoyed the art walls in Swanton but when they saw the political black fist it destroyed it for them. He said people really want joyful things. Janet said they have discussed this at great length, they don’t want it to reoccur and there is a fine line with censorship, She said as it stands, to be an artist you need to sign up with SPAN and your art is on display for two weeks. These are not spontaneous projects she said. Chris said he wants artist to display their thoughts and passions and artistic abilities. Michelle said it’s hard to define what makes one person happy and not another and also hard to define political paintings and they would be very hard pressed to do that. She said there is a grievance process in place if someone is offended. She said they have added descriptions such as “family friendly” and “social acceptance” in their agreement trying to deviate from any social upset. Chris said the artboards will be on public land and what someone puts on their own property is their business but what’s on Village or Town owned land is a statement of what the Town or Village think according to an attorney he talked with. Neal said he has to agree with Michelle and they know that the Village wants this to be family friendly. He said he believes they have their checks and balances in place. He said they’ve pretty much covered what they can and keep it as close to what they intend as possible. He said they have done a good job. Adam Paxman said they’ve talked about a term limit and on page 3 of the MOU it says the term expires 12/31 of each year. Michelle stated that refers to the artist agreement, they have to renew it annually. Priscilla Connelly said what they can make decisions on is difficult. She said there will be issues with art considering what’s going on in the world but they have put a lot of effort into being prepared to deal with issues. She said they need the Trustees support in knowing that they will work with people if there is an issue and they are taking this very seriously. Janet said they have done everything they can and want to take all the stress off the Trustees. Chris said these are art boards and not message boards. Betsy Fournier stated SPAN has done an amazing job creating this MOU. She said the art walls are amazing for the community and they all want them back. She said this group has taken the initiative on this project and it’s a great opportunity for the community. Reg Beliveau said they signed a letter of support for a grant project at Marble Mill. Janet described the grant proposal and said they are seeking $15,000 with no match required. Reg said he wanted to make the point that they support SPAN and the art walls but may still be a little gun shy because some of them sacrificed quite a bit during that episode. George Connelly stated this will be an educative process and opportunity. He said if there are issues one can voice their opinion and they can discuss it and educate themselves. He said last time there were not clear guidelines and management in place. Adam Paxman made the motion to accept the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) from SPAN and to move forward with the artwalls with the next step being the location of the artwalls. Eugene LaBombard seconded. They discussed placing the art walls at the Swanton Beach, on the dam overlook and on the Route 7 South property just past John’s Bridge. The SPAN members thanked Reg and the Trustees for their support and partnership. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, to sign the MOU and any necessary documents for SPAN. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
- Adopt New and Revoke Old Swanton Village Ordinances as Presented:
Adam Paxman made the motion to repeal all former bylaws and parts of bylaws of Traffic Ordinances of the Village of Swanton. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to repeal all former bylaws and parts of bylaws of Streets, Sidewalks and Sewers Ordinance of the Village of Swanton. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to repeal all former bylaws and parts of bylaws of the Winter Parking Ban Ordinance of the Village of Swanton. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and adopt the Police Regulations and Offenses Ordinance as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and adopt the Swanton Village Parking Ordinance as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and adopt the Traffic Ordinance as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and adopt the Noise Ordinance as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
- Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach stated Swanton is 7 miles from the Canadian border and said security agencies are looking at it. He wondered what they would do if 500 or 1000 people wanted to break through the border. Eugene LaBombard said he’s sure the threat exist but asked what Canada is doing about it. He said it is a good idea to be aware.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said there will be a meeting regarding Maquam Shore Lake Street Corridor on Thursday, March 11 at 6 p.m. via Zoom. He said there will also be a Energy Committee meeting on Tuesday at 6 p.m. which is a spin off from the Planning Commission.
- Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel at 8:08 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:55 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
- Adjournment:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:55 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:55 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date