April 12, 2021

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, April 12, 2021

7:00 PM

 

 

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; and Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Paul Nolan, Village Hydro Relicensing Attorney; 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.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he would need an Executive Session to discuss personnel.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Paul Nolan, Hydro Plant FERC Relicensing Update:

 

Paul Nolan was present via Zoom for this update. He said the Village of Swanton and Village of Enosburg are working on relicensing together. He said Enosburg will file for relicensing this month and the Village will file a year from then. He said the current license will expire in 2024 and they have been working on this and tried collaboratively with Enosburg and Sheldon Springs. Paul said Sheldon Springs declined their offer to work on this together so it’s just the Village of Enosburg and Swanton. He said they will file their final license application in April 2022 and will circulate a draft application to FERC for their review in October and at the same time file with several State agencies as well. Paul said they have met with these agencies in 2018 and 2019 telling them the Village is intending to relicense. These agencies then advised the Village what they wanted done for environmental work and all study requests were done. He said some were habitat issues and some were very expensive but they provided information sufficient to satisfy requirements to relicense with FERC. He said he feels some of these agencies are driven by a desire to embroil Highgate with the lower Swanton dam. Paul said some environmental agencies are pushing to remove the lower Swanton dam which has nothing to do with Highgate. He said unfortunately they have had to fend that off. Paul said there has been a significant budget for that and they have had 11 scientists, some with Fish and Wildlife, working with the Agency of Natural Resources, assisting with various studies. He said three of these individuals have been pretty responsive, timely and economically responsible. He said he expects a few more studies this summer detailing the operation of the Hydro Plant peaking modes, downstream flows, and how that affects the lower Swanton dam. He said this doesn’t have any consequence on that and they will also address issues of future operations of the plant. Paul said archaelogical work was done in the late 1980’s and in 1991 when the dam went in and more is being done again. He said there were some cultural issues in previous reports and they are basically updating it. He said they’ve done a study of erosion in the impoundment area and it’s in a good position and is naturally occurring. He said one thing they have to address is project economics and he also wants to report what they have done in the past regarding recreation and aestetics, flows in the winter and how that impacts the rubber dam and generation levels. Chris Leach asked if the Village will benefit from their stewardship of the dam. He said they’ve replaced it and it’s the largest dam in Vermont. Paul said the Village of Swanton is the gold standard of operating and maintaining the plant so well. Paul said he will show how the Village has addressed environmental issues, has done work with forest trails, and has removed hazards such as a partial dam. He said it’s hard to convince them that just because the Village operates like they should and better than most typically, they are not rewarded for that. He said FERC would say that’s what they expect. Chris said with the green environment pressure in country he hopes they see the Village is producing green electricity. Paul said the state is heavily focused on power and wind and they’ll be lucky if they’re treated well. He said hopefully there’s an opportunity for VPPSA and Reg to push Montpelier to see they’re not recognizing the Village for what they do for their local communities and how important the plant is to their local communities. Neal Speer said from what he sees any nay sayer who comes in front of FERC they have to address it whether or not it’s a bonafide complaint. He asked if there are any guidelines. Reg Beliveau said Paul will sit in on a meeting Thursday with VPPSA regarding changing water quality rules. Adam Paxman asked when is human life more important than a fish’s life and said he'd love to hear the answer. Reg said since the Hydro facility has been in operation the President of the Walleye Association said the lower Swanton dam is the only place on the river in the State of Vermont that shows natural repopulation of walleye. He said the Village knows how to be good stewards of the river and you can see that in the way the Village maintains the plant. He said we live around the lake and river and they are good stewards of both. The Board thanked Paul for his very informative update.

 

6. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, March 22, 2021:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, March 22, 2021 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Chris stated that Tim Smith made some very important points about the hardships employers are facing and how the stimulus payments are negatively affecting them. Motion carried.

 

7. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, April 9, 2021:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, April 9, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

8. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Reg Beliveau stated the Village has created a new brush/wood pile on Route 7 South along the cornfield that the Village rents to the Bourdeau farm. He said he has a letter addressed to the State of Vermont requesting permission for the ability to establish the burning of natural wood and branches for the residents of Swanton on Village owned land. He said the Village still has their leaf dump site on Lafar Street and Village residents can still bring their leaves and garden debris there. He said there was an issue with wetlands at that site and they needed to reduce the size up there but are still able to make compost which is used quite often by the Village. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize the Board of Trustees to sign this letter addressed to the State of Vermont. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated that several years ago extensive archaelogical work was done at the Hydro site. He said he wondered why back then they didn’t know what they were doing but today they do?

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated he is against the equipment tax. He said the Village collects a significant amount of money from it but it’s punitive for a business and it’s a non incentive to buy new or upgraded equipment whether it’s carpentry or machine tools. He said they want to encourage business, they already pay taxes on their real estate. He said businesses pass this tax on to their customers in their equipment and services and it’s part of their rate structure. He said there’s also the issue of making this fair and it seems like it’s probably not. He said he would like to rethink this. Eugene LaBombard disagreed and said if you take that tax away from them it would go on everyone else’s shoulders. Chris said it already is when you purchase something at their business. Eugene said this would take further study. Chris said he thought it was discussed and done away with about 7 or 8 years ago. He said he doesn’t think it’s fair because it’s not administered across the board, some businesses pay it and some don’t. He said the newer businesses are paying it but doesn’t feel like it’s done fairly. Eugene said they need to find out what the rest of the State is doing. Chris said he knows they don’t have the authority to eliminate it but should do their research on this. Lynn said equipment tax used to be very popular but she believes a lot of towns have gotten away from it because it’s hard to collect. Chris said the goal should be to attract businesses.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated they began repair on the Doughboy today in Flat Iron Park. He said they are also applying for a structure grant through Regional Planning to help out with the bridge repair. He said he received an email from Chris Yates on Maquam Shore Road asking if the Village would install wastewater there. He said he talked with the Village engineers regarding this and he said the Village has too many irons in the pot right now with the river crossing and the inventory of all the water and sewer lines. He said they’re also working on the wastewater plant for phosphorus reduction. He said that area would have to be force main and would need at least two pumping stations. He said this would be a very expensive job to accomplish and said it wouldn’t happen for quite some time.

 

9. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel at 7:44 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:00 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

 

10. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:00 p.m.  Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:00 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

March 22, 2021

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, March 22, 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: Tim Smith, FCIDC; Betty Cheney, Delinquent Tax Collector; 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.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

None.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Tim Smith, Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation (FCIDC) Update:

 

Tim Smith from FCIDC stated he wanted to give the Trustees a quick overview of what’s been happening. He said the number one issue they’re facing is the difficulty employers are having trying to find help. He said Mylan printing division is preparing to close so they send the State a rapid response. He said there are easily 75 vacant jobs on the list and he also received information from other manufacturers saying they needed to shut down lines because they can’t find help. He said they have a company in Georgia that is desperately looking for help and some of those jobs start at $14 to $16 per hour and some go as high as $22 per hour with benefits. They can’t find help he said. Tim said two things come in to play here, one is being drug tested and many fail because they have marijuana in their system. He said there is a 40% failure rate and some feel that it’s ok because it’s legal in Vermont but in the business world it’s still being tested as a drug. He said on the federal front when dealing with global organizations like Barre Callebaut, Ben and Jerry’s and Mylan it’s not acceptable. He said the other issue is one that is the most frustrating and that’s the federal government wanting to add additional unemployment benefits to those already on unemployment. He said the new three trillion dollar aid package has another $300 on top of the sate unemployment. To add to the frustration, he said the unemployment insurance fund, which is not quite exhausted but has taken a strong hit during the pandemic, Senator Kesha Ram from Chittenden County felt the need to add an additional benefit for those unemployed. He said that additional benefit would be to add for everyone unemployed and for each dependent you have at home you will receive an additional $50 per dependent per week while on unemployment. He said that benefit would total between approximately $14 to $21 million dollars that businesses would be covering if this legislation is passed. It’s not passed yet and there is a lot of push back on it he said. Tim said currently businesses pay about $50 per year per employee for unemployment. He said if this new bill passes that would increase to about $189 per employee per year. For a company with 250 employees that could be a $50,000 hit. Tim said he sent emails with a list of all the job vacancies to Senator Welch’s office to inform him of this fact. He said the Pine Cone in Berkshire is calling around to find help because they need a cook, waitresses and servers. He said it’s really become an issue which is crucial to our economy and any future growth. He said hopefully they are coming out of COVID and trying to help get businesses back on their feet and then have someone initiate legislation like this. He said it got voted out of the Senate Economic and Housing Committee with a vote of 4 to 1. He said the no vote came from Randy Brock because he get’s the situation. Tim said businesses have come together to push back and said something needs to be done regarding the unemployment fund but adding $50 per week per dependent is not the way to go. He said people can make more money than when they were working while sitting at home so it’s very frustrating. Tim said going back to Mylan, they are looking at an August timeframe for closing and this could have a silver lining. He said not that they want to lose Mylan but potentially that space could be accessed by other businesses. Tim said over the last 9 months they have had 8 or 9 inquiries for space which there is none. He said the two exceptions are the former Habitat for Humanity site but the State is very hesitant to lease to anyone unless they are doing direct business with the airport. He said the other one is the old VT Brick Factory. He said both these locations are in Highgate but they are the only vacant buildings they have.

 

Tim said on another topic, it will be interesting to see where all this municipal money is coming from. He said each town is given an amount and each county is allocated money as well. He said because they don’t have a county type of government those funds will be dispersed throughout the towns on top of the original money. He said there will be lots of opportunity for infrastructure projects and for businesses. Reg Beliveau stated Swanton would be getting $650,000. Tim said he thought another $1.9 million dollars would be added to that amount. He said St. Albans City would be getting $2 million dollars, Swanton would get close to that amount and Sheldon was getting $360,000. He said it’s unfathomable the amount of money being distributed. Reg said his grandkids grandkids would be paying for this. Adam Paxman asked if Swanton Town and Swanton Village get their own amounts or will it just go to the Town. Tim said he wasn’t sure but said they could reach out to Senator Welch’s office for more clarification. Tim said Senator Welch can also have ten $1 million dollar projects for communities. Adam said this would greatly help the Town of Highgate.

 

Tim said workforce is going to be the issue for the next decade for sure and they need to educate their high school students about workforce development. He said they may see some plants close and go elsewhere if they can’t supply manpower for their workforce. He said they have already heard of one line closing and they have a sister plant out west. He said they could easily pack up and go there. He said this is their number one problem, businesses can’t find help, no one wants to work, they don’t show up and they get paid more to stay home. Adam asked how the expanded minimum wage would effect things. Tim thought it would hurt main street more than the industrial parks. He said he thought small retail shops will be hit harder because of this. Tim said Perrigo is hoping to build a brand new facility expected to cost $310 million dollars. He said this will not create more jobs and they will maintain the same number of employees but will focus on automation. He said they will increase production by automation not manpower and they are positioning themselves for the long haul with understanding help is not going to be easy to come by because they can’t find people to show up or even apply. Betty Cheney asked if this was a nationwide problem or a Vermont problem. Tim said he thinks it is in many parts of the country, it’s still an issue and unemployment makes it easy not to work. The Board thanked Tim for his annual update.

 

6. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, March 8, 2021:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, March 8, 2021 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, March 9, 2021:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, March 9, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

8. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said now that nice weather is here people are out walking and outside enjoying the weather. He reminded people to please slow down while driving through the Village.

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if the Village was doing leaf pick up again this Spring and asked if we had any bags yet to hand out. Reg said now that the snow just melted the guys would begin picking up and he said bags would be ordered soon. Chris also asked about the FERC relicensing at the Hydro Plant. Reg said they are still working on it and it’s due in 2024.

 

Any Other Business: Neal Speer stated he’s heard about some negativity on Facebook regarding the art walls being reinstalled. He said hopefully SPAN is handling the negative aspect of this and wished them the best of luck. He said they are moving forward with this and hopefully this spring will see some refreshing artwork.

 

9. Executive Session to Discuss a Legal Matter:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel at 7:25 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:55 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

 

10. Adjournment:

 

Adam Paxman 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.

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date