SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 9, 2021
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Carrie Johnson, St. Albans Town Manager; Brendan Deso, St. Albans Town Selectboard Chair; Daniel Handy 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.
- Pledge of Allegiance:
Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Agenda Review:
None.
- Public Comment:
Neal Speer stated he wanted to thank Dean Ryan, Public Works Foreman, and his crew for the nice job they’ve done on the bridge.
- Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, July 26, 2021:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, July 26, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
- Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, August 5, 2021:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #72-74 through Thursday, August 5, 2021 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
- Brendan Deso to Discuss Infrastructure:
Brendan Deso, St. Albans Town Selectboard Chair, stated he wanted to discuss the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds they will be receiving. He said the Town of St. Albans will be getting just under $2 million dollars and they would like to use it toward water and sewer infrastructure. He said they are out exploring options so they can invest that money as responsibly as possible. He said the Town’s tax rate is about .40 cents with a $6 million dollar budget. He said the two largest budget items for them are their public works department and paying for policing services from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. He said they pay for 48 hours per day of police coverage. He said their north end has water and sewer services to it but they’re not exactly ok with the perimeters around that service. He said there might be a better option available for that market and he said they’ve noticed the Village has had good organic growth on Route 207. He said he’d like to get services into that southern growth district because several businesses are already there such as Tractor Supply, Gagne Brothers Auto, Mother Hubbard’s and the Church. He said he’d like to work with the Village to see if there are any options available to maybe centralize a sewer containment system for that area. He said they don’t have anything particular in mind and said the Village knows this business better than they do. He said he’d like to work with Swanton Village and Town for some sort of municipal water and sewer system. He said he’s noticed how well the Village is working with the State of Vermont and Town of Highgate regarding the Highgate Airport infrastructure expansion. He said in a couple of weeks they will be meeting with the Town of Georgia to have a similar discussion as well. He said there are a lot of options available to them and he’d like to keep working together and having discussions. Neal Speer said he appreciates the compliments and said they are working hard with Highgate to get their expansion approved. Reg Beliveau said the Village has the luxury of having one of the best engineering firms in the State, Aldrich & Elliott, to help them with their water infrastructure or water plant upgrades. He said they looked into running water services south several years ago and it was going to cost upward of $7 million dollars. He said there would need to be pump stations along the way because Exit 20 has higher elevation than their Reservoir. He said there are other options available such as Janes Road down to St. Albans Town. He said there is no sewer infrastructure down Maquam Shore Road and that would be very pricey to install. Brendan said if the Town of Highgate moves forward with the Airport expansion and fills up, companies will continue to move north and he wants to be able to support that growth and capitalize on it. He said the growth in the next 10 years should be significant and this is a once in a generation lifetime to see it happen. He said he’d love to work together to facilitate commercial or industrial growth in the Village’s south end and the Town’s north end because it would put them that much further ahead. He said they’d like to keep meeting with Reg and maybe form a subcommittee with some board members and trustees to work on ideas. Neal said everyone will need to work together to make things happen. Reg said they should begin by letting their Congressional staff know that they are partnering with Highgate and St. Albans Town and hopefully they send them some more money to get things done. Brendan said he would like the Board’s approval to continue to work with Reg and Aldrich & Elliott to see if any of these ideas are feasible. The Board agreed to this and said the more they talk about growth the better it is for everyone.
- Approve and Set the Village of Swanton 2021 Tax Rate:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated the grand list has gone up a bit and she estimated the Village tax rate to be .8843. She said she has figured it to now be .8805 which is less than a 1% increase. She said the Village will raise $1.4 million dollars in taxes. Adam Paxman stated he was very happy that there is a less than 1% increase and the board thanked Lynn for her hard work on the budgets. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and set the Village of Swanton 2021 tax rate at .8805. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
- Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman stated SPAN is about to install their third art wall at the Swanton Beach. He said the art walls are going well and the positive outweighs any negative. Neal Speer said he agreed and said they have done a great job. Adam also asked residents to stop speeding, to slow down because people are out walking and bike riding. He also said the Car Show was a great success with 197 cars. He said “Best of Show” went to a 1956 Chevy Nomad. He said the 50/50 raffle generated $1597 with two winners each getting $399.50. He said the balance of the raffle would go toward more community events.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated National Night Out had a great turnout with good music and good food. He said it was really nice to see real support for the Village and the Police Department. Neal said it was a great time and said TDI Repair did a great job with the BBQ.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated the Village welded a plate on the Merchants Row bridge and said more work will be done on it soon.
Any Other Business: Neal Speer said he has a cleaning and tree removal crew ready to go on the Riviera Hotel property to get rid of the excess growth there. He said there may be some Brownfield funds available and said progress is moving slower than he’d like.
- Executive Session to Discuss Customer Account:
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss customer account and personnel at 7:40 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:25 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: Adam Paxman made the motion to move ahead with the opportunity to increase the Village water line from a 2” line to an 8” line on Upper Ferris Street. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to accept the retirement letter from Chief of Police Leonard “Joey” Stell. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
- Adjournment:
Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:28 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:28 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date