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).

Monday, January 24, 2022

January 24, 2022

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, January 24, 2022

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; Brian Savage, Swanton Town Administrator; Earl Fournier, Town Selectman; and Channel 16. Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Suzanne Washburn, and Gordon Winters.

 

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. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

  1. Agenda Review:

 

Adam Paxman stated he needed an Executive Session to discuss personnel.

 

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, suggested the Board enter executive session prior to public comment. Chris Leach made the motion to enter executive session to discuss real estate. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session and enter Open Session at 7:16 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None

 

  1. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, January 10, 2022 and acknowledge the Minutes from Thursday, January 13, 2022:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, January 10, 2022 as presented and acknowledge receipt of the Thursday, January 13, 2022 minutes from the Town and Village joint board meeting. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, January 20, 2022:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #2-#7 through Thursday, January 20, 2022 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked about the payment made to Nexom. Reg Beliveau stated that was for work done on phosphorus removal at the Wastewater Plant. Motion carried.

 

  1. Approve and Adopt Village of Swanton 2022 Annual Warning as presented:

 

Neal Speer stated he talked with some locals and he thinks they should consider adding an article on the warning to get voter approval for the retail sale of cannabis. He said St. Albans Town has added it to theirs and they should too so they will know how the voters feel. Village Clerk Dianne Day added that to the 2022 annual warning. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and adopt the Village of Swanton 2022 Annual Warning as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

  1. Approve New Water and Sewer Rates to be Effective March 1, 2022:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:30 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the new water and sewer rates to become effective on March 1, 2022. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

  1. Acknowledge 4th Quarter SQRP Report:

 

Chris Leach stated he noticed an error in section 4a of the SQRP report. Village Clerk Dianne Day made correction to the report. Chris stated this is an internal report on how well we treat our customers. He said the Village does very well and response times are also very good. The board acknowledged receipt of the 4th quarter SQRP report.

 

  1. Any Other Necessary Business.

 

Adam Paxman stated the Chamber of Commerce would like permission to announce the Chamber’s Citizen of the Year award at the Village and Town Informational Meeting to be held on February 22nd. The Board agreed to this. Adam also stated his word for the week is PATIENCE and suggested everyone have a little.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard urged everyone to be careful and said he lost a family member to Covid 19.

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked how the relicensing was going at the Hydro Plant. Reg Beliveau stated he had a meeting with the Agency of Natural Resources and said it’s not going very well. He said they are making demands that are unreasonable and will end up potentially costing the Village ratepayers a lot of money. He said it could raise the electric rates astronomically and the Town of Highgate would lose as well since their tax bill to them is based on generation from the Hydro plant. He said he is frustrated and is going to call the Governor and request a meeting with him to discuss what the Agency of Natural Resources are demanding.

 

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:15 p.m. to discuss personnel. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

  1. Adjournment:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:30 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

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