SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 22, 2022
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; and Elisabeth Nance, FCIDC and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager and St. Albans Messenger.
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:
Add an Update on Riveria Hotel after #6.
- Public Comment:
None.
- Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, August 8, 2022 as presented:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, August 8, 2022 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.
- Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, August 18, 2022:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #75-#79 through Thursday, August 18, 2022 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the payment made to SS VT Solar LLC for $6,949.34. He wanted to know if that amount has decreased. Reg Beliveau stated he would need to look at previous payments and compare. Motion carried.
- Elisabeth Nance – Update on Riveria Hotel:
Elisabeth said the dirt that is out front will be moved some time next week and paid for by the clean up fund. She said they’ve talked about not using the sub grant for the asbestos abatement. She said at that time they thought it would cost approximately $30,000. She said that was a low figure and it is actually going to cost at least $50,000. She said there is a sense of urgency making a decision regarding this so they’ve made an application for the sub grant to do this instead of having the Village pay for it outright. She said the good news is this shouldn’t slow things down and they are on target. She believes the building will come down mid-October or November. She said they met with a contractor last week and want to get on their radar because everyone is busy. She said they will need to get three bids and will do that. Elisabeth said there is a 20% match for this grant but that will cost less than what they anticipated. Reg said he needed to put together a Scope of Work for the contractors. Neal said the good news is this project is moving forward.
- Discussion and Update on Bridge Repairs:
Reg Beliveau said he talked with Dean Ryan and with ECI, the contractor who was awarded the bid. He said because of the work that is getting done on Route 78 he asked if the repairs they just made would take them through the winter and start this in the spring. Both Dean and ECI agreed to this. He said if the other plate needs to be repaired, they can do that and the bridge will be good to go through the winter. Eugene thought it was a good idea to wait for the State to be done their project on Route 78. Reg said he also needs to work on finding the additional $150,000 that is needed for the repair project. Elisabeth stated she reached out to the Agency of Transportation and said there is a meeting in September. She said because the bridge is on their list it should continue to go forward whether or not the Village puts some money into it for repairs.
Neal said he’d like an update on the Downtown Scoping Study for the streetscapes project. Elisabeth said they are looking at springtime before anything begins. Neal said things will be phased in and not all done at once. Neal said an interesting fact he just learned is that the Masonic Lodge owns the ally way between the two buildings on Merchants Row. He said the woman who is running the House of Pizza asked if she could put some outside seating in that ally way. Neal said they could block it off to traffic and have them go around. He also said Renee Cioffi has cleaned up the back parking lot and it is now a lot easier for trucks to enter. Neal asked if the Village is still leasing the end parking area and asked if the property owner wants to sell that or not. Adam said at this time the Village is leasing it. Adam said he would reach out to the owner. Neal said the Masonic Lodge is signing a lease agreement with a party that will go into the old Ben Franklin area. He said there will be more activity on Merchants Row again.
- Any Other Necessary Business:
Reg Beliveau said he received a letter from Wayne Elliott regarding the new proposed water line and said that project qualifies for a 50% disadvantaged subsidy and a 0% interest loan. He said they are coordinating the subsurface investigation for early fall and will have some better data on updated costs. He said they will need to have a bond vote and will discuss it further with Wayne Elliott.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard said he wanted everyone to remember that in the future when the new bridge is closed to remember to take the old water line out and put a new one in. He said they should go take a look at that water line and see the condition of it.
Any Other Business: Neal Speer said he would like to announce that the whole world is experiencing a drastic change and he said the Village is also. He said they opened a new book for the Village 12 years ago when they hired Village Manager Reginald Beliveau. He said it’s with some grief that he has to announce that Reg has chosen to retire at the end of the year. He said they wish him well and appreciate him being a part of the Village of Swanton. He said times change and that’s one of the things that will change here. Reg said he’s been talking about this for a while and have been trying to prep for what steps will be taken next. He said there are several projects still ongoing and he’s agreed to stay on part-time during the transition to help with these projects. He said they’ll figure out a part-time schedule and today he announced it to the employees. He said the hardest part is the employees, each individual, he said he works for them. He makes sure they have good co-workers and all the tools necessary to do their job and take obstacles down for them. He said he thinks he has the best employees anyone could have bar none. He said that’s the hardest part, is leaving them. Chris Leach said he hates to lose him but understands life goes on. Reg said he managed 14 years at IBM and now with this it will be a total of 26 years. He said Covid took a toll on him as well as the death of his employee Scott Mueller. He said losing an employee like that is pretty tough. Eugene LaBombard said they aren’t done with him yet and he appreciates him staying on part time to help with the ongoing projects. Reg said he believes he will stay on with the DRB and with his position on Emergency Management. He said if they get another 2018 flood all bets are off though. He thanked the Board for all their support over the years and the Board thanked Reg for his commitment to the community of Swanton. Neal said moving forward they will be looking to fill Reg’s position before the start of the new year. Neal said he can’t say enough about this board, he’s been on it for 23 years and if it wasn’t a good place to be he wouldn’t have stayed for 23 years. He said they had a great team when they first started and Reggie improved that team dramatically. He said they’re planning on keeping this team together to benefit the Village of Swanton.
- Executive Session if Necessary:
None.
- Adjournment:
Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 7:40 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 7:40 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date