April 24, 2023

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

                                                                SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX                                          

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

                                                                                                                                  

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, April 24, 2023

7:00 PM

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman; Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Paul Nolan, Swanton Village FERC Attorney; Dean Ryan, Public Works Foreman; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager.

 

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:

 

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated there was a coin drop request to be heard under Any Other Business; she also stated Cody Hemenway was coming in on behalf of the Abenaki Tribal community for a Village Green request to be heard under public comment.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

Cody Hemenway didn’t show up for their request. No public comment.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, April 10, 2023 as presented:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, April 10, 2023 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, April 20, 2023:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #36-#42 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Paul Nolan, Discussion on FERC Relicensing:

 

Paul Nolan, Village FERC Attorney, is here to discuss our relicensing at the Hydro Plant. He said this started back in 2017 and the most recent issue is that FERC has issued a second scoping document and in that document they’ve asked for some additional studies for them to assess. They are now saying they don’t expect them to be ready until February 2024. He said this process is dragging out to 2025 or 2026 before the Village get’s their new license. He said we keep operating as usual until that happens. Neal Speer asked if this is coming from the State of Vermont. Paul said Vermont is the tail that wags the dog and said he’s not taking cheap shots because they’re not here but said they have their own agenda about the water quality standards. Those standards which VPPSA and the Village tried to get them to respond to, are that they want to regulate the discharge for water quality but are against the whole activity of hydro operation. He said they take a very expansive view, want to include recreation, aesthetics, birds, and loons. He said a lot of things they could have focused on and didn’t but clearly want the Village to convert to run of the river year round and monitor what we’re doing downstream. He said they contradict themselves. Paul said they’ve recently found and produced a memo that’s still in draft form stating that in 2021 Sheldon Springs did a study of releasing flows in May, when they’re not supposed to be peaking at all, but they want to do this for white water recreation. He said that’s the key, that’s a special, unique niche of East Coast elitist. Paul said downstream that release of water, levels that they propose, had no significant adverse impact downstream. He said he’s in the process of recommending they go back to FERC and say this is not a transparent exercise anymore, show them the study they just found and ask them to reconsider this massive study they’ve just been asked to do. Paul said the bottom line comes down to you have the FERC licensing proceeding going on, you have the 401 certificate proceeding and the State has been very good at making us do what they want us to do. He said some of the thinking here is to say we have to recognize this apparent tension between Vermont and FERC. He said Vermont Agency of Natural Resources is the tail that wags the dog and it’s been allowed to happen through the courts. He said those decisions more than 20 years ago have set the tone that whatever Vermont wanted in their 401’s is what had to be in their license. He said now they have before the courts a whole new regime of regulations that are favorable to hydro and are pending before the court. He said he’s hoping the court rules in favor of them because there are some still before the courts from 15 years ago. Paul said his recommendation is to do the studies one way or another, we have a team in place and are doing the studies FERC has asked them to do. He said they will be able to respond to any questions the agencies ask of them moving forward. He said they’re going to tread water and do what they have to do. Adam Paxman asked if this was to appease the Agency of Natural Resources. Paul said they need to prove that they are not harming the environment and more discussion took place regarding all the different studies they have done and will be doing. He said there are some alternative directions they could go in and that should be discussed in executive session. They talked about the licensing process and what this entails. The Board all agreed this is a frustrating process and thanked Paul for his update. The Board of Trustees wanted it noted that they support Paul Nolan in the discovery of the Sheldon Springs study and also agree with his recommendation to conduct the supplementary support studies. The Board agreed that they wanted to proceed with his recommendations.

 

8. Review and Acknowledge 2023 1^st Quarter SQRP Report:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to acknowledge the Board of Trustees have reviewed the first quarter SQRP report for 2023. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

9. Village Manager Update:

 

William “Bill” Sheets informed the Board that the Hotel Riveria is finally down and they are now waiting on some supplemental boring results to come in probably in mid-May. He said KAS will then provide them with a corrective action plan and RFP’s will go out accordingly. He said he would like to have an official survey of the property done before putting it on the market to sell. Neal Speer said he’s heard a lot of positive feedback and he said he wanted to thank Jason Barney and his students for the presentation they did at the Swanton Library. He said the detail was very impressive. He said he also wanted to thank David Shea and the demolition crew, Elisabeth Nance for hanging in there, Northwest Regional Planning for dealing with all the Brownfield issues and Butch Patch for providing everyone with coffee and donuts on the day of the demolition. He wanted to thank everyone involved.

 

Bill also informed the Board that he began the Scott Mueller Scholarship Award interviews for the internship program. He said they conducted three interviews and all three could do the job. He said they’ve decided to hire Daulton Laplant and he will start right after graduation. He said Daulton is also interested in going to lineman school in the near future.

 

Bill also said he’s been working on easements for the Missisquoi River water line job at 15 Webster Terrace. He said Reg Beliveau met with DRB on April 20^th and they now have their conditional use permit to move forward. He said this will help Lynn get her numbers ready for the bond.

 

Bill also informed the Board that the Village now owns 124 First Street and they are doing utility mapping. He also said the next steps are to remove both structures at no cost to the Village. He said they have worked out a deal with Hodgdon Brothers and there will be no charge for this.

 

 

10. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated Maquam Bay of Missisquoi is requesting to have a coin drop on Saturday, July 1^st with a rain date of Saturday, July 8^th to benefit the local food shelf. Dianne stated the food shelf feeds approximately 300 to 500 family members per month and really needs some local assistance with donations. She also said an individual doesn’t have to be Native American to use the food shelf and said it’s open to anyone. Eugene LaBombard stated he believed July 1^st was a holiday weekend and preferred it be held the week after. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to allow Maquam Bay of Missisquoi to hold a coin drop on Saturday, July 8^th with a rain date of Saturday, July 15^th from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried with two yays and one nay.

 

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman reminded everyone about the Memorial Day Parade to be held on Monday, May 29^th. He said there will be a BBQ after the parade that will benefit Josh’s House again this year. He also said they will be putting the Veterans flags out for the week on May 27^th and could use volunteers. He also said there will be a Citizen’s Band in the Village Green on June 28^th and said the Chamber’s Annual Car Show will be held on Saturday, July 29^th.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked if there were going to be any food trucks in the park this summer. Dianne Day stated there will be along with the Outdoor Market that will be held on the 3^rd Sunday of each month beginning May and running through September 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, asked Paul Nolan to stand up with him. He presented Paul with a plaque stating:

 

The Swanton Village Board of Trustees and Management would like to recognize

Paul Nolan for his 30 years of service to the Orman Croft Hydro Facility.

Paul’s dedicated service to Swanton Village

is greatly appreciated.

Thank You Paul!

2023

 

 

11. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel, Real Estate and Legal Matter:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 7:40 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:23 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

12. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:24 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:24 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

__________________________ ________         ____________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

April 10, 2032

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

                       SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX                      

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, April 10, 2023

7:00 PM

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman; Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Duane Couture, Electric Foreman; Jeff Lewis, Aldrich & Elliott; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Emily Hackett, State of VT CWSRF and Wayne Elliott, Aldrich & Elliott.

 

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:

 

Added Public Comment to #4, was mistakenly left off agenda.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and accept Minutes from Monday, March 27, 2023 and Minutes from the Special Meeting, Wednesday, April 5, 2023 as presented:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, March 27, 2023 as presented and the Minutes from the Special Meeting held on Wednesday April 5, 2023 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach stated he wanted to thank Dianne Day, Village Clerk, once again for the excellent report she did on the lien collection process of Swanton Village. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, April 6, 2023:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #31-#35 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what the payment for $2889.84 made to Empower was for. Lynn Paradis explained that was for the additional employee 457 retirement plan that is 100% employee contributed. He also asked what the payment for $3323.09 to Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cram was for. She said they are Village attorneys and were used for the upcoming water project. Motion carried.

 

7. Aldrich & Elliott: Wastewater Treatment Facility project update, environmental review/mitigation measures required:

 

Jeff Lewis introduced himself as the project engineer for the Wastewater Treatment Facility upgrade and said he’d like to open their public hearing on this topic. He said he wanted to go through some ongoing work they’ve been doing at the facility. He said a little background on this plant is that it was built in 1972; had some secondary treatment upgrades in 1989; did sludge dewatering in 1996; the latest discharge permit was issued in 2018; in 2019 they did a 20-year evaluation and in 2021 filed a pilot test and preliminary engineering report. Jeff said this upgrade is necessary because of age related deficiencies and phosphorus removal capabilities. He said typical wastewater equipment has a 20-to-30-year lifespan and multiple processes are still in service from 1989 making them 33 years old. He said the proposed project is to repair the curtain in the lagoon; refurbish solids contact clarifiers; construct a new tertiary filtration system; replace sludge pumps, air diffusion system and aeration blower; and also replace aged motor control centers at WWRF and the Pump Station. Jeff went on to explain the timeline. He said in September 2021 and January 2023 they finalized PER; in February 2023 they started final design; December 2023 they will finish final design; April 2024 they will advertise for bids; May 2024 they will begin construction and December 2024 construction will be complete. He said there will be some environmental review steps even though they are working on an existing wastewater treatment facility. He said they anticipate the following nine reports: 1. Environmental Justice Considerations; 2. Cultural, Historic, and Archeological Resources; 3. Land Use; 4. Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs; 5. Wetlands, Floodplains, Coastal Zones, Wild and Scenic River; 6. Fish and Wildlife, and Endangered Species; 7. Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection; 8. Air Quality, Noise, and Emissions; and 9. NEPA Related Considerations. He also said work will be required within the wetland buffer area. He said measures would include wetland delineation and wetland permits will include minimize impact, protection and restoration. He said the state protects the wetlands and a 50-foot buffer from the wetlands. He said they are currently in that process now. Chris Leach asked if our facility was typical or unique. Jeff said not all facilities have the dewatering capabilities like the Village does and said this is definitely a benefit for the Village. Chris asked about the ultraviolet system and Jeff said that is up to date and no need to make any changes there at this time. Adam Paxman asked what added cost the nine environmental issues would cause. Jeff said this is a process through the State and said it was included in the project cost and they are not adding any additional costs because of that. Chris Leach asked if the plant had enough capacity because they are adding water and sewer up into Highgate for the airport job. Jeff said there are two ways to think about capacity and said the Village is in good shape and have sufficient capacity to add more users. Jeff said the purpose of his presentation tonight is to get them thinking about it and said the public would have multiple opportunities to come in on this project as well. He said the goal is to make everyone aware of the project and what they plan to do. Eugene LaBombard said he thought the Village was at about 60 to 70% capacity at this time. Wayne Elliott said the Village’s flow capacity is at 60% and dewatering is at 65-70%. Eugene said this is good to know that capacity is not unlimited. Neal Speer asked about the new phosphorus levels mandated by the State. Jeff said they are planning on adding a step onto the back end of what we are already doing and this will reduce the use of chemicals. The Board thanked Jeff for his presentation. Wayne asked Emily with Clean Water if she was all set at this time. She said there is a 30 day comment period for questions on this topic and people can email her with any questions they may have.

 

8. Swanton Village Electric Department Update with Duane Couture, Foreman:

 

Duane Couture, Electric Foreman, was present for this and first showed his organizational chart showing who works alongside him in the electric department. He said Al Mosher works alongside him as the Village’s electrical engineer and has a key role in everything that he does for them with the SCADA system and designing other parts of their electric system. He said he is an exceptional asset to the Village. He showed Daren Plouff as his lead lineman; Jody Benoit, 1^st Class Lineman; Tanner Benoit, 1^st Class Lineman; Paul Bouchard, Lineman Apprentice; and Marc Longway, Meters. Duane said their responsibilities include supplying power to roughly 4000 customers and maintaining the substation and power lines or transmission and distribution. He said they also provide mutual aid to local and non-local power companies during times of natural disasters like wind, snow and ice storms. He said because of Swanton’s exceptional system they are able to offer help to other utilities. He said Swanton belongs to NEPPA (Northeast Public Power Association) and that is how they are notified about who needs help. He said they also need to maintain a safe work environment and have monthly safety classes. Duane said part of supplying and maintaining power lines includes maintaining their existing lines, doing line improvements such as moving power lines from cross country lines closer to roadside to increase power

reliability; manage tree trimming to minimize tree related issues; building new lines as needed; creating cost estimates for new customers; ensuring equipment is well maintained and in working order; and ensuring a safe work environment by providing continuous safety training and ensuring work gear is in compliance with regulations and policy. Duane said they also maintain the existing current metering system by physically reading meters for approximately 4000 customers each month. He said they also do disconnects for non-paying customers as well as reconnections. Duane said Swanton Village Electric is currently working to integrate a new smart metering system which will feed the data from the meter back to the metering system eliminating the need to physically read the meter. He said it will also integrate with GIS Mapping system which will allow for outage management. Duane said this won’t happen overnight and could take a year and a half to complete. Duane mentioned Mutual Aid again and said they are currently working with Enosburg power to help alleviate some on-call issues. He said they’re now working with them and a guy from each company covers calls for after hour or weekend issues. He said this allows someone to be on call every four weeks instead of every other weekend. He said this also saves money. Duane said his crew maintains required safety training by providing monthly safety training sessions to include pole top rescues, ensures yearly CPR certifications are maintained, and ensures work gear and equipment (rubber gloves, sleeves, bucket trucks) are in compliance with required regulations, policies and standards for electric companies. Duane said his upcoming projects include to continue to upgrade the system by replacing aged poles within the system and moving cross country lines roadside to increase reliability and decrease repair time. He said some challenges he’s facing is identification of future line maintainers, retention of existing, skilled members; identification of a future leader and concerns about future rate increases and demands. Chris Leach asked what a SCADA system is. Duane stated this is like a television screen that watches our entire service system. He said there are 6 circuits and 3 substations and we are watching all of it at all times. He said when there is a power outage they can see where it is. He said this is run through a fiber optic system and we are the only ones who can see it. Chris asked if there were any openings for new linemen. Duane said they are getting to the point where some don’t have much time left before retirement. He said keeping his younger linemen at the Village is always at the back of his mind and something they work on. Chris thanked him and his crew for all their work. Adam Paxman asked about the dual wood in their system and Duane said he’s been working on that for some time now. He said he may need to follow the ordinance and start placing fines. Adam said to definitely look into that.e

 

 

9. Village Manager Update:

 

William “Bill” Sheets stated that the Hotel Riveria is scheduled to be torn down on Monday, April 17^th. He said they will enhance the fencing around the property before they begin but said it shouldn’t take long to demolish it. He said he has met with all the neighbors in the surrounding area.

 

Bill said Kathy Lavoie from Northwest Regional Planning reached out to him and said Joel Clark is willing to be the Swanton representative for the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize appointing Joel Clark as the Swanton representative for the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Bill informed the Board that the Village now owns 124 First Street (old Carroll Concrete property) and said they closed on Friday. He said he would be having meetings to determine the potential and cost for a new police and fire public safety building. He said they will be working on Tier 1 and Tier 2 mitigation as well. He said they need to take down the tower and building and said there is no longer any communication equipment on that tower. He said they will be working on a study for building size and cost.

 

Bill also informed the Board that there is a very old turbine at the hydro plant that is no longer in use so Dan Chevalier wants to polish it up, paint it and put out by their sign for educational purposes. He said they will put up a placard and said this is a good use for it.

 

He also informed the board that an archaeological assessment will be taking place on Foundry Street near the fishing access because of the waterline job. He said they will be boring in the riverbank area.

 

Reg Beliveau informed the Board that he would like the Trustees to sign a letter of interest he drafted for the Northern Border Regional 2023 Catalyst Program. He said this would be for possibly applying for a grant to help with the cost for a new police and fire public safety building. Chris Leach made the

motion to authorize the Village Trustees to sign the Letter of Interest to the NBRC Program Manager. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

10. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said the Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday, May 29^th not May 26^th as previously stated. He said the 150 Flags for Veterans will be going up on May 27^th for the week. He also said there is a lot of speeding cars on Spring Street and he asks that people slow down and stop speeding. Eugene LaBombard said he agrees with what Adam is saying. He said he needs to turn his air conditioning on to drown out the speeding cars. He also said he sees cars going through the stop sign by Ace Hardware and said 1 out of 10 cars actually stops there. Bill said he would bring this to the

attention of the police department and said traffic safety is very important.

 

Any Other Business: Neal Speer asked if the airport runway was closed. Duane Couture said yes it is now closed and said construction crews are now in there doing some work.

 

Any Other Business: Dianne Day, Village Clerk, said she wanted to thank a few homeowners and landlords for paying off some old liens last week. She said the Village collected over $3000 in liens.

 

11. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Real Estate:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:03 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:00 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

12. Adjournment:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:00 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:00 p.m. Motion carried.

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

__________________________ ________         ____________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date