September 8, 2022

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

SPECIAL MEETING

Thursday, September 8, 2022

7:00 PM

 

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Matthew Sullivan, Chief of Police; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: 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.

 

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

 

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

 

3. Agenda Review:

 

Add Police Department update after #6.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, August 22, 2022 as presented:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, August 22, 2022 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, September 8, 2022:

 

7. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #80-#85 through Thursday, September 8, 2022 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the payment made to SD Ireland for $1940.12. Reg Beliveau stated that was for concrete for the sidewalk on Fourth Street. Reg also mentioned the MacFarland Johnson invoice for $41,025.46. Motion carried.

 

8. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

 

Chief Matt Sullivan stated that in the month of August the Village responded to 127 calls for service. He said out of those calls the top ten calls were for 10 calls for citizen assist; 12 calls for motor vehicle complaint; 10 calls for suspicious person/circumstance; 7 calls for agency assistance; 7 calls for citizen dispute; 12 calls for traffic stop; 6 calls for theft; 2 calls for theft of automobile; 9 calls for welfare/suicide checks and 4 calls for service abuse prevention order. He said there were 2 tickets issued and 8 warnings and 7 arrests. He showed the arrest analysis for August which consisted of 2 Operation Without Consent; 2 Stolen Property Receiving; 1 Driving Under the Influence; 1 Aggravated Assault; and 1 Negligent Operation. He said the officers responded to 205 incidents in the Town and Village combined. The top ten calls for service were 6 calls for community outreach; 31 traffic stops; 19 for agency assistance; 18 motor vehicle complaints; 18 calls for supsicious person/circumstance; 15 for citizen assist; 11 welfare/suicide checks; 9 citizen disputes; 8 calls for theft; and 6 calls for information reports. He said in addition to that they’ve been very busy and tied up most nights. They executed a search warrant on Gallup Court for an aggravated assault that occurred. He said they’re also looking at a new part time hire who is a very experienced officer. He said he’s also an EMT trainer and will be a great hire. He said his budget is looking good so far and another accomplishment this month was they were able to secure the SRO contract with the school district. He said this SRO will mainly focus on the high school but will also serve the elementary school as required. Eugene asked if the SRO officer would work in the other schools within the district. Chief Sullivan stated it was specific to MVU and the Swanton elementary school. Adam Paxman asked if they’ve seen a decrease in their total incidents. Chief Sullivan said he didn’t and said it’s been pretty steady. He said he was looking at traffic data and they’ve exceeded so far this year what Burlington Police has done. He said they are on pace for 3,000 incidents by the end of the year which is pretty typical. Eugene LaBombard said he’s noticed a lot of ATV traffic in the Village. He said he's seen young boys riding ATV’s in the Hannaford parking lot and on Canada Street. Adam said he’s seeing it also and wondered if it was because of the change with the Town. The Chief said most likely it was and said they are going to try and address the ATV traffic but said it’s difficult. He said they are allowed in the Town but not the Village. Neal Speer said the ATV traffic on South River Street has decreased. Reg Beliveau said if done right the ATV traffic is very good for commerce.

 

9. Discuss Hydro Rubber Dam Bond Unspent Proceeds:

 

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that when they did the bond to replace the rubber bag it was for $2.2 million dollars. She said they currently have $92,700 in unspent bond proceeds and there are two avenues they could go. She said they could use the money to pay down the number of payments or it could be used on a project. She said she talked with the Vermont Bond Bank and they suggest the cleanest way to go is to just have it applied to the bond itself and get it cleaned up. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Village of Swanton applying $92,700 in unspent bond funds to the principle on the rubber dam bond. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

10. Discussion on ARPA Funds:

 

Reg Beliveau stated he’s been getting phone calls and emails asking about when the Village is going to hold a public hearing on ARPA funds. He said he’d like to hold one the first week in October. The Board agreed that October 3^rd would be a good night to hold the meeting on. Reg said this will be a good time to get ideas and suggestions on what people are thinking about using these funds for. He said the Village will also be able to present some of their projects as well. Adam said they want to make the best decisions possible for the community while following VLCT guidelines.

 

11. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman said he’s been able to gather information on the property owners of the parking lot next to Merchants Row. He said he would call them next week. He also said he’ll be reaching out to the tree warden regarding planting 4 trees in the park this fall. Adam also said the Chamber of Commerce is requesting use of the park on October 29^th from 5 to 8 p.m. for their Halloween in the Park event.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said the Village will be holding a joint board meeting with the Town of Swanton on September 26^th to discuss items of mutual interest and will also hold an executive session to discuss real estate.

 

Any Other Business: Neal Speer asked about the Village Manager job ad notice. Lynn Paradis said she will advertise in NEPPA, VLCT, the St. Albans Messenger, the County Courier and the Burlington Free Press.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said the Village will hold a Zoom meeting next week on Wednesday, September 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Clerk’s Office to give a demo on heat pumps. He said GMP will host this meeting and they will have a Q&A session. He said Bourne Energy will also be there.

 

12. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to Discuss Personnel at 7:35 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:45 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

13. Adjournment:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Special Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:46 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m. Motion carried.

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

August 22, 2022

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.

 

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:

 

Add an Update on Riveria Hotel after #6.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

None.

 

5. 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.

 

6. 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.

 

7. 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.

 

8. 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.

 

9. 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.

 

10. Executive Session if Necessary:

 

None.

 

11. 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.

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

August 8, 2022

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, August 8, 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; Elisabeth Nance, FCIDC. Via Zoom: David Kull, MacFarland Johnson.

 

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. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, July 25, 2022 as presented:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, July 25, 2022 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, August 4, 2022:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #70-#74 through Thursday, August 4, 2022 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Elisabeth Nance – Letter of Support for Grant through FCIDC for Vision Nutrition:

 

Elisabeth Nance stated FCIDC is applying for three grants this year for Swanton businesses and they are Vision Nutrition, Green Mountain Knitting and Green Mountain Welding. Elisabeth said she has drafted a letter of support for Vision Nutrition. She said there is a match but that will come from the business not the Village. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize the Board of Trustees to sign the letter of support for Vision Nutrition’s grant application. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Elisabeth also gave an update on the Riveria Hotel. She said they removed the underground tank which was more toward the front corner. She said it was mainly full of water and some sludge on the bottom. She said there will be some ground water sampling next week. She said there is some asbestos on the first floor and some in the basement that will have to be removed. She said the Village can apply for a sub grant for that removal. If they use federal funds there would be more restrictions but if they use Village funds, it would be a quicker process. She said this would cost approximately $30,000. Reg Beliveau said the plan is sell the land and recoup all their expenses. Elisabeth also said there are clean up funds but they cannot be used for asbestos removal. She also said because it’s a historical building they may have to do some mitigation and install a plaque or name the site the Riveria something. She also said the Village should document the removal of this building on their website.

 

 

8. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

 

Chief Matt Sullivan stated that in the month of July the Village responded to 140 calls for service. He said out of those calls the top ten calls were for 10 calls for citizen assist; 5 calls for motor vehicle complaint; 19 calls for suspicious person/circumstance; 5 calls for agency assistance; 8 calls for directed patrols; 10 calls for citizen dispute; 21 calls for traffic stop; 5 calls for theft; 5 calls for alarms; and 5 calls for welfare/suicide checks. He said there were 4 tickets issued and 16 warnings and 5 arrests. He showed the arrest analysis for July which consisted of 2 unlawful trespass arrests; 1 unlawful mischief arrests; 1 disorderly conduct arrest; and 1 violation of conditions of release. He also said the police department responded to 264 incidents in the month of July between the Village and the Town of Swanton. He said the top ten calls for service were 74 traffic stops; 26 suspicious person/circumstances; 18 agency assistance; 14 citizen disputes; 14 citizen arrests; 10 welfare/suicide checks; 10 directed patrols; 8 motor vehicle complaints; and 8 boating accident/incident calls. He said there were 16 tickets issued and 49 warnings. Chris Leach asked if the Chief saw any trends happening. Chief Sullivan said traffic issues seems to be trending. He said there should be more of a buffer when speeds transition instead of a rapid drop. He said he noticed that on Route 78 by the high school and he would like to see a buffer there. Officers have been very proactive in identifying drug locations and have identified 4 more locations. He also said he met with the Officer who gave a warning for someone speeding 20 mph over the limit. He wanted to find out why he gave a warning instead of a ticket and said he feels this Officer is just too nice and may find it harder to ticket individuals. He said he had a mentoring moment with him and should be good from now on. Neal asked about the ATV’s being allowed on the Town roads. Chief Sullivan said he hasn’t had any issues in the Village but said there was an incident at the High School recently. He said when someone calls about an incident by the time they get there the ATV is gone so that makes it difficult. Chris Leach mentioned having discussions with the elementary schools regarding an SRO officer. Chief Sullivan stated they have a meeting scheduled for tomorrow with the school. Chief Sullivan also mentioned the training that his officers recently had.

 

9. Discussion and Update on Bridge Repairs:

 

Reg Beliveau stated they received a couple of bids returned and the winning bid came in at $323,250. He said they received a grant for $175,000 so have a shortfall of almost $150,000. Reg said he thought it may be closer to five years before the State replaces the bridge. He said even if it gets escalated it will stay take that long. He said if they’re going to do a repair, they should do one that’s going to last at least five years. He said this bid will provide that. David Kull, MacFarland Johnson, agreed and said this repair will definitely take them out to five years. Adam Paxman asked how badly does the State want the bridge open? He said maybe that’s where they need to start. Chris Leach said they’ve done that before when repairs needed to be made in front of Swanton Lumber. Reg said they have the $175,000 grant until December of 2023. He said they repaired the joint that was flapping and making all the noise. He said he asked VLCT and they can use ARPA funds to do bridge repairs. He said he thinks the next step is the Trustees need to approve the bid and then contact ECI and let them know they’ve been awarded the bid. Adam said he was not willing to pay for this. Eugene LaBombard stated it needed to be done. Reg said he talked with the State and they are saying it will be replaced in 5 years. Neal Speer stated if they put $375,000 in repairs how much further down the line will they push back replacing the bridge? He said they’ll say we can push it back another 5 since they repaired it. Neal said he’s all for telling ECI to do it because if they don’t it will get worse. He said closing the bridge won’t work either. Adam said he’s right there with him but they’re giving the State of Vermont a pass to push it back another 5 years. Reg said they needed to contact ECI and see what there schedule is like. He said he would also contact the State of Vermont. David Kull said he had some contacts with the State that he could reach out to. He also agreed with the Board about the State pushing the schedule back on replacing the bridge if repairs were made. Adam said he didn’t want to put one dime of taxpayer money into that bridge. More discussion took place regarding the repairs that are needed. Reg said he would do more digging with VTrans and look for more funds to help with the repairs. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to accept ECI’s bid to make repairs to the bridge for $323,250. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

10. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Neal Speer reminded everyone that voting day is tomorrow.

 

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated they had a great turnout for the car show and had 205 cars in the park.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked if the Village was still hiring for any positions. Reg said no and said they hired a maintenance guy and an operator at the Hydro Plant. Eugene also asked if the mural was painted at the beach. Adam said not yet because he couldn’t remember if it was approved. He said he would reach out to them. Reg talked about loitering at Foundry Street and said the police are aware of it. He said they put a gate up from dawn to dusk.

 

 

 

 

 

11. Executive Session if Necessary:

 

None.

 

12. Adjournment:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:05 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date

 

July 25, 2022

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, July 25, 2022

7:00 PM

 

 

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Michael Markus and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Elisabeth Nance, FCIDC.

 

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. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, July 11, 2022 as presented:

 

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, July 11, 2022 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, July 21, 2022:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #67-#69 through Thursday, July 21, 2022 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Discussion on Academy Street and Church Street – Michael Markus:

 

Michael Markus, a Swanton resident, stated he was leaving the Town Clerk’s office last week and was nearly hit by a truck driving up Church Street. He said he feels there should be a stop sign across from the Town Clerk’s office. Reg Beliveau stated he talked with Chief Sullivan about it and think they can put a stop sign up as well as stop bars painted on the road on both Academy and Church Street. He said the tenants at 18 Church Street would lose some parking spots on the road and said he wanted to talk more with Chief Sullivan about it. Michael said he just wanted to point this out because he feels it’s dangerous. Reg said he has received other complaints about this area and they’ve talked about making Church Street a one-way street at certain times of the day. He said there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in this area and said they will be working on it. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated the Village would need to update their ordinance for stop streets added. The Board thanked Michael for bringing this to their attention.

 

8. Elisabeth Nance, FCIDC -- Update:

 

Elisabeth Nance stated she wanted to give an update on 6 South River Street, the Riveria Hotel property. She said there’s been some activity there in the last week or so and said Regional Planning Brownfield Committee has them on their project list. She said they have approved funding for the Phase II assessment which was started about a month ago. She the underground storage tanks were found, one in the front of the building and one in the basement. She said they are pretty much on schedule now. She also said the lead levels they tested for were below the requirements. She said they did find some asbestos but not much and that will be removed. She said because it’s an historic structure age wise, in order to qualify for federal funds to do the cleanup, they need to go through a section 106 filing. She said that report should be complete by the end of August which is the same deadline for the Phase II report. She said it’s been a slow run so far but they are now seeing some progress. Neal Speer asked who invited the historical association in on this and asked if it was through Regional Planning. Elisabeth said she and Reg had a discussion about this a few weeks ago and if they were looking to use federal funds for the cleanup and corrective action plan, they need to be involved. She said they don’t have to do it if they don’t want to but they could not use federal funds. Reg said if they chose to use some ARPA funds for any of this they need to do this filing because ARPA are federal funds. She said there has been some interest in some of the larger pieces in the building and they need to work on getting those out sooner rather than later. She said an asbestos abatement needs to be done also. Neal said the engineer that was there last week said KAS is coming in the first of August to do some boring in five various places on the lot. He said he thought KAS was interested in finding someone to do the assessment and taking the building down. He said he will go in this week with an excavator and brush hog enough to clean the lot so that the engineers can do their test borings next week. Elisabeth said the hope is to move forward with the asbestos abatement and to keep everything moving forward. She said so far Brownfield funds are paying for Phase II and she said she believes there are clean up funds available as well.

 

Elisabeth also told the Board she met with the folks who are renting the old Swanton Rexall building and said it looks great in there. She said they are hoping to open very soon and said that will be a great addition to Merchants Row.  Reg asked her if she had anything on the Swan Valley building. She said there is interest in the building and they have done 4 or 5 tours. She said the department of agriculture is working with the current owner and said someone is interested in making sheep’s milk cheese but said there is a shortage of sheep in the area. She said they will continue to work with them. Elisabeth also said the Downtown Scoping Study partially funded implementation is still at VTrans for review. She said it will be next year before they do any implementation. Reg mentioned there are still a few businesses that are not handicap accessible and wonder if they should do something temporary until the funding goes through. She said they should because it could be 3 to 4 years before construction begins on the Downtown Scoping Study project. She said there are tax credits available for that as well but the July deadline has already passed. They also discussed the Mylan and Leader Evaporator buildings as well. She then informed the board about the aviation building at the airport and said they are now teaching aviation classes and a young man from the State of Georgia has moved here with his family to attend these classes.

 

 

9. Set Village of Swanton Tax Rate for 2022:

 

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that the Village Grand List is $1,650,493 and the amount to be raised in taxes is $1,565,550. She said she estimated the tax rate to be .9595 but it has been reduced to .9486. Chris Leach made the motion to approve a Village tax rate of .9486 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

10. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman asked if there was an update on the bridge job. Reg Beliveau stated they received two bids and opened them this morning. He said McFarland Johnson is reviewing them today and he said both bids came in higher than the $175,000 grant amount. Adam also said he wanted to give a shout out to the Swanton fire department for taking care of a huge limb that came down at the Nativity Church. He also wanted to thank them for helping clean the swan pond because of the very hot and humid weather. Adam also wanted to remind everyone about the car show on 7/30 and National Night Out on 8/2.

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if the passing of Attorney Paul Guiliani would adversely affect the Village. Lynn Paradis said it will be a change in culture but said the staff at Primmer & Piper seem to be up to speed on government and bonding questions. Chris also asked if the Route 78 West project was still on schedule. Reg said they will be doing scarifying and blacktopping of the road until they do major repairs in a couple of years.

 

Any Other Business: Neal Speer said he worked at the Riveria Hotel property all day with the engineers and said they were top notch at getting the big tank out of the ground.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau informed the Board that Deb Larose from the Abenaki Nation went to the Town of Swanton and they voted to sponsor the grant application to renovate the back building.

 

Any Other Business: Lynn Paradis said she sent the Trustees the June financials and said purchase power is on track. She said she needs to get the highway department back on track and bring that budget back into alignment. She said all other departments were doing good.

 

 

 

 

 

11. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel at 7:54 p.m. Chris Leach seconded.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:50 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

 

ACTION TAKEN: None.

 

12. 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

 

July 11, 2022

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

 

 

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, July 11, 2022

7:00 PM

 

 

PRESENT: Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Chevon Cooper.

 

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

 

1. Call to Order:

 

Chris Leach, Village Trustee, 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 she had another water allocation request that came in for 22 Elm Street.

 

4. Public Comment:

 

Chevon Cooper asked if the Village planned on holding a public hearing for the ARPA funds. Reg said they planned on having one and would work on getting it scheduled. She also mentioned she was misquoted in the Minutes from the April 21, 2022 meeting. She was told to contact Joe Cava at the Town office.

 

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Tuesday, June 28, 2022 as presented:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Tuesday, June 28, 2022 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, July 7, 2022:

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #62-#66 through Thursday, July 7, 2022 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

 

7. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

 

Chief Matt Sullivan stated that in the month of June the Village responded to 136 calls for service. He said out of those calls the top ten calls were for 13 calls for citizen assist; 12 calls for motor vehicle complaint; 11 calls for suspicious person/circumstance; 11 calls for agency assistance; 11 calls for directed patrols; 9 calls for citizen dispute; 8 calls for traffic stop; 8 calls for family fight/domestic; 7 calls for service abuse prevention order; and 6 calls for disorderly conduct/noise. He said there were five tickets issued and one warning. He showed the arrest analysis for June which consisted of 3 unlawful trespass arrests; 2 driving under the influence arrests; 2 simple assault arrests; 2 unlawful mischief arrests and 2 disorderly conduct arrests. Chief Sullivan said they conducted a speed study on Spring Street. He said the data set recorded 10,902 vehicles from June 13 through June 22. It showed out of 10,902 measurements 1,669 were above the 40 mph speed limit, this is approximately 15% of vehicles measured. It also showed 142 were above the 50 mph which is 1.3% and 11 were above 60 mph, which is .1% of vehicles measured. He said Sgt. Badeau conducted 5 directed patrols of the area on June 8, 12, 13, 16 and 22. He said a lot of these vehicles were in the transition speed zone going from 40 mph to 30 mph.

 

He said his second packet of information was what his officers responded to in the Village and Town of Swanton. He said they responded to 202 calls for service and the top ten calls consisted of traffic stops, agency assistance, motor vehicle complaint, citizen assists, suspicious person/circumstance, family fight/domestic, directed patrols, citizen disputes, service abuse prevention order and disorderly conduct/noise complaints. He said they issued 11 tickets and 7 warnings and had 3 arrests for driving under the influence; 3 unlawful trespass; 2 arrest on a warrant; 2 simple assault and 2 unlawful mischief.  Chief Sullivan said they also did a speed study on Maquam Shore and found some disturbing data there as far as the southbound traffic goes. He said they measured 6,903 vehicles and out of that 5,478 were above the 40 mph speed limit. This is approximately 79% of vehicles measured. Out of the 6,903 vehicles 3,893 were above 50 mph and 435 were above 60 mph. He said this data is problematic and officers will ticket drivers who are above the speed limit. He said the northbound traffic study measured 3,351 vehicles and out of that 1,566 were above 40 mph, 149 were above 50 mph and 15 were above 60 mph. He said Officer Gagne clocked a motorcycle going 118 mph and he is working on that case now and has some good leads. He said he worked 5 hours monitoring speeds and issued one warning and two tickets. He said they are going to try and saturate the town and the village and target those areas. He also talked about the statistics of use of force and said his officers were doing great and had very low numbers. He said he’s modified and/or put out new policies about body cameras, use of force, pursuit policy, protective custody policy, marine patrol policy and juvenile operations policy. He said they’ve been working on scheduling issues and seem to have a decent one in place. Chris Leach said he still wants to pursue conversations with the school boards regarding having an SRO officer in the elementary schools. He asked if the Chief had a ballpark figure of what that would cost a taxpayer. Chief Sullivan said Lynn Paradis would have that information. Reg Beliveau asked Chief Sullivan to explain the Stonegarden work his officers do. Chief Sullivan said their marine patrol boat helps patrol the Canadian border and do compliance checks. He said they are working to find illegal crossing, drug smuggling, and human trafficking. Reg said the boat, expenses and salaries are not coming out of Swanton taxpayer money, this is all funded though the federal government.

 

 

8. Water Commissioner’s Meeting – Raymond Raine at 446 Maquam Shore Road is requesting permission to connect to the Bobby Bonk private water line with Village water:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:35 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve Raymond Raine of 446 Maquam Shore Road to connect to the private water line on Maquam Shore Road owned by Bobby Bonk and supplied by the Village of Swanton. He also approved a 400 gpd water allocation for that address as well. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve a 400 gpd water and wastewater allocation for Mary Hodgdon located at 22 Elm Street due to changing her home from a 3 bedroom single family home to a 4 bedroom single family home. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit water commissioner’s meeting at 7:36 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

 

9. Any Other Necessary Business:

 

Adam Paxman stated that he was contacted by SPAN and they are requesting permission to paint a mural on the back side of the rest room building at the Swanton Beach. The board suggested they provide him with a sketch of what they are planning on doing beforehand. Once approved they can go ahead and paint it. Adam also asked if the highway crew could weed wack around the art wall on Route 7. Reg said he would talk with Dean about it. Adam also said the car show is in 18 days and he is hoping to have over 200 cars. He said the dangerous trees were taken down in the park and he will meet with the tree warden next month to work on the next plan.

 

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked if there was an update on the AMI meters. Reg Beliveau said they will meet with the contractor this fall and get going on that project. He said it should take about one year to get them all installed. He said they will have another bid opening on July 18^th for the bridge repair job.

 

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said that Debbie Lavoie will be at their next meeting for an update on the Abenaki food shelf. He also said he spoke with Liz Curry about a grant to help renovate the Abenaki headquarters. He said she needs a resolution from the Village of Swanton and a letter of support from the Trustees. Reg also said they are working on repairing the dam at the Hydro Plant.

 

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if setting off fireworks was legal. The Chief of Police, Matt Sullivan, said it is legal to sell and purchase them in Vermont but illegal to light off without a permit. He said unless the police witness someone lighting them off it’s very hard to enforce.

 

 

 

 

10. Executive Session if Necessary

 

None.

 

11. Adjournment:

 

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 7:55 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Chris Leach, Village Trustee, adjourned the meeting at 7:55 p.m. Motion carried.

 

 

 

_____________________________________             _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

 

 

 

 

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date