Trustees Meeting 1/29/18

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SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

SPECIAL MEETING

Monday, January 29, 2018

5:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator and Ch. 16.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

1.   Call to Order:

Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 5:04 p.m.

2.   Agenda Review:

None.

3.   Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, January 22, 2018:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, January 22, 2018 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated the BAU/Hopkins payment was for the centrifuse at the Waste Water Treatment Plant. Motion carried.  

4.   Approve and Accept Village Warrants through January 26, 2018:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through January 26, 2018 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

5.     Adopt Resolution Certificate (IA) for the MVUHS Water Line:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adopt Resolution Certificate IA for the purpose of financing the cost of making public water system improvements, namely the replacement of the Missisquoi Valley Union High School waterline, the cost of such improvements estimated to be $435,000. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

6.     Adopt Resolution Certificate (IB) for Overages on Previously Constructed Water Lines:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adopt Resolution Certificate IB to spend and/or apply $200,000 in surplus funds from the original Water Treatment Plant bond vote to other projects and costs, which is the loan forgiveness amount that was granted by the State of Vermont for the Water Plant upgrade. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

7.   Adopt and Sign 2018 Annual Warning:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adopt and sign the 2018 Annual Warning as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

8.    Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, to Discuss CIRD Grant Application:

Elizabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, informed the Board that Swanton had applied to be one of the VT Councils on Rural Development Model Community Development for 2018. She said they were one of the two that were selected and this is centered around energy, transportation and weatherization. Reg Beliveau stated he thinks this could be advantageous for Swanton in getting their Tier 3 rating. He said they’ve already met their Tier 1 and most of their Tier 2 ratings. Elisabeth said they will be starting in September 2018 and if anyone is interested in joining to let her know. She said this will help some low income people so they are looking at opportunities for them such as weatherizing their homes, etc. Reg stated they are looking at ways to incentivize landlords on maintaining and weatherizing their rental units also. He said this will help improve the aesthetics of the property as well as help the tenant with weatherization so electric and heating bills aren’t so high. Adam Paxman asked if Efficiency Vermont was involved in this. Elisabeth stated yes they were at the table too. Eugene LaBombard stated with the amount of money the Village sends them on a monthly basis they should be involved. Chris Leach stated they should be looking at ways to decrease the amount of money Swanton Village customers pay to Efficiency VT. He said the State of Vermont Efficiency VT program calculates how much this charge is going to be with no input from utility companies. Reg stated other utilities feel the same way and are frustrated with them also. Elisabeth stated that having Reg Beliveau and Duane Couture at the table discussing what Swanton electric does made a huge difference and she appreciates their efforts. Chris stated he would like someone to explain to him how these solar or wind projects are designed to put more electricity out than the owner requires which in turn lessens the utilities ability to make money. Elisabeth stated they were drawn to the Village because they’re a municipally owned utility and because they already had their community visit. She said this will be community driven and what the community wants as goals. She said the Planning Commission is working on a Energy Plan as well. Reg asked if any of the Trustees had seen this Energy Plan. They have not. Elisabeth asked how they bring solar on if it ends up causing the utility to lose revenue. Reg mentioned the NIPA Block in which money was set aside for low income families. He said he would like to have a solar farm that would be declared their NIPA Block. He said on average the Village mails 800 disconnect notices each month and certain people are economically challenged. He said this solar farm could generate electricity and sell it for 15 cents on the open market and put it in a bucket. He said out of that bucket, for customers who make less than $30,000 per year, he would offer them this power for 8 cents. Reg said VPPSA was intrigued with that concept and he would love for someone to jump on this bandwagon and make it happen. Eugene LaBombard asked if solar customers were paying any distribution charges. Reg stated they are not, but they are paying a customer charge but said it’s not enough. Eugene stated this is how companies go bankrupt. He said they should be made to pay for the distribution as well.

Elisabeth said the Citizens’ Institute on Rural Design has an application that’s due on February 16^th. She said they would work with them through the National Endowment for the Arts and said selected rural communities will receive a $10,000 cash stipend for planning and hosting a two-day community design workshop and follow up activities. One workshop that caught her eye was “redesigning Main Street as a local street versus state highway.” She said she has Merchants Row in mind for this. She said her goal is to get the Main Street grant that they applied for last year which is $50,000 and to also use this one in conjunction with it. She said this $10,000 grant has an in-kind match and they can apply her salary towards this match as well as rental space etc. She said her deadline to apply is February 16^th and she is asking the Board if they would like her to move forward with this. Reg asked how long they had to spend the grant. She thought it was one year from the award. Adam Paxman asked if they had the time to invest in this. Neal asked if the Town was involved with this at all. Elisabeth stated that because it was Merchant’s Row they were not but she would like a letter of support from them regarding this. The Board stated that if she had time then to go ahead and fill out this application.

9.    Any Other Necessary Business:

None.

10.   Public Comment:

None.

11.   Executive Session (If Necessary):

None.

12. Adjournment:

Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Special Board of the Trustees meeting at 5:58 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 5:58 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date