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Trustees Meeting 1/9/23

  • Monday, January 9, 2023
    7 PM – 9 PM

Village Trustees

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SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, January 9, 2023

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Sandy Kilburn; and Ch. 16.

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:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager; stated he needed to add an item for a fire department purchase; he also stated he needed an executive session to discuss personnel.

  1. Public Comment:

None.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, December 12, 2022 as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from the Monday, December 12, 2022 meeting as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, January 5, 2023:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #116-#125 through Thursday, January 5, 2023 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Beautification ARPA Fund Request:

Neal Speer, Village President, stated he talked with Hank Lambert last week and they were wondering where the Board of Trustees stood regarding their request for funds. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, said that the Village is hiring two part time individuals this summer and said they used to only hire one. She said they also added another 20 hours per week and they will be able to help with watering the flowers, etc. Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said they could offer in-kind work and they will consider installing a water irrigation system. Sandy Kilburn stated this will help tremendously as people on that committee are aging out.

  1. Discuss Hydro Operations Internship Program:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he received a letter from Village Attorney Paul Nolan and it reads as follows:

Dear President Speer

I respectfully request that the Village of Swanton accept the enclosed check in the amount of $2500 for the initiation of a summer internship program for the operation and maintenance of hydroelectric plants. It is my hope that the internship program will be used to honor W. Scott Mueller in recognition of his exceptional expertise and service to the Village and the hydro community at large. Should the Village decide to initiate an internship, I pledge to provide additional support for 2023 in the amount of $2500. Sincerely, Paul Nolan

The Board thought this was an excellent opportunity and also wanted to pledge $2500 toward this internship program. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve setting up an internship program in recognition of W. Scott Mueller at the Hydro facility not to exceed $5000. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Review and Sign Audit Engagement Letter:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, informed the Board that she received the Audit Engagement Letter from Kittel, Branagan &Sargent for their upcoming audit of the Village’s financials. She said this audit will cost $29,875, which has increased from last year’s audit. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and authorize Village President Neal Speer to sign the Audit Engagement Letter from KBS. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Discussion on 2019 Feasibility Study/Assessment of the Complex:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said he asking the Board to re-engage with the engineering firm, Weimann & Lamphere, who did an assessment of the Village Complex in 2019. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize Village Manager William “Bill” Sheets to use ARPA funds, not to exceed $50,000, to be used for an enhanced assessment of the Village Complex. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

  1. 2023 Budget Discussion:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, informed the Board that she worked on her budgets some more and began her update with the general fund. She said there was a small increase in the accounting fees and she made some adjustments in salaries. She said the fire department had a small increase in accounting fees as well and that fund is up .0027. She said in the police department she adjusted salaries, outside services, added body cameras for the part time officers and she said property taxes in this fund were up about $25,000. She said this fund is up .0454 and it’s because of pay raises to keep them competitive. She said they also changed the retirement plan in order to retain staff.

Lynn said in the highway department she matched the bridge expense to the grant revenue and won’t take any tax revenue out of that. She said the general department was flat and the fire department was up by .0027% and highway is up by .0057%. She said she anticipates a tax rate of .9968 up from .9486 in 2022 with a difference of .0483.

Lynn showed the increase on a home valued at $175,000, $200,000 and $250,000. She said if this budget was approved at these rates there would be an increase of $84.49 for a home valued at $175k; a $96.56 increase on a home valued at $200k; and a $120.70 increase on a home valued at $250k. Reg Beliveau stated he felt this was a very reasonable budget.

Lynn said in the electric department salaries are up as well as retirement and FICA. She said purchase power is their greatest expense and that is up over $200,000. She said she will ask VPPSA to run numbers this summer to see if they need a rate increase. She said if they do she’d rather do small amounts at a time rather than a larger one.

Lynn said in the water department salaries, retirement and FICA are up. Adam Paxman said he is concerned about the revenue from sales in this fund. Lynn said they are down one large customer and it makes a difference. She said she should go in for a rate increase but because they have some money in the bank in this fund she will wait. She said after the water line job is complete she may have to have an increase in the water rates.

Lynn said in the sewer department salaries, retirement and FICA are up as well as accounting fees. She said the plant is fully depreciated showing a small profit. She said she doesn’t see a rate increase in this fund. Eugene LaBombard said chemical prices are through the roof. Lynn agreed and said fuel charges are up as well as testing fees.

The Board thanked Lynn for all her hard work on the 2023 budget. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated they need to hold a meeting on January 30th rather than January 23rd so they can approve and adopt the budget at that meeting.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, asked about the Inclusion Declaration statement. Once both boards sign the document it can be put on the Village website but some members are out of state. He also asked what the board wanted to do regarding the joint website with the Town. The Board agreed to go with the Vermont based company.

Any Other Business: Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated that at a previous meeting the Board approved the hydro department purchasing a used truck. He said the company sold it, so they were unable to purchase it. He said they have found another one and would like permission for the hydro department to purchase a 2016 truck with 55,000 miles on it for $30,436. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the hydro department purchasing a 2016 truck for $30,436. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Any Other Business: Bill Sheets, Village Manager, informed the Board that the Abenaki Cultural Fair will be held on June 10, 2023 in the Village Green with a rain date of June 24, 2023. He also informed the Board that regarding the Highgate Water Line that will run to the airport there was concern over the ownership of that line. He said Swanton Village owns to MVU and Highgate will take ownership

from there on to the airport. He said this is all clearly stated in their Memo of Understanding.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked for an update on the Riveria Hotel property. Reg Beliveau said things are moving forward slowly and said they are requesting another environmental study. He said this is mandated and will cost approximately $8198. Eugene also mentioned the large trucks parked downtown and said they were violating the winter parking ban. He said he’d like the police

department to check it out.

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:09 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

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

ACTION TAKEN: None.

  1. Adjournment:

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

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date