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Trustees Meeting 10/25/21

  • Monday, October 25, 2021
    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 & PUBLIC HEARING

Monday, October 25, 2021

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Gordon Winters; Molly Lambert; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Shaun Coleman and Sean Kio, Northwest Vermont Communication Union District (NWCUD); Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator and Roger George.

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:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he needed an executive session for personnel.

  1. Public Comment:                                          

Neal Speer, Village President, said he has been talking with the Zoning Administrator and she said the Planning Commission is working on revisions to the Municipal Plan and it’s due in 2023. He said if anyone has any concerns to let someone on the Planning Commission know. He also stated he received a letter from the Swanton Enhancement Project (SEP) requesting the Village and Town hold a joint meeting to discuss the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. He said they have talked with the Town and when they get their list ready they will hold a joint meeting to discuss priorities. He said they are still looking into what the funds can be used for and have had discussions with VLCT. He said he would keep everyone posted. Reg Beliveau said they want as much community input as possible because there will be extra ARPA funds to be used on certain projects. Molly Lambert said she would like to add that communication has two purposes – community input and to get support for thoughtful lists shows collaboration and a great information exchange between the elected officials and community members. She said many communities are engaged in the process of inviting the community in and having great conversations regarding how these funds are used. She said it’s mutually beneficial. She said in relation to what Neal was talking about earlier regarding the Municipal Plan, she said Zoning and Planning is where all the action is at because it’s the future of a community. She said this is a very worthwhile process to spend some time at public meetings to talk about where and what you want your community to go and to be. She said there is another one-time opportunity which is a zoning bylaw planning grant. The grant provides a review of your zoning bylaws to see if there in alignment with having accessibility and affordability for housing in your community. She said this is a time when they can be altered or changed if necessary. She said she just wanted the Board to be aware that they are having conversations regarding this. Adam Paxman wanted to clarify that this grant would bring someone in from the outside to review their zoning bylaws. Molly confirmed this and Adam said he wasn’t very comfortable with that because there Swanton’s bylaws not Montpelier’s. She said this would be an observer’s perspective. The Board thanked her for her information.

Shaun Coleman from Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NRPC) and Sean Kio from Northwest Vermont Communication Union District (NWCUD) are here tonight to ask the Village of Swanton to consider joining the NWCUD. Sean Kio stated they now have 15 municipalities in their district and are hoping to add the Village of Swanton. He said broadband problems vary in every community that are currently unserved or underserved. He said currently there are 14,090 premises in NWCUD with 2091 being unserved (does not have connectivity) and 6,602 being underserved (does not meet the FCC standard for broadband 25/3). This amounts to 47% of premises not having adequate connectivity. Sean said their vision is to break the barriers to internet access for all in our communities and their mission is to leverage partnerships and procure funding to connect Northwestern Vermont via Open Access Fiber to ensure opportunity for all homes and businesses in our region. He showed the following goals:

  • Universal Access to all homes and businesses in our region
  • Technology Platform based on Fiber to the Premise (FTTP) that allows for Open Access to services
  • Prioritizes the unserved in our region
  • Reliable & Affordable
  • Accelerate the Timescale for access to internet services focusing on the unserved
  • 2022 for some level of implementation

He said the NWCUD was created in August of 2020 and collaborated with NRPC for the Broadband Innovation Grant. They have completed a regional survey to further assess broadband need, deployed 19 free Wi-Fi hotspots, collaborated in VT Community Foundation to provide a local library technology grant and applied for various grants for capacity building, VCF, USDA, PSD and VCBB. They engage with the legislature for broadband bills H360/S118 and engaged with regional and national fiber providers for partnerships. He said he was hired as executive director last week and they were approved for their first block of H360 funding.

Sean said looking ahead they will work on a phased approach to build partnerships, they will seek to hire a network project manager and administrative support, secure agreements with an operator and service providers, do site surveys and make ready process (utility poles). They will also prepare for a phase I implementation for mid 2022. He said the want an Open Access Model Network to hopefully bring down prices and improve services. He said it would be nice to have 4 or 5 choices and pay $40 per month because there is competition. Adam Paxman asked if Swanton Town has joined CUD. Sean stated they have along with Enosburg Town and Village. Chris Leach said he liked the idea of competition and asked who would own and maintain the hardware. Sean said CUD will maintain ownership of the infrastructure.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion for the Village of Swanton to join the Northwest Vermont Communications Union District and to appoint Elisabeth Nance as Village representative. Adam Paxman seconded. It was stated that alternates would be named at a later time. Motion carried.

Public Comment: Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator wanted to clarify what the VTrans Fall 2021 Transportation Alternatives Grant for $300,000 with a $75,000 match from the Village would entail. She said the following work would be completed if the Village was awarded the grant: Marble Mill Park: Install crossing and formalize entrance to parking with curb extension, align with efforts on Marble Mill Park master planning. First Street Intersection: Implement an all-way stop. Church Street: Stripe bike lanes on Church Street to formally accommodate the north-south bicyclists and add sharrows to the segment in front of Merchants Row. Merchants Row Area: Install sidewalk and curb ramps along frontage of commercial block; relocate the midblock crossing at the north corner of the buildings. She said she also included shortening the crosswalk at the north end of the park. She said there were comments made that larger projects weren’t selected to be completed with the grant but she said these projects seemed to be more feasible and attainable at this time.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, September 27, 2021:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Wednesday, October 13, 2021 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard stated the members listed under the Police Chief hiring committee is incorrect, Village Clerk Dianne Day said it has already been corrected. She listed Gordon Winters instead of Adam Paxman. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, October 21, 2021:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #98-#102 through Thursday, October 21, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

Lt. David Kachajian stated for the month of September they responded to 136 calls for service in the Village of Swanton. He said they issued 9 motor vehicle warnings and 2 traffic tickets. He said this month of noteworthiness they held a Drug Take Back day with one of their highest events with 133 pounds of drugs taken out of the community. He said this event is usually held at the local drug store but this year held it at the police department and had great results. He said as far as calls, last week they had a hate modified issue which is not common in Swanton. He said an individual assaulted two African American individuals and ended up being charged with a hate crime and careless and negligent operation. He said this crime started on I89 and ended up in McDonald’s parking lot. He said this is a random act and not something they see very often. Lt. Kachajian said as far as drug activity in the Village it’s been an ongoing problem and they are aware of it. He said he has his officers putting pressure on the places they know drugs are coming from. He said a couple of weeks ago they had a motor vehicle stop which resulted in a large amount of drugs being seized. He said they are putting pressure on these individuals and letting them know they are not wanted in the Village. He said it’s a work in progress and he knows it frustrates a lot of people in the community but he can assure everyone they are working on it. He said unfortunately their thefts, assaults and car breaks are unfortunately drug related. He said they also had a meeting with State’s Attorney Jim Hughes, Representative Bob Norris and Representative Brian Savage regarding some ongoing issues they’ve been having. He said in general there is a lot of frustration in the community and amongst the Board with the perception that justice isn’t being done because unfortunately the system has been pushing these individuals back out again. Reg Beliveau stated he sent a letter to Representatives in Montpelier stating they weren’t pleased with how things were going in the judicial system. He said he wanted open communication with our representatives in Montpelier and with the States Attorney’s office. He said he thinks they heard us and they have some homework to do. He also said they probably won’t see immediate satisfaction. He said he’s upset with the way the community speaks about our police force on social media because he highly respects the department and the officers. Lt. Kachajian thanked Reg and the Board for their support. Chris Leach said the department is doing the work but the judicial system is throwing it out. Lt. Kachajian said he can assure everyone that the department is working hard but they are frustrated with the situation. He also said they’ve been dealing with misinformation regarding the robbery at the church recently. He said they actually cleared that call within an hour and charged that individual but said he’s a frequent flyer but unfortunately the system doesn’t seem to be working. He said this affects all agencies across Vermont. Adam Paxman said social media did not do that situation justice and it could have resulted in the department not being able to solve the crime. Lt. Kachajian said they appreciate the community providing information on social media sometimes but sometimes it hampers their investigations. He said the department is only as good as the support they get from the community. Chris Leach said he has personally written letters to Senator Leahy and someone from his office basically told him to stop writing the letters. He said voters can help resolve this issue and to really look over their ballots. Lt. Kachajian said they have had some retirements in the department but they still have applications coming in. He said he may have some part timers available and wants to get them in the academy in March of 2022 for training. Chris Leach asked if there was an SRO officer in the elementary school. Lt. Kachajian said not at this time but if there are issues they can respond with the high school SRO officer. He mentioned the COPS grant they received last year that pays 40% of an officers pay for SRO officers. The Board thanked Lt. Kachajian for his update.

  1. Discuss CDBG Program Guidelines & Application Process:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated the Village didn’t have any guidelines in place for

  1. Discussion on Swanton Town Lake Champlain Basin Grant:
  1. Discuss and Approve Applying for the National Opioid Settlement Benefits:
  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman stated he would like to plea for people to slow down while driving. He said people are out walking, biking etc. and people need to just slow down.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated he wanted to thank Reg Beliveau for straightening out the busing situation on King Street. He said the bus driver is now allowed to stop on King Street and pick up children for school. He also asked Reg if they were going to begin interviewing for the Adam Paxman, Mark Rocheleau, Ed White, Crystal Lampman, himself, Lynn Paradis and Leon Begnoche are on the hiring committee.

  1. Executive Session If Necessary:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter executive session at 7:30 p.m. to discuss real estate. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit executive session at 8:10 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:10 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date