Main content

Trustees Meeting 11/14/22

  • Monday, November 14, 2022
    7 PM – 9 PM

Village Trustees

Web version

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING & PUBLIC HEARING

Monday, November 14, 2022

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; William “Bill” Sheets, new Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Sandy & Ron 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. Village Board of Trustees Announce New Swanton Village Manager:

Neal Speer, Village President, first wanted to thank Reg Beliveau Jr. for his 11 years of service to the Village of Swanton. He read the following press release: The Swanton Village President and the Village Board of Trustees are pleased to announce the hiring of our next Village Manager, William (Bill) Sheets. Bill brings many years of leadership and management experience to this position. Bill has held the position of Major in the Vermont State Police managing Support Services Division as well as serving as Field Service Commander. Bill’s wide range of management experience will help with the continued growth of our community and maintain the services and businesses the Village of Swanton manages today. Bill’s educational background offers a Master of Justice Administration, Bachelor of Arts, and an Associates of Science. 

With a start date of November 28th, Bill will work closely with the outgoing manager, Reginald Beliveau Jr over the next several weeks to ensure a smooth transition.The Village President, the Village Trustees along with the employees of the Village would like to thank Reg for his dedicated service to the Village, its residents, and its employees. Reg plans to work part time on special projects under the direction of the Village Manager and Village Trustees. Please join us as we wish Reg a very happy and successful retirement life and welcome Bill into our community.  

  1. Agenda Review:

None.

  1. Public Comment:

Sandy Kilburn read a letter she had prepared: Under the leadership of Reg Swanton Village has made unprecedented progress. With Reg’s open door policy Swanton Village soon gained the reputation of a community on the move reaching out to neighboring towns and organizations and taking leadership roles in many. He has always been willing to go above and beyond. This doesn’t begin to do justice to Reg’s many contributions to our community. We are fortunate to have Reg and Rita staying here in our Village and we look forward to our continued friendship. Thank you Reg! Sandy then welcomed Bill to the Village of Swanton.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from the Monday, October 24, 2022 Meeting; Tuesday, November 1, 2022 Public Hearing; Wednesday, November 2, 2022 Emergency Meeting; and Thursday, November 3, 2022 Special Meeting:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from the Monday, October 24, 2022 Meeting; Tuesday, November 1, 2022 Public Hearing; Wednesday, November 2, 2022 Emergency Meeting; and Thursday, November 3, 2022 Special Meeting as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, November 10, 2022:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #100-#107 through Thursday, November 10, 2022 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what the $345,768.49 payment made to the Town of Highgate was for. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that was the Village’s tax bill to the Town of Highgate and said that is based on generation. She said this is on the lower side because of drought conditions last year and said next year’s will probably be higher. Motion carried.

  1. Present Voting Results from Water Bond Vote November 8, 2022:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated the Village had 339 votes come in and the article passed 271 yes to 64 no with 4 blank ballots. She said even though this seems like a low turnout of voters this is actually a good turnout for the Village. She said there are approximately 1,600 registered voters in the Village and this amounts to about 21%. Eugene LaBombard stated he is very thankful this bond vote passed because he’s been worried about that water line for some time now. He said this will be a very good thing for the Village of Swanton and thanked everyone who came out and voted.

  1. Elisabeth Nance – Public Hearing on Asbestos Abatement at Hotel Riveria:

Analysis of Brownfields Cleanup Alternatives (ABCA)

Former Riviere Hotel

6 South River Street - Asbestos Abatement

Swanton, VT

October 2022

1.       Project Description

The former Riviere Hotel was built in the 1800’s for use first as a rooming house (Adams House) and then as a hotel/restaurant. The site has been unoccupied since approximately 2013 due to a fire on the top floors and the deteriorating condition of the structure. The Village of Swanton purchased the property in late 2020 with an eye toward cleaning up the site, demolishing the existing building, and making the property available for redevelopment potentially as outlined in the Northern Gateway Targeted Area-Wide Plan released in 2017.

2.       Site Description

The property is located on the northern edge of Swanton’s Designated Village Center at a key intersection into the village core. Residential development is present throughout the area, with some commercial development also present. The land is relatively flat, with a slightly southward slope into the nearby Missisquoi River. It appears well drained and no surface water or bedrock was observed. The lot size is .36 acres. There is an unused railroad siding on the northern edge of the property.  Located on the site is the primary building (hotel/apartments).  Built in the 1800s, this is a 3-story structure approximately 6,000 sq. ft.  The building has basement with a concrete foundation.  The remnants of a foundation from another small structure are located in the southwest corner of the lot.

3.   Nature of Threat to Public Health and the Environment

A Phase 1 Environmental Assessment was conducted by KAS in October 2020, which identified current AST and UST, and the potential for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), asbestos and lead contaminated building materials as recognized environmental conditions that warrant further investigation. The subject of this analysis is the evaluation of cleanup alternatives for the building material contaminants. The ASTs have been removed and Village of Swanton is pursuing investigation of the UST related concerns separately.

In June 2022, KAS conducted a Hazardous Building Materials Assessment at the Riviere Hotel Site. The work was conducted pursuant to the approved Site-Specific Quality Assurance Project Plan Addenda (SSQAPP Addendum) dated May 12, 2022. The assessment sampled for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), asbestos and lead containing building materials.

PCBs:  Certain painted surfaces contain detectable levels of PCBs above the regulatory limit of 1 ppm but well below the 50 ppm threshold. All other PCB detections were below regulatory limits. The paint is considered an “excluded” material as defined by 40 CFR 761.3 meaning that the paint can remain but if removed must be properly disposed of in a certified landfill and worker protection rules must be followed if these materials are disturbed in compliance with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Asbestos:  Certain floor tiles and transite wall panels on the 1st floor as well as pipe insulation in the basement are asbestos containing at percentages above regulatory limits.

Sensitive receptors that are at risk of being affected by asbestos containing building materials include the following:

  • Inhalation of asbestos containing materials during site redevelopment activities.

Lead:  The results of the testing of painted surfaces which reflected the composition of the building materials at large indicate the waste characterization sample contained extractable lead at a concentration below the regulatory threshold.

4.   Alternatives Analysis

The objective of the remedial action is to reduce to an acceptable level the risk to human health caused by contamination at the site. The goal of the remediation is to ensure that human exposure to asbestos containing building materials remains controlled in a manner that does not pose a risk to human health during the Village of Swanton’s planned demolition of the structure.

  1. No Action Alternative. The No Action alternative would entail leaving the building as is. While this alternative is easy to implement, it does not meet redevelopment goals or protect human health. It would stop the village from utilizing this property and would leave the building in disrepair, posing a hazard to adjacent property owners and occupants as it continues to degrade. There is no cost associated with the No Action alternative.
  2. Rehab without Remediation. Renovating the building without asbestos remediation is easy to implement and lower in cost than completing abatement; however, it is not in alignment with redevelopment goals. In addition, it violates the applicable federal and state lead and asbestos regulations. Therefore, it cannot be considered.  There is no cost associated with the Rehab without Remediation alternative.
  3. Remediation with Rehab. Performing asbestos abatement in advance of demolition complies with state and federal lead and asbestos laws. The specific requirements for all asbestos-related abatement and cleaning will be developed by a certified designer in cooperation with the Vermont Department of Health’s Asbestos and Lead Program. The estimated cost for conducting remediation is estimated to not exceed $65,000. 

6.   Proposed/Preferred Scope of Work

Since the no action alternative would not meet redevelopment goals and potentially put neighbors at risk, it is not an acceptable alternative. Rehabbing without remediation is also not an acceptable alternative because it is not compliant with state and federal laws and does not advance the goals of the village for the redevelopment of this property. Therefore, the selected alternative is to remediate prior to the planned demolition of the building. The scope of work for this alternative addresses the proper and safe removal and disposal of the asbestos containing materials.

Elisabeth stated they will go with the Remediation with Rehab option and will have to wait for the November 28th deadline to pass before they can begin. She said they are still hopeful this will be done by the end of the year or early next year. She said she has reached out to three demolition companies and has only heard back from one but said this should satisfy the requirements. She said this has not been the smoothest process but the building will come down while also being mindful of taxpayers money. Neal asked what the next steps would be once the public comment period is over. Elisabeth said the abatement process could start on November 29th because the money has already been allocated for this. Neal asked if Elisabeth heard anything back from the archaeological dig that took place last week. She said she is still waiting for the report but thinks they did find something in the back of the property. She said this will not preclude them from taking the building down.

  1. Public Comment on Asbestos Hearing:

Sandy Kilburn stated she didn’t have any questions but said the sooner this building comes down the better. She said it’s sad to drive by it and see the condition it is now in. She said people her age can remember the wonderful dances every Saturday night.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman stated he wanted to remind everyone about the Winter Parking Ban that is in effect from December 1st through April 15th. He also said Christmas in the Park will be held on November 26th at 3 p.m. He also said he needed volunteers to help take down the Veteran flags in the park. He said he knows people would like more flags in the park but they need more people.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard said he wanted to thank the voters for the support they gave on the water line bond. Reg said they would be doing some bore testing on each side of the bank this Thursday and Friday.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach said the flags in the park look beautiful and said he was at the American Legion and people were commenting on them.

  1. Executive Session for Legal Matter and Personnel:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 7:33 p.m. Eugene LaBombard                                      seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:12 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded.

ACTION TAKEN: Adam Paxman made the motion to approve Betty Cheney, Delinquent Tax Collector, to open an estate at 33 Fourth Street for the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes and to also pay one half of the filing fee to Vermont Superior Court Probate Division. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to increase the Village’s linemen salaries to be commensurate with other utilities in the area. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:22 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:22 p.m. Motion carried.

_____________________________________    _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

_____________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date