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Trustees Meeting 2/23/16

  • Tuesday, February 23, 2016
    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

INFORMATIONAL MEETING & PUBLIC HEARING

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Joey Stell, Chief of Police; Tim Girard, Fire Chief; Jason Cross; Jason Butler; Betty Cheney, Delinquent Tax Collector; Glen Gurwit; Suzanne Washburn; Elizabeth Nance; Louise LaBombard and Ch. 16.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

  1. Call to Order:

Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Informational Meeting and Public Hearing and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

  1. Moment of Silence:

He requested a Moment of Silence for all Military, Past, Present and Future and also for all our community members who are sick or have passed away.

  1. Pledge of Allegiance:

Neal Speer led everyone in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.

  1. Agenda Review:

None.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, February 8, 2016:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, February 8, 2016 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, February 19, 2016:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, February 19, 2016 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Informational Meeting & Public Hearing – 2016 Village Annual Warning:

Neal Speer read the Village Annual Warning to everyone present. Chris Leach wanted to recognize Jerome Duffy for all his years of service as a Village Trustee. He said the Village has dedicated their Annual Report to him and his many years of service. Neal stated they had a real busy year and a very enthusiastic year. He said they started it off with the Community Visit and set up Task Forces and the Town and Village are working together. Reg Beliveau thanked everyone for coming tonight and said the Town and Village had common Report covers about the Community Visit. He said the Arts Council is doing great work. He said they postponed their Community Visit Celebration but will get it rescheduled soon. He said the Boards have grown strong and together they all work hard. He then began a slideshow presentation.

2015 Year in Review:

Projects: Reg mentioned the Marble Mill Park grant for $74,880. He also mentioned:

  • Community Visit – 5 Task forces focused on improving Swanton
  • Mark Fenton Visit – A review of a walkable/bikeable Swanton
  • Storm Water Grants – Marble Mill Park Grant for $74,880
  • UVM Preformed a Public Tree Inventory Study of the Village – Developing an Urban Forest Management Plan
  • Town/Village Grant to study a sidewalk to MVU and the Depot to join the sidewalk on Lake Street – Cross Consulting is reviewing a feasibility study now
  • Healthy Work Place Grant for $3000 – Monthly health screenings, employee garden, FitBits, and the Village purchases fruits and vegetables weekly
  • EV Car Charging Units in the Municipal Park and Ride – The Village received a $24,000 grant for two stations which can charge four cars
  • Additional Parking Downtown – Church parking lot and next to Merchants Row. The Village and town share the maintenance on the Church parking lot and the Village leased the lot next to Merchants Row

Public Works Department

  • Water Line Break – The crew spent over two days repairing a water line break under the Interstate Overpass
  • Construction of the Transmission Lines – Construction complete, last stages of the river crossing being tested now; may be able to complete the Canada Street project too
  • Early Spring – Frozen Water Lines
  • Paving Project 2016 – VT 78 (First Street) and US Route 7 (Spring Street) and Grand Avenue; Bike Lanes/Share the Road Bike Lanes, and Village Square traffic changes
  • Grant for Flashing crosswalk Signs/Adding Cross Walks Part of Safe Routes to School Program – First and Liberty Street, Grand Avenue and Railtrail, Canada Street
  • Merchants Row Traffic Re-Design – Need to improve Merchants Row traffic, new plan increases parking by 5 spots, shifting the road closer to the Chamber of Commerce
  • Bad winter so far with very cold temperatures, freezing water lines, and lots of snow

Electric Department

  • Continue to keep up on Tree Trimming – Proven to eliminate outages during snow/ice storms
  • Received the Utility Truck
  • Ordered the Bucket Truck, expecting a June Delivery
  • Took Delivery of the Digger Truck – All part of the 108 PSB request for financing
  • Many estimates for large solar projects within our service territory

Waste Water Plant

  • Refurbished the UV system was in-service retrofitting the 20 year old system (Jim Irish saved the Village hundreds of thousands of dollars on this UV system). They were quoted a system for over $400,000 and Jim did some research and was able to get it retrofitted for approximately $68,000
  • House Draft Bill H35 – will be a concern to our operations; sharply reduces our discharge limits for phosphorus; reviewed proto-type Phosphorus removal methods
  • Many repairs and upgrades to the plant

Water Treatment Plant

  • Plant continues to operate well
  • We are monitoring point for Blue-Green Algae
  • E-Maintenance Plan – preventative maintenance plan for all assets of the Village

Hydro Plant

  • General repairs continue preparing for re-licensing in 2023 (7 years out)
  • This is a minimum of a 5 year process before license is due
  • Improved Control Room for the Operators – VPPSA paid for this because the Operators dispatch for their P-10 site
  • FERC visit and Inspection of the Rubber Dam – need to investigate repair or replace

Reg then went on to explain the Tax Rate. He showed the 2015 Actual vs. the 2016 Proposed Tax Rate. General was 0.0725 to 0.0718; Fire Dept. was 0.0391 to 0.0440; Police Dept. was 0.3404 to 0.3641; Highway was 0.2887 to 0.2938. The 2015 Actual Tax Rate was 0.7407 and the 2016 Proposed Tax Rate is 0.7737 with a change of 0.0330 cents. The increase on a $200,000 home with the proposed tax rate is $66.00.

Reg then introduced the 2016 candidates for this year which are Neal Speer for Village President, Eugene LaBombard for Village Trustee, Dianne Day for Village Clerk, and Betty Cheney for Village Delinquent Tax Collector.

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, proceeded to go over the budgets. She started with the General Department stating that this covered the Village Complex. She said this budget has gone down by about $1500.

Fire Department: Lynn stated this department is up this year due to an increase in salaries, FICA expense and Workman’s Compensation. She said they have VLCT for their insurance and the fire department is in a pool with other fire departments. If workmens compensation numbers are up, everyone will see an increase. Tim Girard, Fire Chief, stated that 2015 was a very busy year and they are thankful there was no loss of life. He said the weather was very hard on their equipment. He said they meet every Monday evening and have a very aggressive training officer. He said they have great personnel that take care of their gear and equipment. He introduced Jason Butler and Jason Cross and said they are the backbone of the department.

Police Department: Chief Stell stated the increase in his department comes from an increase in salaries due to investigations, workman’s compensation and training requirements. Suzanne Washburn asked how the Town contract was going and Chief Stell said it was going good. Reg Beliveau stated that Chief Stell also attends the Substance Abuse programs as well.

Highway Department: Lynn stated this department was up a bit due to workman’s compensation. She said there were a couple of cases in the Electric Department last year but that the rates from the state increased across the board. She said it was up about $20,000 this year for all departments. Lynn said Mike Menard didn’t do any paving in 2015 and is going to do two year’s worth in 2016. She said they have also received bids on purchasing a new backhoe. She said this piece of equipment is approximately 15 years old and rolls every day. Lynn said now is the time to replace it because they can still get a good price for trade in and she said they have money set aside for this purchase. She said the next piece of equipment to get replaced will be the sidewalk plow.

Electric Department: Lynn advised everyone that the Village may need a rate increase this year. She said her audit is complete and VPPSA is working on a rate increase for her. She said the Village still has the second lowest rates in the State of Vermont. Lynn said the purchase power and labor rates are over budget again. She said they are not generating great numbers at the hydro plant. They have done a lot of maintenance at the plant and are now on a maintenance routine. She said there are a lot of solar projects in the works and that is keeping the line crew very busy. She said they will get reimbursed for those by the project owners. Suzanne Washburn asked what if the Village put in their own solar project. Reg Beliveau stated they make 80% of their own power and he said VPPSA is looking into that for the Village. Chris Leach stated everyone is putting in solar or wind projects and their generation is going into the grid. He said hydro power is not considered renewable so they have to purchase power. He said regardless they are doing their best to keep the rates low and reliable. Elizabeth Nance asked why hydro power wasn’t considered renewable. Reg stated because it’s not “new” renewable and their plant is too old. Lynn also stated that one of the electric bonds will be paid off this December and that will free up about a half a million dollars. She said the other two bonds are scheduled to be paid off in 2019 and 2023. She said the Village paid off about $1.2 million dollars in bonds in 2015 and they are now beginning to see some debt paid off.

Water Department: Lynn said the Village paid their first bond payment on the water plant this year and they will pay their first payment on the water transmission line in 2017. She said it was a rough winter last year and they incurred a lot of expenses with frozen pipes. She said the plant is working well and the Village’s rate increase is set to begin in March.

Sewer Department: Lynn advised everyone that the Village paid off a CSO bond in this department and is scheduled to pay another one off next year. She said this department hasn’t seen a rate increase since 2014 and this department will also have one in March. She said they have done a lot of their upgrades through depreciation funds. They are waiting to see what happens with the phosphorus issue and she said that may cause another rate increase.

Reg Beliveau stated he just started his 5th year working for the Village and said he appreciates the support given to him. He also thanked his staff for everything they do.

Neal Speer stated it was a breath of fresh air working with Reg and said the Village has a great team, either elected or with the workforce. He said it’s very gratifying to work with a team to get things done. He said the Village has a great leader, a great workforce and also said the Town and Village are working great together. He said he is running again for Village President and appreciates everyone’s support. The other candidates on the ballot this year are Eugene LaBombard, Village Trustee, for a three year term; Dianne Day, Village Clerk, for a one year term; and Betty Cheney, Village Delinquent Tax Collector, for a one year term.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

None.

  1. Public Comment:

Suzanne Washburn said she’d like to commend the Village and Town. She said it’s very encouraging and she hopes they keep up the good work.

  1. Executive Session (If Necessary):

None.

  1. Adjournment:

ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Informational Meeting and Public Hearing at 8:28 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:29 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date