Trustees Meeting 3/24/25

Web version

 SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, March 24, 2025

6:00 PM

PRESENT: David Winchester, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Neal Speer, Trustee; Suzie Kelleher, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Duane Couture & Daren Plouff, Electric Department; Damon Broderick, Chevon Cooper and Ch. 16. Via Teams: Linda Daneau.

To watch this meeting in its entirety, go to Northwest Access TV on YouTube. The video will also be posted on the Village’s website once available. Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried, unanimously.

1. Enter Executive Session at 5 p.m. to Discuss Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made the motion, seconded by Suzie Kelleher, to go into Executive Session at 5:00 p.m. to discuss real estate issues where premature general public knowledge of the subject matter would place the Village or person involved at a substantial disadvantage. Motion carried.

2. Adjourn Executive Session:

Neal Speer made the motion to exit Executive Session at 5:49 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

3. Call Regular Meeting to Order at 6 p.m.:

David Winchester, Village President, called the Village Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

4. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

5. Agenda Review:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated he would like to add legal matter to executive session.

6. Public Comment:

None.

7. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, March 10, 2025 as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the minutes from Monday, March 10, 2025 as presented. Neal Speer seconded the motion. Motion carried.

8. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, March 20, 2025:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Village Warrants through Thursday, March 20, 2025 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

9. Discussion on Swanton Village Electric Bond Vote Next Steps:

Adam Paxman said the Board has decided to hold a revote on the proposed electric facility. He said they don’t have a price tag yet and said they might be able to reduce it some. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to hold a revote on the proposed electric facility to be held on Tuesday, May 6, 2025 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Neal Speer seconded. Discussion: Suzie Kelleher stated the board has made a concerted effort to take as much as they can off the design and will look at every opportunity they can. Neal said he would like to get the word out so they have a better voter turnout. Neal urged anyone to contact the Trustees or the Village Office if they had any questions. Chevon Cooper said one thing she’s heard people talking about on social media was whether or not money would be spent on the existing municipal building if the new one got approved. Suzie said there are no plans to do anything to this building as of yet. She said the police and public works were just going to spread out and take over the electric departments space and see what they need down the road. She said they might need a security door or a holding cell but they would look at what those things cost and would evaluate it. She said it could be 3 or 4 years down the road. Motion carried.

10. Enter Water Commissioner’s Meeting to hear the Following: Linda Daneau Request Permission to Connect to the Village Water Main at 104 Spring Street and Also Requests a Water/Sewer Allocation of 300 GPD. Exit Water Commissioner’s Meeting and Re-Enter Open Session:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Water Commissioner’s meeting at 6:16 p.m. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, informed the board that Linda Daneau is requesting permission to connect to the Village’s main water line on Spring Street. She said she had made a connection years ago but that was to her old water line at 102 Spring Street. Dianne also said Linda is requesting a water and wastewater allocation of 300 gallons per day (GPD). Linda was present via Teams and stated she needs to remove her connection at 102 Spring Street, and she would like permission to connect to the main line. Dianne reminded the Board that Linda paid her connection fee back in 2013 so she shouldn’t be charged for that again. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Linda Daneau connecting to the Village’s main water line at 104 Spring Street and also approved a water and wastewater allocation of 300 GPD. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Neal Speer reminded Suzie that there should be no charge for this and that should be stated in her motion. Suzie Kelleher amended the motion to also state this connection would happen at no charge to Ms. Daneau. Neal Speer seconded. Motion carried. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting and re-enter open session at 6:21 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Motion carried.

       10a. Duane Couture, Electric Foreman, stated he needs to replace the streetlight on the bridge and said the new fixtures cost approximately $3000. He said he is able to get a different fixture for a lot less money but said he’d like some guidance from the Board on what fixtures to purchase. The Board said they would look this over and get back to him.

11. Swanton Village Police Department Update with Sgt. Tyler Badeau:

Sgt Tyler Badeau was present for this update on the Swanton Village Police Department. He said the Village responded to 129 incidents in the month of January 2025. He said the top ten calls for service were: 13 traffic stop, 11 welfare/suicide check, 7 directed patrol, 6 search warrant, 6 citizen assist, 6 VIN number inspection, 5 mental health, 4 motor vehicle complaint, 4 juvenile problem and 16 suspicious person/circumstance. Tyler said there were 13 traffic stops and issued 6 tickets and 8 warnings. He said there were 10 arrests, 13 arrest charges with 10 individuals.

Tyler said during the month of January 2025 they responded to 62 incidents in the Town of Swanton and the top ten calls for service were: 12 traffic stop, 7 citizen assist, 5 alarm, 5 directed patrol, 3 juvenile problem, 3 crash, property damage, 3 animal problem, 2 suspicious person/circumstance, 2 information report and 2 VIN number inspection.

Tyler then read the statistics for the month of February, explaining they responded to 104 incidents in the Village and the top ten calls for service were: 10 mental health, 10 citizen assist, 8 traffic stop, 6 welfare/suicide check, 6 community outreach, 4 suspicious person/circumstance, 4 fraud, 4 directed patrol, 4 Vin number inspection, and 10 juvenile problem. Tyler said there were 8 traffic stops, 6 tickets were issued as well as 9 warnings. He said there were 4 arrest, 4 arrest charges with 4 individuals.

He said they responded to 48 incidents in the Town of Swanton in the month of February. He said the top ten calls for service for that month were: 7 community outreach, 5 crash, property damage, 5 motor vehicle complaint, 4 suspicious person/circumstance, 3 alarm, 3 threatening, 2 driving with license suspended, 2 directed patrol, 1 citizen assist and 7 traffic stop. Tyler said there were 7 traffic stops and they issued 2 tickets and 8 warnings. There were 4 arrests with 3 individuals and 5 charges.

They discussed traffic stops and drug busts they have been working on. Bill asked Tyler about their press releases they put on social media and asked if that could be spruced up a bit more. They also talked about the additional hours of service worked for the Town and Tyler said that could be from the SRO officer at the school. Bill asked Tyler how the recruiting was going and he said not so good. He said this is a universal problem. Tyler said they have hired two new part-timers. The Board thanked Tyler for coming in.

12. Approve and Adopt Code of Ethics Investigation and Enforcement Ordinance:

William Sheets, Village Manager, said the Village would also be required to create a reporting page and put it on the Village’s website. He said this way, if a violation needs to be reported, citizens would have a way to do so. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, said this ordinance is required since the State of Vermont created a law that became effective as of July 1, 2024. She said if the Board approved and adopts this ordinance tonight, it will become effective May 23, 2025. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve and adopt the Code of Ethics Investigation and Enforcement Ordinance as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

13. Coin Drop Request for Swanton Village Fire Department – Star Hose to be held on September 13, 2025 with a Rain Date of September 27, 2025:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated the Swanton Village Fire Department Star Hose is requesting permission to hold a coin drop on Saturday, September 13, 2025 with a rain date of Saturday, September 27, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Neal Speer made the motion to approve Swanton Village’s Fire Departments request to hold a coin drop on Saturday, September 13, 2025 with a rain date of Saturday, September 27, 2025 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried with two yays (Suzie Kelleher and Neal Speer) and one nay (Adam Paxman).

14. Appoint Frank Shumway Village Tree Warden for 2025:

Adam Paxman made the motion to appoint Frank Shumway Village Tree Warden from March 2025 through March 2026. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

15. Appoint Village Representatives to Northwest Regional Planning Commission for March 2025 through March 2026:

William Sheets, Village Manager, stated the current Village Representatives are Heidi Britch-Valenta and Neal Speer. He said Heidi will remain a representative and works closely with them for her position here at the Village. Neal Speer stated he would like to give up his position as representative. There was discussion amongst the board members and attendees and it was decided that they would appoint Heidi again for this year and wait on the second appointment until the next board meeting. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to appoint Heidi Britch-Valenta as Village Representative to Northwest Regional Planning Commission for March 2025 through March 2026. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Motion carried.

16. Appoint Village Representative and Alternate to the Northwest Regional Planning Commission Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) for March 2025 through March 2026:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to appoint Heidi Britch-Valenta Village Representative to the Northwest Regional Planning Commission Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) and appoint William Sheets as the alternate representative for March 2025 through March 2026. Neal Speer seconded. Discussion: Chevon Cooper asked if this was the agency to be called when someone wants to report potholes and dangerous road conditions. Bill advised her yes and said he had contact information as well. Motion carried.

17. Village Manager Update:

Grant Funding: The Village of Swanton has been awarded $20,000 from the Department of Forest, Parks, and Recreation, to remove dying and dangerous trees from our Village Green. The award represents the full amount requested. Our next steps include a closer evaluation of the bids that we received and the formal awarding of a contract for doing this work. We will have additional Trustee meetings related to this topic, where we will provide updates, likely beginning in April.

Fire Department: The Swanton Fire Department is pleased to announce the next slate of Officers. Chief Dan Chevalier and Deputy Chief Troy Campbell have announced the following have been named Officers within the Department. As a reminder Chief Chevalier was appointed last year to a three-year appointment. We continue to have success with recruiting cadets and Avery Mitchinson is the lead cadet advisor.

Asst Chief                    Troy Campbell

Captain                         Lawrence Bouissey

Senior Lieutenant         Matt Depatie

Second Lieutenant       Bruce Whalen

Third Lieutenant          Troy Rocheleau

Floating Lt                   Shayne Mott

Safety Officer              Matt Walker

MVU Tours: On March 19^th we hosted three classes, with about 60 total students, for tours of the Fire and Police Departments. This has been a great assist to our Fire Cadet program with several recent MVU students joining the cadet ranks.

Swanton Brush Pile: We completed a Facebook post last week as a reminder that this site is for Swanton residents only and that if we continue to see abuses of this location, we will need to take additional steps to secure the site.

Maple Festival Sap Run: This event takes place on Sunday April 27^th. Event coordinators will place temporary portolets at the back side of the park, the PD is aware and will assist as needed and upon availability.

Public Works: They are preparing materials to get started soon on the Brown Avenue Stormwater mitigation project. Public works has ordered a rubber product to enhance the upright delineators in the Merchants Row area. The hope is that traffic will have a more visual path to stay in their lane of travel, helping to ensure pedestrian traffic remains safe.

Hydro: We entered Emergency Action Protocol (EAP) starting at 0600 on March 17^th due to snow melting and rainfall, returning to normal operations on March 19^th.

Unit 3 is up and running using the old wooden blocks, we are hoping that this unit remains fully functional through spring runoff and then we can look at next best steps for a modified guide bearing.

The four-day operation to repair concrete issues was a success and the unit is back online. The internal bearing parts for Unit 2 have arrived and we hope that we have that unit operating as soon as possible. The Hydro team has also been busy with the trash rake, moving the debris from the dam site.

Stonecat Hydro: A few years ago, Stonecat Hydro, with Swanton Village support, received a preliminary permit to explore hydroelectric generating capacity at the Lower Swanton Dam. Effective March 13, 2025, they have surrendered that permit and have decided not to pursue a FERC license for that proposed project.

Swanton Village Electric: Please join me in congratulating Daren Plouff as our next Electric Department Supervisor. Daren, a 38-year industry veteran, who has been with Swanton Village Electric for 30 years, will officially succeed Duane Couture upon his planned retirement in October of this year. We are fully into Tree Trimming season, and we expect this to be another busy year, dealing with Elm trees and other problem areas. The Electric Department also needs to have a discussion with the Board to determine how you wish to proceed with the lighting design in our Village area.

Water: The Water team hosted the loss prevention specialist from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) for an onsite safety inspection and walk through on 03/20/25. We will incorporate improvement opportunities from the visit into policy and procedures to enhance our overall safety. VLCT will be doing the same assessment at all of our facilities this spring.

Wastewater: I want to propose that we hold a warned, special meeting of the Board of Trustees, so that the Trustees can hold a meeting at the treatment plant to see the progress made to date and the work that remains. We would invite the public to attend and would suggest starting at 4 PM, if possible, to maximize daylight.

The centrifuge is being installed now, and we are looking forward to being able to go operational with dewatering.

18. Any Other Necessary Business:

None.

19. Executive Session to Discuss Legal Matter:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion, seconded by Adam Paxman, to go into Executive Session at 7:15 p.m. to discuss legal matter issues where premature general public knowledge of the subject matter would place the Village or person involved at a substantial disadvantage. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 7:45 pm. Neal Speer seconded. Motion carried.

20. Adjournment:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees at 7:47 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, David Winchester, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 7:47 p.m. Motion carried.

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David Winchester, Village President                  Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date