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Trustees Meeting 4/10/23

  • Monday, April 10, 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, April 10, 2023

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman; Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Duane Couture, Electric Foreman; Jeff Lewis, Aldrich & Elliott; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Emily Hackett, State of VT CWSRF and Wayne Elliott, Aldrich & Elliott.

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:

Added Public Comment to #4, was mistakenly left off agenda.

  1. Public Comment:

None.

  1. Approve and accept Minutes from Monday, March 27, 2023 and Minutes from the Special Meeting, Wednesday, April 5, 2023 as presented:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, March 27, 2023 as presented and the Minutes from the Special Meeting held on Wednesday April 5, 2023 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach stated he wanted to thank Dianne Day, Village Clerk, once again for the excellent report she did on the lien collection process of Swanton Village. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, April 6, 2023:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #31-#35 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked what the payment for $2889.84 made to Empower was for. Lynn Paradis explained that was for the additional employee 457 retirement plan that is 100% employee contributed. He also asked what the payment for $3323.09 to Primmer Piper Eggleston & Cram was for. She said they are Village attorneys and were used for the upcoming water project. Motion carried.

  1. Aldrich & Elliott: Wastewater Treatment Facility project update, environmental review/mitigation measures required:

Jeff Lewis introduced himself as the project engineer for the Wastewater Treatment Facility upgrade and said he’d like to open their public hearing on this topic. He said he wanted to go through some ongoing work they’ve been doing at the facility. He said a little background on this plant is that it was built in 1972; had some secondary treatment upgrades in 1989; did sludge dewatering in 1996; the latest discharge permit was issued in 2018; in 2019 they did a 20-year evaluation and in 2021 filed a pilot test and preliminary engineering report. Jeff said this upgrade is necessary because of age related deficiencies and phosphorus removal capabilities. He said typical wastewater equipment has a 20-to-30-year lifespan and multiple processes are still in service from 1989 making them 33 years old. He said the proposed project is to repair the curtain in the lagoon; refurbish solids contact clarifiers; construct a new tertiary filtration system; replace sludge pumps, air diffusion system and aeration blower; and also replace aged motor control centers at WWRF and the Pump Station. Jeff went on to explain the timeline. He said in September 2021 and January 2023 they finalized PER; in February 2023 they started final design; December 2023 they will finish final design; April 2024 they will advertise for bids; May 2024 they will begin construction and December 2024 construction will be complete. He said there will be some environmental review steps even though they are working on an existing wastewater treatment facility. He said they anticipate the following nine reports: 1. Environmental Justice Considerations; 2. Cultural, Historic, and Archeological Resources; 3. Land Use; 4. Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs; 5. Wetlands, Floodplains, Coastal Zones, Wild and Scenic River; 6. Fish and Wildlife, and Endangered Species; 7. Drinking Water and Groundwater Protection; 8. Air Quality, Noise, and Emissions; and 9. NEPA Related Considerations. He also said work will be required within the wetland buffer area. He said measures would include wetland delineation and wetland permits will include minimize impact, protection and restoration. He said the state protects the wetlands and a 50-foot buffer from the wetlands. He said they are currently in that process now. Chris Leach asked if our facility was typical or unique. Jeff said not all facilities have the dewatering capabilities like the Village does and said this is definitely a benefit for the Village. Chris asked about the ultraviolet system and Jeff said that is up to date and no need to make any changes there at this time. Adam Paxman asked what added cost the nine environmental issues would cause. Jeff said this is a process through the State and said it was included in the project cost and they are not adding any additional costs because of that. Chris Leach asked if the plant had enough capacity because they are adding water and sewer up into Highgate for the airport job. Jeff said there are two ways to think about capacity and said the Village is in good shape and have sufficient capacity to add more users. Jeff said the purpose of his presentation tonight is to get them thinking about it and said the public would have multiple opportunities to come in on this project as well. He said the goal is to make everyone aware of the project and what they plan to do. Eugene LaBombard said he thought the Village was at about 60 to 70% capacity at this time. Wayne Elliott said the Village’s flow capacity is at 60% and dewatering is at 65-70%. Eugene said this is good to know that capacity is not unlimited. Neal Speer asked about the new phosphorus levels mandated by the State. Jeff said they are planning on adding a step onto the back end of what we are already doing and this will reduce the use of chemicals. The Board thanked Jeff for his presentation. Wayne asked Emily with Clean Water if she was all set at this time. She said there is a 30 day comment period for questions on this topic and people can email her with any questions they may have.

  1. Swanton Village Electric Department Update with Duane Couture, Foreman:

Duane Couture, Electric Foreman, was present for this and first showed his organizational chart showing who works alongside him in the electric department. He said Al Mosher works alongside him as the Village’s electrical engineer and has a key role in everything that he does for them with the SCADA system and designing other parts of their electric system. He said he is an exceptional asset to the Village. He showed Daren Plouff as his lead lineman; Jody Benoit, 1st Class Lineman; Tanner Benoit, 1st Class Lineman; Paul Bouchard, Lineman Apprentice; and Marc Longway, Meters. Duane said their responsibilities include supplying power to roughly 4000 customers and maintaining the substation and power lines or transmission and distribution. He said they also provide mutual aid to local and non-local power companies during times of natural disasters like wind, snow and ice storms. He said because of Swanton’s exceptional system they are able to offer help to other utilities. He said Swanton belongs to NEPPA (Northeast Public Power Association) and that is how they are notified about who needs help. He said they also need to maintain a safe work environment and have monthly safety classes. Duane said part of supplying and maintaining power lines includes maintaining their existing lines, doing line improvements such as moving power lines from cross country lines closer to roadside to increase power

reliability; manage tree trimming to minimize tree related issues; building new lines as needed; creating cost estimates for new customers; ensuring equipment is well maintained and in working order; and ensuring a safe work environment by providing continuous safety training and ensuring work gear is in compliance with regulations and policy. Duane said they also maintain the existing current metering system by physically reading meters for approximately 4000 customers each month. He said they also do disconnects for non-paying customers as well as reconnections. Duane said Swanton Village Electric is currently working to integrate a new smart metering system which will feed the data from the meter back to the metering system eliminating the need to physically read the meter. He said it will also integrate with GIS Mapping system which will allow for outage management. Duane said this won’t happen overnight and could take a year and a half to complete. Duane mentioned Mutual Aid again and said they are currently working with Enosburg power to help alleviate some on-call issues. He said they’re now working with them and a guy from each company covers calls for after hour or weekend issues. He said this allows someone to be on call every four weeks instead of every other weekend. He said this also saves money. Duane said his crew maintains required safety training by providing monthly safety training sessions to include pole top rescues, ensures yearly CPR certifications are maintained, and ensures work gear and equipment (rubber gloves, sleeves, bucket trucks) are in compliance with required regulations, policies and standards for electric companies. Duane said his upcoming projects include to continue to upgrade the system by replacing aged poles within the system and moving cross country lines roadside to increase reliability and decrease repair time. He said some challenges he’s facing is identification of future line maintainers, retention of existing, skilled members; identification of a future leader and concerns about future rate increases and demands. Chris Leach asked what a SCADA system is. Duane stated this is like a television screen that watches our entire service system. He said there are 6 circuits and 3 substations and we are watching all of it at all times. He said when there is a power outage they can see where it is. He said this is run through a fiber optic system and we are the only ones who can see it. Chris asked if there were any openings for new linemen. Duane said they are getting to the point where some don’t have much time left before retirement. He said keeping his younger linemen at the Village is always at the back of his mind and something they work on. Chris thanked him and his crew for all their work. Adam Paxman asked about the dual wood in their system and Duane said he’s been working on that for some time now. He said he may need to follow the ordinance and start placing fines. Adam said to definitely look into that.e

  1. Village Manager Update:

William “Bill” Sheets stated that the Hotel Riveria is scheduled to be torn down on Monday, April 17th. He said they will enhance the fencing around the property before they begin but said it shouldn’t take long to demolish it. He said he has met with all the neighbors in the surrounding area.

Bill said Kathy Lavoie from Northwest Regional Planning reached out to him and said Joel Clark is willing to be the Swanton representative for the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize appointing Joel Clark as the Swanton representative for the Northwest Vermont Rail Trail Council. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Bill informed the Board that the Village now owns 124 First Street (old Carroll Concrete property) and said they closed on Friday. He said he would be having meetings to determine the potential and cost for a new police and fire public safety building. He said they will be working on Tier 1 and Tier 2 mitigation as well. He said they need to take down the tower and building and said there is no longer any communication equipment on that tower. He said they will be working on a study for building size and cost.

Bill also informed the Board that there is a very old turbine at the hydro plant that is no longer in use so Dan Chevalier wants to polish it up, paint it and put out by their sign for educational purposes. He said they will put up a placard and said this is a good use for it.

He also informed the board that an archaeological assessment will be taking place on Foundry Street near the fishing access because of the waterline job. He said they will be boring in the riverbank area.

Reg Beliveau informed the Board that he would like the Trustees to sign a letter of interest he drafted for the Northern Border Regional 2023 Catalyst Program. He said this would be for possibly applying for a grant to help with the cost for a new police and fire public safety building. Chris Leach made the

motion to authorize the Village Trustees to sign the Letter of Interest to the NBRC Program Manager. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman said the Memorial Day Parade will be held on Monday, May 29th not May 26th as previously stated. He said the 150 Flags for Veterans will be going up on May 27th for the week. He also said there is a lot of speeding cars on Spring Street and he asks that people slow down and stop speeding. Eugene LaBombard said he agrees with what Adam is saying. He said he needs to turn his air conditioning on to drown out the speeding cars. He also said he sees cars going through the stop sign by Ace Hardware and said 1 out of 10 cars actually stops there. Bill said he would bring this to the

attention of the police department and said traffic safety is very important.

Any Other Business: Neal Speer asked if the airport runway was closed. Duane Couture said yes it is now closed and said construction crews are now in there doing some work.

Any Other Business: Dianne Day, Village Clerk, said she wanted to thank a few homeowners and landlords for paying off some old liens last week. She said the Village collected over $3000 in liens.

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:03 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

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

ACTION TAKEN: None.

  1. Adjournment:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:00 p.m. Adam Paxman 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