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Trustees Meeting 4/26/21

  • Monday, April 26, 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

Monday, April 26, 2021

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; and Leonard “Joey” Stell, Chief of Police; Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Janet Dimick, Nicole Draper, J.R. Cox, Susie Kelleher, Donald Bourgeois 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. Agenda Review:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he would need an Executive Session to discuss personnel.

  1. Public Comment:

Nicole Draper, Swanton Recreation Program Director, stated they would like permission to host a few Farmer’s Markets on the Village Green. She said they would like to coordinate these the same time that Swanton Enhancement Project (SEP) will host the food truck events. She said these will happen on Sunday’s to offer more to the community and will take place the third Sunday of each month May through September from 9 a.m. until noon. Nicole said Healthy Roots did a feasibiliy study for the library a few years back when the farmers market moved to the library to see if they would fair well in the community. She said they didn’t think they would because of already established markets in other communities. She said they are hoping to add these markets to enrich the food truck events already happening. She said they are asking vendors to have a 10x10 site and to produce 80% of what they are selling that day. Adam Paxman said he appreciates the information but wasn’t happy about the Healthy Roots study saying a market wouldn’t fair well in Swanton. Nicole said they thought it would be difficult for vendors to produce for all three events because of the two being held in St. Albans and Grand Isle, which are top producing markets in the area. They thought it would put too much of a strain on the producers. Nicole said by doing this once a month it wouldn’t put too much of an overall strain on them. She said if this year five events work well they can maybe do more next year. Adam asked if they would limit the number of vendors. Nicole said they would need to see how many sign up first and follow Covid guidelines. Adam said he would like to see more than five events and there might be vendors who don’t participate in the other two events who would benefit from a market in Swanton. Susie Kelleher said she has had a pretty good response so far and didn’t dare to go too far into this without having the location solidified. Reg Beliveau asked why the event was moved from the park to the library. Adam said it was because the person running it at the time felt he would get better traffic at the library instead of being in the park. Nicole said so far there are 7 vendors who are very interested in participating and have filled out their contract. Adam asked if they would be required to carry an insurance policy. Nicole said she spoke with other hosts of farmers markets and they make the vendor carry their own policy as well as sign a waiver stating there would be no liability on the Town or Village. She said they have something drafted and in place. Chris Leach said the farmers market is a great idea and wondered if they would be willing to hold an event during the week to make them standout some. Nicole said she would like to explore that option more but consistency in the date and time would work better for the vendors and customers. She said maybe in the future they could adjust the date and times. Nicole said no other community is having a Sunday event. Eugene LaBombard said he would be happy if they had it every Sunday. Nicole said this would add to the vibrancy of the community and is hoping more and more people can come out to these events so they see how wonderful the community is. She said they may adjust the hours if needed. Reg said they could host up to 25 vendors and still be following Covid guidelines. He said after July the Governor is saying things will open up more. Susie Kelleher stated she would be willing to work with Chief Stell if needed for Covid guidelines. Chief Stell stated to follow the CDC website and social distance the vendors. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize the Swanton Recreation Program Director to hold Farmer’s Markets on the Village Green the third Sunday of each month from May through September as requested. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: The board stated they would be happy with this event happening every Sunday and Adam Paxman also suggested they consider the nearby churches when scheduling the time of the markets. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, April 12, 2021:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, April 12, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked if the FERC relicensing was going as status quo. Reg Beliveau stated there have been some water quality modifications but things were moving along. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, April 22, 2021:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Thursday, April 22, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Swanton Village Police Department Update – Chief Leonard “Joey” Stell:

Chief Stell stated the Village Police Department responded to 144 calls for service during the month of March. He said they issued 18 traffic stop warnings and 2 stops resulted in tickets. He said the warnings happened on First Street, Greenwich Street, Grand Avenue and Spring Street. Neal Speer asked if the speed indicator on Grand Avenue helped slow people down. Chief Stell stated they haven’t pulled data from that recently but will be doing so soon. He said they will re-deploy their speed cart and speed monitoring devices throughout the Village to get a better idea as to what their current traffic patterns are. He said things will likely start changing when college gets out and kids are home for the summer. He also said the border may be opening up and that would really change the traffic pattern. He said they will figure out the best times to patrol different areas. Adam Paxman asked if they had any issues or concerns regarding ATV’s. The Chief stated they have constant issues with ATV’s on the rail trail, and on some roads in the Village and Town. He said it’s problematic because it’s hard to identify who they are and said they also have a policy that was recommended by VLCT to not pursue an ATV because they tend to end badly. He said they choose not to for the safety of the public and work purely on investigation and tips. Adam said some towns are allowing them on their roads. Chief Stell said some towns allow ATV’s on their secondary roads but said they weren’t allowed on Class I roads. He said it becomes a double edged sword making it more beneficial or more problematic. He said there could be more sound noise and annoyance or make it more regulated and have them follow the rules. Reg said it would help stop the erosion that’s happening in ditches. Chief Stell said he could find out the pros and cons of this issue and let them know. Chris Leach stated everyone that has approached him recently supports the police department.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman asked if there was an update from the State as far as funds coming in for the Town and Village yet. Reg stated he hasn’t heard anything about that. Adam said the Car Show is happening July 31st this year from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and they are going full bore hoping to get 250 cars in the park. He also said he’s on the committee for the Memorial Day Parade. He said the parade will be held on Monday, May 31st, time to be announced. He said he would reach out to Swanton Recreation and other agencies to see if they would be interested in participating in the parade. Neal Speer said the car snow in Bristol has been canceled for this year and he invited them to the Chambers. Adam said if anyone was interested in helping out with the Memorial Day Parade to look him up.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated the St. Albans Messenger ran an article about the water project at the Highgate Airport. He said after reading the article it gave the impression that he had already pre-committed the Trustees and that was not the intent of his conversation. He said the intent was if they had a negative vote the Village would sit with the Highgate Selectboard and help find some resolution to bring this project to reality. He said he talked with the Highgate Administrator and she reached out to all the selectboard members and they didn’t see it as a negative article. Eugene LaBombard said they are in support of this and it would benefit the whole county because it’s a prime location for industrial business. He said the Village can provide the water and Highgate can pay for the installation and be charged just like any other customer. He said this will benefit the community. He said if they have a negative vote the airport isn’t going away, they would just need to look at it another way. Neal Speer stated the end result was that the media coverage was positive and they would have to be more careful with what they put out to the media. Chris Leach said they are in favor of water at the airport. Eugene wondered if there were stimulus funds that could help with this project.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach said the public works crew has done a great job cleaning the streets.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated he has applied for a $175,000 structures grant with a 10% match to help repair the bridge. He also said the Village uses Front Porch Forum quite a bit for the electric crew and they are doing their annual fundraiser. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to make a $200 donation to Front Porch Forum. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried. Reg also said that work began on the doughboy in Flat Iron Park and there was some cracking in it. He said Shawn Chevalier is aware of that and has gone back to do some repairs. Reg said that the Village would like to officially rename Flat Iron Park to Veterans Memorial Park. Adam Paxman made the motion to officially rename Flat Iron Park to Veterans Memorial Park. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Any Other Business: Neal Speer stated the beautification task force has been out and about working on flowers in the park. He said they have changed the color of the flower boxes on the bridge as well. Adam said the Swan planter was placed in front of the Chamber office.

Neal Speer stated they would also need to discuss Real Estate in Executive Session.

  1. Executive Session if Necessary:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel at 7:47 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:12 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

  1. Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:12 p.m.  Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:12 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date