Trustees Meeting 5/22/23

Web version

 SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

                       SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX                      

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, May 22, 2023

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman; Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Ron & Sandy Kilburn, Chevon Cooper, Swanton Enhancement; Josh Ramsdell, MVR; Tim Smith, FCIDC; Tod Jones, Water Treatment Plant Operator; and Ch. 16. Via Teams: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Jonathan Kalb, MVR.

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.

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Agenda Review:

None.

4. Public Comment:

Chevon Cooper said she was here on behalf of the Swanton Beautification Committee and said they will be having a “Yard of the Year” competition for 2023. She said the top three winners will get a $100 gift card to a local greenhouse and U.S. flag and mount. She said to register a home please email yotyswantonvt@ gmail.com or call 802-528-6716 with any questions.

Sandy Kilburn said planting day went great with over 25 volunteers there to help. She said they added four more boxes on the bridge and added more gardens in the park. Sandy said she wanted to thank the Village for all their support.

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, May 8, 2023 as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, May 8, 2023 meeting as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, May 18, 2023:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #47-#51 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the payment made to Empower in the amount of $2739.84. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that is for the voluntary retirement plan and that amount is deducted from employee paychecks each week. Motion carried.

7. Tim Smith, Franklin County Industrial Development Corporation (FCIDC) Update:

Tim Smith said he wanted to update the Board on what’s been happening lately. He said the Governor’s cabinet visit last week was very successful and the team did a great job. Bill said the follow up outreach was very good as well. Tim said the Richford event was excellent and he said they should make the effort to do this annually. He said on June 6^th the Vermont economic district, which is made up of Franklin, Grand Isle, Lamoille, Caledonia, Essex and Orleans, have an organization that meets every two months. He said they’ve put together a product called Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy “CEDS” and this allows them to be eligible for EDA money. He said the airport project got EDA money due to Heidi’s efforts and that wouldn’t have been possible if they didn’t have this structure of the Northern Vermont Economic Development District. He said this group will be here Tuesday, June 6^th and will go to Highgate and tour the Hydro Plant. He said a couple of months ago they had a visit on the Rail Trail. He said they get around to the region and look around at what’s going on, use it as a catalyst and look for possible grants that are available. He said they have a groundbreaking in St. Albans tomorrow at Purpose Energy. Tim said they take in food waste and convert it to energy and put it back on the grid. He said they’re constructing one now in Middlebury and did one in South Burlington. Tim said they bought the Perley block in Enosburg and have been working on that. He said people may wonder why they would get into that type of investment instead of focusing on bringing in new business. He said they’re still selling land in the Industrial Parks and have shown several buildings recently. Chris Leach asked about the BETA company being at the Airport. Tim said he’s only heard rumors so not completely sure what’s going on with them. Tim said what’s happening in St. Albans with them is just battery testing. Chris said the Village should send BETA an outreach letter from the Trustees inviting them to Swanton. Tim also said they’ve been working on finding a place for the Franklin County Field Days event and are doing a feasibility study on that being paid for by field days.

8. Water Treatment Plant Presentation with Tod Jones:

Tod Jones, Water Treatment Plant Operator, began his presentation by saying the plant was upgraded in 2012 and is still in very good condition. He said there are two filters that produce 700 gallons per minute (gpm) and they only use one filter at a time. Tod said if the airport project happens and water is brought up to the airport they have plenty of capacity to handle that growth. We usually run anywhere from 240 to 320 gpm based on daily usage. We have 1,500,000 gallons in our reservoir to be used when our plant shuts down. The plant shuts down to flush the clarifier 6 times a day and to backwash the filter 2 times a day. When the new line runs up to the airport we will hardly notice what they use. We have very safe water, we have to take 4 bacterial samples a month and test weekly for fluoride. We also monitor the chlorine residual daily along with the PH of the water. Tod said he also uses UV treatment. He said in the summer months when the water gets very warm he has to use potassium permanganate to mask the smell and taste of the lake water. He said that is monitored daily and he adjusts water as necessary and really wants people to know how safe our drinking water really is.

Tod said they are in the process of upgrading equipment that they no longer make parts for. We have some trees we have removed that were unhealthy and we will be planting new trees in their place in the very near future. I have been in the process of putting stone around the building and around some other structures that make the plant look better. Tod also explained the issues he has been having with their water filters recently.

Over the last several years there was only one operator working alone for many years, but after recent events we now make certain that any work done will be done by two or more employees. Dan Chevalier kindly donated a maintenance worker to be my sidekick and be at the plant until needed elsewhere. He is also working toward getting a 4C water license. There were two areas of concern we are working on to make certain no one gets injured. The lower lift station has a vertical stair entry way that needs a harness system to make sure no one falls. The same situation is happening up at the reservoir. We test for algae blooms throughout the summer. Adam Paxman asked Tod if he’s seen any zebra mussels lately. Tod said they have divers that go in and check on a regular basis. Tod said his plant is doing very well. Neal Speer said he’d like to commend the employees here for working so well together and figuring things out in dangerous situations. Bill said the willingness for everyone to get along, especially at the leadership level, has been phenomenal. He said he’s been around thousands of employees and we have a great team here.

9. Review and Authorize Village Manager to Sign AMI Contract:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, said the AMI contract has been several years in the making between the utility and VPPSA. She said they’re starting to get ready to install meters and will do water meters first because they are more readily available. Lynn said she had the Village attorney review the contract and there were just some very minor changes. She said some of the assets going into service will be owned by VPPSA but said all the meters will belong to Swanton Village. She said all those details

have been worked out. Bill said their next step will be to do an RFP for interested plumbers who are willing and have the capacity to do the job. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize Village Manager William Sheets to sign the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project “AMI” Contract between VPPSA and the Village of Swanton. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

10. Approve Appointment of Authorized Representative for Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Loans:

William Sheets said he needed to be named as the authorized representative for the Village of Swanton for the water line project under the Missisquoi River and also for the wastewater treatment plant upgrade. As of now it says Reginald Beliveau and he has since retired from the Village. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to appoint Village Manager William Sheets as the authorized representative for the Clean Water State Revolving Fund (CWSRF) and the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund (DWSRF) and Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, as the alternate authorized representative. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

11. Village Manager Update:

Village Manager, William “Bill” Sheets, gave the following updates to the Board:

1. Monday May 15, 2023, Governor’s Cabinet Economic Development Tour. Great turn out that is already seeing an increased interest in our ongoing and anticipated projects. Heidi Britch-Valenta and I met with Vermont Dept. of Commerce members on May 18^th at their request. We collectively identified state level funding opportunities that might apply to our project and community needs. There is an opportunity for Wastewater Treatment funding up to one million (or 20 percent of project costs) and we will be pursuing that immediately. Sandy Kilburn asked if there was any talk about the Rail Trail. Bill said yes there definitely was and they will continue to develop it and hopefully attract people to the area. He was told when applying for grants to use the Rail Trail recreation path.

2. Ecopixel:  The new website is looking great. Five of our members (Lynn Paradis, Dianne Day, Liz Williams, Matt Sullivan, and Bill Sheets) received training on May 18^th. We will conduct a final review on May 25^th. The launch date is tentatively set for May 31^st. During this next week we will meet with Department leaders to discuss any changes before the final review and go live dates.

3. Marble Mill:  We received a forwarded e-mail on behalf of a 12-year-old detailing deficiencies within the park. The Park does have some graffiti that will need to be removed and that area will need to be policed regularly. I had a great conversation with Swanton Recreation Director Nicole Draper last week about Marble Mill and the plan moving forward. Some immediate needs are the re-striping of the lines for the three tennis/pickle ball courts, as well as the condition of the nets on all three courts, and the basketball nets.  We will be aggressively pursuing FEMA grant funds for flood prone parks ASAP.  We will be providing a port-o-let starting next week for four months.

4. 124 First Street:  Stormwater test pits were installed last Monday. Construction Manager bids are due soon and will be evaluated. We continue to make progress on the initial layout of the approximately 20,000 square foot complex with a concentration on critical need.

5. Missisquoi River Crossing Water Line:  We are slightly delayed with the archaeological assessment in this area. There were three “positive” tests pits which will require additional investigation. Wayne Elliott from A & E believes that we are still on pace for installation in late summer/fall of 2023.

12. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman asked about the Missisquoi bridge and said now that he’s working out of the Chamber office he’s had the opportunity to speak to a few residents about the condition of the bridge. He said one person said he really liked the idea of shutting the bridge down. He said it’s very unsafe and he’s hoping the state will see the condition of the bridge and want to help more than what they are. He said if they’re not willing to help they need to have that avenue in their back pocket. Bill Sheets said he will go on record by saying it’s not deemed unsafe by the State of Vermont Agency of Transportation. He said he’s met with Joe Flynn and the Village recently received an additional $25,000 for bridge repair making it now $200,000. He said this is to repair both expansion joints. He said the funding expires in about a year and said the Village’s public works crew met with someone and they might have a viable remedy. He said he has asked the Agency of Transportation to help find more money but said they may be able to fix it for what they have. He said the State doesn’t plan on replacing the bridge until 2029. Neal asked Adam what the situation was regarding the swans. Adam said they are waiting on the pond being fixed at this point but said the swans will be coming back to the park. He said they will have a community public hearing to gather input at a later date.

13. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Real Estate:

Chris Leach made the motion to enter Executive Session at 8:31 p.m. to discuss personnel and real estate.  Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:51 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

14. Adjournment:

Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:52 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:52 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date