Trustees Meeting 5/8/17

Web version

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, May 8, 2017

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Brian Savage; Representing Star Hose Co.; Christina Forcier and Darcy Benoit, Swanton Arts Council; Elizabeth Nance; and  Ch. 16.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

1.      Call to Order:

Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:01 p.m.

2.      Agenda Review:

Neal Speer stated that he would like to move Public Comment to the beginning of the meeting to accommodate the guest present tonight. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, informed the Board that she would like to add “SQRP Report” to Any Other Business.

3.      Public Comment:

Darcy Benoit, Swanton Arts Council, stated she would like to request permission for the Swanton Arts Council to host a live event in the Village Park on Saturday, August 12, 2017 with a back up date of July 22, 2017. She said this would be a family friendly event with local merchants involved. Adam Paxman suggested we check with the Chief of Police first because they are holding their National Night Out event in August as well. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Swanton Art Council’s request to hold an Art Show in the Village Park on Saturday, August 12, 2017 or July 22, 2017 pending Chief Joey Stell’s input. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried. Village Clerk will contact Chief Stell regarding the date of National Night Out and will then let the Arts Council know what date works for them.

Public Comment: Elizabeth Nance stated that as of now Harold Garrett is the Town of Swanton’s NRPC TAC (Transportation Advisory Committee) representative and she is asking the Village if they are interested in her representing the Village of Swanton. Neal Speer stated that this  would be beneficial to him as he is on many other committees there. Chris Leach made the motion to appoint Elizabeth Nance as the Village Representative for TAC through Northwest Regional Planning Committee. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried. Elizabeth also informed the Board that she starts this coming Monday as the Economic Coordinator for Swanton and said she is excited to begin working on this.

4.      Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, April 10, 2017:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, April 10, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None.

5.      Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, May 5, 2017:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, May 5, 2017. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked how the Village was doing on Purchase Power and Lynn Paradis stated that they were under budget as of now. Reg Beliveau said the power plant was producing a lot of power also. Motion carried.

6.      Brian Savage Representing Star Hose Co. Regarding the Possible Sale of the Pirsch Pumper Truck:

Brian Savage stated he was there on behalf of the Fire Department Star Hose Company requesting permission to sell the 1946 Pirsch Pumper Truck. He said the Fire Department members discussed and voted on this at their annual meeting. He said they have received an offer of $3200 and the pumper truck would be available if the Village ever needed to use it. He said there is lots of history with this truck because it was the first fire truck purchased for the department. He said they have no idea what it’s worth and would need to get it appraised before they sold it. He said Dan Desorcie of Highgate could appraise the vehicle. Brian said to get that truck in showroom condition it would cost approximately $25,000 to $30,000 to do. He said St. Albans had done that to one of their antique trucks a while back but said Swanton doesn’t have the resources to do that. Chris Leach asked if the members of the department wanted to sell the truck. Brian said yes they voted on it and they voted in favor of selling the truck. Adam Paxman asked why they would want to sell it. Brian said because of space issues. Chris Leach asked if the buyer was affiliated with the department. Brian said yes he was a member of the department and a mechanic. Adam Paxman stated he didn’t want to give this truck up as it is part of the Fire Department’s history. Eugene LaBombard asked if it was offered to the Swanton Historical Society, he said it should be left there before being sold. Reg Beliveau stated they knew the significance of the truck and have an agreement with the buyer saying it could be returned to the Village if something happens to him. Adam stated he doesn’t feel they should give up ownership of it. Brian Savage stated years ago they kept one at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Chris stated it was nice to have this agreement with the potential buyer, that it could be returned to the Village if something happens. He said it should be used in Village parades, etc. He said it was worth having it appraised. Neal Speer stated he wanted the Village to keep that truck. He said it belongs to the Fire Department and he helped to restore it to usable condition years ago. He also stated he helped pull that truck out of the fire years ago when the fire station burned. He said current members don’t feel the same way about it. He said he would like to get it appraised but not sell it. Chris said he understands they need more space and hopefully some becomes available soon. Brian asked if the Village would be willing to pay for the appraisal, thinking it may cost around $500. He said he would do some research on it. Brian also stated he would report this decision to the Fire Department and said he would get back to the Board regarding an appraisal. The Board thanked Brian for coming in.

7.      Approval to lease Trackless Sidewalk Plow with Sweeper:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated she has received two proposals for the Trackless Sidewalk Plow and they are: Tax Exempt Leasing Corp, $105,000 for 5 years at 3.19% with an annual payment of $22,339.14 and one from Municipal Leasing Consultants, $105,000 for 5 years at 3.79% with an annual payment of $22,590.69. Lynn said Municipal Leasing Consultants have been a little higher but she still wanted to check with them. Chris Leach asked at the end of the lease would the Village own the Sidewalk Plow. Lynn said yes they will purchase it for $1. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, to purchase the new Sidewalk Plow through Tax Exempt Leasing Corp. for $105,000 with an interest rate of 3.19% for 5 years with an annual payment of $22,339.14. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked if the existing attachments would fit on the new plow and Lynn said yes they would and that they are keeping all attachments. Motion carried.

8.      Franklin Grand Isle Bookmobile Requesting Coin Drop for Saturday, October 14, 2017:

Franklin Grand Isle Bookmobile are requesting a Coin Drop to be held on Saturday, October 14, 2017 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve Franklin Grand Isle Bookmobile’s request to hold a coin drop on Saturday, October 14^th from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried with two yays, one nay.

9.      Review Village Speed Studies and Discuss:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, informed the Board that the Police Department did a speed study on Grand Avenue over a three day period. He said 14,013 vehicles were recorded and the average speed was 19 mph. He said the highest speed recorded was 41 mph and the heaviest volume of traffic was between 3 and 8 p.m. Chris Leach stated that he feels there are a lot of speeders on Gallup Court and would like a higher police presence in that area. Reg Beliveau said he would pass that information on to the Police. Reg said they also did a speed study on Canada Street and 7,202 vehicles were recorded. He said the average speed was 24 mph and the highest speed recorded was 62 mph. The heaviest volume of traffic on Canada Street is between 4 and 6 p.m. Eugene LaBombard said he received a complaint about speeding on Canada Street as well. Adam Paxman suggested they make Brown Avenue a “No Left Turn” street because it’s so difficult getting off that road. Eugene said because it’s a Class II road they would need to get the State of Vermont involved. Reg said they do a Walking School Bus on Wednesday and said they have a concern with drivers not paying attention to the crosswalks. He said he had the Police check it out and haven’t seen any issues as of yet.

10.  Review Electric Utility Lineworker Appreciation Day:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, said he sent Duane Couture and Corey Hurley down to Montpelier for recognition on Utility Lineworker Appreciation Day. He said there were eight utilities there and the Governor read something about Swanton Village. Reg said he would like to get a picture of all the linemen and frame it with the Resolution.

11.  Any Other Necessary Business:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, informed the Board that the first quarter SQRP Report was complete. Chris Leach said as usual the report looks good and said everyone involved does a great job. Lynn Paradis informed the Board that this report gets sent to the Department of Public Service and to the Public Service Board. Adam Paxman made the motion to accept the first quarter SQRP report as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Any Other Business: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, informed the Board that she would like to develop a Capital Asset Plan. She said this plan would document all vehicles owned by the Village for each department as well as water lines, sewer lines, etc. She said this plan would help set priorities and helps plan for future projects. She said she wanted to implement this Village wide and with the FERC license coming up lots of money will be spent on that. She said with this plan they could see what each street has for water and sewer lines and when they need replacing, paving etc. She said it’s a great scheduling tool. Reg Beliveau said there is a Capital Assets Management grant for the Water Department and they have re-applied for that again this year. Chris Leach stated this is a great idea but asked who would implement it. He asked Lynn if she would need to hire another person to do this. Lynn said no, that she would work with department heads and the office staff to do this. Reg also said there is a grant for the Wastewater Department he’s applied for because there are lines that need replacing as well. Lynn said very few municipalities have a Capital Asset Plan in place but she is hoping to get one done here. Eugene LaBombard said he recalls reviewing something like this a long time ago and said voter approval was needed for it. He asked Lynn if she would need voter approval to get this done and she said yes she would have to go before the voters for this. She said listing the vehicles wouldn’t be difficult but the water lines, sewer lines etc. would be. She said there are some retirements coming up and she would like this in place before that happens. The Board members all agreed to have Lynn go ahead and pursue this Capital Asset Plan.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if the State would be coming in to finish up any of the paving issues from last year. Reg Beliveau said he just met with the State and with the Contractor and they will be starting next week. Chris also asked if any of our electric crew members needed to go to Rutland to help with their outages. Reg said no not as of yet.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman asked if it was possible to order bigger Municipal Parking signs. He said they need to be more visible and possibly have the swan logo on them and hopefully will draw people to park in the Municipal parking lots. Reg Beliveau said he would look into it.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said there was a coin drop this past weekend and asked when they can be cancelled due to rain, snow etc.? He said he would like to determine who cancels them when it’s raining, etc. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated that the contact person for this past coin drop called her on Saturday morning wondering the same thing. She said she told her that if they didn’t mind getting wet if it was just sprinkling to go ahead with the coin drop and hopefully the rain would stop. She then told her that if it continued to rain hard that would be a safety issue and they should call off the coin drop. If they were out there for one hour or less they could use their rain date the following weekend. Chris Leach said that was a good answer, just using common sense. Adam said he wouldn’t mind being the person in charge to cancel coin drops if it was raining or snowing due to safety issues. Chris and Eugene felt things were fine the way they are being handled now and wanted to leave it that way.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked Lynn if there was an update yet on changing banks. Lynn said not yet, they haven’t made a decision as of yet. He also asked Reg how the aerators were working at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Reg said they are working good right now. Eugene asked Adam if there was any word on getting the swans. Adam said he is waiting to hear back from Fish & Wildlife regarding this. Reg said he received an email today asking for an MOU from the Chamber of Commerce, the Village of Swanton and from MVUHS regarding the swans. Eugene asked about the big rut on Greenwich Street and whether it has been fixed yet. Reg said he would look into this and get back to him.

12.  Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate and Legal Matters at 8:26 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 9:10 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

13.  Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 9:10 p.m.  Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 9:10 p.m. Motion carried.

_____________________________________          _______________________________________

Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

__________________________________    ___________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date