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Trustees Meeting 5/22/17

  • Monday, May 22, 2017
    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, May 22, 2017

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Joey Stell, Chief of Police, David Kachajian, Sergeant 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 7:07 p.m.

2.      Agenda Review:

None.

3.      Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, May 8, 2017:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, May 8, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked if Reg Beliveau had any word on ordering Municipal Parking Signs. Reg said not as of yet but would look into it. Chris Leach asked about a speed study on Gallup Court. He said their “Children At Play” sign has come up missing and he feels 30 mph is too fast for that street. He said he would appreciate more police presence in that area. Chief Stell stated that any speed limit below 30 mph would not be enforceable. He said he would work on more police presence in that area. Motion carried.

4.      Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, May 19, 2017:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, May 19, 2017 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

5.      Meet and Swear In New Police Sergeant:

Chief Stell stated that after a selection committee review the Swanton Police Department came to hire David Kachajian as their new Police Sergeant. He said he has over 20 years experience and also has supervisory experience. He said he is a good fit for their department and he looks forward to working with him. David thanked the Chief and introduced himself to the Board. He said he is looking forward to this next chapter in his police career. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, swore David in as the new Police Sergeant for the Swanton Village Police Department.

6.      Review Revised Highgate Converter Sale/Transco Equity Purchase:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, explained to the Board that three towns have opted out of the Highgate Converter Sale Equity Purchase so VPPSA has provided them with a revised memorandum. As part of the sale, Transco will be amending its Operating Agreement to include the ability to issue equity specifically to the Highgate joint owners. VPPSA has requested that Transco include specific language in the Operating Agreement revisions so that:

  1. The equity will be offered directly to each VPPSA Highgate participant based on the participant’s project participation share.
  2. Each participant can choose to “assign” its equity allocation to VPPSA thereby allowing VPPSA to purchase the equity for the benefit of the participant, in the same manner as it does for general equity issuances.
  3. If any participant chooses not to purchase the equity offered to it (or if any VPPSA member chooses not to purchase general equity in the future) VPPSA will have a right to purchase that equity before it is offered more broadly to others.

Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, to assign the Village of Swanton’s equity in the Highgate Converter Sale over to VPPSA. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

7.      Sign Trackless Plow Lease:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, informed the Board that the lease documents for the new Trackless Plow were ready to be signed and he had Dianne Day, Village Clerk, read the lease resolution to the Board. Eugene LaBombard made the motion authorizing Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, to sign all necessary documents pertaining to the lease agreement between the Village of Swanton and Tax Exempt Leasing Corp for $105,000 over 5 years at 3.19% with an annual payment of $22,339.14. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

8.      Hydro Line of Credit Discussion:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, informed the Board that the Village has received the terms and conditions for Capital Improvements to replace the aging infrastructure at the Highgate Hydro Facility from Union Bank. He said this would be a 20 year note for $442,547 with a 3.28% fixed interest rate. Reg stated there would be an annual principal and interest payment of $30,527.39. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the Capital Improvement Note from Union Bank for $442,547 over the next 20 years with a 3.28% fixed interest rate to replace the aging infrastructure at the Highgate Hydro Facility. He also authorized Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, to sign all necessary documents pertaining to this Capital Improvement note. Chris Leach seconded both motions. Motions carried.

9.      Any Other Necessary Business:

Chris Leach stated he wanted to address the speeding issue in the Village of Swanton. He said they need to keep this under control and said he would like all smaller streets in the Village to be reduced to 20 mph. Reg Beliveau said he would discuss this with the new Police Sergeant and with the Chief of Police and see if they have any new ideas about this issue.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated traffic was jammed a few days ago over by Riverside Cemetery. He said it’s extremely busy between 3 and 4 p.m.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said he wanted to remind everyone about the upcoming Memorial Day Parade on May 29th at 2:30 p.m. He said to expect delays because Grand Avenue would be closed from 2:30 to 3:00 p.m.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said there are some trees in the Village Green that need to come down and asked if Gabree’s Tree Trimming can come in and take a look at these trees. Reg stated they’ve been looking and identifying what tree’s that should come down and said they could put this in next year’s budget. He said the Electric crew will be taking down some of the limbs and some of the trees but said they would need to budget for this. He said they also plan on removing the sidewalk that runs through the middle of the park.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said he has no further information regarding the swans but would let the Board know as soon as he hears anything. He asked if there was an update on the paving issue. Reg Beliveau said he sent a list to the State of Vermont detailing areas of concern. He said there is standing water over near Bourne’s Energy and by Bob’s One Stop. He said they started working on all side streets and driveways, and also put top soil down and seeded those areas. He said he needs to find out what’s going to happen if the Village doesn’t sign off on this project. He said it hasn’t gone well. Eugene stated his driveway was still in poor condition.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said he is still interested in making Brown Avenue a dead end street. Reg Beliveau said it can’t be made a dead end street because of the bank but they could make it a “No Left Turn” street from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Adam said he wants to move forward on this because it’s a very hard street to come off from if you’re turning left.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau informed the Board that he was approached by a local businessman asking to make individuals selling Christmas trees, etc. to purchase a peddlers permit.

Any Other Business: Dianne Day, Village Clerk, showed the Board some of the books from the 1800’s that were preserved by KoFile. She also showed them the hard cover books that the Village Reports were made into. The Board was pleased with the outcome.

Any Other Business: Neal Speer mentioned the lights at Merchants Row and asked if Reg had an update regarding this. Reg stated the electric department has put together a quote for the lighting and they are getting it to the store owners. He said the new LED lights cost pennies to operate. Chris Leach stated the Village should pay for the lights on Merchants Row because they own the sidewalk there. Neal stated he wanted this topic on the next agenda because he also feels the Village should provide the lighting there on Merchants Row. Neal also mentioned the Swanton Enhancement group held a meeting last week and he didn’t know anything about it. He said he wanted it noted that they need to do a better job getting the word out there regarding their meetings. Adam said all steering committees gave an update. Neal asked when the Fairweather meeting was, Adam stated it was on 6/1 at the Town Office.

10.  Public Comment:

None.

11.  Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate at 8:02 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

12.  Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:30 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:30 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date