Trustees Meeting 6/12/17

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SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

ORMAN CROFT GENERATING FACILITY

126 BAKER RD.

HIGHGATE, VT 05459

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, June 12, 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; Scott Mueller, Hydro Plant Supervisor 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 7:08 p.m.

2.      Tour the Orman Croft Generating Facility:

Neal stated that the Board would tour the Hydro Facility after going through Item #1 through Item #8.

3.      Agenda Review:

None.

4.      Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, May 22, 2017:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, May 22, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

5.      Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 9, 2017:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 9, 2017 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman stated it was nice to see some smaller payments to VPPSA and that the Village is making power. Motion carried.

6.      Sign Capital Improvement Note Loan Documents for Hydro Plant from Union Bank:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, informed the Board that the Hydro Plant line of credit loan documents to repair the aging infrastructure for $442,547 was ready for the Board to sign. 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. All Board members signed the necessary loan documents.

7.      Review Financial Management Questionnaire:

Reg Beliveau, Village of Swanton Manager, advised the Board that the Village has filled out their Annual Financial Management Questionnaire for 2017. He advised that Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager/Controller, fills this out for the State of Vermont auditors each year which describes the financial functions of the Village. This ensures that not one individual is responsible for all financial duties and list the names of employees who do each job in the Village Office. The Board acknowledged receipt of the Village of Swanton’s Financial Questionnaire and Neal Speer, Village President, signed the document.

8.      Sign MVUHS Water Line Engineering Study Loan Reimbursement Documents:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, informed the Board that the State Revolving Loan Program funding application has been filled out and is ready for board approval and signatures. He stated this will allow the Village of Swanton to get reimbursed for the engineering cost for the MVUHS water line replacement study. He said the amount of reimbursement is $28,500. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and sign the State Revolving Loan Program Funding Application so that the Village of Swanton will be reimbursed $28,500 for the engineering study on the MVUHS water line replacement job. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried. The Board signed all necessary loan documents.

9.      Tour the Orman Croft Generating Facility:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, introduced Scott Mueller, Hydro Plant Supervisor and Jason Starr, Hydro Plant operator, to the Board of Trustees. Reg stated that the 2016 Annual Village Report was dedicated to the Hydro Plant and its employees and said this was a good time to tour the plant. Scott began the tour mentioning their new control room addition that was paid for by VPPSA because of the Project 10 work done by the Hydro Plant operators. Scott then took the Board on a tour of the Hydro Plant facility.

10.  Discussion on Rubber Bag Replacement:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he has been talking with Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, regarding moving forward with the rubber bag replacement. He said they are going to have do a 108 filing and also get voter approval so he wants to begin this process. He said there will be a lot of permits to deal with and is questioning whether or not they hire an engineer to help with this process. He said he has talked with Paul Nolan regarding the installation of the rubber bag and also with Pizzagali Construction. They both think the Village should hire an engineer. He said this whole process of replacing the bag will take approximately two weeks to complete. Chris Leach suggested Reg call H.L. Turner and see what they have to offer. Neal Speer also suggested that when they go out for bid on this project they ask whether they would like an engineer or can they handle the job without one. Reg stated that an engineer will be able to define the work in better detail and said he would do some more research on this topic. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Reg Beliveau, Swanton Village Manager, to look into contractors, the need for engineering, dates and costs for replacement of the rubber bag at the Hydro Facility. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard asked what the lead time was on ordering the new bag. Reg thought at least six months but said he would check on it. Eugene also asked Reg if he had enough resources to help work on this project and asked Reg to let them know if not. Motion carried.

11.  Discussion on Water Haulers Filling Up at Fire Department:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, explained to the Board that some Village employees were having a discussion on whether or not the Village should charge individual water haulers for water coming out of the Fire Department. After some thought Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, suggested that if we do charge we use the “Commercial Town” rate structure which would be $92.63 customer charge per month and charge $5.11 per 1,000 gallons. As an example, if a water hauler were to get 12,000 gallons of water for the month of June it would cost $153.95. Dianne told the Board that the way it stands now is these water haulers are giving Star Hose a donation and that over the years Star Hose has purchased three fire trucks and that has helped the tax payers tremendously. She told the Board she wasn’t sure how much of a donation they paid to the Fire Department. Chris Leach suggested the Village charge the water hauler the customer charge and give the Fire Department the usage portion of the bill. He asked if we knew how other towns were charging private water haulers for their water. Dianne stated she didn’t know but said she would do some more research and find out. The Board suggested this item be tabled until further information was gathered and requested it be put on the next agenda.

12.  Any Other Necessary Business:

Neal Speer stated he wanted to congratulate the light crew for the street lights on downtown Merchants Row. He said he really appreciates it and it brightens up the downtown area.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated he was stepping down from his position as Northwest Regional Planning Commission commissioner as of June 30, 2017. He said they need to find a Swanton Village representative and they meet once per month. Neal Speer thanked Chris for his input on the board.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated he wanted to thank everyone that helped with the Memorial Day Parade. He said the Police Department, Fire Department, Fire Cadets, Village Public Works and Village and Town employees all helped tremendously. He said on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, he thanks them all.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated the big fountain in the Village Green is leaking and has some stones missing in the base of the fountain. He said it’s in pretty bad shape and they should think about refurbishing it. Neal Speer stated he knows a local mason and he will get in touch with him and get a quote on what it would cost to fix. Reg stated they could put a separate line item on the ballot in March 2018 to refurbish it. Reg also stated he needs an Executive Session to discuss real estate.

13.  Public Comment:

None.

14.  Executive Session (If Necessary):

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate at 8:32 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.

15.  Adjournment:

Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular 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