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Trustees Meeting 6/14/21

  • Monday, June 14, 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, June 14, 2021

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Via Zoom: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; and Ch. 16.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.

  1. Call to Order:

Chris Leach, Village Trustee, 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 needed an Executive Session to discuss real estate.

  1. Public Comment:

Reg Beliveau stated he thought Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, was going to join the meeting to discuss the Village receiving ARPA funds in the amount of $124,000 yearly for two years. He said he would provide more information once he receives it.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, May 24, 2021:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, May 24, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, June 10, 2021:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #48-56 through Thursday, June 10, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Sign Amendment to Owner Engineer Agreement for Missisquoi River Water Crossing Job:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he needed board approval to sign the amendment to owner-engineer agreement for an additional $44,900 for services to be performed by the engineer. He said the original agreement amount was $12,400 and now with the $44,900 the loan amount for engineering is $57,300. He stated he also needs a motion to submit the State Revolving Loan Program for $57,300. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager, to sign the Amendment to Owner-Engineer Agreement for $44,900. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize the Board of Trustees to sign the State Revolving Loan Program in the amount of $57,300 for engineering services for the Missisquoi River Waterline Crossing Job. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman asked if there was a plan for re-opening the Village office. Reg Beliveau stated he would do a soft opening tomorrow, allowing no more than two people in the office at a time. Reg said he doesn’t plan on renting out the auditorium for at least another year. Adam also stated there would be no coin drops allowed until next year.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked if Reg heard anything back about receiving grant money to repair the bridge. Reg said he hasn’t heard anything yet other than they have received his application. He will let them know when he hears something.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated he walked through Marble Mill Park and said it’s opening up nicely. He said he would like to be more involved with the Marble Mill renovation project. He also said it would be nice to have a pavilion there. Reg said that was something that’s on the long-range plan as well as the bike/pedestrian path coming down Webster Terrace. They talked about the basketball courts and pickleball and thought porta-potties might be a good idea to have at Marble Mill and in the Village Green. Adam said they cost about $400 for the weekend when they hold their car show. Eugene LaBombard stated if the porta-potties are needed that should be handled by the event planner not the Village. The board agreed with him. Chris also said there is a lot of history at Marble Mill and he would like to see that highlighted more. Reg talked about potentially installing an arch at the entrance of the park and detailing some of the history there.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said he met with select person Nicole Draper and she advised him that Amy Brewer from NMC and Rise VT received a $1500 grant for kids to do artwork. He said they’d like to do a mural on the retaining wall at Marble Mill in the parking lot. The board thought this was a great idea and said to go ahead with it.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said he met with Rep. Lisa Hango last week and gave her a tour of the hydro plant, water plant and sewer plant. He said he received a thank you note from her and she was very impressed with how clean and well maintained the plants are.

Any Other Business: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, advised the Board that the Village can now begin the process of disconnecting delinquent water and sewer accounts. She said those funds are in arrears approximately $11,600. She said they are still waiting on the moratorium to be lifted so they can begin the electric account disconnect process because that fund is in arrears totaling approximately $92,500. She said all utility companies also want an end to this. She said there is a VERAP grant program now available to help pay unpaid rent and unpaid utilities and said the Village was working with customers to get them to apply for this. She said there may also be more VCCAP grant money coming soon. The board advised her to go ahead with disconnects as soon as the Village is able to.

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate at 7:28 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 7:45 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

  1. Adjournment:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 7:45 p.m.  Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Chris Leach, Village Trustee, adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date