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Trustees Meeting 6/22/20

  • Monday, June 22, 2020
    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 22, 2020

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Chris and Dr Yates, Maquam Shore residents; Shawn Cheney, Ronald Kilburn and Channel 16.

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.

  1. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

  1. Agenda Review:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he needed to add a water and wastewater allocation request to the agenda as well as contracts under executive session.

  1. Public Comment:

Chris Yates stated that Selectboard member Heather Buckowski posted a comment on Facebook about the Swanton Beach bathrooms being really nice but not open yet. He said he wanted to commend Swanton for doing that beach, it looks nice. He wanted to know if they could get the sign put back up because there used to be a nice sign there by the entrance. He said the other topic is when the water is low trucks back all the way out into the middle of the bay to pull boats out. He said there needs to be a balance to let kayakers and small boats use it but can they stop the big boats and trucks from backing up into the bay. Reg Beliveau stated that every winter they take the sign down and the post it sits on needs to be taken apart and they need to build a nicer mound. He said with COVID-19 some of their spring work is behind schedule. He said the sign needs work as well and all that is on their list of things to do. He said if the bathrooms were open they would need specialized cleaning due to the virus and they don’t have the ability to do that at this time. Neal Speer stated he’s not sure what they can do about the larger boats and trucks. He said last week he saw someone having a real hard time loading his boat. Chris Yates showed a photo of a truck way out in the bay and said they’re doing nothing but stirring up the bay. Eugene LaBombard stated they usually open the launch up in the fall for duck hunters and asked if they’ve ever closed it during the summer. Reg stated he’s not aware of doing that. Adam Paxman stated the same thing. Reg said there must be some restrictions about this. Neal said maybe they should put some restrictions in place that if the water dropped below a certain level boats wouldn’t be able to be launched there. Reg said he would look into this matter. Chris Yates said maybe if the water level reached 95-96 feet, they should restrict the larger boats, he said kayaks and small 10-12’ boats don’t have an issue. Adam stated as far as the sign goes he’s wondering if it can be redesigned like they did at the Hydro Plant. Reg said he would ask Scott Mueller about it. Chris said this beach is a great asset to the community and the nicer they keep it and the more it’s used the less likely it will go the other way. Eugene asked if they close the gate at night. Adam said he believes it is closed by 10 p.m. each night. Chris Leach stated he would be in favor of restricting the size of boats that launch there.

Ron Kilburn stated he was at the bridge to water the flowers and wondered what kind of feelings someone would get by throwing flowers from the bridge down into the water. He said this is just food for thought and this just takes away incentive from people who want to make a positive difference. Chris Leach stated they were taught to respect things and wouldn’t damage other peoples’ property but times have changed and he doesn’t understand it.

Chris Yates also stated he has talked with Reg about the possibility of installing a sewer line on Maquam Shore Road. He wondered if there was grant money out there to get this installed. He said it would be nice to get some of these sewer systems off the lake and onto a municipal system. He said with the Village having launched a study to install bike and pedestrian lanes through there, why doesn’t the Village look at sewer lines while doing this. He said VT Gas showed a little bit of interest as well especially when they thought sewer lines might go in. He’d like to see if they could get the wheel turning to look into this. He said even those with fully functional mound systems would be interested. He said there’s people like himself who have a conventional system that would like to possibly build a new house with a municipal sewer system. Chris Yates said he talked with Tim Smith from FCIDC who said there was grant money available years ago and there still is some available now but was delayed due to COVID-19. He said he asked if there was capacity for this and Reg said there was. He said he wanted to know what the Trustees thought about this and asked what they could do. Adam Paxman said he thought it was a great idea and said they should look into it. Chris Yates said he would hate to see the road get widened with new bike lanes then five years later have sewer lines installed and tear it up. Chris Leach said this would be great but doesn’t feel they can burden the Village ratepayers. Dr. Taylor Yates said he has lived on Maquam Shore Road for over 20 years and when he moved there he asked where the septic system was. He said there was a barrel in the ground and said he had to tear that out and install one. He said there are several camps that still have barrels in the ground that drain out into the lake. He thought the Village should look into the camps that have these kinds of systems draining into the lake. Eugene LaBombard stated this was a state issue not a Village issue. Dr. Yates thought whatever they could do to clean up the lake would be beneficial to everyone. Eugene said they might need to find some funding to do a study and said he knows they don’t have the money for that now. He wondered if there were grants for this. Reg said he talked with their engineer and if there were residents living there who had failed septic systems they could request grant funding to help assist in building a wastewater system. He said there has to be enough revenue generated to make it feasible for the Village. He said he has been talking with Wayne Elliott and the next step would be to get residents to sign on and get a list of residents interested in this. Neal said it’s ironic that there is grant money to study a bike path but not money to study a sewer line for the residents who live there. He said if they know of any failed septic systems on Maquam Shore they should report it to the Zoning Administrator who would then involve the state. Chris Yates said as far as the state goes there is zero enforcement down there. Chris Yates said another big issue there is the wetlands and being allowed to run gas or sewer lines through those areas. Shawn Cheney said he feels the Village would be met with resistance if they tried and mandated residents to connect to the sewer line. Reg said he would continue to work on this issue. Chris Yates said if there is anything he can do to help, to let him know.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 1, 2020:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, June 1, 2020 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 19, 2020:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve Village Warrants through Friday, June 19, 2020 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Sign Resolution for Federal Emergency Aid to Reopen and Rebuild Local American Economies:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated this is a resolution from the VT Leagues of Cities and Towns that would offer federal relief packages to small businesses affected by COVID-19. He said Congressman Welch and Governor Scott have been working on this and this resolution is just a reinforcement of this. He said by signing it shows municipalities also support this resolution for stabilization and recovery of local economies. Chris Leach stated he is in favor of this as well and hopes that everyone who deserves it can get it. Reg said this resolution is about the money being disseminated the best way. Chris Leach made the motion that the Village Trustees sign and support this resolution as presented to reopen and rebuild American economies. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Acknowledge and Sign Swanton Village’s Municipal Checklist for Internal Control, Cash Controls:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion that the Village Trustees would acknowledge and sign the Municipal Checklist for Internal Control, Cash Controls for the Village of Swanton. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:41 p.m. to discuss a water and wastewater allocation. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve Dean Ryan’s request for a water and wastewater allocation for 56 North River Street for 400 gpd for a three-bedroom single family residence. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:42 p.m. and re-enter Open Session. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard stated the sidewalk work on First Street is long overdue and looks very nice. He asked if this was coming out of Village funds or from grant money. Reg said this is from grant funds and it took a while to get it complete because of issues at the state level. Eugene said thank you to everyone involved. Reg said the fence that was there was taken down and the Village will install a new one there. Eugene asked about the sidewalk that is supposed to run up to MVUHS. Reg said he wasn’t sure but thought the Town had a meeting coming up about that.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said recently there has been a rash of vehicle break-ins at the north end of the Village so advised residents to lock their vehicles at night. He said hopefully the perpetrator is caught soon. He said this has occurred on Spring Street and some side streets as well.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated he had a request wondering if the Arts Council could hold some concerts at the Swanton beach, if that would be ok. He said the bathrooms aren’t open so there would be more work to be done but asked if the Board would be ok with this. He said there is power there and beautiful sunsets. Neal Speer said with COVID-19 it would be very hard to do a concert there. He said there would have to be social distancing as well. Reg said outside they are asking for 10 ft per person for distancing. Chris Leach said at this time he would have to say no. Eugene LaBombard said they would have to have some sort of control especially if the police were to be called. He said he would also say no at this time. Neal Speer said with all the COVID-19 issues it would be very hard to do.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said he also has a request for the reconstruction of the Doughboy in Flat Iron Park. He said a local veteran called him about this and would like to pay for the reconstruction of this monument. Ron Kilburn said they have people with good intentions who want to make changes to a World War II statue. He said the structure is failing a bit due to weather. He said it’s worth taking time to inform the public of what it represents and why it needs attention. In 1937 Swanton celebrated its 175th anniversary and dedicated the Doughboy monument to those citizens who served in World War I and there is a list of their names who served in that park. He said this is a worthy project, but it is going a little slower than some would like. He said some would like to replace the base with a granite base and that would require more public discussion before that happens. He said he honors and respects the veteran organizations for wanting to be helpful and they serve a purpose to our community. He said they’re willing to do some fundraising and fix this and that is worthy of some applause. Reg said he understands they want to do a marble base as well. He said he was asked who actually owns the Doughboy and he said the Village owns the property, but the structure may be owned by the veterans. He thought the Historical Preservation Commission should be involved with the reconstruction. Eugene said he feels they are going down the right path. Reg said with Ron’s guidance and the Historical Preservation Commission’s guidance he would like to meet with the veterans’ organization and discuss this project. Shawn Cheney asked if a mason has inspected it yet. Ron said there are less than 200 Doughboy monuments in the United States and they are a good reminder to people to appreciate their history. Eugene LaBombard said he didn’t think anyone would have a problem with the Village taking care of it. Reg said he would work with Joel Clark on this and would update the Board. Neal asked Ron if he wanted to restore the Monument as it was built or does he want to change it. Reg said he would want it restored as it was in 1937.

Any Other Business: Neal Speer asked Shawn Cheney if he wanted to address anything. He stated he just wanted to attend to see how things worked but he also wanted to say how upsetting it was to see such a lack of respect over the last few weeks regarding the Art Walls in Swanton Village. He said it’s concerning to him especially with the placement of the board that sits on the Municipal property. He said he feels this board should be moved to Swanton Beach because this is the gateway to our community. He said someone unknown driving through here would see this coming from our police station and municipal office. He said there have been some great things over the years, but they’ve had their share of controversary over the last few weeks. He said because of this he would like the board moved to another location or removed completely. He said the Arts Council is made up of great people from the community with great intentions and in some cases, they have been overrun with major violations of the board. He said there have been things that have offended people, there have been words written, etc. Shawn said he is requesting the board to be moved to the Swanton Beach on Maquam Shore Rd. or removed completely. Neal Speer said he doesn’t feel this is the end of the discussion on these boards, but he is grateful a lot of different people got involved in that. He said he thinks love won over hate. He said there was a lot of attention and maybe some rules need to be revised. Shawn said he served on a riot team in the National Guard and studied hate groups and feels there is no room here for any of it and said he would step up for anyone that doesn’t have a voice. Chris Leach said he feels artwork should be approved by the Arts Council before being painted. Ron Kilburn said he wanted to thank Shawn for bringing this topic up. He said he doesn’t do social media so misses out on a lot of stuff. He said he doesn’t feel any art work should be censored.

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Customer Account and Contracts:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss customer account and contracts at 8:20 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:40 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

  1. Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:40 p.m.  Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:40 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date