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Trustees Meeting 6/24/19

  • Monday, June 24, 2019
    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 24, 2019

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Wayne Elliott, Aldrich & Elliott; 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 7:05 p.m.

  1. Agenda Review:

Adam Paxman said he would like to add a Fire Chief Update to the agenda before Any Other Necessary Business.

3. Public Comment:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, read the following Swanton Arts Council update: Swanton’s Art Walls serve as an open canvas for local artists to create in a public forum, uniting the arts and the community. Scott Rheaume, President of the Swanton Arts Council (SAC) began this creative endeavor with the support and assistance of the SAC in 2015. He researched how open public canvases could be installed throughout our town. He met and received approval from the Village Trustees, Town Select Board, Development Review Board and Zoning Administrators.

These art walls are open to the public!

  • Anyone can create artwork on these walls
  • Permission is not needed; just the desire to create
  • Offensive themes and advertisements will be removed
  • To comply with Vermont billboard laws words must be limited or may be removed. Boards should be used for artwork, not messages.
  • If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us at swantonartscouncil@ gmail.com
  • If possible, please tag the SAC on Facebook with a picture of your artwork.
  • Artists please note that your creation may be painted over at any time.

Art Walls are located:

  • On First Street, in front of the Swanton Village Complex
  • On Route 7, by John’s Bridge
  • On Canada Street, in front of Salon Elixir
  • On Fourth Street, by the Central School

4. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 10, 2019 Meeting:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from the Monday, June 10, 2019 meeting as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

5. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 21, 2019:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 21, 2019 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

6. Merchants Row Lighting:

Reg Beliveau stated that Duane Couture, Electric Foreman, received a quote from Rainville’s Electric for lighting under the canopy at Merchants Row. He said the quote is for $2852.43 and that includes 10 light fixtures and all the necessary parts to set them up. He stated these lights will come on at the same time the street lights do each night. Chris Leach asked if any of the Merchants there have offered to help with the cost of these lights. Reg stated no they have not. Neal Speer stated the Merchants have maintained the Village’s sidewalk there for the last several years so he feels the Village should install the lighting at their expense. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to purchase lighting for Merchants Row at a cost of $2852.43. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked how soon these would be installed and Reg stated it would be done this summer. Motion carried.

7. Review and Sign Engineering Evaluation for Waste Water Treatment Facility:

Wayne Elliott was present for this discussion. He stated the Waste Water Treatment Facility needs to implement changes in order to lower their phosphorus output, which is mandated by the State of Vermont. He also said the waste water plant is over 20 years old and the State is requiring an engineering evaluation report to be completed by January 31, 2019. He said the State Revolving Loan programs offered at this time require that the Village only pay 50% of the cost for this loan. He said the funding application is requesting $41,700 to complete this engineering evaluation report and phosphorus reduction plan. Wayne said fortunately the Village completed an asset management program and said they will be able to use that and save the Village money by doing so. He also said there are other nearby communities that are having to deal with these same issues but also have to fix their storm water issues as well. He said the Village has a very unique waste water plant and hopefully they will be able to come up with a feasible solution to reduce the phosphorus levels.

Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to apply for a Step 1 Clean Water Loan through the State Revolving Loan Program for $41,700 for their wastewater evaluation (20 year) and evaluation of phosphorus upgrade alternatives. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, to sign the Engineering Agreement between the Village of Swanton and Aldrich & Elliott for their engineering evaluation report. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

8. Fire Chief Update:

Adam Paxman stated that Fire Chief Tim Girard will not be seeking re-election. He said Deputy Chief Jason Butler has submitted a letter of interest in becoming the next Fire Chief. Adam said he is very qualified and he would accept his letter. Chris Leach asked if he had the support of the other firefighters and Adam said he does. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to appoint Jason Butler as Fire Chief effective July 31, 2019. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried. Discussion: The Board realized that the firefighters will vote on their next Fire Chief and after that is completed this will come to the Board submitting their choice for fire chief. It’s at that time that the Board will appoint their newly elected fire chief. The Board rescinds their motion and states they acknowledge receipt of Jason Butler’s letter of interest.

9. Any Other Necessary Business:

Chris Leach stated he would like to give serious consideration to lowering the speed limit on certain streets throughout the Village. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, informed him she found a draft ordinance that addresses this topic. The entire Board agrees with Chris and stated they would look further into this, would identify streets they want listed in the Ordinance and talk with the Police Chief to make sure this could be enforced.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said the Fire Department’s new ladder truck will be here in 2-3 weeks. He said their old one is being sold and headed to Arkansas on Thursday of this week. Adam also mentioned the upcoming 10th Annual Swanton Car Show to be held on Saturday, July 27th from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Village Park hosted by the Swanton Chamber of Commerce. He said this year they are a Super Wheels Qualifier presented by Cruisin’ New England Productions.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard just wanted to confirm that the multi board meeting is still being held on July 10th at the Village Complex at 7 p.m. Reg stated yes it is as far as he knows it hasn’t been changed. He also asked if the Village was in need of a fire/building inspector to check some of the abandoned buildings in the Village. Reg stated the State has county inspectors and they can use them if necessary. He said they should start talking about this issue again. Eugene also asked if there were going to be any fireworks this year. Adam stated the Town will be having fireworks after the Arts Spectacular Show on September 7th.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, has prepared the Village’s Financial Management Questionnaire. Adam Paxman made the motion to accept the Village of Swanton’s Financial Management Questionnaire as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated the Village is interested in purchasing a second hand electric vehicle for their meter reader. He said this is like a glorified golf cart, has two new batteries and is for sale for $5000. He said they could use this for their meter reading in the Village and would be environmentally friendly. The Board was ok with this purchase. Reg also informed the Board that the NEPPA Conference will be held on August 18-21st and he needs to know from them who is going, etc.

10. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made a motion, seconded by Eugene LaBombard, to go into executive session at 8:09 p.m. to discuss Real Estate. Motion carried.

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:43 p.m., seconded by Eugene LaBombard. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

11. Adjournment:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:43 p.m.  Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:43 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date