Trustees Meeting 6/26/17

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SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, June 26, 2017

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; 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 7:04 p.m.

2.      Agenda Review:

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, stated he needed to add Real Estate to the Executive Session and also had one item to be added to Any Other Necessary Business.

3.      Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 12, 2017:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, June 12, 2017 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

4.      Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 23, 2017:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, June 23, 2017 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

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

Dianne Day explained to the Board that currently the Village of Swanton does not charge water haulers for filling their tanks at the Village Fire Department. She said the Village is proposing to charge like we charge a Commercial Town customer. There would be a $92.63 customer charge per month, as well as charge of $5.11 per 1,000 gallons of water. For example, a water hauler taking 12,000 gallons of water for the month of June would be charged $92.63 customer charge and $61.32 for the water, for a total monthly bill of $153.95.

She said at this time, the Fire Department is getting a flat donation from these individual water haulers, which varies from year to year depending on how much water they take.

She stated she called Milton and currently they charge $7.08 per 1,000 gallons but said they are going to raise that price. She said they heard they also charged them for the cost of a water meter but she didn’t confirm that when she talked with her. They do have a meter and keep track of usage that way.

Dianne stated she called St. Albans City and they are currently charging .656 cents per 100 gallons which amounts to $6.56 per 1,000 gallons of water as well as a $50 hook up fee. A 12,000 gallon water usage bill would cost $78.72 for water and a $50 hookup fee, for a total bill of $128.72. She said she thinks they only charge that $50 once for the summer.

The problem the Village is having now is that the water haulers are not coming in to the Village Office and letting them know how much water they are taking. They go into the Fire Department through the back garage and help themselves to the water and also come after hours and on weekends. There is a water meter out there but no one is recording the usage. She asked if the Village should put a lock on the water valve and only allow them to come during business hours and not after 4 and on weekends.

Chris Leach made the motion to structure a water usage charge for the water haulers the same as a Town Commercial account is charged to be effective as of July 1, 2017. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked that each individual water hauler be notified by letter explaining these charges and also stated they need to come during business hours. If they need water on the weekends or after hours it would have to be scheduled with the Fire Department and at their discretion. Motion carried.

6.      Discussion on Highgate Dam:

Chris Leach stated he just wanted to mention how the situation up at the Hydro Plant was handled very well. He said there was no major flooding and the quick action taken by everyone involved was perfect. Reg Beliveau said he would give a walk thru of how the events unfolded on June 14^th. He said at approximately 2 p.m. the Hydro Plant received an alarm on the dam. He said it was reset immediately and then it went off again. It showed that the rubber bag was holding pressure but was not working properly. He said the operator decided to take a walk over and check it out and could see the bag was hissing at the fold by the bottom of the concrete. She then activated the EAP (Emergency Action Plan) and turned the units on 100%. Reg said it was determined that they couldn’t initiate a repair but instead would have to do a slow release. He said 1 to 2’ of water was flowing over the bag per hour which is comparable to spring runoff. He said they couldn’t put anyone inside the bag because it was too dangerous. Reg said the EAP was lifted at approximately 9:20 p.m. He said the first couple of hours were pretty scary but everything went according to plan. He said they called FERC and the bag manufacturer show up last week. He told Reg that they have made some changes in the rubber bag design and they are now rated to last approximately 25-30 years. He said a new bag will cost about $1,432,000 and they received a quote a few months back and the installation cost was approximately $620,000. Reg said the Village will have to hold a Public Vote and also do a 108 filing in order to replace the bag.

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that this project will cost approximately $2.4 million dollars for everything and she has asked Union Bank to provide her with a quote on some long term financing. She said her testimony is written and the Public Service Board will analyze it. She said it’s in the best interest of our ratepayers to get this rubber bag replaced as soon as possible. Reg stated the Village would hold public hearings and get this information out to the public as soon as things allow and he said he’s hopeful the Village taxpayers would approve this purchase. Lynn stated the Village was intending on applying for a rate increase next year due to the solar projects being built. She said she anticipates a 5-7% increase. Lynn stated Al Mosher was invaluable to the Village with his knowledge of the rubber bag and installation of it. She stated she would like Al to be an integral part of this rubber bag replacement. She said the hydro operators are working 12 hour shifts and they are having issues with the racks being filled with debris from the river bottom. The Board of Trustees were in agreement when saying they wanted this to move forward as soon as possible and to get the bag ordered. Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to order a replacement rubber bag for the Orman Croft Generating Facility. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

7.      Any Other Necessary Business:

Reg Beliveau informed the Board that he received a letter from the Northwest Regional Planning Commission asking for a letter of intent from the Village of Swanton for their RPC/DEC Municipal Roads Grants-In-Aid Pilot Project. He stated this would provide funding for road construction, proper ditching etc. He said the Town of Swanton is also participating in this pilot project. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to sign a Letter of Intent and participate in the RPC/ DEC Municipal Roads Grants-In-Aid Pilot Project. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

Any Other Business: Lynn Paradis stated that last week herself, Brian Bishop and Reg Beliveau met with the State of Vermont regarding the MVUHS water line replacement job. She said there are a lot of hoops to jump through and she will be putting a separate line item under Capital Improvement in her budgets for next year.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated he wanted to welcome Sam and Betty home and said they once again have swans in the Village park.

8.      Public Comment:

None.

9.      Executive Session to Discuss Customer Account and Personnel:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Customer Account, Personnel and Real Estate at 8:11 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session and re-enter Open Session at 8:38 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: Chris Leach made the motion to do a Quit Claim Deed of a small triangular piece of property in the Industrial Park on Jonergin Drive over to the Town of Swanton. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

10.  Adjournment:

Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:40 p.m. Adam Paxman 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