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Trustees Meeting 7/12/21

  • Monday, July 12, 2021
    7 PM – 9 PM

Village Trustees

Web version

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, July 12, 2021

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Chris Leach, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator.

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:

None.

  1. Public Comment:

Elisabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, informed the Board that the three-way stop they wanted at the intersection of First Street and Grand Avenue needs a design and construction study done before they can implement it. She said it will now just take a bit more time but it will get done eventually. She also said she is hoping to get some funding for Phase II of the Riviera Hotel clean up. She said there is grant money available in August and it is earmarked for the Riviera. Reg Beliveau said he emailed Bethany Remers with Regional Planning and is hoping she can help with the three-way stop. He said they helped the Village in the past with crosswalks. Adam Paxman asked if they will have to do striping work for the stops. Elisabeth said yes they would and it cost approximately $2500 for the striping. Adam also asked if the Riviera Hotel would be down this year and Elisabeth said in depends on the Phase II work clean up.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 28, 2021:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, June 28, 2021 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, July 8, 2021:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #62-65 through Thursday, July 8, 2021 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked about the payment made to Atlantic Tactical for $5261.49. Reg Beliveau stated that was for weapons in the Police Department. He also asked about the Rock River Arms payment for $3640. Reg stated that was also for the Police Department. Motion carried.

  1. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

Chief Joey Stell said the Village Police Department responded to 184 calls for service during the month of June. He said they also did some directed patrols for speeding and issued 42 warnings and 15 traffic citations totaling $2480 in fines. He said they put a huge effort into this patrol and the bulk of the tickets were from Spring Street. Chief Stell also mentioned the shrinking national police force and said Vermont has been hit hard in the last few years, ultimately affecting small police departments. He said in 2018 there were 913 authorized and funded police officers. Out of that number there were only 820 actual full time officers and 115 part time officers. In 2019 there were 921 authorized officers and only 808 were actual officers with 80 part time officers. He showed in 2020 there were 896 authorized officers and only 801 became full time officers and 82 were part time officers. He said this continued to decline and as of May 2021 there were 875 authorized and funded officers, 745 became full time and only 71 became part time officers. He also showed the number of officers in Vermont who either retired or quit and in 2018 there were 74 new hires and 102 left the force. In 2019 there were 72 new hires and 87 left the force; in 2020 there were 51 new hires with 91 leaving and as of May 2021 there were 23 new hires and 144 left the force. He said according to an article in the NY Times police officers have become the “bad” guys and they are leaving in droves. He said a lot of the officers admitted they just have too much to handle. Adam Paxman said it’s important to say to the public “support the police department.” Chris Leach said the court system doesn’t help when officers are arresting people and the courts are letting them go unpunished. Chief Stell also mentioned Kevin Cleary retiring from the SRO position at MVU and said Officer Dean Scott has taken that position on. He said there is a grant available to them that will allow them to bring Kevin back part time and they will have an SRO officer at the elementary school one or two days per week. Eugene LaBombard asked if they had any success in finding who’s been riding the dirt bikes on Village streets. Chief Stell said they have had a number of complaints and they believe they’ve identified the drivers as being a 15 and 16 year old. He said they don’t want them to get hurt but they also want them caught. Chief Stell said their K-9 Officer Scout has been deployed a few times and said he would have Cpl. Kyle Gagne attend one of their meetings to give an update on him.

  1. Discuss Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funding (CLFRF):

Reg Beliveau, Village Manager, informed the Board that the Village of Swanton will receive $248,633.41 over a two-year period from the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funding (CLFRF). He asked the Board if they wanted to accept this funding along with the required Award Terms and Conditions and Assurances of Compliance with Civil Rights Requirements.

Adam Paxman made the motion that the Village of Swanton accept its allocation of Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funding (CLFRF) from the US Treasury, along with the Award Terms and Conditions and Assurances of Compliance with Civil Rights Requirements that are requirements of accepting these funds. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to appoint Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager, as the Village of Swanton’s authorized representative as required by the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funding (CLFRF) from the US Treasury, to sign the Award Terms and Conditions and Assurances of Compliance with Civil Rights Requirements by July 13, 2021. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to name Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager/Controller, as the contact person for the Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Funding Award from the US Treasury. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried unanimously.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman asked if the Village received the grant funding for the bridge repair. Reg Beliveau said they were awarded $175,000 but the quote for minimum repair came in at $330,000. Adam asked if the Village could use the Covid funds for the balance of the repair. Reg said he wasn’t sure but would check into it and see. Adam asked if they are able to deem the bridge unusable. Reg said the engineers from the State do not deem the bridge unsafe as this time. He said repairs need to be made before winter and the board said if not look into getting a new engineer and construction firm. The board said they didn’t want to drag their feet on this job. Adam said what would happen if they needed to shut that bridge down. Reg said they are not at that point yet. Chris Leach mentioned the culvert damage on Route 78 and how that affected traffic. Reg said VTrans learned they can fix things fast when needed.

Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard said he travels Route 78 West often and he urges everyone to call their local representatives because that section of road is very dangerous and the worst road out there. He said they need pressure to get it done. Chris Leach said the State of Vermont changes priorities and spends the allotted money on something else. Eugene said he would call Brian Savage. Reg Beliveau said that road was supposed to be done in 2017 and they are still in the process of making it happen. Neal Speer said it’s not the Department of Transportation’s fault, it’s the people appointing them.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked how the relicensing at the dam was going. Reg said it’s going as expected and they have had some push backs along the way. He said they are being asked to increase minimum flow which decreases production. He said a lot of these environmental agencies ask for studies during hydro relicensing because it’s the only time to get them approved. He said they had a real good crew here a couple of weeks ago at their meeting.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said the Village is having a hard time getting crosswalk paint this year. He said they have one 5-gallon pail left and know the crosswalks need repainting. He said the Energy Committee will host a EV car event on July 28th from 3:30 to 6:30 at the Village Complex.

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to enter Executive Session to discuss personnel at 7:50 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:40 p.m. Adam Paxman 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