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Trustees Meeting 7/24/17

  • Monday, July 24, 2017
    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, July 24, 2017

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Mark Rocheleau, Chamber of Commerce; Frank Huth, 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 Personnel to the Executive Session and requested the Board move that item to the beginning of the meeting. He stated he would like to go into Executive Session right after Item #4.

3.      Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, July 10, 2017:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, July 10, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

4.      Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, July 21, 2017:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through Friday, July 21, 2017 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

5.      Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel at 7:07 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session and re-enter Open Session at 7:30 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

6.      Fill Village of Swanton Vacancy on Northwest Regional Planning Commissions’ Board of Commissioners:

Chris Leach informed the Board that Elizabeth Nance, Economic Development Coordinator, has submitted a letter expressing her interest in filling the vacancy at Northwest Regional Planning Commissions’ Board of Commissioners. Chris Leach made the motion to accept her letter of interest and to have her fill his position at Northwest Regional Planning Commissions’ Board of Commissioners. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

7.      Approve and Sign Electric Line of Credit:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, informed the Board that Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, had received a quote from the Union Bank for a Bond Anticipation Loan to finance the replacing of the rubber dam at the Hydro Facility. She said the amount of the Bond Anticipation Loan is $2.4 million dollars with a one year term and an interest rate of 1.35%.

Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, to accept the Union Bank’s quote for a Bond Anticipation Loan with a one year term and an interest rate of 1.35%. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

8.      Review SQRP Summary on 2017 2nd Quarter:

Chris Leach stated the Village of Swanton is still doing an exceptional job and thanked them for that. He said this is a tool that keeps track of the Village’s work orders and billing performance. He said the Village scores perfectly in their baseline. Chris said he wanted to thank the Electric Department and the Office staff for their extremely good service and stated the Board has reviewed and is in receipt of this 2nd quarter SQRP report.

9.      Any Other Necessary Business:

Chris Leach asked if the State of Vermont paving job was done yet. Reg Beliveau stated no they still have some jobs that need to be done. He said the rain has stopped the Village from doing some jobs so he thought the State was having the same issue.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated while driving around the Village he has noticed there aren’t as many “garage sale” signs attached to utility poles. Reg Beliveau stated this is against the law and he strongly encourages residents not to nail garage sale signs to the poles. He said you could be saving the life of a lineman by not doing this.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman stated he drove through Rouses Point, NY the other day and noticed how slow the traffic went through that area. He wondered what they are doing that the Village isn’t. He said their speed limit is posted at 30 mph but people drove much slower through the Town. He asked that drivers please slow down and care a bit more about each other. He asked that drivers also take notice of people trying to cross the street using the flashing crosswalks.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated there have been some issues with vehicles parking on the green spaces near corners making it difficult for other vehicles to see around. He stated the Board should review some of their old Ordinances and update them.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that he has been working on some permits pertaining to the rubber bag at the Hydro plant. He said he is talking with the State of Vermont and also with the Army Corps of Engineers and said they shouldn’t have any issues with permits and with limitations on their timeframe. He said things are moving along and feels the Village is on track with this job.

10.  Public Comment:

Mark Rocheleau asked if the Village had any plans on paving Canada Street in the near future. Reg Beliveau stated that Mike Menard has been looking at it but said with this road being a little rough it slows traffic down a little. Mark stated his other issue has to do with the drinking fountain at the north end of the Village Park. He said over the weekend he watched a pickup pull up and fill a 55 gallon tank with water. He said this same truck came back about 4 hours later and filled that tank again. He said he would suggest the Village take the spicket off from the fountain so people use this as a drinking fountain only. Reg stated they had this same issue a few years back and they approached the individual who was filling tanks of water and he would come into the Village office and pay for it. He also said he thought the Village had put a spring loaded faucet on a while back. He said he would check it out and remove it so that people cannot fill large tanks of water. Mark also said he wanted to remind everyone about the Car Show this weekend and said he is hoping for a lot of cars. He thanked the Village for making the park look so nice and also said he was happy the Swans are back in the park. The Board thanked Mark for coming in.

11.  Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 7:53 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 7:53 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                           Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                               Date