Trustees Meeting 8/12/24

Web version

 SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, August 12, 2024

7:00 PM

PRESENT: David Winchester, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Suzie Kelleher, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Chris Leach, Turk Thompson, Neal Speer, Gordon Winters, Shawn Cheney and Ch. 16. Via Teams: Tobias Maguire.

To watch this meeting in its entirety, go to Northwest Access TV on YouTube. Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried, unanimously.

1. Call to Order:

David Winchester, Village President, called Village Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Agenda Review:

None.

4. Public Comment:

Chevon Cooper said she wanted to make a rebuttal to Adam Paxman’s comment he made under Any Other Business at the July 22, 2024 meeting. She said the meeting she had with Bill Sheets, Dianne Day and David Winchester was a fact-finding meeting and she was being very transparent. She said that’s why she did a Facebook Live at the meeting. She also said she’s offended that he said what he said and that she is not hard to find.

Turk Thompson said he caught the end of the last meeting and said the Challenge Coin is a great idea. He said he worked for Richford Border Patrol and they would recognize members of the public occasionally who did something exceptional and said he hoped the police department would start giving them out to the public as well.

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from the Monday, July 22, 2024 meeting as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve Minutes from the Monday, July 22, 2024 meeting as presented. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, August 8, 2024:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Village Warrants through Thursday, August 8, 2024 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Discussion: Suzie Kelleher said on Warrant #77 there is a payment made to her in the amount of $1039.50. She said that payment was to pay her husband’s credit card charge for the Challenge Coins she ordered and said she then brought in a check and donated that same amount back to the Village. She said she wanted to purchase these coins for the police and fire departments. Everyone in attendance thanked her for that. Motion carried.

7. Discussion on Swanton Village Charter Changes and Governing Body Structure:

Chevon Cooper started the discussion about the possibility of changing the number of Trustees in the Village from 3 to 5 and asked if the Board supported that decision. Much discussion took place regarding this topic from the people in attendance. Chris Leach and Turk Thompson said they would disagree with that change, they feel the 3 member board works efficiently and productively. A lot of back and forth took place on this topic as well as updating the Village Charter to change it from allowing the Trustees to purchase, lease and sell property to not allowing that. Again, much discussion took place with more people in attendance disagreeing with that change. Shawn Cheney, a  local realtor, said this would hurt business as usual decisions and said the Trustees are elected to do a job and the public needs to allow them to do their job. Adam Paxman asked why there is now a need to go from 3 to 5 and said no one has stated what the purpose of this is. Chevon asked the board if they would state where they stood on this topic. Adam said he would be against it and Suzie Kelleher stated she wouldn’t mind asking the voters that question on the March ballot. Adam Paxman made the motion to table this topic until further notice. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

8. Discussion on the Balance of ARPA Funds:

Adam Paxman made the motion to table this item until their next meeting. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Discussion: Suzie stated she would like to have this discussion now rather than waiting another two weeks. She said she just wanted to get that information out there but not make any decisions because Eugene LaBombard wasn’t present. Both Adam and Suzie opposed the motion to table. Motion carried. Bill Sheets, Village Manager, presented the board with some ARPA fund data. It showed that the Village initially received $710,116.68 from ARPA funds. It also showed what the Village has spent the funds on such as architectural design, land purchases, and the Downtown Scoping study. He said there is a balance of $88,665.45 dollars left in ARPA money and said they have earned $13,940.62 in interest. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to table this topic until their next meeting. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously.

9. Set Swanton Village 2024 Tax Rate:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the $1.1653 2024 Swanton Village Tax Rate. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

10. Swanton VFW Request Coin Drop in September 2024 to Benefit VFW National Home for Children:

Dianne Day informed the Board that the Swanton VFW Post #778 has requested a coin drop in September to benefit the National Home for Children. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve the Swanton VFW’s request to hold a coin drop on Saturday, September 14, 2024 from 9 a.m. to 12 noon with a rain date of Saturday, September 21^st. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Motion carried.

11. Discussion on Foundry Street Paving:

Bill Sheets said the Village is working on getting Foundry Street repaved after all the construction work being done. He said they are trying to get some of the expense covered as part of the water line bond they have but may not be able to get the entire cost covered. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to authorize Village Manager William Sheets to pursue funding for repaving Foundry Street after the waterline project is completed. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

12. Village Manager Update:

Electric Department: The crew was busy with the storm last Friday and worked on Swanton/Enosburg outages until Saturday morning. They then worked mutual aid for VEC on the remainder of Saturday, until approximately 10 pm on Sunday evening.

Electric Department: Our initial meeting with Weimann and Lamphere to discuss space requirements for the facility at 124 First Street will be on August 22^nd. The approach will be a deliberate approach to create a facility that will meet the needs of Swanton Village Electric for the next fifty years. As a reminder the entire organization will move next door, creating room for the reimagining of the existing space for the Swanton Village Police Department.

Fire Department: While responding to a mutual aid call last Friday evening, our ladder truck struck a great blue heron while enroute to the collapsed building with entrapment call in Alburgh. The ladder truck is out of service, except for life safety responses. We are working with our insurance company and glass vendor to get this repaired as soon as possible.

B-6 Bridge update: 

Bridge reopened after 15 days, on July 24^th. We had grant funding in the amount of $400,000, with two separate $200,000 grants. We fully met our match of $40,000.

The following is a list of all expenditures:

Total spent on external contracts/vendors/materials:                 $416,410.82

Total spent on Village Labor (regular rates):                             $31,946.10

Total spent on Village Labor (overtime):                                   $4,610.70

Total spent on Village Equipment:                                             $5,677.96

Note: All Village labor and equipment costs will be used as required match. The out-of-pocket costs for this project, to include overtime, is $421,021.52. The expense above available grant funding is $21,021.52. At the end of the year, we will adjust the Public Works budget from an account to be determined.

Benefit: To save significant money on this project Public Works did all traffic control. To include the purchase of approximately $20,000 in signs to be used to meet traffic safety engineering on the detour route. The Village owns all the signs and those can and will be used on future projects. We have picked up all detour signs, begun the process to repair any damage caused, and documented lessons learned from this experience. There was one recorded, minor accident during the bridge closure.

Missisquoi River Crossing:  G.W. Tatro is making great progress on this project. The boat launch remains officially closed. The subcontractor, Henniker Directional Drilling, has completed the first phase of drilling with the pilot hole reaching the north side of the river. They returned today, Monday August 12^th to begin the next phase of drilling. The next drill is 12 inches in width, followed by a 20-inch drill and a final check to ensure that everything is prepared for the installation of the 14-inch pipe, which will be pulled and fused from the Foundry Street side. The project remains on time and is scheduled to be completed in September.

Foundry Street Paving: Aldrich and Elliott Engineering (A & E) is working with G.W. Tatro to have the total paving become part of this project. Typically, resurfacing is not an allowable expense under the grant. Based upon the fact that the water line installation resulted in a significant impact on the street we are hopeful that at least a portion of the project will meet project guidelines. That would result in some potential loan forgiveness and better financing through the project. Regardless, we will attempt to proceed with this paving project this summer/fall, utilizing enterprise/water funds for any additional expenses.

Wastewater:  Our preconstruction meeting with Kingsbury Construction, and all parties, was held on July 23rd. August 19^th is the official kickoff date, but advance work is already taking place on site. Total project time will be approximately 16 months, with a scheduled end date in November of 2025.

Highgate Water/Wastewater Extension Project: This project officially kicks off soon, with an anticipated completion in 2025. The Highgate Selectboard has adopted the Village of Swanton water and wastewater ordinances.

Hydro:  We will install the new control ring on Unit 1 as soon as practicable. That installation will be time sensitive, and the penstock will be wet and dangerous and not an ideal time for a tour for the Trustees. We would like to offer that opportunity during our annual maintenance period, which is scheduled for the second week of September.

Unit 1 add on spacers have been ordered, still waiting on timeline. Unit 2 bearings are ready, waiting on bolts and everything for that unit will be reassembled and back online soon.

MVU Career Fair:  Five of us represented the Village at the MVU career fair on July 26^th from 10 to 12. This was another opportunity to highlight the variety of job offerings that we have within the Village, targeting five years out, as this group of students from MVU, BFA and Tech ranged in age from 12 to 15.

Brownfield’s update:

124 First Street: We continue to work with the State of Vermont, Northwest Regional Planning Commission (NRPC) and our consultant, KAS, to complete all requirements within the BRELLA program. To date, all mitigation costs have been paid for by the NRPC (Brownfield funding and the Petroleum Clean-up funding).

6 South River Street: We are continuing to work Green Mountain Habitat for Humanity and the NRPC to determine the next best steps for the development of this location. We have remaining work to do with the State of Vermont, NRPC and our consultant, KAS. Much depends on the site plan for potential housing. This is expected to continue into 2025.

13. Any Other Necessary Business:

Suzie Kelleher wanted to remind folks that the stump dump on Lafar Street is for compostable items and not pressure treated wood of any kind. She also said they will be making Academy Street to Church Street a no parking zone. Suzie also said the Block Party she organized had a great turnout and they will plan on doing it again next year. She said she organized the 5K run during the Cornfest and gave a shout out to the Hydro Plant for letting her use their egg vehicle and to the Fire Department for helping with traffic control.

Any Other Business: Adam Paxman said he wanted to give kudos to all the crews that have worked hard over the last 30 days, he said the Village has a great team. He said the Car Show had 196 cars entered and they had a great day with a 1970 Super B winning Best of Show. He said the 50/50 raffle raised $2025 and they will use their share to work on next year’s Car Show.

Any Other Business: Suzie Kelleher said there will be a Promote Swanton meeting at the Village Complex on August 28^th at 6 p.m. and said the agenda will be on the Village website.

Any Other Business: Chevon Cooper wanted to thank Bill and Dianne for the meeting they had in July and she gave out her cell and email address for anyone that wanted to reach out to her.

14. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

Adam Paxman made the motion, seconded by Suzie Kelleher, to go into Executive Session at 9:12 p.m. to discuss confidential personnel issues where premature general public knowledge of the subject matter would place the Village and others at a substantial disadvantage. Motion carried with two yays.

Adam Paxman made the motion, seconded by Suzie Kelleher, to exit executive session at 10:14 p.m. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

15. Adjournment:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 10:15 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, David Winchester, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 10:15 p.m. Motion carried.

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David Winchester, Village President                  Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date