Trustees Meeting 8/14/17
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Monday,
August 14, 2017
7PM – 9 PM
Minutes
Web version
SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 14, 2017
7:00 PM
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, 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 7:03 p.m.
2. Agenda Review:
Adam Paxman stated he needed to add “Personnel” to the Executive Session.
3. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, July 24, 2017 and Wednesday, July 26, 2017:
Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, July 24, 2017 and Wednesday, July 26, 2017 as presented. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach stated he would like the Agenda Review paragraph to be made clear. At the last meeting the Board moved the Executive Session to the beginning of the meeting. Eugene LaBombard commented on Adam Paxman’s statement regarding the speed of the traffic in Rouses Point, NY. He said if you are going over the speed limit there you will be pulled over and ticketed. Motion carried with changes.
4. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through August 10, 2017:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through August 10, 2017 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked if the Village has seen an increase in customers using ICloud for their payments. Lynn Paradis stated there is a steady flow and her accounts receivable aging is very consistent. He stated our Post Office checks are still pretty high so he assumes not many customers are going paperless. Lynn agreed with that statement. Chris Leach asked about the City of St. Albans payment. Lynn stated that was the Village’s invoice for dispatching services for the year. He also asked about the Municipal Emergency Services invoice for $41,641.11. Reg Beliveau stated he believed this was for the new pump on the ladder truck in the Fire Department. Motion carried.
5. Village of Swanton is requesting permission to close Community Bank Money Market for $467,984 +/- and Deposit funds in Union Bank Money Market:
Lynn Paradis stated the Village has a money market account at Community Bank in the amount of $467,984 and the interest rate they are paying is very low. She is requesting permission to close that account and open an account at Union Bank who is paying a higher interest rate. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Assistant Village Manager Lynn Paradis to close the money market account at Community Bank and to open a money market account at Union Bank with those same funds. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Chris Leach asked if there was a penalty fee for closing the money market account. Lynn stated no there was not a penalty. Motion carried.
6. Authorize Assistant Village Manager to Open Checking Account at Union Bank for the Rubber Bag Replacement Job at Hydro Facility:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, explained to the Board that she is requesting permission to open a checking account at Union Bank to be used for the rubber bag replacement job at the Hydro Facility. Chris Leach asked why the Loan Anticipation Note was for $2.4 million dollars but the actual number is $2.2 million dollars. Lynn stated that she didn’t have all her numbers when figuring out what they would need for this job. She said now that all quotes and pricing numbers are in, it will cost $2.2 million dollars. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize Assistant Village Manager Lynn Paradis to open a checking account at the Union Bank for the Rubber Bag Replacement Job. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
7. Sign Union Bank Loan Anticipation Note for $2.4 Million Dollars for Rubber Bag Replacement:
Board members signed all necessary documents for the Union Bank Loan Anticipation Note for $2.4 Million Dollars for the Rubber Bag Replacement job.
8. Approve and Set Tax Rate for 2017:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and set tax rate for 2017 at .7910. Chris Leach seconded. Discussion: Lynn Paradis stated that she estimated the tax rate to be .7949 in the Annual Report but said she was able to come in at .7910. She stated in the General Fund there is a $0.0071 cent change; the Fire Department came in at -$0.0003; the Police Department is up $0.0135 and the Highway Department came in at -$0.0015. She stated that overall there is a 2.44% increase in the Village taxes. On a home assessed at $175,000 the Village tax bill would be $1384.17, up $33 from 2016. On a home assessed at $200,000 their Village tax bill would be $1,581.91, up $37.71 from 2016. The Board thanked Lynn for her hard work in keeping the budgets in line and the tax rate as low as possible. Motion carried.
9. Approve and Sign Bond Vote Warning for Replacement of Rubber Bag Vote to be held September 19, 2017:
Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated she is working on her 108 filing with the Public Utility Commission for the rubber bag replacement job. She said with her testimony and filing they are anticipating a vote date so the Village determined that September 19, 2017 would be their vote day and September 11, 2017 would be their Public Hearing. Lynn stated the Village will go out 25 years on this bond. She said the Village was planning on replacing the bag in 2018 but because it broke that changed things. She said the Village will no doubt go through this every 25 years or so. Chris Leach stated this is a win/win for the rate payers and the taxpayers. Reg Beliveau said the surge tank is having a lot of sediment because of the bag failure. He said it’s normally very clean but now they needed Drummac to come in and suction the sediment out. Eugene LaBombard stated that while researching replacing the rubber bag or repairing it, it cost two times more to have it repaired. Lynn said the cost for this really hasn’t changed since the last bag went in.
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and sign the Bond Vote Warning for the Replacement of the Rubber Bag Vote to be held on September 19, 2017 with an Informational/Public Hearing to be held on Monday, September 11, 2017. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
10. Any Other Necessary Business:
Adam Paxman stated he would like people to slow down with their driving. He said he is going to contact the Town of Swanton and propose a traffic light at the intersection of I-89 and First Street. He said the traffic is backed way up the Interstate. Eugene LaBombard agreed with Adam on this. Adam also stated he has been talking with one of the Selectboard members and they would like to do some fireworks next summer. Reg stated they did some for the 250th Anniversary of Swanton and it cost approximately $3200. They discussed when they would like to have them and agreed it didn’t have to be on the 4th of July. Adam also wanted to thank everyone who helped with the Car Show in anyway. He said they had 243 cars in the Village green. He said they received some good comments and also need to work on keeping the park handicap accessible each year. Adam also wanted to remind people about the Arts Spectacular show on September 9th. Adam also mentioned the Ford Police Cruiser being taken out of service due to the carbon monoxide leaks. Reg stated the cruiser is back in service but they need to keep the windows down when driving it. Eugene LaBombard stated he did some research on this topic and this is only happening in police vehicles. He said it may have to do with the all the adaptations made to the vehicles after the sale. He said holes are being drilled by retrofitters and this may be causing the problem. He suggested the police department check their other vehicles as well.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman asked that when things calm down at the Hydro Plant could the Maintenance Crew fix the ceiling the Fire Department. He said some of the tiles are falling down. Eugene LaBombard suggested they take a tour of the whole building and check things over.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked if the Highgate Converter sale took place yet. Lynn Paradis stated it went through and said VPPSA sold their share to Transco but said Stowe and Burlington retained their shares.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard said he was approached by someone that wanted to have a hot dog stand in Swanton. Reg Beliveau stated he put them in touch with the Zoning Administrator. He said there was nothing in the bylaws for the Village.
Any Other Business: Eugene LaBombard asked about vehicles parking in green spaces obstructing stop signs. He also mentioned the drinking fountain in the park. Adam said he witnessed someone filling 20 gallon jugs of water. Reg stated he has a new spicket to put on the fountain. Eugene also asked about the flushing of hydrants. Reg stated they did a sprinkler test over the weekend and that’s what stirred the water up. Eugene said his water is still dirty and it’s been three days already. Reg said they could check it in the morning and see what’s going on.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated that he will be doing the Channel 15 show on August 16th from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. and asked who wanted to go with him. Chris Leach stated he would go this time.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said the electric car chargers have been getting used. He said there are some workers at VT Precision Tools who use them as well as some Canadians. He also stated the Teen Center will need a letter of intent to help find a suitable home for them. He said there are some grants available but they need this letter of support.
11. Public Comment:
Heather Buczkowski stated that the Dam Duck Derby will be held on September 9th as well. She said tickets can be purchased in advance.
12. Executive Session to Discuss Real Estate:
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Real Estate at 7:52 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Chris Leach made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:42 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
13. Adjournment:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:53 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:53 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date