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Trustees Meeting 9/8/22

  • Thursday, September 8, 2022
    7 PM – 9 PM

Village Trustees

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SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

SPECIAL MEETING

Thursday, September 8, 2022

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau Jr., Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Matthew Sullivan, Chief of Police; and Ch. 16. Via Zoom: Gordon Winters.

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:

Add Police Department update after #6.

  1. Public Comment:

None.

  1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, August 22, 2022 as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept Minutes from Monday, August 22, 2022 as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

  1. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, September 8, 2022:
  1. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #80-#85 through Thursday, September 8, 2022 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the payment made to SD Ireland for $1940.12. Reg Beliveau stated that was for concrete for the sidewalk on Fourth Street. Reg also mentioned the MacFarland Johnson invoice for $41,025.46. Motion carried.
  1. Swanton Village Police Department Update:

Chief Matt Sullivan stated that in the month of August the Village responded to 127 calls for service. He said out of those calls the top ten calls were for 10 calls for citizen assist; 12 calls for motor vehicle complaint; 10 calls for suspicious person/circumstance; 7 calls for agency assistance; 7 calls for citizen dispute; 12 calls for traffic stop; 6 calls for theft; 2 calls for theft of automobile; 9 calls for welfare/suicide checks and 4 calls for service abuse prevention order. He said there were 2 tickets issued and 8 warnings and 7 arrests. He showed the arrest analysis for August which consisted of 2 Operation Without Consent; 2 Stolen Property Receiving; 1 Driving Under the Influence; 1 Aggravated Assault; and 1 Negligent Operation. He said the officers responded to 205 incidents in the Town and Village combined. The top ten calls for service were 6 calls for community outreach; 31 traffic stops; 19 for agency assistance; 18 motor vehicle complaints; 18 calls for supsicious person/circumstance; 15 for citizen assist; 11 welfare/suicide checks; 9 citizen disputes; 8 calls for theft; and 6 calls for information reports. He said in addition to that they’ve been very busy and tied up most nights. They executed a search warrant on Gallup Court for an aggravated assault that occurred. He said they’re also looking at a new part time hire who is a very experienced officer. He said he’s also an EMT trainer and will be a great hire. He said his budget is looking good so far and another accomplishment this month was they were able to secure the SRO contract with the school district. He said this SRO will mainly focus on the high school but will also serve the elementary school as required. Eugene asked if the SRO officer would work in the other schools within the district. Chief Sullivan stated it was specific to MVU and the Swanton elementary school. Adam Paxman asked if they’ve seen a decrease in their total incidents. Chief Sullivan said he didn’t and said it’s been pretty steady. He said he was looking at traffic data and they’ve exceeded so far this year what Burlington Police has done. He said they are on pace for 3,000 incidents by the end of the year which is pretty typical. Eugene LaBombard said he’s noticed a lot of ATV traffic in the Village. He said he's seen young boys riding ATV’s in the Hannaford parking lot and on Canada Street. Adam said he’s seeing it also and wondered if it was because of the change with the Town. The Chief said most likely it was and said they are going to try and address the ATV traffic but said it’s difficult. He said they are allowed in the Town but not the Village. Neal Speer said the ATV traffic on South River Street has decreased. Reg Beliveau said if done right the ATV traffic is very good for commerce.

  1. Discuss Hydro Rubber Dam Bond Unspent Proceeds:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that when they did the bond to replace the rubber bag it was for $2.2 million dollars. She said they currently have $92,700 in unspent bond proceeds and there are two avenues they could go. She said they could use the money to pay down the number of payments or it could be used on a project. She said she talked with the Vermont Bond Bank and they suggest the cleanest way to go is to just have it applied to the bond itself and get it cleaned up. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Village of Swanton applying $92,700 in unspent bond funds to the principle on the rubber dam bond. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

  1. Discussion on ARPA Funds:

Reg Beliveau stated he’s been getting phone calls and emails asking about when the Village is going to hold a public hearing on ARPA funds. He said he’d like to hold one the first week in October. The Board agreed that October 3rd would be a good night to hold the meeting on. Reg said this will be a good time to get ideas and suggestions on what people are thinking about using these funds for. He said the Village will also be able to present some of their projects as well. Adam said they want to make the best decisions possible for the community while following VLCT guidelines.

  1. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman said he’s been able to gather information on the property owners of the parking lot next to Merchants Row. He said he would call them next week. He also said he’ll be reaching out to the tree warden regarding planting 4 trees in the park this fall. Adam also said the Chamber of Commerce is requesting use of the park on October 29th from 5 to 8 p.m. for their Halloween in the Park event.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said the Village will be holding a joint board meeting with the Town of Swanton on September 26th to discuss items of mutual interest and will also hold an executive session to discuss real estate.

Any Other Business: Neal Speer asked about the Village Manager job ad notice. Lynn Paradis said she will advertise in NEPPA, VLCT, the St. Albans Messenger, the County Courier and the Burlington Free Press.

Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau said the Village will hold a Zoom meeting next week on Wednesday, September 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the Town Clerk’s Office to give a demo on heat pumps. He said GMP will host this meeting and they will have a Q&A session. He said Bourne Energy will also be there.

  1. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session to Discuss Personnel at 7:35 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:45 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

  1. Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Special Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:46 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:46 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date