Selectboard Meeting 11-18-25

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DRAFT MINUTES

TOWN OF SWANTON

 SELECTBOARD MEETING

Town Office Building

1 Academy Street, Swanton, VT 05488

In-Person & By Zoom

Tuesday, November 18, 2025

Present: Joel Clark-Chair, Earl Fournier, Steve Bourgeois, Nicole Draper, Nick Brosseau-Members, Brian Savage-Town Administrator, Cathy Fournier-Town Clerk, Christina Candels-Assistant Town Administrator, Betsy Fournier, Katie Underwood, Ron Underwood, Bob Nielsen, Jon Nielsen

Zoom: Deb Zimmerman

1. Call to Order

Mr. Clark called the meeting to order at 6:03 pm.

2. Pledge of Allegiance

Mr. Clark led those present in the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Agenda Review

Mr. Clark reviewed the agenda.

Ms. Candels requested to postpone the. Gov email accounts discussion to a later date.

Mr. Brosseau asked for an update regarding the Alliance Mechanical regarding the Library. This will be an agenda item under Old Business.

Mr. Brosseau asked for an update on the Public Heath Ordinance. This is still being worked out.

Mr. Savage requested to add FEMA Buyout under Old Business.

4. Meeting Topics

1. Minutes

 a) Regular Selectboard meeting of November 4, 2025

 b) Special Selectboard meeting of November 5, 2025

 c) Public Hearing Regarding Local Option Tax of November 12, 2025

 d) Special Selectboard meeting of November 12, 2025

Mr. Bourgeois made a motion to approve meeting minutes from Regular Meeting of November 4, 2025, Special Meeting of November 5, 2025, Public Hearing of November 12, 2025, and Executive Session of November 12, 2025, as written, seconded by Mr. Brosseau. Motion carried.

2. Public Comments

            None

3. Law Enforcement.

 a) Swanton Animal Control Officer

Mr. Bensons report came in later in the meeting and was reviewed.

5. Highway Department

Mr. Clark shared the highway crew has been busy with plowing, hauling sand & salt, vehicle maintenance and tree removal.

All paving has been completed, and the Town garage parking has been paved.

Mr. Savage has submitted the grant reimbursement for the Class II highway grant to pay 80% of the paving on County Rd & Maquam Shore Rd.

The Brooklyn Street culvert will likely need to be done in the spring.

The Barry Rd culvert design is in process, and the permits have been submitted. This is an expensive project estimated to cost $750,000.

The new ¾ ton truck, the body has been fit and will be operational soon.

Mr. Clark said he was contacted by Oliver Manning and he requested that they would like to close Hazard Road for two days next week. They would like to do this so they can put the manure line across the road vs using heavy trucks. Hazard Road is a class 4 road they do not plow.

Mr. Brosseau made a motion to approve the request to close Hazard Road for two days, seconded by Ms. Draper. Motion carried.

Mr. Fournier asked if they have the new “Welcome to Swanton” signs? Yes, they are at the Highway garage and hope to get the posts in for two of them next week, weather dependent.

6. Expenditures

a) General Orders

Mr. Bourgeois made a motion to approve the General Orders of 10/22/2025 to 11/18/2025 in the amount of $294,361.06, seconded by Ms. Draper. Motion carried.

Mr. Fournier asked why there was so many refunds back for taxes? A number of things result in this, overpayment, State credits for late homestead filings, some people were worried mortgage companies wouldn’t pay on time.

Mr. Fournier asked about the PILOT payment to Swanton Village? The State does not separate the Town & Village PILOT payments they send to the Town to disburse.

b) Highway Orders

Mr. Brosseau made a motion to approve the Highway Orders of 10/22/2025 to 11/18/2025 in the amount of $457,608.50, seconded by Mr. Bourgeois. Motion carried.

Mr. Fournier asked why they received sand from two locations? Leach’s & Wrights.

c) Library Orders

Mr. Fourier made a motion to approve the Library Orders of 10/22/2025 to 11/18/2025 in the amount of $5,884.86, seconded by Mr. Brosseau. Motion carried.

d) Highway & General Payroll Orders

Mr. Brosseau made a motion to approve the Highway & General Payroll Orders of 10/22/2025 to 11/18/2025 in the amount of $35,700.72, seconded by Mr. Fournier. Motion carried.

e) Library Payroll Orders

Mr. Fournier made a motion to approve the Library Payroll Orders of 10/22/2025 to 11/18/2025 in the amount of $10,259.34, seconded by Mr. Brosseau. Motion carried.

f) Special Orders

Mr. Fournier made a motion to approve the Special Orders of 10/22/2025 to 11/18/2025 in the amount of $85,735.26, seconded by Ms. Draper. Motion carried.

            Mr. Fournier asked if the fence painting will be covered by the grant? Yes.

            Mr. Fournier asked if the sprinkler heads were complete and meets the standards? Yes.

Mr. Fournier asked if there were more payments to go to Wrights for the LVRT? Yes, they also need to finish the project. The steel that came in is not the right stuff.

7. Old Town Business

             a) Swanton Public Library Quarterly Financial Review (tabled from Nov. 4^th meeting)

            Representatives from the library were not able to attend tonight’s meeting.

            The board reviewed the quarterly budget.

            Mr. Bourgeois asked if the income listed, how does year-end look?

            Mr. Bourgeois asked if the income source listed on track?

            Mr. Savage will send these questions to the Library Trustees.

Mr. Brosseau will work with Mr. Savage and take the questions/suggestions back to the library.

Mr. Bourgeois suggested next time if a representative from the library cannot attend the do not review the budget update. Mr. Brosseau will communicate that with them.

             b) Swanton Recreation – Plans for use of Special Funds committed to. Rec. Dept.

Mr. Clark said they have $570,000 of the $600,000 of ARPA money committed to a Community Center/Recreation in 2022.

The Selectboard would like a plan from Swanton Recreation

Ms. Betsy Fournier shared the Swanton Recreation Redevelopment Action Plan. This lists 6 priority projects.

Please see attached.

The main priority is a indoor gymnasium space.

Ms. Draper said they have found nice affordable steel buildings from a few companies they could do as phase one. The cost estimate for a 125’x80’ steel structure would be roughly $200,000. This would not include concrete, heat, HVAC, water, sewer, indoor office space, insulation or a contractor to build it. This is just the outer shell.

Questions, comments and answers are listed below:

Mr. Clark said he does not believe they could build this for less than $200 a square foot.

Wetland delineation done in 2022 by Cross Engineering, was that State approved? Yes. Cross Engineering can come back and mark out the wetland boundaries for them.

Planned access for a new facility Jewett or Blake St? The plan is to use both streets.

Infrastructure, parking and road access are needed.

Mr. Fournier said they need to commit to support them to move forward before they can seek any kind of funding and pricing the infrastructure.

Mr. Brosseau asked if they should wait on the Local Option Tax to move forward? If they are serious in committing to this it is time to move forward. The LOT, some of it could be used. They will need other funding sources. 

Mr. Fournier said the community needs this; the demand is there.

Mr. Brousseau asked if the Fourth Street property will work? That is not an ideal location.

Mr. Bourgeois asked if the armory is going to be available? Mr. Clark said not for anything less than 8 years Ms. Draper said it would need to be rehab significantly.

Mr. Clark said they would also be required to pay fair market value.

Mr. Fournier said they have no sidewalks, they have no sidewalks and are not close to the fields. 

Mr. Clark suggested the consultation with Connor Contracting, they will be able to cost estimate this for them.

Mr. Clark said something needs to be done now to the existing building now, 80-100 kids at summer camps and they do not have enough room to house them all safely. They could spend a couple hundred thousand (of the allocated money) to expand, upgrade and bring to code the building.

Mr. Fournier said they he does not agree they can purchase some containers for stuff and sell them later, cleaning out the building.

Mr. Clark said they will be in the current building for years as the proposed steel building doesn’t have office space. Mr. Underwood said it will have office space.

They need to decide how much storage and office space they want.

Ms. Underwood said they don’t want to propose spending money on the infrastructure if members of the board don’t support a building, the community desperately needs a whole facility. They have other needs, but this facility needs to come first, show some support.

Mr. Fournier made a motion that the board will support and support Swanton Recreation’s effort to build a building approximately 125’x80’ and seeking the pricing for this building, seconded by Mr. Brosseau. Ms. Draper abstained.

The voters will have the final say.

Mr. Bourgeois asked if they are going to commit to this without numbers? Mr. Fournier said yes, they need to move forward and his motion to support this building a phase one, Mr. Bourgeois can vote against it if he wants to. 

Mr. Clark said he has been passionate about providing facilities with the Recreation department for years. There is drawings done by Cross Engineering they should look at to take to Connor Consulting. Mr. Clark is glad to sit down with them and help in any way.

Ms. Underwood asked how big they are allowed to go? 100 kids in a thunderstorm in dugouts is not ideal, these kids need an indoor space. Not large they can add more later.

Ms. Draper said the 3D modeling they made for this structure for phase on was a gymnasium, bathrooms and a vestibule area before they enter the gym. A small storage area, bleachers for spectators.
Mr. Fournier said they should make room for an office area in phase one.

Mr. Bourgeois asked if they are committing to a building without knowing the cost? Mr. Fournier said yes, they can’t move forward if they don’t commit to a building, they don’t have the money and can’t seek funding if they don’t. Mr. Bourgeois said he supports getting to price and the concept.

The voters need to approve the funding.

They are committing to a new building and seeking design and funding.

Motion carried.

The board discussed authorizing Swanton Recreation spending up to a certain amount for design costs.

Mr. Fournier made a motion authorizing up to $10,000 of the funds committed for conceptual estimating services, seconded by Mr. Brosseau. Ms. Draper abstained.

Mr. Clark said they are seeking a conceptual drawing, then they will need to design money involved.

Mr. Bourgeois clarified they will bill the Town of Swanton, then the Town Clerk will process the payment. Up to the approved amount.

The Recreation Commission will move forward with the cost of the other things on their list of needs. They have the allocated funds and next year’s budget. If they need a vehicle now for example.

Ms. Betsy Fournier asked if they would own a vehicle or the Town? Anything purchased is owned by the Town. The Town will need to put out the RFP.

Ms. Underwood asked if the board supports the list of needs, they presented? Mr. Clark said he has no issue with the list, he has an issue with not talking about the existing building. Mr. Clark said he would even support building a garage down below so they can clean the existing building out. Mr. Clark said he is going to keep harping on this it is wrong what those kids are dealing with in the maintenance area.

Ms. Draper said they had moved a lot of stuff to the shed below, move the tractor down there. A lot of the shelves are empty.

Mr. Bourgeois said if that is their recommendation, that’s what they should look at, come back with some pricing. If they need another Conex box for storage they can get pricing.

Motion carried.

             c) LVRT – proposed maintenance discussion with Swanton Rec.

Mr. Clark said the LVRT trailhead is complete, at the last meeting they discussed the idea of Rec overseeing, lawn mowing, trimming, and access to cameras. The Town Highway crew will take care of snow removal.

Mr. Clark said the budget will need to be roughly $5,000 a year for power, water, a porta let and maintenance.

Mr. Underwood asked if this was discussed before the trailhead was built? No.

Ms. Betsy Fournier asked why the Rec not the Town? They do not have the tools or the staff.

Mr. Fournier said if you think of parks and rec in the future this makes sense.

The Selectboard understands this will be an added line in the budget for Rec.

The Rec Commission members present, after a discussion, agreed to move forward with the maintenance of the LVRT trailhead.     

             d) MVSD Land Swap

Mr. Savage, shared Mr. Rowell, is supposed to have his attorney discuss this with the Town’s attorney and has not as of today. The mortgage discharge that is needed needs to be done by Mr. Rowells’s attorney.

             e) Former Town Garage Work Plan and Estimate

Mr. Savage previously forwarded this plan to the Selectboard from Atlas. The projected cost is $31,250 for the next step. This winter they will need to come up with a plan for the site and send it to the State. The Selectboard has $35,000 allocated for this in Special Funds.

Mr. Fournier made a motion to approve $31,205.90 to start the cleanup of Fourth Street (former Town garage), authorizing the Town Administrator to sign the contract, paid for out of allocated Special Funds, seconded by Mr. Bourgeois. Motion carried.

             f) Report on Tablet request for DRB-Continued from the last meeting.

            Ms. Candels updated on the cost.

Ms. Candels said the current cost for a tablet recommended by Mr. Smith (Town of Swanton’s IT individual) the tablet cost will be $519 each. The Town currently pays $12 a month per email account, the cost for these would be $12 for the first year then $20 year two for all of the email/programing fees each tablet.

The cost for virus protection would be $30 per year per device.

Virus protection is required by the insurance company.

Mr. Bourgeois made a motion to proceed with tablets for the 5 DRB members, and put it in the 2026 budget, seconded by Mr. Fournier. Motion carried.

             g) Report on decals for Town vehicles

Ms. Candels shared pricing with two companies to add SwantonVT.Gov, the QR code and the graphic design to the Town Highway trucks.

            1220 Graphics $1372.50

            Fawns’ Swag Solutions $487.19

            They have purchased decals from both companies.

Mr. Brosseau made a motion to approve $487.19 from Fawns for the decals, seconded by Ms. Draper. Motion carried.      

            h) Library Update

Mr. Savage shared an update from Alliance Mechanical, their estimate to install a heavy-duty pump is $11,000. They do not have much expeditive with heavy-duty pumps in elevators. Currently they are spending a couple of thousand every couple year replacing the existing pumps.

Mr. Savage spoke with Las Scangas, who has an engineer he works with who is more familiar with these types of projects from Rutland. He plans to be up in this area in December.

Mr. Savage can coordinate with the elevator company and the engineer to give a plan for a long-term solution. Currently everything is working well.

            i) FEMA Property Buyout Update

Mr. Savage shared one of the three properties and is ready to close. The current owner has paid the taxes and is due a refund of prorated taxes. The amount is $1,159.45.

This is not reimbursable under the grant.  

Mr. Fournier made a motion to approve the payment of $1,159.45 in taxes at closing from General Fund Miscellaneous line, seconded by Ms. Draper. Motion carried.

 8. New Town Business

             a) .gov email accounts

            Postponed until a later date.

             b) 2026 Budget planning

Mr. Savage said in the past they have had departments come to meetings with their budgets. Police, Fire, Library, Rec & Rescue.

Mr. Savage asked what the board is thinking about salary increases? The Village is looking at 3% increases. The Towns’ health insurance is looking at a 1% increase.

Mr. Clark said he can support 3% for planning purposes.

Mr. Bourgeois said employees need to know that it is not a reflection of the job they do, they wish it could be more.  

Mr. Bourgeois asked if they should request these budgets stay within a 3% increase over last year?

Mr. Clark said the Highway will be, besides the planning for the Barry Rd culvert.

The Town only has direct influence on over the General, Highway & Recreation.

Mr. Savage will send an email to all departments sharing the boards goal as well at the Village and ask that budgets be sent prior to the meeting so the board members have time to review.

Mr. Clark would like Mr. Savage to request the Village budgets for the second December meeting.

Mr. Bourgeois suggested putting the appropriations on the ballot. Should they request their operating budget or expenses?

The board discussed if they were to do this it would make the ballot multiple pages.

The total amount of appropriations is $38,500 totaling 25 requests. This is local nonprofits.

Mr. Fournier reviewed different appropriations vs. budgeted entities.

Mr. Brosseau shared he thought that it would be too confusing to the voters to put all appropriations on the ballot for 2026. The board members agreed, if there is some, they want information from, they can reach out to them individually.

 9. Policy Review

             a) Proposed Personnel Policy changes & Organizational Flow Chart

            Ms. Candels    made the changes suggested at the last meeting and sent it to the board members.  

Swanton Rec follows the Town’s Personnel Policy, Swanton Public Library has its own, this should be added.

Mr. Fournier & Ms. Draper shared changes they made in the Personnel Policy examples are:

• Salary increases.
• Where the highway purchases boots
• Accrued vacation time paid out to employees who leave their employment.
• The Selectboard approves all Town employees including elected.
• Workplace safety
• Employee disputes, the Selectboard will review.
• Evaluations should be a separate section, adding the Organizational Flow Chart
• Stipend for Road Commissioner

The board reviewed the Organization Flow Chart; it lists who reports to who in the Town. Ms. Candels will add Swanton Recreation; Ms. Draper will send those names to Ms. Candels.

             b) Proposed Changes to Road Takeover Policy

Mr. Clark reviewed the proposed changes he received from an engineer, adding core samples to existing roads to the Road Takeover Policy.

Mr. Fournier suggested having an engineer of the Towns’ choice when building new roads vs core samples before the road is paved on new developments.

The DRB refers to the Town Road Takeover Policy for new developments.

Mr. Fournier doesn’t think they should require more than other Towns, if the road can be viewed during construction/ base prior to being paved vs core drilling.

Mr. Clark doesn’t require paved roads, A-76 standard does not require a road to be paved.

Mr. Brousseau asked why the policy requires 18’ vs 15’ of crushed stone? Mr. Clark said a professional engineer who does road design & the LVRT project request 18”.

Mr. Bourgeois said this is a good policy to give it time.

Ms. Draper said they build their building for longevity not for the standard of now.

They agreed to add:

• Prior to asphalt being placed they can have, and engineer inspection completed to replace core samples once it is paved. The engineer needs to be approved by the Town as the expense of the developer. A neutral 3^rd party.
• As well as having the Road Forman/Commissioner verify the depth.
• Drainage falls under the stormwater.

Mr. Fournier will provide the changes for the Selectboard.

10. Next Meeting Agenda Items

Mr. Bourgeois sent an email to Mr. Clark and Mr. Savage with a request for Banking practices; this will be added to the next meeting’s agenda.

11. Any Other Business

            None

12. Correspondence

            The Animal Control report came in during the meeting and was reviewed.

Ms. Cathy Fournier asked what the Villages policy is on chickens now? Who is enforcing this?

Ms. Draper would like a copy of the ordinance sent to the board.

13. Public Comment (Reprise)

            None

14. Upcoming Events

               a) Thursday – Nov. 20, 2025 – 5:30 pm – SEP Meeting – Holy Trinity Church

               b) Thursday – Nov. 20, 2025 – 6:00 pm – DRB Meeting – Swanton Town Offices

               c) Thurs. & Fri. – Nov. 27 & 28, 2025 – Thanksgiving Holiday – Office and

                     Operations – CLOSED

               d) Tuesday- Dec. 2, 2025- 6:00 pm – Regular Selectboard Meeting - Town Office

15. Adjourn

Mr. Bourgeois made a motion to adjourn at 8:59 pm, seconded by Mr. Brosseau. Motion carried.

Respectfully Submitted by

Christina Candels-Assistant Town Administrator