Trustees Meeting 12/22/25

Web version

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, December 22, 2025

6:00 P.M.

PRESENT: David Winchester, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Suzie Kelleher, Trustee; Neal Speer, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Sgt. Kyle Gagne, Swanton Police Department; Chevon Cooper and Ch. 16. Via Teams: Damon Broderick.

1. Call to Order:

David Winchester, Village President, called the Village Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:15 p.m.

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone in attendance stood for the pledge of allegiance.

3. Agenda Review:

None.

4. Public Comment:

None.

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, December 8, 2025 meeting as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the minutes from the Monday, December 8, 2025 meeting as presented. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, December 18, 2025:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve and accept the Village Warrants through
Thursday, December 18, 2025 as presented. Neal Speer seconded the motion. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

7. Swanton Village Police Department Update with Sgt. Kyle Gagne:

Sgt. Kyle Gagne was present for this update. He began with the Village Police Department responding to 77 incidents during the month of November 2025. The top ten calls for service were 9 agency assistance, 9 traffic stop, 8 suspicious person/circumstance, 6 citizen assist, 5 crash, property damage, 5 alarm, 3 theft, 3 custodial dispute, 2 disorderly conduct and 2 restraining order. Kyle said out of the 9 traffic stops there were 6 tickets issued and 8 warnings. All tickets and warnings were associated with traffic. He said there were also 7 arrests with 7 individuals and 11 charges.

Kyle then reported that the Village Police responded to 81 incidents in the Town of Swanton during the month of November 2025. The top ten calls for service were 18 directed patrol, 6 suspicious person/circumstance, 4 agency assistance, 3 crash, property damage, 3 citizen assist, 2 motor vehicle complaint, 2 trespassing, 2 custodial interference, 2 motorist assist, and 24 traffic stop. He said out of the 24 traffic stops there were 2 tickets issued and 22 warnings. Kyle said all tickets and warnings were associated with traffic and there were no arrests. Kyle said they worked an additional 40 service hours for the Town.

Chevon Cooper stated that she watched the WCAX report with Chief Matthew Sullivan talking about the Stonegarden grant. She asked why the department was using Village owned vehicles while working this grant. Sgt. Gagne explained to her that the federal government purchased those vehicles and they can also be used for Village work. He said the grant also covers mileage and upkeep of those vehicles.

8. Review and Sign Kittell, Branagan & Sargent’s Audit Engagement Letter:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, explained that KBS will be doing their audit again this year for $40,000 plus $8,000 for a single audit. Lynn said last year a single audit wasn’t needed but it is this year because of the federal grant money. Neal Speer asked how many years KBS has been doing the Village audit. Lynn said for at least 18 years because there are no other firms that specialize in municipalities. Neal Speer made the motion to authorize Trustee Adam Paxman to sign the Kittell, Branagan & Sargent Audit Engagement Letter on behalf of the Village of Swanton. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

9. Review and Approve Interfund Borrowing Agreement:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, explained that she uses the General Fund to currently pay for expenses of the electric department that are unique to the electric department and expenses that the electric department shares with other departments of the Village. She further explained that the electric department will run a positive “due from” or negative balance “due to” in the general fund depending on its current expenses and revenues. Lynn said instead of borrowing funds needed from a financial institution; she is asking the Board of Trustees to approve this interfund borrowing resolution to meet a portion of the electric department’s current expense payment liability by means of a revolving line of credit using funds from the Village’s general fund. She said she is asking for a $750,000 revolving line of credit at zero percent interest for one year. She said the Village’s power supply expenses are very high right now and she is going in for a rate case and would need something in writing. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Interfund Borrowing Resolution revolving line of credit for $750,000 at zero percent interest for a period of one year. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

10. Discuss and Approve the Sale of Engine 1 Swanton Fire Truck to Chilson Volunteer Fire Company for the Asking Price of $105,000:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated the Fire Department is downsizing their fleet by selling two of their vehicles. He said the department can fully function without Engine 1 and Chilson Volunteer Fire Company has offered to purchase this for the asking price of $105,000. Bill said by selling Engine 1 and their other utility truck the fire department will be able to purchase a new fire truck without taxpayer money. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to authorize the Swanton Village Fire Department to sell Engine 1 for $105,000 to Chilson Volunteer Fire Company. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

11. Review and Discuss 2026 Proposed Budgets:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, provided the Board with a draft of her 2026 budgets and gave some updates on each fund.

Electric Department: Lynn said maintenance and labor are up in this fund and she factored in a 3% cost of living increase for the employees. She discussed some of the major issues facing the hydro plant including the rubber bag issue, software programs, the Scada system, servers, computer firewalls and GIS mapping. They also discussed the cost of the AMI meter exchange program and FERC expenses. Lynn said this fund is showing a deficit and the Village is in the que with VPPSA for a rate increase for March 2026. Chevon Cooper asked questions about this rate increase and whether or not it included the new electric facility to be built in 2026. Lynn advised her this rate increase does not include that but said it’s necessary because of the rubber bag failing and the cost to purchase power.

Water Fund: Lynn discussed some of the ongoing projects at the water plant which include the cutting of some trees, stump removal, the reservoir inspection, maintenance and the cost of chemicals. She said testing expenses are up as well as maintenance. They discussed the AMI project and A Cooper Mechanical. Lynn said they didn’t raise the water rates in 2025 but expects they will need one in 2026.

Sewer Fund: Lynn discussed the fees to operate the sewer plant as well as State of Vermont fees for taking water out of the lake. They talked about the maintenance of the plant, the centrifuge, aerators, inspections, supplies, chemicals and the plant upgrade. She said she may not need a rate increase in this fund and said their first bond payment won’t be due until 2027.

Commercial Building Fund: Lynn said there is hardly any activity in this fund but said it does earn interest.

Highway Fund: Lynn talked about the Merchants Row work that’s needed as well as the maintenance of the bridge and when the State of Vermont plans on doing the bridge replacement job. She said this department needs a new 1 ton truck with a plow as well as a skid steer. She said these two purchases total approximately $103,000 but said they have that in their equipment fund. The board discussed this and advised her to use those funds so they can be removed from the 2026 budget.

General Fund: Lynn talked about the Verizon tower lease, plant maintenance, cleaning, generator, flooring that’s needed as well as Marc’s office needing to be painted. She talked about needing to hire a new cleaning company in the spring and said an RFQ will go out for that. Lynn also discussed how rent is figured on square footage for each department as well as the Village’s land leases they have. She informed them about the 30% increase in dispatching fees and how she will increase the equipment replacement fund in the fire department to $100,000.

Police Department: Lynn talked about the SRO program (Student Resource Officer) at the high school and now at the elementary school. They talked about how those programs are funded and that’s its beneficial to both the Village and the school system. She said workers compensation, dispatching and salaries have increased in the police department.

Estimated Tax Rate: Lynn then showed that with her current budget the way it’s presented tonight would result in the general fund going down from $0.1172 cents in 2025 to $0.1069 for 2026 for an overall decrease of $0.0103. The fire department would go from $0.0561 in 2025 to $0.0594 for an overall increase of $0.0033 for 2026. The police department would go from $0.5973 in 2025 to $0.6868 for 2026 for an overall increase of $0.095 for 2026. Lynn said the highway department would go from $0.4537 in 2025 to $0.5195 in 2026 for an overall increase of $0.0658 for 2026. Lynn said this would take the 2025 tax rate of $1.2243 to $1.3726 for 2026 which amounts to an increase of 12.11% with a change of $0.1483.

Lynn then showed a home valued at $175,000 would increase by $259.48; a home valued at $200,000 would increase by $296.55 and a home valued at $250,000 would increase by $370.69. She said the total Town and Village grand list would be split by 0.23% for the Village and 0.77% for the Town. Lynn said the highway budget would be lower now that they authorized her to use the equipment fund money to purchase the 1-ton truck with plow and the skid steer. She said this is round one of her draft budgets so asked the Trustees to look it over some more and decide what they would like to be changed and where they can decrease if necessary. The board thanked her for all her hard work on these budgets.

12. AMI Project Update:

Our AMI work continues with more than 1,200 water meters and 3,600 electric meters installed. The front office crew continue to go above and beyond to get the water meter exchanges scheduled. We continue to see progress on the software side and are pleased with the recent project progress.

13. Orman E. Croft Hydroelectric Generating Facility Dam Repair Update:

The RFQ for the Owners Representative was issued on 12/09/25. As a reminder this is to identify an industry expert who can represent our needs as we navigate this process. This is anticipated to be an hourly/as needed contract. The Request for Qualification (RFQ for the alternatives analysis assessment will be issued on January 5^th. It is anticipated to take two to three months to identify the preferred engineering services firm. We have not yet heard back from the State of Vermont, Agency of Natural Resources, regarding our 401, or Water Quality permit.

HYDRO operations: We are still regularly experiencing the new normal. With the increased ice at lower pond levels, we continue to be required to rake and remove ice and debris far more frequently than in the past. Dan and his team moved 13 cart loads on Saturday following the high-water event to get turbines back online and producing power. The maintenance team was working all weekend. There seems to be an ongoing problem with ice and debris blockage at the gate, and possibly some sediment in the penstock, we are trying to determine the root cause and  what the options are. Even with raking regularly production has been significantly diminished. EAP Activation: On Friday evening at around 11 PM, we followed protocol and activated our Emergency Action Plan without issue. This was a brief event caused by the significant rain on Friday. The EAP was canceled at 9 am on Saturday as the water receded quickly.

14. Village Manager Update:

Electric: While our customers fared well with the wind and weather that came on Friday, Enosburgh required mutual aid. Our team assisted Enosburgh for most of that day and evening.

Electric rates: Swanton Village Electric officially has the lowest power rates in the State of Vermont. While we will be filing for a rate increase in March of 2026, and likely to file again in 2027, we will remain at one of the lowest rates.

Electric Building: Connor Contracting, our Construction Manager, held our pre-bid meeting for site and concrete work. The bids are due in a few weeks while we continue to navigate a site clean up plan with the State of Vermont. The hope remains to begin site work in April and to be complete in the summer of 2027.

Public Works: The team has been busy dealing with mother nature, out again this weekend dealing with ice. The team spent three days doing preventive maintenance on our sewer pipes, removing four potential problem spots. We had a water leak on Middle Road that turned out to be on a private line. They continue to have lots of issues with the Ford F350, which is scheduled to be replaced next year. The problems range from the dump body being intermittently operational and lots of electrical issues.

Water: We installed a new fluoride saturation tank, provided at no cost by the State of Vermont. This is the tank located on the left as you enter the building. The old one was again causing problems. They swapped filter/tanks and that went smoothly with no alarms, and everything is going well.

Wastewater: We continue to see progress on the siding for the filter building, with the overall completion date delayed a bit due to the weather and other delays. The project will be finished in the spring. The office area is being taped and will be painted soon. Everything else in this area has been installed. They will move back into the office within a couple of weeks.

15. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman asked if the Village received any feedback yet from the cyber testing that took place last week. Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said he should have a full report by next week and would share that information with the Board when he gets it.

Any Other Business: Suzie Kelleher stated she received a phone call from a concerned rate payer saying the extra charges that will go into effect on water and sewer charges for those who wish to opt out of the AMI water meters would place a financial hardship on them. Suzie thought the Board should take a look at individual cases and if they can provide a valid reason, they may take that into consideration. More discussion took place as to when these charges would go into effect and the Village urges everyone to have their water meters exchanged. They also talked about the possibility of putting in water meter pits for those customers who are concerned about having them in their home or under their mobile homes.

16. Executive Session to Discuss Legal Matters:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion, seconded by Adam Paxman, to go into Executive Session at 8:27 p.m. to discuss a legal matter where premature general public knowledge of the subject matter would place the Village or person involved at a substantial disadvantage. Motion carried.

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to exit executive session at 8:53 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

17. Adjournment:

Neal Speer made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of Trustees at 8:54 p.m. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. There being no further business at hand, David Winchester, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:54 p.m. Motion carried.

_______________________________   ___________________________________

David Winchester, Village President                  Date

_______________________________   ____________________________________

Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                 Date