Trustees Meeting 12/8/25

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SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, December 8, 2025

6:00 PM

PRESENT: Suzie Kelleher, Trustee; Neal Speer, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Heidi Britch-Valenta, Swanton Village Grant Specialist/Project Manager; Dan Chevalier, Swanton Village Fire Chief; Kim Mapes, Logan Mapes, Braden Mapes, James Mapes, Adam Mapes, Scott Mapes, Michael Mapes, Damon Broderick and Ch. 16. Via Teams: N/A.

1. Call Meeting to Order at 6 p.m.:

Neal Speer, Village Trustee, called the Regular Board of Trustees Meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Agenda Review:

Neal Speer stated they would move #7 and #9 around so that they can present Mr. Mapes first.
 

4. Public Comment

None.

       5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, November 24, 2025 as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and accept the minutes from Monday, November 24, 2025 as presented. Suzie Kelleher seconded that motion. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, December 4, 2025:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Village warrants through Thursday, December 4, 2025 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Bill Sheets, Village Manager, explained that at their last Board meeting Trustee Paxman had a question related to the October 29, 2025, invoice from Aquatic Solutions in the amount of $12,774. This invoice was for the purchase of two aerators for our lagoon system. We are trying to replace a minimum of two of these annually as the aeration process is critical to the first part of the naturally occurring treatment process. Motion carried.

       7.  Review and Adopt James H. Mapes Day:

Suzie Kelleher, Trustee, read the following proclamation to Mr. James Mapes: WHEREAS, Sonarman Third Class James Haff Mapes was born on December 18, 1930, in St. Albans, Vermont; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Mapes spent his earliest years at 43 Grand Avenue in Swanton Village, the home of his grandparents, and though his family moved for his father’s work when he was three years old, he returned every Christmas and every summer to that beloved house on Grand Avenue, cementing a lifelong connection to the Village; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Mapes attended St. Lawrence University for eighteen months, married Ms. Doris Zimmerman, and soon thereafter answered the call to service by enlisting in the United States Navy; and

WHEREAS, during the Korean War, Sonarman Third Class Mapes served with honor aboard the USS Hale (DD-642), a destroyer homeported in Key West, Florida, operating with the Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean in support of American diplomacy and international stability; and

WHEREAS, following his naval service, Mr. Mapes resided in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, until 1959, when he returned home to 43 Grand Avenue in Swanton Village, reaffirming his ties to this community; and

WHEREAS, in 1985, Mr. Mapes continued that legacy of dedication to country by retiring as a U.S. Customs Inspector, and in the same year made his home in Swanton Town, where he remains a respected and cherished member of the community; and

WHEREAS, the Village of Swanton wishes to honor Mr. Mapes for his military service, his dedication to public duty, and his lifelong connection to our community;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Village of Swanton does hereby proclaim December 18, 2025, as

JAMES H. MAPES DAY

and encourages all residents to join in celebrating his 95th birthday and recognizing his contributions to our nation and our village.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, we extend our heartfelt congratulations and warmest wishes to James H. Mapes on this milestone occasion.

Adopted by vote of the Village Board of Trustees

Village of Swanton, Vermont this 8th day of December 2025

Mr. Mapes’ family was present for this and photos were then taken.

8. Swanton Fire Department Request to Join Clinton County, New York Mutual Aid System:

Adam Paxman made the motion to Authorize Swanton Village Manager William Sheets to authorize the Swanton Fire Department to join the Clinton County, New York Mutual Aid system. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Discussion: Dan Chevalier, Fire Chief, said the Clinton County fire department lost some of their mutual aid they had with Canada and said he’s been asked to join their mutual aid system. He said this will help his department in return, especially in the West Swanton area. He informed the Board that this was beneficial for all departments involved. Motion carried.

9. Swanton Village Grant Specialist Update with Heidi Britch-Valenta:

Heidi Britch-Valenta, Grant Specialist and Project Manager, was present for this update. She showed the following presentation to the board:

Heidi showed the closed grants she has secured for the Village and the amount received for each grant.

Heidi then showed all the open grants she is currently managing.

Heidi then showed all her pending grant applications and the amount for each one.

Heidi went on to show some of the policies she is either developing or working on.

Projects – Safety First

• Developing Safety Policies
• Creating Comprehensive Safety Manual
• Designating Departmental Safety Officers
• Creating Tracking Schedules
• Upgrading Safety Equipment/PPE

VOSHA Workplace Concerns:

• Develop Safety Committee
• Upgrade Safety Equipment
• Create Safety Training Schedule
• Create Safety Policies

Developed Safety Policies:

• Lock Out Tag Out
• Working Over Water
• Confined Spaces
• Job Site Safety
• Vehicle and Equipment Inspection and Operation
• Facility Inspections
• Facility Shut-down and Maintenance

Safety Trainings:

• Complete OSHA 10 trainings
• Collaborate with Safety Partners for on-site trainings
• Track Employee Training Hours
• Complete Necessary Certifications

Safety Equipment:

• Perform Facility Safety Inspections
• Perform Equipment Safety Inspections
• Identify and Replace Outdated Equipment
• Identify and Replace Outdated PPE

Safety Committee:

• Create Safety Committee
• Designate Safety Officer for each Department
• Foster Interdepartmental Discussions

Enhancing Security

• Improving Emergency Response Plans
• Creating Cyber Security Plans
• Cyber Security Testing
• Site Access Control
• Malevolent Acts Response Plan

Capital Infrastructure Assessments:

• Inventorying Departmental Assets
• Identifying System Vulnerabilities
•  Creating Capital Investment Plans

State Compliance Work

• Managing Wetland Permits
• Updating Source Protection Plan
• Updating Stormwater Permits (3-Acre, MRGP)
• Updating Road Erosion Inventory

Adam Paxman asked about the training requirements. Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated that when a new employee starts their first couple of days they are watching videos and getting their training certifications and documents that are required. The Board thanked Heidi for her very informative presentation.

10. Review and Adopt Village of Swanton Community Recognition Day Policy:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adopt the Village of Swanton Community Recognition Day Policy, to include couples using their anniversary dates, as presented. Neal Speer seconded the motion. Motion carried.

11. Renee Cioffi’s Water Allocation Increase Request for 381 US Route 7:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into a Water Commissioner’s meeting at 6:42 p.m. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve Begnoche Farmhouse Rentals LLC request to increase their current water allocation from 840 GPD to 920 GPD for their property located at 381 US Route 7 in Highgate. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting and reenter Open Session at 6:44 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Motion carried.

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 will be 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 within the next couple of weeks. This process is multi-layered, and it is anticipated to take two to three months to identify the preferred engineering services firm.

I received a call today from Seven Days inquiring about the Highgate Falls Hydroelectric Dam and the Lower Swanton Dam. They will continue to monitor this story as we navigate FERC and the 401 process.

      13 a. New Cruiser Purchase for the Swanton Village Police Department:

Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize the use of up to $70,000 in Capital Savings from the Police Department to purchase and fully upfit a used police cruiser. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Discussion: Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated that every now and then the police department sees a secondhand police cruiser up for sale but haven’t been able to bid on them because of needing board approval to use these funds. He said this will allow them the opportunity to place and accept sale prices on something that may become available. Bill said brand new police cruisers can cost between $80 and $100 thousand dollars now so purchasing a previously owned vehicle will be more affordable. Suzie asked if they would come in yearly for this authorization. Bill said they would come back in again once their surplus funds were built back up. Motion carried.

14. Village Manager Update:

Electric: The Electric Department got called to a broken pole/accident over the weekend on Bushey Road across from Mother Hubbard’s. They remain busy with AMI related work.

Police Department: On 12/4 the PD conducted a search warrant at a residence on Frontage Road. They arrested two out of state males, one from Philadelphia and the other from Brooklyn on significant possession of crack and fentanyl charges. The PD recovered 379 grams of crack, 40 grams of fentanyl, a handgun with the serial number obliterated and over $2,600 in cash. This investigation is ongoing and evolving. The residents were not named as the Judge has not yet determined that probable cause exists for their arrest.

Smoke Shop: Following a lengthy investigation, to include several cases where an employee sold cannabis to an individual, a search warrant was executed at this business on Merchants Row. During that search warrant a significant amount of cannabis and crack cocaine was located. This business is not licensed, nor does the Village allow, for the sale of cannabis. More information will follow as this investigation continues.

Public Works: The water leak at the intersection of South River and Lake has been repaired. On December 2^nd and 3^rd, the outside vendor worked with Public Works (and Dillon and Jason) to install three new insertion valves on Linda Avenue, Brooklyn Street and the intersection of Dewey and North River. This allows us to reduce the impact of the valve replacements that we have planned. This was based on the free leak valve exercising program that we did in the past, where we exercised 82 valves, with many identified as in need of replacement.

The team was busy with the storm this morning. Dean came in to lead his team despite being on vacation.

Water: Effective January 1, 2026, we will be making a switch with the water and wastewater teams. After a discussion with Tod Jones, he will be stepping down from a leadership role and transferring to wastewater, working under the leadership of Jason Starr. Dillon Dupont will be transferring to a leadership role at the water plant, supervising Avery Mitchinson. This was a voluntary move made with an eye to the future, making changes that are mutually beneficial.

We are working with Aldrich and Elliott and others to finalize access and training for the Highgate water and wastewater pumping stations.

Wastewater: Jason and Dillon are out of their office area for several weeks while they renovate the current office space. They have moved to a temporary job trailer. Workers have begun to work on the metal siding for the filter building.

Miscellaneous: Church Street Project/VHB: You might have noticed our project engineer, VHB, doing some Archaeological assessment on the village green side of Chrich Street recently. The 20 tests pits were examined with no effect on archaeological resources; no further investigations are recommended.

B-6 Bridge Update: The most recent update on estimated construction costs is now $5,705,000, with our share estimated to be $142,625. The construction for this project has been delayed one year, with a start date of 2029.

Brush Pile: The State received a complaint from an adjoining landowner that we were operating a stump dump with the proper permit. We did in fact go through the proper process to create a brush pile, with authorization to burn, when this location was created. We have closed the gates following the determination that we encroached onto a wetland and have mitigated that issue. This location was never a stump dump, and it has been closed and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

Fire Department: The Fire Department will be using a portion of its remaining equipment budget on the purchase of an enclosed trailer to transport the Argo and related rescue gear. This will allow the FD to respond more efficiently to calls for service where the Argo and related rescue equipment is stored, while at the same time freeing up space within the FD.

For the Record: Trustee Paxman and I are going to be at Richard Cowperthwait’s show on Tuesday December 9^th.

Reminder: We will be closing the office for a few hours on December 17^th while we have our annual Christmas luncheon.

15. Any Other Necessary Business:

Suzie Kelleher informed the Board that she met with Earl Fournier and Nicole Draper on December 4^th and they had a discussion on budgets. She said there will be more to come on this.

16. Proposed Executive Session for Personnel:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion, seconded by Adam Paxman, to go into Executive Session at 7:13 p.m. to discuss a personnel matter where premature general public knowledge of the subject matter would place the Village or person involved at a substantial disadvantage. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:14 pm. Suzie Kelleher seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

17. Adjournment:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees at 8:15 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village Trustee, adjourned the meeting at 8:15 p.m. Motion carried.

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David Winchester, Village President                  Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date