Trustees Meeting 7/13/26

Web version

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, July 13, 2026

6:00 PM

PRESENT: David Winchester; Village President; Suzie Kelleher, Trustee; Damon Broderick, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Dean Ryan, Public Works Foreman; Paul Nolan, and Ch. 16. Via Teams: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Michael Miller and DB.

To watch this meeting in its entirety, go to Northwest Access TV on YouTube. The video will also be posted on the Village’s website once it is available. Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried, unanimously.

1. Call to Order:

David Winchester, Village President, called the Village Board of Trustees meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance and also had a Moment of Silence for Gary Centebar.

3. Agenda Review:

None.

4. Public Comment:

None.

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 22, 2026, as presented:

Damon Broderick made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, June 22, 2026 as presented. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, July 9, 2026:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Village Warrants through Thursday, July 9, 2026, as presented. Damon Broderick seconded the motion. Discussion: None.  Motion carried.

7. Dean Ryan, Swanton Village Public Works Department Update:

Dean Ryan, Swanton Village Public Works Foreman, began his presentation by showing and discussing the 6 water main breaks they dealt with along with the 6 water service breaks. He said his department has installed 35 water meters and that will be finished this summer. He also showed the Board the 16 water meter pits that were installed over the winter and the 6 meter pits that were installed this spring. Dean said they installed 3 water main valves during the fall and spring and have 2 more valves to install this fall.

Dean then showed the Board some pictures of the sidewalk on Grand Avenue that will be replaced with new 5’ wide sidewalks by this fall. He said this is a sidewalk grant the Village received and they will total 1150 feet of new sidewalk. He talked about his department being busy with rebuilding 6 storm structures, street sweeping the Village streets, cleaning out numerous sewer main lines, doing lawn repair from water breaks and winter plowing, cleaning 15 storm water basins this year, and painting crosswalks and stop bars. He said he has 2 hydrants that need to be replaced and 6 that need to be rebuilt. He also said his department just hired Brian Bouchard. The Board thanked Dean for his update and said to keep up the good work.

8. Fire Department Chief Applications: Trustees to Solicit Interest for the Three-Year FD Chief Position:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated he would like acknowledgement from the Trustees to open the process for Fire Chief selection. Interested candidates can submit a letter of interest to the Trustees, through the Village Manager. Letters of interest for this three-year term must be received by July 22nd, to be effective August 1, 2026. Trustees will make their selection at the July 27^th Trustees meeting.

9. Governor’s Capital for a Day Tuesday, July 14, 2026:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said the Governor and members of his cabinet will be in Swanton on July 14^th. Members of the Governor’s cabinet, and possibly the Governor, will be visiting the Fire Department/PD and hold a roundtable in the morning. We will be looking to have several personnel on site during this time. The Department of Public Service has requested a tour of Hydro Plant in the morning, which will be covered by Dan and myself.

10. Swanton VFW Post #778 Request Coin Drop for October 3, 2026:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated that the Swanton VFW Post #778 is requesting permission to hold a coin drop on Saturday, October 3, 2026 with a rain date of Saturday, October 10, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Swanton VFW’s coin drop request as stated above. Damon Broderick seconded the motion. Motion carried.

11. Discussion on Missisquoi Valley Rescue’s Building Lease:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said Missisquoi Valley Rescue has requested permission for an extension on the lease for up to one year. He said they have offered to pay $100 more per month and this would be considered a month-to-month lease. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Missisquoi Valley Rescue extending their lease for up to one year with the Village of Swanton for an additional $100 per month. Damon Broderick seconded the motion. Motion carried.

12. Discussion on Opt Out Fees for Water and Sewer Customers:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, showed the Board what it takes to keep a software program up and running for the customers who have chosen to opt out of the AMI water meters. She showed the depreciation on the equipment and software, the software maintenance and subscription fees, Marc and Laurie’s monthly hours spent on this, the truck maintenance and gas. Lynn said there are 16 water customers and 11 water and sewer customers who’ve opted out. Lynn showed the monthly cost per water and sewer opt out is $56.60 and the monthly cost for only water opt out is $95.51. Lynn also said that Laurie Belisle, Swanton Village Billing Specialist, has also created a special route for all these opt out customers, called Route 23. Lynn said this is costing the Village more than what they are charging the customers. She also said the sewer rate is based off the water usage so feels comfortable just charging the water side of the bill. Suzie Kelleher made the motion to enact a new water opt out fee of $95.51 per month and a zero charge for sewer opt out customers. Damon Broderick seconded the motion. Discussion: More discussion took place regarding whether or not a customer who refuses to pay these opt out fees could be disconnected for non-payment. It was decided that they would put that topic on the next agenda under executive session because it’s confidential customer information. Motion carried.

13. Village Manager Update:

Follow Up: At our last meeting Trustee Broderick inquired about the amount of our award for Vegetation Management. The award was for $146,131 with a match of $71,779. The competitive bid was awarded to H. Bros.

Parking in Front of the Post Office: I have heard complaints in the past and received a compelling call this morning requesting that a post office parking only sign be installed in front of the Post Office. Parking for that purpose is limited in this area, and it would be easy to designate the spot in front for Post Office use only. Just looking for support, in the form of a discussion, a motion is not necessary.

Hydro Update: We have a meeting with State officials to discuss 401 licensing next steps. That meeting will be held tomorrow, July 14, 2026. We continue to work with our Engineer and FERC to determine next steps on the interim solution.

HYDRO Operations: We need some rain, as we are producing less than one megawatt under current conditions. We have interviews for the open Hydro position this Wednesday.

Fire Department: The Department has embraced the States new approach where the FD Chief is responsible for Forest Fire Warden responsibilities. They can appoint two Deputies, and they have appointed Troy Campbell and Lawrence Bouissey.

Electric: The team continues to upgrade lines and replace poles. Greenwich Street is fully upgraded between First and Canada. There are several smaller projects where we are replacing the 1960 era poles due to poor condition. All veteran banners have been placed. We do have eyes on the potential wind and storm event possible Tuesday overnight.

AMI: We still have 22 electric meters to exchange and are waiting for those to be delivered.

Building Update: The building is progressing nicely, with office walls up and overall site work busy for all trades. Some structural steel arrived today.

Water: The plant is functioning well, we have started cyano testing with no positive tests yet. The focus right now is fine tuning operations to include managing and integrating reservoir levels into daily production.

Lead Line Replacement Update: We are down to one residence with lead pipe leading into their home and we are addressing that this week.

AMI: All water meters have been exchanged, except for 16 customers who have opted out. The Trustees need to decide on how to proceed with the customers who opt out.

Wastewater: The final section of siding in the front is the largest portion of the project remaining. The crew is working on general maintenance as well as working on issues identified during the VOSHA and VLCT inspections. 

14. Any Other Necessary Business:

Suzie Kelleher informed everyone that a Block Party will be held on Friday, July 24^th from 5:30 to 8 p.m. with the band Night Hawk performing. She also said the annual Car Show will be held on Saturday, July 25^th from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. in the Village Green

15. Proposed Executive Session to Discuss Legal Matters:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion, seconded by Damon Broderick, to go into Executive Session at 6:41 p.m. to discuss confidential legal matters, 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 7:01 p.m. Damon Broderick seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

16. Adjournment:

Damon Broderick made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees at 7:02 p.m. Suzie Kelleher seconded. There being no further business at hand, David Winchester, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 7:02 p.m. Motion carried.

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David Winchester, Village President                              Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                             Date