Trustees Meeting 2/12/24

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 SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, February 12, 2024

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Suzie Kelleher, Damon Broderick and Ch. 16.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried, unanimously.

1. Call to Order:

Neal Speer, Village President, called the Village Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Agenda Review:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated that he’d like to add a 7a so the Board can review and approve the Certification of Compliance for Town Road and Bridge Standards and Network Inventory.

4. Public Comment:

None.

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from the Regular Board Meeting held on Monday, January 29, 2024 as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Minutes from Monday, January 29, 2024 meeting as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, February 8, 2024:

Chris Leach made the motion to approve Village Warrants through Thursday, February 8, 2024 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Eugene LaBombard stated he was pleased to see the VPPSA invoice for purchase power be a little on the low end compared to other months. Motion carried.

7. Approve Annual Financial Plan - Highways:

William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager, stated that this Annual Financial Plan for Town Highways Form TA-60 must be completed by every governing structure in the State of Vermont. He said this is done annually and demonstrates what you’re receiving in state aid pertaining to highway maintenance, prevention, any building projects related to highway and things like that. He said without this document approved and signed; the Village wouldn’t receive any State Aid for the highway department. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to authorize the Village Board of Trustees to approve and sign the Annual Financial Plan for Swanton Village Highways. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the total amount of $954,140.00 and asked if that was coming from the State of Vermont. Bill stated that they are estimated to receive $38,174.55 for Class 1 roads, $10,000 for Class 2 roads, and $1825.45 for Class 3 roads; he said the $691,290 is the highway budget for 2024. He further explained that they have a $200,000 bridge grant, will receive $9250 in PILOT money and have $3600 in miscellaneous income. He said those figures equal the $954,140. Bill said the form then shows that winter maintenance for the Village will cost $167,140, non-winter maintenance will cost $537,000, they will use the $200,000 on the bridge repairs and will spend $50,000 in paving and all these projects equal the $954,140. Chris Leach seconded the motion. Motion carried.

        7a. Approve and Sign Certification of Compliance for Town Road and Bridge Standards and Network Inventory:

William “Bill” Sheets read the following certification to the Board: We, the Legislative Body of the Municipality of Swanton Village certify that we have reviewed, understand and comply with the Town Road and Bridge Standards/Public Works Specifications and Standards passed and adopted by the Village Board of Trustees on July 22, 2019. We further certify that our adopted standards do meet or exceed the minimum requirements included in the June 5, 2019 State-approved template. We further certify that we do not have an up-to-date highway network inventory which identifies location, size, deficiencies/condition of roads, bridges, causeways, culverts and highway-related retaining walls on class 1, 2 and 3 town highways, and estimated cost of repair.

Bill said they are working with Heidi and Dean on getting all of those items mapped but it’s a work in progress. Bill also said the Village is required to submit a certification of compliance for town Road and Bridge Standards and Network Inventory, that this is also an annual requirement for the State of Vermont, and it certifies that Swanton Village has reviewed, understand, and comply with the Town Road and Bridge Standards. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve and sign the Certification of Compliance for Town Road and Bridge Standards and Network Inventory for 2024. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Suzie Kelleher mentioned the sidewalk on Pine Street and asked Bill if the Village planned on just repaving this sidewalk or planned on extending it as well. Bill said he didn’t know for sure and said he would find out and let her know. She also asked how much paving they could do with the $50,000 budget allocated for paving. Bill said Platt Street and part of Liberty Street was $50,000 last year so could be equivalent to that but also said it depends on the road and how many cubic feet of material they need.

8. Village Manager Update:

Authorization for purchase:  The Electric Department has located a 2024 GMC 2500 HD pickup with the full body at Handy GMC. This 2500 will replace the older pickup truck in the fleet and the 2500 has the same towing capacity as the 3500. This is a budgeted line item. We need a motion to authorize the purchase of this work truck from Handy GMC in an amount not to exceed $75,000. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the electric department to purchase a 2024 GMC 2500 HD pickup truck at Handy GMC, not to exceed $75,000. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

Chili Cook-off request:  I received an email today from Ali Boren, Swanton Arts Council, asking if we would be willing to hold a Chili Cook-off prior to our February 26^th joint informational meeting. SAC has approved $100 in prizes, and they are checking with a local business to see if they would match the prize amounts. We would need to provide tables by outlets, extension cords, and advertise on the sign in the park, as well as other places. The Board members agreed to this.

Request from Richard Cowperthwait:  Richard wants to do a show highlighting all Swanton Village March 5^th ballot articles. I am available on the morning of February 27^th or 28^th, or on the 20^th in the late afternoon. Looking to determine who would like to join me. The Board discussed who could attend.

Public Safety Facility and Complex renovations Open Houses: We have completed twenty-eight open houses. We have three final dates in February (15, 16 and 21 at 10am, 2pm and 6pm) for a total of nine remaining. We will also have a required Public Hearing as part of our Joint meeting on February 26^th. We will be sending out a “Remember to Vote” mailer later this week. To reduce costs we will print, fold, and mail these in-house.

Wastewater Treatment Facility Project:  The bids for the centrifuge portion of the project have been received and evaluated. This portion of the project will be prioritized with the goal of having the ability to dewater our sludge (with the new centrifuge) by the Fall of 2024. As of February 8, 2024, we have filed for ACT 250, Application number 6F0098-3.

State of Vermont Land Application:  Our application is due by April for a Fall of 2024 application. We will again be applying to apply our dewatered sludge every two years, following all state regulations. We are in the application process now and should have an update soon. This application is for our ninety-six acres of Village owned land off Woods Hill Road. Bill said this process has saved the Village hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years. He also said the Village of Swanton pays taxes to the Town of Swanton for this property.

6 South River:  Heidi is in the process of contacting Senior Housing agencies. So far, this site may not be viable for this type of housing. We are still waiting on the requirements for a certificate of completion, and we remain hopeful that we sell this property for selected development in 2024.

Depot Street/Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Bridge:  The RFP is still scheduled to go out next week from McFarland Johnson. Bill said the intent will be to have some flexibility with this project such as shutting down the bridge completely and rerouting traffic for the week or only shutting down one lane at a time. He said he believes it will be a lot less expensive if they completely shut the road down, saving on flagging expenses. He said they should have bids in within the next 5 weeks.

Paving Grant:  Heidi has applied for a $175,000 paving grant for two of our Class 2 roads in the Village. If funded, we would pave Linda Avenue and Lake Street near the intersection with South River Street. We would be responsible for an in-kind match of 15%. This might impact on our $50,000 budget for Village Streets depending on the in-kind costs (time and equipment) of all preparatory work for the Class 2 project. To be safe, we would use this grant for 2025 so that it does not impact 2024 paving projects.

124 First Street:  KAS has reported that all testing has been completed on this site. We are waiting for the results and then will proceed with a plan to move forward with the required clean-up/remediation and obtaining a certificate of completion.

FERC Process:  We have an in-person meeting with Vermont ANR and USFW officials (with an online option) and our FERC attorney, supported by our subject-matter expert consultants on February 26^th at 10 am here at our complex. This meeting is the next step in the process to obtain our water quality certification through ANR prior to FERC re-licensing. We are also in the process of detailing all disputed resolution costs related to environmental assessments conducted on our behalf.

Total Eclipse:  The State of Vermont is assisting in planning and preparation (no statewide events are planned) for the April 8^th Solar Eclipse. There is no school on that date. There will be a partial eclipse from 2:14 PM until 4:37 pm, with a total eclipse at around 3:26 pm, for approximately 3 minutes and 30 seconds in our area. He said he is working on getting the Village employees glasses for the event.

Maintenance and Hydroelectric:  We have current postings for both our Maintenance Division, as well as Hydroelectric. Please contact us if you are interested, details can be found on our Facebook page and our website, or you can call the Village Manager at 802-868-3397.

9. Any Other Necessary Business:

Damon Broderick asked what the status was on replacing generators at the Hydro Plant and how close they are to doing that. Bill said at this time there are two units down, units 1 and 2, but said they would be back online very soon. He said he feels replacement will be needed in the next 12 to 15 years but said that is hard to predict. They discussed how well built these generators are for their age and ability to still run and perform.

10. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 7:55 p.m. to discuss Personnel and Real Estate. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:30 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

11. Adjournment:

Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:31 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:31 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date