Trustees Meeting 6/23/25

Web version

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, June 23, 2025

6:00 PM

PRESENT: David Winchester, Village President; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Neal Speer, Trustee; Suzie Kelleher, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Heidi Britch-Valenta, Village Grant Specialist; Andres Torizzo, Watershed Consulting; Matthew Sullivan, Chief of Police; Timothy Chagnon, Charles Hardy, Roland Bilodeau, Damon Broderick, Dawn & Mike Burke, Bob Sylvester, Peter & Anita Prouty, Warren Giroux, Robin & Brad Barnett and Ch. 16. Via Teams: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager and Dean Pierce.

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 available. Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried, unanimously.

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

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.

3. Agenda Review:

None.

4. Public Comment:

None.

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 9, 2025 as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the minutes from Monday, June 9, 2025, as presented. Neal Speer seconded the motion. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, June 19, 2025:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Village Warrants through Thursday, June 19, 2025 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded the motion. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

7. Watershed Consulting to Discuss Jones Court Stormwater:

Andres Torizzo from Watershed Consulting was present for this discussion. He said the reason they are doing this project is because of the State of Vermont and Act 64 and the 3-acre rule. He said the state has designated Jones Court as this stormwater jurisdictional area under the 3-acre rule. He said the impervious area is more than 3-acres and they had an old permit that is expired so the state is making projects like this come up to a more modern standard in stormwater design. Andres discussed the deadlines involved with this project as well as the grant funds they received. He said as far as the site goes, they have done site boring on site and have determined the groundwater is very high and the sandy soil is saturated so that limits some of the options for this site. He said they want to try and address some of the basement flooding and also meet the state standards. He said they have come up with a sand filter swale which is like a glorified grass swale. Andres explained the design of the filter and said this should help control groundwater because the water will be suppressed to the elevation of the perforated drain. He showed the swales on his map and said they’re pretty shallow. He said they would be designed to pond water up to a level of 6”, anything over that would overflow and anything less than that would seep through the filter. He said they wouldn’t be doing anything on private property and said he has been working with Dean Ryan in Public Works discussing where these filters can go. He said they may require cleaning out every 10-15 years and maybe add new sand but said the maintenance would be very minimal. Members of the audience and residents of Jones Court talked about the placement of the drains and the elevation of them. Andres said they are limited due to the elevation of the existing storm water system but said he would make sure they go as low as they can. Andres said he would be happy to meet with residents in Jones Court to really see their water issues. They also discussed the high iron in that location and said the pipes would need to be cleaned often to stay ahead of that issue. They also talked about a ditch that use to be there and said now it doesn’t run at all. They talked about that needing to be dredged. Andres said there could be some ways to integrate some of these issues into their design, especially a yard drain. Adam Paxman asked if a 6” drainpipe was big enough given the iron issue there. Andres said 6” in the standard size and Adam said what they’re dealing with there isn’t standard. Andres said it should be no problem to upsize the pipe. More discussions took place about the permit process and the timeline to get this project completed. Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said they do want to take advantage of the grant funding that’s available now and get things underway. It was stated that the Village of Swanton would apply for this permit under their umbrella and the public works crew can maintain the clean out of the line when necessary. It was further stated that all this would tie into the brook that’s there. Mr. Burke asked if the Village knew if the Town had any plans to clean out that brook. Mr. Bilodeau said David Barney was the last one to do it when he worked for the town. Adam said Roland Daudelin and David LeClair raked it out about 18 months ago and said maybe they can approach the Town about dredging it. Mr. Barnett said he also owns a home on Brown Avenue and said the water stands still and is almost as high at the culvert there. He said the water doesn’t move at all and wondered if anything could be done about that. Adam said Watershed Consulting will file the permit for Jones Court before September and they will go from there. The Board thanked everyone for coming in and having a discussion on this topic.

8. Swanton Village Police Department Update with Chief of Police Matthew Sullivan:

Chief of Police Matt Sullivan was present for this update and said the Village Police Department responded to 153 incidents during the month of May 2025. He said the top ten calls for service were: 15 traffic stop, 10 citizen dispute, 9 crash, property damage, 9 family fight/disturbance, 7 directed patrol, 6 community outreach, 6 threatening, 6 alarm, 5 agency assistance and 16 suspicious person/circumstance. He said there were 15 traffic stops with 4 tickets and 10 warnings issued. Matt said 3 tickets and 10 warnings were associated with traffic stops. There were 9 arrests with 9 individuals and 9 charges. He said 2 of those arrests were associated with traffic.

Matt said the department responded to 98 incidents in the month of May for the Town of Swanton. He said the top ten calls for service were: 26 directed patrol, 23 traffic stop, 6 suspicious person/circumstance, 6 motor vehicle complaint, 3 citizen assist, 3 alarm, 3 crash, property damage, 3 threatening, 3 VIN number verification and 2 animal problem. Matt said there were 23 traffic stops which resulted in 7 tickets and 20 warnings. He said there 3 arrests with 3 individuals, 8 charges and 1 arrest associated with traffic. He said they also worked an additional 14 hours for the Town.

Matt said they are still struggling with staffing issues and said they are down two full-time officers. He said he has two applicants that he is working with and they are promising. Matt also said the school has confirmed their interest in an SRO officer and said the police department would pay for one year and the school would pay for two years. He said they still have difficulty covering open shifts, weekends, vacations, sick time and any training that comes up. He said all these things cause issues. Matt also said certain calls can shut down the entire department if there is only one officer working. He said Dean Scott is out of MVU for the summer and that definitely helps. Suzie Kelleher asked if the former employee who may come back needs to recertify. Matt said no, they may just need to take some training. Adam Paxman asked if there was an increase in the drug activity. Matt said some will pop up and they work on displacing it but said it just moves somewhere else. The Board thanked Matt for his update.

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

Heidi Britch-Valenta stated she would update the board on a few things this evening. She said the last few months have been focused on the electric department and she said four grants were filed with the energy department with a focus on the hydro plant. She said there was a small $30,000 municipal planning grant that would have been used to relocate some power lines but said the Village was denied that. She said the same agency then awarded the Village with a $60,000 grant to be used for doing inspections of the existing infrastructure at the hydro plant. She said work will begin as soon as they have a contract in hand. Heidi also said the $7 million dollar grant she applied for to do a rehab of the power plant facility has been rescinded at this time. She said she applied for a $200,000 grant through the Department of Public Service which will focus on the hydro plant as well. She said the dam has always undergone inspections but if awarded this grant the inspections would be done by an engineer. She said she hasn’t heard yet but is hopeful.

Heidi noted that there are a lot of projects in the works right now including sidewalks and storm water projects at Marble Mill. She said there are many projects going on with volunteer groups such as the Swanton Enhancement Project and said she is also working with the Northern Forest Canoe Trail on adding a camp site at Marble Mill and updating the ramp above the dam. She said that is waiting on DRB approval. She said on July 11^th she will be applying for another Bike and Pedestrian Grant and if awarded Dean will be able to continue his current project to Platt Street next year. She informed the Board that on July 14 at 6 p.m. here at the Complex the VT Agency of Transportation will hold a public hearing on the B-6 Bridge on Depot Street to address the age-related issues. She said the AOT is providing the majority of the funding for this project and will present options to repair or replace the bridge. The project cost, implementation schedule and local cash match percentage will be determined by the alternative selected by the Trustees. Adam Paxman stated their match could be anywhere from $2.5 million to $10 million dollars.

Heidi also mentioned the Public On-Site Meeting to be held on July 31 at 10 a.m. to discuss Downtown Safety Improvements. She said they will meet at the Village Green Bandstand at 10 a.m. and will look at Merchants Row and Church Street. She said all together these are transformative changes that the Trustees have supported. She said these are significant projects for economic development, quality of life and transportation. Bill said this will be a warned meeting and urged the Trustees to attend if they can. He said multiple members from the State of Vermont did a walk thru and he feels confident the Village will be granted more money to get more projects done.

Heidi said Swanton is a very healthy village with lots going on. Adam Paxman said they appreciate all the work Heidi has done and said she’s brought in over $10 million dollars in grants. Heidi said these projects put a lot of pressure on the departments involved and they should also be commended.

10. Approval for 2025 Electric Rate Increase, Up to 3%:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the Village of Swanton filing for an electric rate increase of up to 3%. Neal Speer seconded. Motion carried.

11. Village Manager Update:

Tree Removal in the Village Green: Gabree and Sons have nearly completed the work.

Lower Swanton Dam: Overlook RFP has been published, and the bids are due on July 17^th. This is part of the process of evaluating alternatives.

Brush Pile: We are in the process of identifying a surveyor to complete this work as quickly as possible. We have identified three firms that are interested in this work, and they are conducting site visits to create a bid package.

Public Works: We have filled an opening for a Public Works position, the person selected begins June 30^th, identification will be withheld during the background. The team remains busy with sidewalk and other projects.

Swanton Village Electric:

AMI: We are making significant progress with AMI, or Advanced Metering Infrastructure for both Electric and water meters.

Water: Safety recommendations have been implemented, only a couple of signs remain at the reservoir. The team continues to add media to the filter, and the UV expert is coming to the plant to fix some issues with the UV. There are numerous routine maintenance projects underway.

Wastewater: The project continues and is on pace to be completed at the end of this year, or in the first couple of weeks in January. Congrats to Dillon Dupont for passing his Vermont Domestic Municipal Pollution Abatement Grade 5 test. This is the highest wastewater certification in the State of Vermont and is now held by both Dillon and Jason Starr.

B-6 Bridge Presentation: We will have many reminders, but the State of Vermont will be here on our July 14^th Board of Trustees meeting. We should send a formal invitation to the Swanton Selectboard.

NEPPA: The annual conference will be held in Burlington this year so we need to determine if any board members wish to attend the conference so that they can be registered. The conference runs from August 17^th through the 20^th. Lynn, as a board member, will attend all four days. Interested board members should consider travelling on Monday the 18^th, staying overnight and also attending the sessions on the 19^th.

Hydro: On 06/16 the Rubber Bladder on top of the dam failed. There are several considerations that need to be made with the first meeting with the vendor scheduled for tomorrow, June 24^th.

12. Any Other Necessary Business:

None.

13. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel and Legal Matter:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion, seconded by Adam Paxman, to go into Executive Session at 7:20 p.m. to discuss personnel and legal matters where premature general public knowledge of the subject matter would place the Village or person involved at a substantial disadvantage.

Neal Speer made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:07 pm. Suzie Kelleher seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

14. Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:08 p.m. Suzie Kelleher seconded. Motion carried.

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David Winchester, Village President                  Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date