Trustees Meeting 7/14/25

Web version

SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

PUBLIC HEARING

&

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, July 14, 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; Dean Ryan, Public Works Foreman; Tiffany Card, Laura Stone, Jonathan Griffin, VT Agency of Transportation; Damon Broderick, Dan Hazard Jr., Steve Bourgeois, Earl Fournier, Town Selectboard Members; Brian Savage, Town Administrator; Darci & BJ Benoit, Angela & Chad Carr, Amy Redman, Gordon Winters, Matt Walker, State Representative and Ch. 16. Via Teams: Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, Steve and Denny.

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 Public Hearing to Order at 6 p.m.:

David Winchester, Village President, called the Alternatives Presentation for the VT Route 78 Bridge 6 Public Hearing to order at 6:00 p.m.

2. Pledge of Allegiance:

Everyone in attendance stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.

3. Alternatives Presentation for the VT Route 78 Bridge 6 over the Missisquoi River:

Tiffany Card, P.E. Green International Project Manager; Laura Stone, P.E. VTrans Scoping Engineer and Jonathan Griffin, P.E. VTrans Consultant Project Manager were all present for this public hearing presentation. Tiffany began the power point presentation by showing the Purpose of the Meeting:

Purpose of Meeting

 Provide an understanding of our approach to the project

 Provide an overview of project constraints

 Discuss our recommended alternative

 Provide an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns

She then showed the location of the bridge on a couple different maps.

Meeting Overview

 VTrans Project Development Process

 Project Overview

– Existing Conditions

– Alternatives Considered

– Recommended Alternative

 Maintenance of Traffic

 Schedule

 Summary

 Questions

Tiffany then showed the Vtrans Project Development Process

Project Definition

 Identify resources & constraints

 Evaluate alternatives

 Public participation

 Build Consensus

Project Design

 Quantify areas of impact

 Environmental permits

 Develop plans, estimate and specifications

 Right of Way process if necessary

Contract Award

 Construction

Description of Terms Used

Bridge Railing

Deck Surface - Treatment

Substructure – Wingwall, Bridge Seat, Stem, Footing

Superstructure – Deck, Beams, Bearing Device

Tiffany then talked about Act 153 of the 2012 Legislative Session and how that affects projects. She showed what the local share would be if the road was closed during construction for rehabilitation the Village’s share would be 2.5% and for a replacement the share would be 5%.

If the road stayed open during construction the Village’s share would be 5% for rehabilitation and 10% for replacement.

 Per Act 153, the local share is reduced by 50% for rehabilitating versus replacement

 Per Act 153, the local share is reduced by 50% for closing the road to traffic during construction

Existing Conditions – Bridge #6

 Roadway Classification – Rural Principal Arterial

 4 Span Stringer/Multi-beam or Girder

 Bridge: Max Span – 80 feet, Length – 302 feet, Skew – 0 degrees

 Constructed in 1966

 Ownership – Village of Swanton

 Advanced deterioration of the abutment joints

 Beam ends and end diaphragms at abutments have notable rust and section loss

 Abutment bearings have significant rust and pier bearings have missing anchor bolts

 North fascia beam has significant rust with section loss in the lower web and bottom flange

 Bridge railing and approach guardrail is substandard

 Deck drains have significant perforations and leakage

Existing Conditions - Bridge #6

 Deck Rating 6 Satisfactory

 Superstructure Rating 6 Satisfactory

 Substructure Rating 6 Satisfactory

 Channel Rating 8 Very Good

Typical Top of Deck and Abutment Joint Condition

Tiffany then showed some slides of the underneath area of the bridge showing the rust and perforations.

Existing Conditions - Bridge #6

 Bridge is NOT Historic but there are resources in the project area considered historic or eligible for historic listing.

 These include the Swanton Village Historic District, the Swanton Dam, the mill located adjacent to the northwest corner of the bridge and the town-owned Marble Mill Park and Goose Point Park.

Resources – Wildlife and Other Impacts

 Northern Long Eared Bat

– Potential Habitat Under Bridge. An acoustic survey or time-of-year restriction may be required.

 Archaeological Resource Assessment (ASA) – The proposed area of potential effect is sensitive for both pre-contact Native American and historic Euro-American sites. Any work within these areas would require an archaeological survey prior to ground disturbing activities.

UTILITIES

 Municipal Utilities:

– A gas line is mounted on the south fascia beam

– Water line is mounted on the north fascia beam

– Both utilities should be maintained during construction

– Telephone manholes and sewer manholes on both approaches

 Public Utilities (Aerial):

– Overhead utility wires running parallel to the structure on the north side

– Lines are approx. 75’ from the existing bridges

 Public Utilities (Underground):

– 60” diameter ACCGMP pipe located under the west approach, running perpendicular to the bridge

Design Criteria and Considerations

 Vermont State Standards (VSS) & VTrans Structures Design Manual

 Two Lane Rural Principal Arterial

 Substandard Criteria

 Approach and bridge shoulder widths

 Bridge railing and approach guardrail

 Structural capacity

 Passed Criteria

 Horizontal geometry

 Vertical geometry

 Superelevation/banking

 Clear zone

 Average Daily Traffic

– 10,800 Vehicles Per Day

 Design Hourly Volume

– 1,200 Vehicles Per Hour

 Percent Trucks

– 15 %

Alternatives Considered – Bridge #6

 No Action

– Additional maintenance required within 10 years

 Alternative 1: UHPC Overlay and Miscellaneous Repairs

– Most limited in structural scope

– Repair existing deck deficiencies, remove and replace top of deck surface with an Ultra High-Performance Concrete overlay

– 20 to 35-Year Design Life

 Alternative 2: Deck Replacement and Miscellaneous Repairs

– Replacement of concrete deck and structural repairs to steel beams,bearings and substructure as needed

– 20 to 35-Year Design Life

 Alternative 3: Superstructure Replacement:

– New deck, railings, beams, bearings, and repairs to address Pier 1 undermining.

– 35-Year Design Life

 Alternative 4: Full Bridge Replacement:

– 75-Year Design Life

Recommended Alternative – Bridge #6

Two (2) viable alternatives for consideration:

 Alternative 1: UHPC Overlay and Miscellaneous Repairs

– Lowest annualized cost and shortest construction duration and project delivery duration

– Addresses most apparent deficiencies with structure

– Maintains the existing cross section: 11’ lanes, 4’ shoulders, and 5’ sidewalks

 Alternative 3: Superstructure Replacement

– Second lowest annualized cost

– Slight increase in bridge cross section: 11’ lanes, 4’ shoulders, and 5’-6” sidewalks

– Addresses more comprehensive repair needs

Maintenance of Traffic Options (MOT)

 Maintaining Traffic on Existing Bridge

 Off-Site Detour with Bridge Closure

 Temporary Bridge

 Phased Construction

Detour Route – MOT Local Detour

VT Route 78, to US Route 7, to Beebe Rd, to South River St, back to VT Route 78

Detour Route Length: 5.5 miles

Approx. Travel Time: 10 minutes

MOT: Local Detour

Detour Route

VT Route 78, to US Route 7, to SNTH 38, to SNTH 36, back to VT Route 78

Detour Route Length: 20 miles

Approx. Travel Time: 35 minutes

Tiffany then showed slides of a temporary bridge and how that would be constructed if that was requested.

Recommended Scope

 Alternative 1: UHPC Overlay and Miscellaneous Repairs

– Project Development Duration: 1 to 2 Years

– Construction Duration: 4 Months

– Design Life: 20 to 35 Years

– Match current typical section

 Alternative 3: Superstructure Replacement

– Project Development Duration: 4 Years

– Funding Availability: 2035

– Construction Duration: 8 Months

– Design Life: 35 Years

– Match current typical section

Recommended Alternatives - Bridge #6

 UHPC Overlay and Misc. Repairs with Traffic Maintained by Off-Site Detour

 Superstructure Replacement with Traffic Maintained by Off-Site Detour

Tiffany showed a few maps of the bridge layout and profile. She then showed the actual costs of these two alternatives:

Preliminary Project Schedule

 Construction Start – Depends on the Alternative Selected

– Alternative 1: Total Cost Estimate: $2,350,704

• Village Share: $58,768

• Anticipated 2027 start

– Alternative 3: Total Cost Estimate: $5,961,566

• Village Share: $149,039

• Anticipated 2035 start

Next Steps – Bridge #6

This is a list of a few important activities expected in the near future and is not a complete list of activities. Wait for Village response to recommendation on proposed project

 Develop Conceptual plans and distribute for comment

 Request a Public Information meeting

 Process local agreements

 Right-of-Way process (if needed)

The presentation was opened up for public comment.

4. Public Comment:

The AOT panel suggests that the Village do either Alternative #1 or Alternative #3. Steve Bourgeois, Town Selectboard, asked how they can handle the traffic during either one of these alternatives. Brian Savage asked if the Trustees choose #1 will the railing on the bridge be changed. The answer to that was no, not in this option. Brian said railings have fallen out and a vehicle went through a section of them about 30-35 years ago. He feels they should be changed. Amy Redman suggested an add on to that alternative so that the sidewalk and railings can be replaced. Earl Fournier, Town Selectman, said that if the Trustees choose alternative #1 nothing underneath the bridge gets repaired. He said there are areas of concern and asked if isolated repairs could be done. He said this is a regional road and with it being closed it will cause a lot of harm for the residents. Steve Bourgeois said his other concern is that there has been a big uptick in retail businesses and if they lose traffic flow this could be a financial hardship. He asked if there were any financial relief programs available to these retailers. Jonathan said there isn’t anything that he is aware of and said the only time the State would compensate financially is when they need an easement or right of way from a business or residence and have to block all entrances to that property. He said in that circumstance they would be compensated. Brian Savage mentioned the 24/7 Middlebury project going on and asked if that was an option here. Jonathan said that would put a huge burden on everyone involved but said it was an option for significantly more money. Angela Carr, owner of Divine Treasures on Merchants Row, said Route 78 is the major hub through the Village and having the road closed for 30 days or 60 days would be too much for her store to handle. She said the last time it was closed for bridge repairs she had a hard time rebounding from that. She asked how much time the Village had before they had to make their decision. David Winchester, Village President, said they would need to discuss it and decide.  Darcy Benoit, owner of Bees on Broadway on Canada Street, asked for as much notice as possible when doing this project. Chad Carr said this project will force businesses to make a decision on whether to stay open or not. Angela said all the construction projects going on is too much. Both Angela and Darci asked for the barricade to be placed in a different location because people thought the whole downtown area was closed to traffic. More discussion took place about Alternative #1 and Alternative #3 and the road being closed. It was mentioned that maybe one lane could remain open to east traffic and have west traffic take the detour. Steve Bourgeois stated South River Street and Beebe Road would need to be better prepared for this detour because the roads didn’t handle it well during the last detour. Village President David Winchester said he disagreed with that statement and said the detour worked very smoothly with only one minor fender bender. Bill Sheets, Village Manager, said if they went with Alternative #3 clearly that would be the most cost-effective scenario. He said they get sidewalks, new railings, etc. but it’s 2035. He asked what their maintenance cost would be and what areas of the bridge would be affected between now and the next 10 years while waiting for that project. Jonathan and Tiffany said probably bearings, scrubbers, continual deck patching, and you would be getting to the end of the joint repairs that were recently done. Bill said 100% of maintenance cost is on the Village. Neal Speer said he isn’t in favor of shutting the bridge down but said it needs to be done. Earl also said the Village shouldn’t be solely financially responsible for this repair and said there needs to be a change in financing these projects. Rep. Matt Walker said he agrees with allowing east traffic flow and having westerly traffic detour. He also said you need to look at the increase in maintenance costs and putting off major work as long as possible especially if truck traffic is going to lessen with the completion of I35 from Canada. He said the Village just went through a bridge closure and doing it again would be rough and he said bridge technology is rapidly increasing. He said they’ve been working on increasing the town’s share of highway aid because of increasing cost. He also said part of him would put some level of maintenance into the bridge and push it off to the 10-year alternative. The board thanked everyone in attendance for their questions and concerns.

5. Adjourn Public Hearing on Bridge 6:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the Bridge 6 Public Hearing at 7:24 p.m. Neal Speer seconded. Motion carried.

6. Call Regular Board Meeting to Order:

David Winchester, Village President, called the regular Board of Trustees meeting to order at 7:27 p.m.

7. Agenda Review:

None.

8. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, June 23, 2025 as presented

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve the minutes from Monday, June 23, 2025, as presented. Suzie Kelleher seconded the motion. Discussion: None. Motion carried.

9. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, July 10, 2025:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion to approve Village Warrants through Thursday, July 10, 2025 as presented. Neal Speer seconded the motion. Discussion: Suzie Kelleher asked about the payment made to M&T Bank/Wilmington Trust for $329,417.12. Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated that payment was for the water bond payment. Motion carried.

10. Swanton Village Public Works Department Update with Dean Ryan:

Dean Ryan, Public Works Foreman, began his update by saying the Village purchased a new street sweeper. He said even though they started out with some issues with the sweeper the company representative has been great to work with and has worked out their issues. He said this unit has 3 adjustable front brushes, a 7-yard dump body, a 3-cylinder motor and can hold 250 gallons of water. He said one person can get the Village streets swept and clean in about 120 hours. He said this is a great purchase for his department and for the Village. He talked about the water leaks he’s had on Dewey Street, Gallup Court and said he needs to replace a valve on North Street.

Dean said they completed a 350’ Storm Water Project on Brown Avenue. He said this should take care of the issues they had there. Dean said he also installed three meter pits in the Village Green and plans on putting more in in other areas. Dean informed the Board that they started a new sidewalk on Grand Avenue. He said he realizes there are areas in the Village where the sidewalks are bad, but he only has $15,000 in his budget each year for sidewalks. He said this only allows him to do about 350’ of sidewalk. He said thankfully Heidi Britch-Valenta received a sidewalk grant for the Village, and they will be able to do approximately 1200 feet of sidewalk this year. He said this will keep his crew busy and working on that until snow flies. Dean said his street maintenance is completed, and his department also helped the Northern Forest Canoe Trails with work on the new slab on River Lane. He said this will be used by kayakers, canoers, and the Fire Department.

Dean said some upcoming projects include installing a dry hydrant by John’s Bridge (grant), doing some Class 2 paving (grant), and installing a new main line water valve for the Wastewater Plant. He also said they will do hydrant flushing in the fall as well as painting the streets and crosswalks and doing a storm water out fall project at Marble Mill (grant). He said they have a leak detection project scheduled (grant) and will also do some stormwaters drain cleaning. Dean said his department is very busy. The Board thanked Dean for his update.

11. Village Manager Update:

Public Works: The newest member of the public works team is Jayden Fletcher, who started on June 30^th. The team remains busy with sidewalk and other projects. The State of Vermont has authorized that grant funding for the sidewalk and it may be extended south from York to Furman Place. If enough funding remains that will allow for the installation, through Public Works, of an additional 459 feet of sidewalk.

Canada Street TAP Grant (600k): We need a member of the Trustees to participate in the At the Ready consultant engineer selection process. This project has a three-to-five-year implementation timeline. Suzie Kelleher said she would do it again this year.

Tree Removal in the Village Green: Gabree and Sons have completed work in the Village Green, removed eleven trees and grinding those stumps and trimming one tree. Public Works have spread topsoil and straw to get grass growing in those areas.

Lower Swanton Dam: Overlook RFP has been published, and the bids are due on July 17^th.

Northern Forest Canoe Trail: This group was on site on July 10^th and 11^th to work on the camping site and to form up the concrete for the replacement access across from the VFW. Public Works helped with excavating what turned out to be a much larger concrete ramp than expected. We will need to complete some type of edging work around this ramp when it is complete.

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 conducted site visits and will be submitting bids.

Hydro: Rubber Bladder failure: We hope to have a quote and permission to proceed within the next two weeks. We need to have FERC approval for the next steps, which would be either repair or remove the bladder.

We received a $60k planning grant from the State of Vermont for the Hydro facility that will help us with the prioritization of repairs and upgrades. 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.

Swanton Village Electric: The Electric Department continues to make upgrades on Rollo Road, bringing the line roadside to increase reliability.

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

A.Cooper Mechanical is making great progress with the installation of the new water meters. They have installed approximately 200 meters to date.

We hope to be able to get the software issues fixed so that we can proceed with the installation of our new Electric meters.

The interviews for the open line maintainer position begin next week.

Water:

Water Quality report has been filed with the State of Vermont.

Security cameras have been installed at the Reservoir, as well as at Swanton Beach. Work will begin in other areas next week.

On August 21^st we start our three-year State of Vermont Sanitary Survey Review with a physical inspection of the water plant.

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.

Fire Department: The FD has been extremely busy with local calls, as well as mutual aid for active fire calls in NY and Quebec. As a reminder that mutual aid works both ways as NY responds to West Swanton and we have a reciprocal agreement with Quebec. Recruiting is going well with both new and veteran members requesting to join the organization.

Police Department: We recently upgraded our communications antenna located on the tower at the water reservoir. This has resulted in a much more effective and larger area for radio communications, which should aid us in officer safety.

12. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman reminded everyone that the Annual Car Show will be held on Saturday, July 26 in the Village Green. Suzie Kelleher stated there will be a Block Party the night before, July 25, at 5:30 p.m. in the Village Green and Downtown area. David Winchester stated that A Cooper Mechanical installed his new smart water meter in about 25 minutes. Everyone agreed that they are very efficient and courteous.

13. Executive Session to Discuss Legal Matter:

Suzie Kelleher made the motion, seconded by Adam Paxman, to go into Executive Session at 7:58 p.m. to discuss legal matters where premature general public knowledge of the subject matter would place the Village or person involved at a substantial disadvantage.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:34 pm. Suzie Kelleher seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

14. Adjournment:

Adam Paxman made the motion to adjourn the meeting at 8:35 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