Trustees Meeting 9/25/23

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SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX

120 FIRST STREET

SWANTON, VT 05488

REGULAR MEETING

Monday, September 25, 2023

7:00 PM

PRESENT: Chris Leach, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; William “Bill” Sheets, Village Manager; Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; Matthew Sullivan; Police Chief; Bobby Desrochers; and Ch 16.

Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried, unanimously.

1. Call to Order:

Chris Leach, Village Trustee, 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:

Dianne Day, Village Clerk, stated she has two additional water allocation requests that need to be heard. The Board stated they would do so after #8.

4. Public Comment:

None.

5. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, September 11, 2023 meeting as presented:

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve Minutes from the September 11, 2023 meeting as presented. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

6. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Thursday, September 21, 2023:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants #90-#95 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: None.  Motion carried.

7. Request to Hook on to Village Water System at 116 Middle Road, Bobby Desrochers:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:04 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Bobby Desrochers from 116 Middle Road is requesting permission to connect his three-bedroom single family home to the Village Water system and requests 400 gallons per day. He is aware of all the fees associated with this request. The Board tabled this item from their last meeting. Bill Sheets stated the Village has been in contact with the owner of the private line and the leaks will be getting fixed.

Adam Paxman made the motion to approve Bobby Desrochers connecting to the Village water line at 116 Middle Road with the understanding that he bore under the road to make the connection to the main water line. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Discussion: Bobby Desrochers stated he met with Kevin Jordan and they plan on boring under the road to the main line. Chris Leach stated the Village knows they have issues with that line on Middle Road and will continue to keep on eye on it. Motion carried.

8. Water/Wastewater Allocation Request for 44 North River Street – Judy Paxman:

Judy Paxman is requesting a water and wastewater allocation for 400 gallons per day for her home located at 44 North River Street. She is in the process of converting her two-bedroom, single family home into a four-bedroom duplex. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve Judy Paxman’s water and wastewater request for 400 gallons per day for her home at 44 North River Street. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

       8 a. Water Allocation Request for 412 Maquam Shore Road:

Margaret and Chris Hoffman are requesting permission to connect to the Mumley/Benoit private water line located on Maquam Shore Road. They are requesting 400 GPD for their single family two-bedroom seasonal home located at 412 Maquam Shore Road and are aware of all associated fees. Adam Paxman made the motion to approve Margaret and Chris Hoffman’s request to connect to the Mumley/Benoit private water line that is supplied with Village water at 412 Maquam Shore Rd. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

          8 b. Water Allocation Request for 416 Maquam Shore Road:

John Bardeau is requesting permission to connect to the Mumley/Benoit private water line located on Maquam Shore Road. They are requesting 400 GPD for their single family two-bedroom home located at 416 Maquam Shore Road and are aware of all associated fees. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve John Bardeau’s request to connect to the Mumley/Benoit private water line that is supplied with Village water at 416 Maquam Shore Rd. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Water Commissioner’s meeting at 7:09 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

9. Swanton Village Police Update with Chief Matthew Sullivan:

Chief of Police Matt Sullivan stated the Village police department responded to 145 incidents during the month of August. He said those incidents included 20 traffic stops with 5 tickets being issued as well as 19 warnings and 1 arrest and 11 arrest charges with 9 individuals. He said the top ten calls for service were 20 property/home watch, 12 suspicious person/circumstance, 10 directed patrol, 10 community outreach, 9 citizen assist, 7 motor vehicle complaint, 6 agency assistance, 5 foot patrol and 4 search warrants.

Chief Sullivan said the police department responded to 308 incidents in the Town and Village combined. He said those incidents resulted in 64 traffic stops with 16 tickets being issued, 61 warnings and 4 arrests, and 26 arrest charges with 16 individuals. He said the top ten calls for service in August were 43 directed patrol, 28 property/home watch, 21 agency assistance, 21 suspicious person/circumstance, 13 community outreach, 12 citizen assist, 9 motor vehicle complaint, 5 juvenile problem and 5 foot patrol.

Matt stated he has had their speed sign on South River Street from August 13^th through the 22^nd. He said the data they gathered is as follows: Total Number of Vehicles: 8599; 307 vehicles were recorded going 11+ mph over the limit which is 3.6%; 35 vehicles were recorded going 21+ mph over the limit which is 0.41%; and 8292 vehicles were recorded going within 10 mph or lower which is 96.4%.

He also said they then placed the speed sign on Robinhood Drive from August 22^nd through the 29^th. He said the data they gathered is as follows: Total Number of Vehicles: 8725; 422 vehicles were recorded going 11+ mph over the limit which is 4.8%; 46 vehicles were recorded going 21+ mph over the limit which is 0.53%; and 8303 vehicles were recorded going within 10 mph or lower which is 95.2%.

Chief Sullivan said his officers have been doing a lot of drug work locally and outside their jurisdiction and have had pretty good results. Adam Paxman said he’s hearing a lot of positive feedback from the foot patrols the officers have been doing. He said citizens like seeing that. The Board thanked Matt for his update.

10. Approve the Village of Swanton Closing the Bank of America Credit Card Account:

Lynn Paradis, Assistant Village Manager, stated she has opened new credit card accounts with M&T bank. She said she needs board approval to close their Bank of America account. She also said she has paid all pending charges and has cancelled all the cards, she just needs a letter signed as well as a copy of the minutes sent to the bank.

Adam Paxman made the motion to authorize the Village of Swanton to close their Bank of America credit card account, as well as authorizing the Village Trustees to sign such letter stating this. Eugene LaBombard seconded the motion. Motion carried.

11. Wastewater Treatment Plant Update/Open House Dates:

Bill Sheets, Village Manager, stated he has set the dates for Open Houses that will take place at their Wastewater Treatment Plant. He said those dates are Saturday, October 14^th at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and on Thursday, October 19^th at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. He said they will tour the plant with Village representatives, the Treatment plant staff, as well as Aldrich & Elliott. Bill said they had their first meeting with the UVM intern. She is a Junior at UVM and she will be touring and taking photos for the WWTF on Wednesday the 27^th. She will work on a communications plan for the five open house visits, as well as for the October 30th informational meeting prior to the November 7^th bond vote. He said he’s pleased that she will be able to create flyers and informational packets to help explain this bond vote and upgrade. Bill said the October board meetings need to be changed to the first and last Monday of the month, which are October 2^nd and October 30^th. He said this needs to be done so that the Village is in compliance for the Wastewater Treatment Plant bond vote in November. Chris Leach stated they have a very unique plant and there isn’t another one like it in the State. Bill agreed and also said this upgrade will not increase capacity. He said the Village will also do individual tours if needed.

12. Village Manager Update:

Village Manager Bill Sheets gave the following updates to the Board:

Public Safety Proposal update 124 First Street:  The CM continues to work on cost estimates, and we anticipate a series of open houses in the next two months.

6 South River Street: KAS/Jeremy Roberts have completed a draft work plan (ECAA:  Evaluation of Corrective Action Alternatives). This will be reviewed by the State of Vermont (DEC)

Timeline:

01/01/2024:  Official Work Plan submitted by KAS.

03/01/2024:  DEC approval for work plan

We would then execute the plan and clean up as required to obtain the certificate of completion. We would complete a simple, in-house RFP and then plan to sell this property late next summer or early fall. 

Hydro:  Annual plant shut down last week. We highlighted some shut down details on our Facebook page and website.  No significant issues were identified, we did a large amount of maintenance.  All but Unit 4 are back up and running, and Unit 4 will be back online soon. FERC Annual Dam Safety inspection:  On 09/22/23 we received a “generally satisfactory” rating of the August 8^th inspection. We need to continue to remove brush and vegetation to a point 15 feet beyond all man-made portions of the dam.  We also need to close nearby boat ramps and post public safety warnings until we can reinstall the upstream boat barrier that was swept away during the last flood.

Vermont Gas Systems:  Will be conducting an inspection of the gas line located on the Depot Street Bridge, as well as Merchants’ Row, that will require traffic control and a lane closure. The date will be either October 19^th or 20^th. They will provide the exact date and time as the date nears and we will post it on our website and other social media. 

VLCT Town Fair:  Both Lynn and I will be attending this two-day workshop style training on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

VHB:  Downtown Design Kickoff Meeting. The kickoff meeting was held on September 21^st. We reviewed the scope and the timeline. 

Scope of Work:

- Installation of an all-way stop and pedestrian safety improvements at the First Street and Grand Avenue (VT-78) intersection.

- Shortening of the crosswalk and pedestrian safety improvements on Grand Avenue (VT-78) at Canada Street (US-7).

- Relocation of the sidewalk at Merchant’s Row with accessibility improvements.

-Relocation of the crosswalk and pedestrian safety improvements on VT-78 between Merchants Row and Memorial Hardware.

- Shortening of the crosswalk and pedestrian safety improvements across Canada Street at Grand Avenue (VT-78); and,

- Installation of Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons, crosswalks, and pedestrian safety improvements across VT-78 at Marble Mill Park.

Timeline:  We have outreach to community and business members leading up to this winter. We will then lock in the scope of work, identify dates for a site walk through, go through the process of selecting a contractor following an RFP and selection process.  The contractors will then go through any requisite permitting and we will expect to be ready for actual construction in the spring of 2025. 

VHB Presentation, exit 21 upgrades (October 2^nd Trustees Meeting):  Karen Sentoff from VHB will mirror her presentation to Swanton Town updating the Exit 21 project. 

13. Any Other Necessary Business:

Adam Paxman said the Chamber of Commerce is requesting permission to use the park for their Halloween In The Park event to be held on Saturday, October 28^th from 5 to 7 p.m. Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve the Halloween in the Park event on Saturday, October 28^th from 5 to 7 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. Motion carried. Adam also stated their Christmas in the Park event will be held after Thanksgiving and as soon as he has the date he will update the board.

Any Other Business: Chris Leach asked Dianne Day, Village Clerk, what the Village’s new website address is. She stated swantonvt.gov. Chris also stated that he would not be running for Village Trustee again in March 2024. He said if anyone is interested in learning more about this to contact him.

14. Executive Session to Discuss Personnel, Customer Accounts and Real Estate:

Adam Paxman made the motion to enter Executive Session at 7:48 p.m. to discuss Personnel, Customer Accounts and Real Estate. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:05 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.

ACTION TAKEN: None.

15. Adjournment:

Eugene LaBombard made the motion to adjourn the Regular Meeting of the Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:05 p.m. Adam Paxman seconded. There being no further business at hand, Chris Leach, Village Trustee, adjourned the meeting at 8:05 p.m. Motion carried.

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Neal Speer, Village President                            Date

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Dianne Day, Village Clerk                                Date