SWANTON VILLAGE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
SWANTON VILLAGE MUNICIPAL COMPLEX
120 FIRST STREET
SWANTON, VT 05488
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REGULAR MEETING
Monday, December 8, 2014
7 PM
MINUTES NOT YET APPROVED BY
THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES
PRESENT: Neal Speer, Village President; Chris Leach, Trustee; Eugene LaBombard, Trustee; Adam Paxman, Trustee; Reginald Beliveau, Village Manager; Dianne Day, Village Clerk; and Ch. 16.
Unless otherwise noted, all motions carried unanimously.
Neal Speer, Village President, welcomed all to the Regular Board of Trustees meeting and called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
1. Approve and Accept Minutes from Monday, November 24, 2014:
Chris Leach made the motion to approve and accept the Minutes from Monday, November 24, 2014 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the comment he made regarding Hydro Power Generation. I explained they were discussing what was included in the number as far as the budget goes. I made the sentence more clear. Eugene LaBombard stated “Kubota” was misspelled. Made correction. Motion carried with corrections.
2. Approve and Accept Village Warrants through Friday, December 5, 2014:
Eugene LaBombard made the motion to approve and accept Village Warrants through December 5, 2014 as presented. Adam Paxman seconded. Discussion: Adam Paxman asked about the payment made to the Department of Taxes Sales Tax. Dianne Day, Village Clerk, explained that the Village now pays taxes online. Motion carried.
3. Electric Cost of Service Update:
Reg Beliveau stated there was nothing to update this week regarding the Cost of Service Study. He said there have been no changes and they are still waiting to hear from the Public Service Board.
4. Preliminary 2015 Budget Discussions:
Reg Beliveau stated Lynn Paradis should have budgets completed by the end of December. He said they are waiting for the purchase power number before she completes it. He stated they went to the Town of Swanton and talked about the fire budget. He said it went well. He stated the fire budget included a .25 cent raise and with the 2016 minimum wage changes they still won’t be at that rate. He said they will have to adjust their pay then also. He said the fire budget will close approximately $23,000 under budget but they are still waiting on repairs to the ladder truck. He said the hydraulics were leaking. Reg stated he explained to the Town that the Village has better information in December regarding the fire budget rather than in November.
5. Blake Commons Housing Release of Lien:
Village Clerk Dianne Day informed the Board that the Blake Commons Housing loan was paid in full and the lien has been released. Chris Leach asked about electric liens and how that was going. Dianne stated that the Village is still placing liens on unpaid electric and/or water and sewer delinquent accounts.
6. Any Other Necessary Business:
Chris Leach stated the lights in the Park look very good and he asked why were the decorations on the utility poles facing in toward the park instead of the roadway. Reg Beliveau explained that was because these hang a bit lower and they would get hit by tractor trailers. He said he wished the lanterns were brighter. Reg said the voters approved to spend $10,000 in holiday decorations and so far the Village has spent about $9,800. Neal Speer asked if anyone commented on the big spruce trees not being lit this year. Eugene LaBombard said he heard from one that was happy the Village didn’t.
Any Other Business: Adam Paxman wanted to thank everyone for coming to the Christmas in the Park event. He said they handed out 400 cups of hot chocolate and said they had a great turnout. He said people waited in line for an hour for the horse drawn wagon ride. He also said parents of a little boy who passed away asked if they could hang his picture on the memorial tree in the bandstand. He said that made the whole event worth it. He wanted to thank A1 Carpet for donating the tree as well. He said they sold 124 ribbons for the memorial tree and also had food donated for the food shelf.
Any Other Business: Chris Leach stated he wanted to thank Fairpoint for removing the old pole on Gallup Court. Reg Beliveau stated the Village has been working on this issue for a very long time and finally told Fairpoint the Village was going to adopt an Ordinance. Adam Paxman stated several residents are happy the old poles are being removed.
Any Other Business: Reg Beliveau stated Lynn Paradis informed him that she received two quotes from area banks for the utility truck that is being purchased in the Electric Department. He said one quote was from Union Bank with an interest rate of 1.45% and the other was from People’s United with an interest rate of 2.15%. Chris Leach made the motion to authorize Lynn Paradis to use Union Bank for the purchase of the Utility Truck in the Electric Department with an interest rate of 1.45%. Eugene LaBombard seconded. Motion carried.
Reg Beliveau stated he would need an Executive Session to discuss a customer’s account, real estate and personnel.
7. Executive Session (If Necessary):
Adam Paxman made the motion to enter into Executive Session to Discuss Customer Accounts, Real Estate and Personnel at 7:25 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
Adam Paxman made the motion to exit Executive Session at 8:28 p.m. Chris Leach seconded. Motion carried.
ACTION TAKEN: None.
ADJOURN: Chris Leach made the motion to adjourn the Regular Board of the Trustees meeting at 8:28 p.m. Eugene LaBombard seconded. There being no further business at hand, Neal Speer, Village President, adjourned the meeting at 8:28 p.m. Motion carried.
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Neal Speer, Village President Date
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Dianne Day, Village Clerk Date