Action plan to be formed for Chester Commons support

During the Jan. 25 town board meeting, public comment opened with several concerns for Chester Commons and its decaying fields. A few residents described the conditions and offered to collaborate with the board for solutions.

Caroline Negersmith, president of the Chester Soccer Club, said there were several times where she and club members removed beehives and old equipment, filled in field holes with garbage bags, and maintained the park’s bathrooms.

“We’ve done this without complaint or question because that’s just what you do when you’re part of a community...but after almost a year’s worth of emails and texts, we’re here this evening to request more support and maintenance for our park,” Negersmith said.

Miguel Pena, 9, of Chester, asked if the board could help him and his friends repair the fields.

“I like playing soccer on Saturdays because I get to play with my friends. I am here today because I want to ask if you can help us fix the soccer field, there are people that are willing to help us,” Pena said.

Town Supervisor Robert Valentine said that he and the board are not dismissing the concerns and that he and the board will create an action plan for future meetings.

“There’s a lot of stuff that goes into it at the town level, and I don’t want to be dismissive at all. It just becomes very complicated when it becomes a municipal project,” Valentine said, adding that he would “truck the dirt down there” himself if he could.

The board later confirmed that it will form an action plan with volunteers and use their park funding to repair Chester Commons.

“It’s obvious that a good chunk of the community here, and apparently outside our community with Monroe-Woodbury, and others use these fields...I as a soccer player know the importance of a quality field,” Councilman Brandon Holdridge said.

Code differences

Planning Board Member Larry Dysinger pointed out a discrepancy in the ward system criteria between the town and state codes.

“The New York State document clearly states that the creation of wards be based on a number of voters...the Chester town code states that it’s based on population. So, the question I have is why is there a discrepancy?” he asked.

Dysinger also suggested that the board consider creating six ward districts instead of the default four, as they provide more representation for residents, and post the town’s election maps online for easy access.

Speed limit question

Richard Logothetis of Sugar Loaf requested that the board look into increasing the speed limit on County Route13 from 40 mph to 50 mph because the current speed limit has caused traffic congestion and dangerous speeding.

“Last month, I’m going along. This guy dancing behind me and he buzzes by, goes across the yellow line, jams on it, and a car appears in the other direction. If I didn’t swerve off the road, I would have gotten my front bumper hit,” Logothetis said.

Summer concert series

Following public comment, members of Orange Motorship Entertainment (OME), a local event organizer, provided the board with details on their upcoming, outdoor summer concert series, including stage layouts, security measures, and benefits it will have for the area.

“I broke down here our visitors, or ticket buyers, that have come to Chester, and they are all coming and learning and visiting and supporting local businesses, which we think is really great,” OME executive producer Stephanie Ferrell said.

As scheduling is still being worked out, no dates have been announced for the concert series.