Chester holds public hearing on ethics reform

At the Sept. 25 Chester Town Board meeting the board held a public hearing on proposed ethics reform. Nobody from the public spoke during the hearing. The new ethics system will see ethics complaints go directly to the ethics board without the town board as an intermediary. Councilman Robert Courtenay said the current ethics rules “are weak at best.” The board expects to vote on the law at its Oct. 9 meeting.

Another public hearing was held on creating a new EMS tax district with the village, to enhance emergency services to the public. At the time of the meeting the village had rescinded its opt-in to the new district, so the town board could not pass the law creating the district. However, the following day, after a public workshop in which concerns of the village were addressed, the village re-opted in to the tax district and the town board held a special meeting also approving the district.

Development

Councilman Larry Dysinger reported that the building department was almost done catching up on expired building permits. He suggested that new fees be discussed at the next board meeting. He also said the Comprehensive Plan Review Committee had submitted their proposed zoning changes.

The board tabled a discussion about waiving the building moratorium for the Chester Agricultural Center. The center wants to build housing on its site and has a deadline to meet.

Sugar Loaf

Sugar Loaf PAC Advisory Board member Jeff Zahn requested $75,000 be set aside by the town for the PAC annually. He said that was his “big ask.” His minimum ask was $10,000 for a new sign outside the PAC.

The Sugar Loaf Community Foundation received a waiver for a scheduled gala at the PAC on February 1, 2025. They said if a paying act wanted the PAC for that date, they’d change the date of their gala.

The town board voted to waive the $1,100 application fee and $2,500 escrow fee to the county for its sale of Scott’s Meadows in Sugar Loaf, as a thank you for buying Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Other business

Councilman Tom Becker said he would like to see water bills sent out quarterly.

Supervisor Brandon Holdridge reported that a bill exempting the town comptroller and building inspector from having residence in Chester had passed Albany and that he negotiated with labor attorneys to have their hourly fee raised to $5 an hour instead of $10 an hour. The fee for labor attorneys is now $240 an hour and $115 an hour for paralegal services.

A tentative presentation of the town budget for fiscal year 2024-25 was originally scheduled for Oct. 8 but later changed to Oct. 15.

New assistant to the building inspector Kayla Leicht was given an additional $1,200 at the end of her probationary period to clear up a misunderstanding on the amount she’d receive. The amount went up to $3,200 from $2,000.

The lowest bid for the Surrey Meadows pipeline project came in around $91,000. The board tabled discussion on approving a request from the Highway Department to buy a $6,348 brush hog attachment for their skid steer because Councilman Dysinger said a higher end model could be a lot more efficient and only cost $1,500 more.