Noise ordinance may impact live music at Tin Barn Brewing

The town of Chester has set a public hearing for July 24 to discuss a new noise ordinance that would most notably impact the ability of Tin Barn Brewing on Kings Highway Bypass to hold its popular outdoor concerts. Two businesspeople spoke against the ordinance.

Open space

In other news, Supervisor Brandon Holdridge had to rely on the support of Republican board members Antonio Ardisana and Robert Courtenay to get approval to pursue 100 acres of potential open space on Ridge Road owned by the Laroe family. Board members Tom Becker and Larry Dysinger voted against the measure, even though Holdridge noted that they had all campaigned together on a platform of preserving open space. Ridge Road is off of Kings Highway; the Laroe family recently told the town they plan to sell the property and offered the town first chance to make a bid.

The board also voted 3-2 to spend $3,000 to appraise the property as to get a better idea of what it’s worth on the open market. Becker said there are other properties that are more desirable. Dysinger said he’s for preserving open land but thought there were better ways to go about it than draining town finances.

Exit 127

In another split vote, Becker voted against a resolution to be sent to the state DOT opposing the closure of Exit 127 in the state’s redesign of Route 17. The other four board members voted in favor of the resolution and also agreed to send copies of the resolution to the Village of Chester, the Village of Warwick, the Town of Warwick and to state representatives Assemblyman Brian Maher (R-101) and Senator James Skoufis (D-42).

Ward system

The board voted to change the new ward law for voting to a staggered, four-year voting system. By state law, when a ward system is enacted, it reverts voting years to every two years. The town board wants elections every four years, with two board seats up each cycle. The matter is being sent to a public referendum. A public hearing will be held on the change at the July 24 meeting.

Other business

The board introduced Local Law #4, adding five stop signs in Surrey Meadows. A public hearing will be held discussing this matter at the July 24 meeting as well.

The DOT has agreed to add a right turn light at the intersection of 17M and Kings Highway as requested by the town. The board voted to give parks and rec worker Matt Kenny a raise from $19.57 an hour to $23 an hour, citing cost of living concerns.

The board praised comptroller Neil Meyer for noticing a redundancy in services in the town’s telecom system and the town expects to save $22,932 by getting rid of Optimum.

The board also set a public hearing for July 24 to discuss a proposed law placing a moratorium on large scale battery storage in the town.