Chester adopts transparency law

A new “entity disclosure” law was passed at the March 25 meeting of the Chester Town Board. The law will require the entities such as LLCs that have land use applications before the zoning, planning or town board to reveal the identity of their principals. The goal is greater transparency and to avoid conflict of interests that may not otherwise be known. Supervisor Brandon Holdridge thanked resident Tracy Schuh for working on the new law since 2023.

The board also voted to create a new water district for the Greens of Chester community. The village of Chester will provide the water for the district but the town is responsible for managing the district and issuing bills. The rate is set at $14.25 per thousand gallons.

Discussion on opt-out fees for water meters

The board discussed whether to instate a fee for the opt-out of new water meters using cellular endpoint technology. As discussed at a recent town board meeting, the board members intended to wait until all the new meters were installed and a full list of opt-outs was on hand to decide how much to charge for the opt-out. Councilman Tom Becker said the water department wants to deal with the opt-outs immediately.

This led to a discussion in which Councilman Giusepe Cassara stated that he felt like the board was going back on its word to taxpayers as stated at the recent board meeting. Councilman Stephen Diffley noted he was not on hand at the prior board meeting, but he felt that if no resolution was passed and it was just a matter of discussion the board had the prerogative to change its mind.

Cassara said he did not think there should be an opt-out fee in the first place. This sentiment was echoed in public comments by resident Chris Maurer, who said she was “appalled” that the board was discussing implementing an opt-out fee. Also discussed was the fact that people were not responding to mail that asked them to schedule the installation of the cellular endpoints.

Preservation Plan, grants, purchases

In other news, the board chose Lanc and Tully to handle their Preservation Plan, which is part of the process of creating a land preservation tax on real estate to fund the purchase of open space. The tax was approved by the state government but still requires a voter referendum to become law.

Holdridge announced that the town has received a $5,000 tourism grant from the county, which will be used to fund the annual Field Day this summer. Holdridge also announced that the slide at Oak Tree Park had been repaired, as well as security cameras installed.

The board also approved a $6,441.41 purchase of tilting grading bucket for the highway department excavator. This came in under budget, which was $10,000.