Staggered election terms to again be on ballot

The Chester Town Board voted to once again place a referendum question on the 2025 electoral slate about keeping town officials on staggered four-year terms during its July 9 meeting.

Voting residents defeated the measure in 2024.

In the wake of the new ward system taking effect in 2026, council members will now be elected every two years with all four running in an election cycle. Prior to the ward system, council members ran for four-year terms with two running in one two-year cycle and the other two running in the next cycle.

The board has made it clear that the staggered terms are beneficial because they prevent “clean sweep” elections when an entire new board is elected.

Supervisor Brandon Holdridge has said online that he wants town officials to do a better job of educating the public on the issue. He was absent during the meeting meeting when a public hearing on the matter was held.

Resident Connie Roach sent an email to the board, which was read by Deputy Supervisor Tom Becker. In it, she said that proposing the issue again is an insult to voters as it insinuates the public somehow did not understand the matter.

The board passed the ballot referendum on the staggered voting terms 3-0 as Antonio Ardisana was also absent from the vote.

Other measures

A public hearing was also held on changing the stop signs at Surrey Meadows, adding some and removing others. One resident said he felt the stop signs unfairly hinder everybody instead of focusing on speeders. He added that a radar system that sends warnings and tickets to offenders would be a better option for controlling the speeding in the area.

The board voted to table the matter until a full board was present.

Becker said he had given county officials a walk-through of the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center (SLPAC) property recently. The county legislature has voted unanimously to authorize $1.3 million to buy the center. The town and county still have to progress to contract stages and the sale has to clear a permissive referendum. The latter would give Chester residents an opportunity to gather signatures to make the sale a question for a referendum.

The board voted to accept Tracy Schuh’s resignation from Chester Conservation Advisory Council. She had been one of the group’s most active members and the board expressed regret over her leaving.

The board also passed a resolution asking the Chester Public Library and the Albert Wisner Public Library to seek a solution to the double library taxation of Chester residents living in the Warwick School District. As Wisner is listed as a school district library, its designation would need to be changed to a special district library to cut Chester out of its taxing domain, which could result in lost tax revenue.

Additionally, the board voted to submit a tax receiver bond to Orange County, settled the salaries for theater camp supervisors and counselors and appropriated $285 to fight bees at the SLPAC.