Town Board approves PAC rental for dance competition

Among the business at the Sept. 10 meeting of the Chester Town Board was an approval for the rental of the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center (SLPAC) to New Tang Dynasty for a classical Chinese dance competition Sept. 10 – 14 in the amount of $17,250. The rental was the center of some controversy because of New Tang Dynasty’s parent company, Epoch Media and the Falun Gong.

A resident petitioned the board via letter calling out the Falun Gong for being an alleged fringe right-wing conspiracy theorist movement that discriminated against the LGBT community and whose events were sometimes the center of violent protests. Sugar Loaf Community Foundation president Jeff Zahn also expressed concern about the booking, likening it to allowing the KKK or Nazi Party to organize an event at SLPAC.

Supervisor Brandon Holdridge said he believed in the group’s First Amendment rights and had no problem with them hosting an event on town property. All five board members agreed, voting to approve the rental.

Holdridge reported that the Sugar Loaf sidewalk project was on schedule for completion by the end of September. The town and N.Y.S. Sen. James Skoufis will hold a ribbon cutting and photo opportunity when the project is complete.

David Collins, Democratic town board candidate, spoke during public comment, lauding the town for the job it did in installing the new lights at the Chester Commons field. He said his kids attended a game there and raved about them. Holdridge said he was also impressed by the new lighting, describing the lights as “magical” following his attendance of a Friday night football game.

Holdridge reported that the new parking spots at the senior center will have to be moved because the original location for them was too steeply graded. He also said the town received money back from an insurance claim for online fraud suffered recently. Three legal actions against the town were dismissed or expired, Holdridge announced, including a claim filed by former town supervisor Robert Valentine.

The meeting began with a moment of silence for the recently slain political activist Charlie Kirk, followed by a plea from Holdridge for the country to do better to combat gun violence.

The board also approved the low bid of $2,468 from PN company for a new burglar alarm system at the Senior Center. The board approved the purchase of a truck and trailer for $4,601.

Budget modifications were also approved, including $25,000 to be moved to cover Police Department Vehicle Expenses for the rest of the year and $21,000 for Sugar Loaf Water District power repairs.

The board approved the purchase of of $4,141.29 Marley Flooring from Diamond Grade Media for the PAC. The board created a water operator position for the Water Department and hired Joe Janots retroactive to Aug. 7.