Town board passes resolution opposing local ICE facility

The potential presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the Town and Village of Chester was again the subject of conversation and action at the Jan. 28 meeting of the Chester Town Board.

Councilman Bob Courtenay lamented that an ICE detention center in Chester could be a “million dollar problem” because it will require hiring new police officers to keep up with protest activities. Supervisor Brandon Holdridge said he is in constant contact with other officials about the situation and submitted with the Village of Chester a letter in opposition to the facility to the Department of Homeland Security. Holdridge said many residents copied the town on letters they emailed to Homeland Security in opposition of the facility.

The board unanimously passed a resolution opposing the facility and voted 3-0-1 – with Tom Becker abstaining – for a resolution in support of the New York Mandatory End of Lawless Tactics (NY MELT) law, which would require that ICE agents wear a name tag and not wear a mask while conducting enforcement activities in the state.

In other news, Holdridge praised the Highway Department for its recent work clearing the roads after the big snowstorm on Jan. 25. “Our Highway Department did a kick-ass job on this last storm,” he said.

In other news, the board also:

* approved a request from the Highway Department that road “openings” ­– meaning work that requires the road to be dug underneath – would be prohibited from Nov. 1 – April 1 of each year.

* passed a resolution acknowledging the receipt of a petition to form a water district for the Chester Greens development. They put $3,000 into escrow for John Queenan and the town attorney to review the district.

* voted to open a public hearing on Feb. 25 regarding a six-month extension of the battery storage moratorium. It was first instated in August of 2024. They noted concern about such sites following the recent battery storage fire in Warwick.

* appointed Beth Pechman to a full-term library board seat to run through Dec. 31, 2030; two vehicles from the police department to be sold at auction for a total of $3,500; and a 2026 animal control contract with the Warwick Valley Humane Society.

The next board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 11 beginning at 6:45 p.m. at Town Hall, located at 1786 Kings Highway in Chester.