Opinion: January and February Town Recap

I hope everyone is having a great 2026 so far. Here is a look at some accomplishments/happenings from the last two months:

We approved a three-year PBA contract that included no changes to benefits for our officers and 2.25 percent increase in their salaries, which is a great deal for taxpayers.

I attended and helped organize meetings between Senator Skoufis’ office, NYS Ag and Markets, and multiple school districts in Orange County, including Chester, to better connect them on programs that will bring farm to table/healthier products to our kids.

We passed a resolution and sent in multiple letters with 68 Hudson Valley elected officials co-signed in opposition to the proposed ICE detention facility at the Pep Boys Warehouse.

I directed our grant writers to assist the Chester Fire District which resulted in a Wildland Firefighter Equipment Grant Award of $3,500.

We accepted a new cleaning contract that will be $1,500 less annually compared to our previous contract.

We reverted our full-time planning and zoning boards secretary position back to part-time which will save taxpayer funds over the long run with less salary and benefits being paid out to the position.

I contacted the State DOT and County DPW about potholes on the 17M bridge, Laroe Rd, and Route 94.

If you have any questions/suggestions/concerns about any of this or otherwise, please feel free to reach out to me any time! I’ll keep working full-time as your Town Supervisor to make Chester a better place.

Brandon Holdridge
Town Supervisor of Chester