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09/04/2024 01:12 PMCHESTER
On Aug. 22, at a Board of Selectmen (BOS) special meeting, Chester electors authorized the transfer and expenditure of a total of $505,016.32 in capital monies to support the town’s infrastructure and public safety services.
An ordinance was also approved to establish the tax collector as an appointed position, rather than an elected position.
The first capital transfer and immediate succeeding approval for spending was for $218,943.32 to be reallocated for improvements to the town’s roads, sidewalks, bridges, and dams. At the meeting, First Selectman Cindy Lignar said that the majority of the capital money, specifically $218,042.54, was from the sale of municipal property at 59 Winthrop Road, while the remaining $900.78 “is what was left over from the Parkers Point boat launch repairs.”
Lignar elaborated by saying, “We are going to use that funding,” adding that “it will be released for the North Main Street reconstruction project.“
Prior to the meeting, Lignar informed the Valley Courier that the reconstruction project will be supported by a $500,000 grant from the Small Town Economic Assistance Program, $240,000 from the town’s American Rescue Plan Act pool, and an additional $143,200 from other town capital funds.
The reconstruction project includes expanding North Main Street and bolstering drainage for greater flood resiliency. An extended sewer line up to Water Street is also being considered for the future, according to Lignar, who emphasized the importance of jumping on the project from a financial perspective.
“If we wait, with the rate of inflation, the way it’s been, it’s just going to cost more in the future,” she said.
Following the approval of this expenditure, approval came to transfer $103,849 from the BOS budget in order to fund new equipment for the Public Works Department. Lignar said the monies were meant to replenish the equipment line item in the department’s budget following remediation work done at the 59 Winthrop Road at the same cost. The monies went into in the BOS budget as a reimbursement from the state’s Department of Economic Development for the work done at the property.
“The $103,849 was taken out of that public works highway equipment line item, and it was used for the brownfield remediation at 59 Winthrop Road,” she said. “So, it's just putting it back into where it came from.”
The transfer of $162,224 from the BOS budget to the fire department was approved by town electors as another act of financial replenishment for the fire apparatus line item in the department’s budget.
According to Lignar, “funding was borrowed from the fire apparatus replacement line item” for tree removals at 16 North Main Street following floods in 2018. The town was reimbursed for this project by the National Resource Conservation Service and the United States Department of Agriculture at the same figure which was approved for eventual transfer.
Finally, town electors approved of the expenditure of $20,000 for outfitting police cruisers with new radios and lighting. The funds are “approximately two months of interest from the town STIP [Short Term Investment Pool] account,” said Lignar.
The last item on the agenda to be approved by town electors was an ordinance to establish the tax collector as an appointed position, rather than an elected one. Lignar said that appointing the position ensures that the town can “choose the most qualified person” for that role, which she said is “very specialized.” Lignar added that the appointment of the tax collector would also broaden “the bright scope of who we can choose from,” including those who did not initially live in Chester.
As per the ordinance, an individual who does not reside in Chester and is hired by the town for the role must then live in town. There are also no term limits on the position.
Lignar said that all three members of the BOS “are in agreement about this.”
The approval of this ordinance precedes a referendum on the proposed charter which Chester residents will vote on this November in which the tax collector would be appointed along with other positions at Town Hall which are currently selected by voters.