CHESTER, Vt. – The Chester Selectboard’s Wednesday, July 15, meeting began with the board continuing its review of the services provided by the town’s municipal departments.
First up was the recreation department, represented by Recreation Director Matt McCarthy. McCarthy laid out for the board a list of the duties he performs, including opening and closing the pool; putting up and taking down nets for various sports; pressure washing and maintaining the basketball courts, the pickleball courts, and the track; and mulching the playgrounds. McCarthy also said he sets up the ice rink in the winter and removes it at the end of the winter, maintains the frisbee golf course, and mows the two Little Leage fields and Cobleigh Field, among other duties.
McCarthy noted that a grant was recently received for the creation of a walking path at the Pinnacle, which he said would measure roughly a half mile around. He also laid out several plans which he said were in the works, including more programming for teenage residents of Chester in collaboration with the Chester Teen Center. “That age group, McCarthy explained, “I think they get skipped a little bit sometimes.”
Plans are also in motion, said McCarthy, for construction of a “natural playground” at Cobleigh using potential grant funding, and a walking path from Cobleigh to the Chester Green.
When asked by board Chair Lee Gustafson what the next big project would be, Town Manager Julie Hance responded, saying, “The pool house is in desperate need of a lot of work.” McCarthy noted that the building dates from at least the 1960s, and that the roof needs to be replaced, for which he has been quoted $25,000 to $35,000. There have also been discussions, McCarthy and Hance said, of integrating the pool house or its replacement into a larger, four-season community center, as the Pinnacle recreation area currently lacks restroom and other facilities in the winter, despite the ice rink seeing daily use.
Next, Zoning Administrator Hugh Quinn presented to the board on the planning and zoning department’s services. Quinn identified the three primary goals of the department as promoting responsible growth, administering fair and consistent zoning, and ensuring accurate and equitable property assessment.
Quinn noted that the department handles 70-80 zoning permits and 10-15 public hearings annually, as well as multiple daily phone calls requesting zoning bylaw clarification and lodging complaints. He also explained that the department ensures accurate data for the 2,200 parcels in Chester, and handles approximately 865 homestead declarations and current-use processing for roughly 195 parcels.
The department is currently working on an update to Chester’s town plan, Quinn said, which must be completed by May 2028. He also said that townwide reappraisals will begin in July 2027 and will continue through June 2029.
Echoing a theme from the previous selectboard meeting, Quinn thanked Hance for ensuring that town employees are cross-trained, as he and Town Planner Preston Bristow are able to fill in and perform each other’s duties as required.
Moving along its agenda, the board discussed the possibility of transitioning the town’s fiscal year to a July 1 – June 30 schedule, and transitioning municipal taxes to quarterly installments due on the first days of September, December, March, and June. Chester’s municipal taxes are currently paid in one lump sum, and the fiscal year runs from Jan. 1 – Dec. 31.
However, in order to make the transition and account for the six-month gap between the end of the traditional fiscal year on Dec. 31 and the beginning of the next fiscal year on July 1, the town would need to collect 18 months’ worth of municipal taxes split over the first four quarterly installments, meaning residents would pay a year and a half’s worth of taxes in a single year. Over the long term, however, the amount of taxes paid by a given homeowner would not be greater than if the town had not made the transition.
Finance Director Deborah Epler explained that the transition to quarterly taxes would, in theory, save the town money in the long run, using as an example the fact that Chester borrowed $2.5 million in 2025 to support the town for nine months, which, at 3.5% interest, amounted to an interest payment of $84,000. With tax payments coming in quarterly, the town should have its coffers replenished more often, creating less necessity to borrow money to fill the gaps.
The board agreed to continue to discuss the issue, as well as how to educate the public so that residents are aware of the long-term benefits as well as the short-term drawbacks.
The board also discussed the possibility of changing the town’s budget vote to an Australian ballot vote, a discussion initiated by board member Peter Hudkins. Currently, the budget is voted on the floor at Town Meeting in March. Gustafson expressed his support for the change, noting that Town Meeting typically sees around 100 voters attend, while Australian ballot questions see around 500 voters cast ballots, meaning a larger percentage of the town’s voters are likely to vote on the budget if it is voted by ballot instead of on the floor. “Personally, I’m in favor of [the change to Australian ballot],” Gustafson said, though he added, “The downside I see is that you have the uninformed voter who just sees a number and says ‘I don’t like that number, I’m going to vote against it.’”
Chester resident Wanda Purdy, former assistant town clerk and former chair of the board of listers, pushed back against Gustafson’s concern. “I’m sure there’s a lot of [uninformed voters] out there,” Purdy said, “but I think it’s totally unfair for 100 to 150 people to…determine what the tax rate, or budget, is going to be for the town. I think there should be more access for people out there who have to work three jobs to be able to afford the tax bill.”
Board member Lauren Fierman concurred, saying that, when Town Meetings were first held, most voters had the day off and were able to attend, but this is no longer the case. “I support making the change because of all the barriers for people coming to Town Meeting,” Fierman explained, adding that, while she also has concerns about uninformed voters, she believes that, in general, the voters of Chester support public works and education.
Hance raised another concern, however, telling the board that, in her observation, “Towns who have everything voted by Australian ballot have nobody show up at their Town Meeting.” This point generated some discussion as to how best to generate participation while allowing more voters the opportunity to have their voices heard, though the board did not arrive at any concrete solutions.
It was also noted that one of the supposed advantages of a floor vote is the ability for the budget, or any floor-vote question, to be amended by voters directly at Town Meeting. Hudkins responded, however, that he has not seen a budget altered from the floor since his father’s day.
The board agreed to continue the discussion, noting that final approval for the change would need to be put before Chester’s voters at Town Meeting in 2027, with the change to take effect in 2028 should it meet with approval.
The Chester Selectboard meets on the first and third Wednesdays of every month, at 6:30 p.m., at the Chester Town Hall.