CHESTER, Vt. – In a short, 24-minute meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022, the Chester Selectboard approved eight agenda items, from authorizing Town Manager Julie Hance to apply for a municipal parking lot grant, to discussing the upcoming retirement of Police Chief Richard Cloud. The selectboard breezed through each item, despite the fact that Board Chair Arne Jonynas was not present.
The meeting began with an approval of last meeting’s minutes, in which the board and Chester resident Sue Bailey noted that there have been a number of distressing bicycle related accidents and incidents in town, such as cyclists speeding through stop signs on their way down High Street. The board agreed to look into the issue for coming meetings and moved on to “Old Business,” in which Hance stated that they have received a number of complaints about faded crosswalks. According to Hance, the paint for the crosswalks is a particular, petroleum-based paint that has been on backorder for months. There is no clear indication of when the paint will be available.
Next on the agenda, Hance updated the board on Chief Cloud’s retirement. Chief Cloud has submitted his retirement papers and plans to leave the department on Jan. 7, 2023, at the end of the pay year. He will be involved in the process of selecting the next Chief, which will begin mid-August, according to Hance, and will also involve Jim Baker, who is amassing data for the Police Department Assessment.
The Assessment was also on the agenda. There is currently a survey on Facebook and the Town of Chester website, which is, stated Hance, “The last piece of data collection,” for the report. The assessment will allegedly be complete by mid-August. Hance stated that it has not yet been decided whether the report will be available to the public, but that if it is, it will be available on the town website.
A motion approving Hance to apply for a municipal parking lot grant passed unanimously after little discussion. In exchange for listing the public Chester parking lot on the State of Vermont’s website, the town will receive allotted grant money from the state for theresurfacing of the parking area.
In “New Business,” the board discussed that they may begin charging drivers to use the electric vehicle charging stations in Chester, something that was previously covered by the town. The State provided Chester with the charging stations three years ago with the understanding that, after three years, Chester could manage them how they wished. Board member Lee Gustafson was in favor of maintaining the stations, saying that he thought “they were a good opportunity to attract people to town.” Finally, the board mentioned that there is still one position available on the Cannabis Control Commission. Anyone seeking to apply for the position can contact the Town on their website, www.chestervt.gov.