LUDLOW, Vt. – The Chester Town Meeting on March 6, 2023, opened with the reading of the town warning by the moderator. He explained that Articles 1, 2, and 3 would be voted on March 7, by Australian Ballot, and the rest would be voted on at the meeting. Article 1 is the election of town officials for the coming year. Articles 2 and 3 are votes on bonds for various paving needs as well as a dump truck and an ambulance.
Articles 4 and 5 asked the residents to allow the selectboard to appoint a town clerk and treasurer. A citizen asked how the clerk is chosen currently. Town Manager Julie Hance explained that the clerk and treasurer are elected positions and that the current clerk, Deborah Aldrich, has held the job for 22 years and worked for the town even longer, so there is no expected change to the position from the Article. Board Chair Arnie Jonynas explained that lots of Vermont municipalities are putting a vote for this forward, mostly for the treasurer position, due to the increasing complexity of the job and the need to bring in candidates with experience. Both Article 4 and 5 passed.
Windsor County Senator Allison Clarkson spoke at the meeting, she gave some updates on the current goals of the state senate, talking briefly about S5, the affordable heat act. She thanked the people of Chester and Windsor County for trusting her to serve.
Board Member and State Representative Heather Chase talked about her experiences as a first time state representative. She talked about her work on the committee on commerce and economic development and some of the bills being passed around the legislature. She thanked the people of Chester for voting her in and giving her the opportunity to serve.
Jonynas presented three letters from Vermont’s Secretary of State to selectboard members Leigh Dakin and Ben Whalen and citizen Daniel Cook, thanking them for the service they have given to the Town of Chester over the years.
During discussion for Article 6, asking the residents to accept the town budget, Hance gave a presentation on each town department’s activities for the past year and the state of the budget. The Town of Chester ended the year with a surplus of $5,000 and the next year budget is set to increase about 6%, Hance said the budget was about as tight as could be and the increases were due to inflation and increased costs of construction materials, fuel, and other things. A citizen mentioned that they had heard that some other town’s budgets went up 30% and that 6% for a year such as the past one was impressive. Hance also explained that Article 3 is asking for a bond to purchase the town a new dump truck and ambulance, and bonds must be voted on by Australian ballot, which is the reason it is not being voted on at the meeting. She explained that the interest rates on bonds are currently better than that of traditional financing, but they will reassess when they go to purchase the vehicles to ensure the best deal is being taken. Article 6 passed.
Articles 7 through 11, asking the citizens to appropriate small sums of money for a number of reasons to a number of organizations, passed with no discussion. A citizen spoke on the help they received from Senior Solutions during discussion on Article 12, asking the town to provide Senior Solutions with $1,200 for services to Chester. Article 12 passed.
Article 13 passed with little discussion, providing $2,250 to MOOver Rockingham for transit services to the Town of Chester.
Article 14 asked the voters to provide Windsor County Mentors with $800 for providing services to Chester. A citizen mentioned that upon reading the past years report by Windsor County Mentors only one person in Chester was receiving services during the past year, she was wondering why this was. Another citizen said that even if it is just one person now, organizations such as these should be supported so they are there when needed. Some members of the board mentioned how these organizations used to send representatives to the meetings to answer any questions by the citizens, and how helpful that was. Article 14 passed.
Article 15 and 16 passed with no discussion. During discussion of Article 17 a representative from the Chester-Andover Family Center thanked the town for their continued support and read some statistics from the organizations past year. Article 17 passed, giving the family center $3,000.
Hance motioned for an amendment to Article 18, changing the amount to be appropriated to Neighborhood Connections to $1,500 from the originally listed $1,000. Hance explained that that was the usual amount given to them and the $1,000 listing was a mistake. A social worker from Neighborhood Connections spoke at the meeting, thanking the people of Chester for their continued support over the years and stating that the organization had 365 clients the past year and served 8,000 meals, and that a little over 6% of their total business comes from Chester. The motion and amendment passed.
The results from March 7 voting on Articles 1, 2, and 3 will be released in the paper next week.