CHESTER, Vt. – Before the meeting on Feb. 15, some members of the Chester Selectboard visited the site of a boundary dispute between the town and a neighboring property owner on Canal Street. The dispute is between a survey of the property that had been done by the owners in the 60s and surveys by the town done from the 50s and 70s. Board Chair Arunas Jonynas said that the tax maps and physical evidence at the site support the claim of the property owner. The board passed a motion to let Town Manager Julie Hance settle the border dispute in favor of the property owner. The owner thanked the board for settling this issue.
The board moved on to discuss the status of the Chester Community Gardens. Jonynas mentioned how the club had shown the proposed land license agreement to their attorney and they had a few suggestions to make. Jonynas said that this could end in another couple rounds of back and forth negotiation over the contracts, stretching out the process. Jonynas also mentioned that at the last meeting of the garden club the members voted that they would be okay with the club being officially managed by the town, but run by the volunteers. There was a large discussion on how the garden would be managed and maintained under this plan and if there are any financial liabilities that would be produced for the town. It was explained that under this plan the garden would go under the guise of the town recreation department, but almost all of the work on the garden would be done by volunteers.
Board member Lee Gustafson expressed his wish to wait until the next meeting to vote on the new suggestion for the garden club. Members of the garden club told the board that they had an upcoming meeting to rework their strategic plan and they requested a decision on how the club will operate before then. Jonynas mentioned how this club has been given an unnecessarily long process of starting while similar ventures such as Chester Townscapes and Chester Disc Golf have access to use town land with little to no oversight. The board passed a motion for Hance to meet with the club members and draw up a written document explaining the town and club’s relationship.
The board looked at a draft plan for the towns police advisory committee that Hance helped draw up with the police department. The board discussed possible wording changes in different sections. Hance mentioned that there has been community interest in the committee and she has received several applications for it. Hance will bring an updated document on the committee to the next meeting and the board will interview candidates March 15.
The board looked at town ambulatory rates and adjusted them to meet the current average price. The prices hadn’t been increased since 2021.
The Chester Selectboard meets the first and third Wednesday of the month at 6:30 p.m. in the upstairs of the Chester Town Hall. The next meeting will be on March 1. The Chester Town Meeting will take place on March 6.