Chester board OKs court action against Julian quarries, neighbors want more

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2024 Telegraph Publishing LLC

At last Wednesday’s meeting, the Chester Select Board authorized Zoning Administrator Preston Bristow to start enforcement actions in court against two of Julian Materials’ violations of the stipulation the company negotiated with the town this past spring. And, at the same meeting, neighbors of the Julian quarries in Gassetts urged the board to take further action against other violations of the stipulation.

Bristow told the board that he was asking for approval to spend money to take the Julian Materials to Environmental Court regarding two “structure violations” that deal with a manufactured home and a storage container on property near the Stone Store on Route 103 North. Those structures were to be removed and have not been.

“Every step of the way, we consult with our town attorney, Jim Carroll,” said Bristow who noted that Carroll believes that structure violation cases are easier for towns to win than violations of use.

Among use violations include running a loud pump at all hours to drain the Chandler quarry, continuing truck traffic between quarries and continued noise from the South quarry. Bristow did say that the hydraulic hammering that was at issue has stopped.

Bristow also said that while they are going forward with the two structure violations, Carroll is “taking under advisement” the use violations, which may be added to the cas if enough evidence can be collected.

Town Manager Julie Hance told the board that as evidence is gathered Carroll, Preston and Hance will come back to the board about pursuing those violations.

Board chair Arne Jonynas said that the town is past the point of further negotiations with the Julian company and indicated he was in favor of going to court.  Board member Lee Gustafson asked how much the court action would cost.

Hance said there was no way of knowing, but probably $2,000 or more and that Carroll would try to get expenses and legal costs back as part of any judgment. Gustafson asked if there was any downside. Hance said she could think of none, but that not pursuing the enforcement was sending the wrong message.

Once the board voted to authorize Carroll to begin an enforcement action, Gassetts resident Mike LeClair rose to say that the quarries’ neighbors have spent thousands of dollars to get six items in the stipulation enforced.

“These aren’t my laws, or our laws … these are the town’s rules, the state’s rules we’re spending our time and efforts documenting and hiring attorneys … I can’t imagine for the life of me why we haven’t had enforcement before now. The reputation of the people we’re dealing with speaks for itself,” said LeClair. “Where does it end?”

LeClair said he and his neighbors have been dealing with the situation for four years and asserted that no one on the board would put up with it if it happened in Chester rather than in Gassetts.

“These people have been making a mockery out of your rules and regulations and they still are,” said LeClair. “Solid enforcement is the only thing these people will understand.”

Board chair Jonynas said, “It’s extremely tough when you have someone who doesn’t care about the laws, who disregards all the laws and does whatever the hell they want, and we have to follow procedures and go through the courts.” He added that he wished the town had a “magic bullet” to make things right.

Water upgrades, cannabis board appointment

Meeting as the Water Commission earlier in the evening, the board voted to increase the rates for water customers by $3 per quarter for the base rate and 25 cents per 1,000 gallons of water used. Members also raised the sewer base rate by $2 per quarter.

Hance told the board that the rates have been increased incrementally over time because they have not been raised to keep up with costs for several years.  She said there will be a couple more increases to come and the town will reevaluate its fees in February 2025.

The board also approved the purchase of equipment to upgrade the town’s water meters. The upgrade is needed, according to Water/Sewer Superintendent Jeff Holden, because the equipment currently used to read the meters is obsolete and no longer supported by the manufacturer.

Holden said the new cellphone-based system will read the meters several times a day and send the usage to the town. He noted in a previous meeting that the new software will help find leaks in homes by noticing the duration of running water. It will also allow the town to bill large commercial users monthly rather than quarterly, which will improve cash flow for the users and the town. A representative of the equipment maker told the board that there is sufficient cell coverage in the water district and that the equipment doesn’t require the bandwidth of a cellphone to transmit small bits of data.

The cost of the upgrade is $106,500 plus $600 per month for the cell coverage. The costs are not borne by taxpayers at large, but rather by the water users.

In other action, the board filled a vacancy on the Local Cannabis Control Commission by appointing Barry Fowler to the seat that Reisa Alexander held. She has resigned from the commission. Fowler served as a lister until work responsibilities made the private work difficult to do. He told the board he had been looking forward to finding another way to be involved with the town. The three-year appointment of Fowler runs to March of 2027.