Chester board talks quarrying, STRs, future rail connections and federal funds

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2025 Telegraph Publishing LLC

With Tuesday’s elections behind it, the Chester Select Board last Wednesday got down to its annual re-organization with a bit of a surprise. When nominations for officers were opened, long-time board chair Arne Jonynas  nominated vice chair Lee Gustafson to the chairman seat. The vote of the five-member board was unanimous. As Gustafson took over the meeting, Jonynas was nominated and elected vice chair.

Discussion on quarrying and extraction

A couple of months ago, as the board was approving an amendment to zoning regulations for the rural districts, a number of residents asked for restrictions on quarrying and earth extraction. These arose out of the problems with the Julian Quarries in Gassetts. While approving the amendments without changing the regulations on extraction, the board said it would circle back and look at the issue to send a sense of what it wanted to the Planning Commission. With the budgeting done and Town Meeting out of the way that discussion came to the front burner.

Board member Arianna Knapp said that she listened to residents’ concerns, but still wants to encourage business growth. She added that she could not discuss the issue without understanding the quarrying business, which had been tainted by the experience with the Julian quarries.

What followed was a discussion of the difference in the methods of extraction and how those are viewed from the current zoning standards. Planning Commission Chair Hugh Quinn told the board that the problematic quarries in the area were permitted before current zoning laws were in place. He noted that current regulations have “the appropriate level of detail” about the various forms of extraction and that such operations are subject to conditional use review by the DRB.

Quinn said a new operation would be subject to all of the requirements (regarding sound, traffic etc.) but board member Tim Roper said that it was the lack of enforcement that led to the deep concerns of people near the Gassetts quarries.

Chester resident Palmer Goodrich told the board that the places to get sand and gravel are increasingly fewer and farther between. He said that the town needs those products and there are ways get them from Vermont’s abundant ledge to make up for the loss of places do extraction.  such businesses.

Amtrak rail connection resolution

Town Planner Preston Bristow briefed the board on progress toward a rail line between Bellows Falls and Rutland that would connect Amtrak’s Vermonter and Ethan Allen services. He envisioned the service as the “Rutland Flyer.”

He said that the outlook for it to go forward with the Vermont Rail Advisory Council was a longshot, but back in October 2024, The Chester Telegraph had written a story about his effort and included a link for readers to comment on the proposal directly to the state council. At it’s next meeting, the council cited the fact that more than 30 comments came in in favor of local plan — although some contended that despite the large response, the decision was not a “popularity contest.”

Bristow said he responded in writing by noting that the process asks for public comment, which could be seen as a gauge of how much demand there is for the plan. Still, Bristow said it came as a bit of a surprise when the council included the proposal in the plan as a third tier project. Bristow said that was good enough for him, noting that when there’s funding for projects available for towns, the first question is “is it in your town plan?”

Likewise, according to Bristow, when funding is available for rail expansion, having this project in the state’s plan makes it possible.

With the “Rutland Flyer” in the plan, Bristow said the council’s next meeting was to be held on March 10 and asked the Select Board to sign a resolution supporting the concept for that meeting, which the board did.

Short term rental update

Quinn, who also serves as Assistant Zoning Administrator – told the board that the number of short-term rentals have declined to 64 since its high of 70 in 2024, when a cap of 65 was imposed by the Select Board. Quinn explained that the numbers are a result of the cap, the waiting list, some slow renewals and several STR owners trying to sell their properties. He noted that in the next week or so, as the grace period for renewals expires, the actual number of rentals will become clear. The Telegraph has a story on this which you can find here.

Old business: Fed funding cuts, FEMA payments, dam evaluation and carport recovery

Hance told the board that she had heard a number of inquiries about the effects of expected cuts to federal funding on the town. She said that the town’s budget is not affected by federal funds, pointing especially to highway funds that are generated by the state. And that she has not been notified of any issues with grants already awarded to the town. Hance said that she keeps current on making reimbursement requests as soon they can be made and that the town is almost fully funded by FEMA reimbursments from the July 2023 flooding.

Hance also said that FEMA is paying for an engineering study of the dam at the town’s reservoir, which may uncover problems with that structure that would be expensive to repair and would not be covered by grants since it’s no longer considered a backup water source for the town.

Hance also told the board that the town had received the documents it needed to release the collapsed carport at the Public Safety Building and that it would be taken down shortly. The Telegraph has a story on this which you can find here.