All Entries in the "Chester" Category
Chester board revisits bridge decision, unseats planning panel member
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC In a busy session on Wednesday night, the Chester Select Board discussed revisiting a decision that could result in the town taking a resident’s property by eminent domain and made appointments which shook up the planning commission and left two vacancies on the development review board. In […]
Chester board names Telegraph paper of record
© 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board on Wednesday night voted unanimously to give the annual paper of record designation to the online only Chester Telegraph, the first “born-digital” newspaper in Vermont to receive that designation. The designation means that the town of Chester will use The Telegraph to publish all legally required […]
Photo Gallery: A look inside Chester’s new Public Safety Building
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC For everyone who drives by the new Public Safety Building and wonders what it’s looking like inside, The Telegraph took a tour with Town Manager Julie Hance on Tuesday, March 16 and shot some photos. According to Hance, the building is expected to be finished by June […]
Huge changes possible in Chester’s proposed new bylaws First in a series: Initial read finds longer, more complex document, inconsistencies
By Shawn Cunningham © Telegraph Publishing LLC On Monday night, the Chester Planning Commission got back to work on its total rewrite of the town’s Unified Development Bylaws with the intention of bringing them to the required public hearings this summer before sending them to the Select Board to consider. But based questions about the […]
Chester recount: Numbers change, result remains Chase margin expands slightly; Blair says he'll run in 2022
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Today’s hand recount of ballots for the three-year term on the Chester Select Board that were cast last Tuesday confirmed the result and slightly widened the small margin of victory for incumbent member Heather Chase. Last Tuesday night, the tally stood at 251 votes for Chase and […]
Chester Select Board race recount set for Monday
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC With just six votes separating two candidates for a three year term on the Chester Select Board, a recount has been scheduled for Monday. Scott Blair, who received 245 votes on Tuesday, asked for a hand recount of the machine read ballots on Wednesday morning and Town […]
Chester Planning Comm. agenda for March 1
The Chester Planning Commission will hold its regular meeting via Zoom at 5 p.m. on Monday March 1. To join the meeting go to https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81029256359. Below is its agenda. 1. Citizen comments 2. Discuss letter to Select Board about Peter Hudkins presentation at the February 17, 2021 Select Board meeting. 3. Discuss agenda and set […]
Meet the Candidates: Three vie for two 1-year seats on Chester Select Board
© 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Three races for the Chester Select Board are being contested in this year’s election: Three people are running for a three-year term and another three people are running for two one-year terms. Leigh Dakin and Jeff Holden are seeking re-election to their one-year seats and are being challenged by Will […]
Meet the Candidates: Three seek 3-year seat on Chester Select Board
Three races for the Chester Select Board are being contested in this year’s election: Three people are running for a three-year term and three people are also running for two one-year terms. Heather Chase, who currently holds the three-year seat, is running for re-election. She is being challenged by Jeannie Wade and Scott Blair. (Leigh […]
Chester board delays cannabis discussion; affirms support for community greenhouse
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC At just a little over 37 minutes in length, last Wednesday’s Chester Select Board meeting touched on many topics, but most of the work was “just housekeeping,” in the words of board chair Arne Jonynas. And there was an off-agenda discussion of future discussions of retail sales […]
Towns set new info sessions, Town Meetings, votes in response to Covid-19 pandemic
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing, LLC With Town Meeting Day just four weeks away and the rules for gathering during the Covid-19 pandemic still restrictive, select boards are looking at the options presented to them by the Vermont Legislature. With the passage of H. 48, the state gave municipalities – including school districts […]
Local state reps outline priorities for 2021 session
By Cherise Madigan ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC Local state legislators returned remotely to Montpelier for the 2021 session, focusing on the Covid-19 pandemic and recovery efforts. To find out what local legislators were specifically addressing this session, The Telegraph spoke with Reps. Tom Bock of Chester (D-Windsor 3-1), Kelly Pajala of Londonderry (I-Windham-Bennington-Windsor), Linda Joy […]
Chester board approves $3.3 million budget
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board approved the town’s $3.343 million budget at its Wednesday, Jan. 20 meeting and decided to use the general fund surplus of $335,295 to pay upfront for the match for the grant to do the Depot Street sidewalk project rather than borrowing the $200,000 […]
Chester board OKs annual warning, drops cannabis discussion Town budget, paving bonds, dump truck and police cruiser among items to be voted
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board at a special meeting on Monday afternoon approved the town’s warning for the March 2 Town Meeting Australian ballot, but decided to postpone putting an article on cannabis sales in front of the voters until board members could discuss it further in a […]
Chester Select Board/Water Sewer agenda for Jan. 20
The Chester Select Board will hold a meeting as the Water and Sewer Commission followed by a meeting as the Select Board beginning at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 20 at Town Hall and via Zoom. The Select Board meeting is labeled “special” because it will not begin at its regular time. To participate via […]
Chester board opts out of in-person Town Meeting All questions to be voted by Australian ballot; online informational meeting to be held
By Shawn Cunningham © 2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board last Wednesday opted to hold an informational meeting on Monday, March 1 followed by a vote on all issues before the voters by Australian ballot on Tuesday, March 2 — Vermont’s Town Meeting Day. At the beginning of the discussion, board chair Arne […]
Chester Rotary seeks ‘competent organization’ to take over Fall Festival
By Cynthia Prairie ©2021 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Rotary is hoping that a “competent organization” will soon step forward to take over the annual Chester Fall Festival “for the sake of the community and the town,” said Rotary President Ian Montgomery on Tuesday morning. The festival, which was in its 45th year with the […]
Boards struggle with holding annual meetings during pandemic Legislation may give municipalities more options
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing, LLC Town Meeting day is more than two months away, but municipalities — including school districts — throughout Vermont are working out how that annual ritual of direct democracy will be handled during a global pandemic in which personal contact can be hazardous. When Gov. Phil Scott announced […]
Chester board mulls dismantling 131-year-old Jeffrey Barn Lack of insurance, upkeep at core of Select Board decision
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC The Chester Select Board is looking for a contractor to dismantle the 131-year-old Jeffrey Barn on Rt. 103 North after learning that the town’s insurer will no longer cover it. Town Manager Julie Hance told the board at its Wednesday, Dec. 16 meeting that the Vermont League […]
Chester board continues budget work, appoints Zoning Administrator Resident proposes civilian oversight of police
By Shawn Cunningham © 2020 Telegraph Publishing LLC At its Dec. 2 meeting, the Chester Select Board continued working on the budget, department by department, and even converted into its alter ego – The Chester Water Commission – to look at the numbers for 2021. As has happened in previous meetings, most of the budget […]
