All Entries in the "Chester" Category
Chester Historical Society throws future of Yosemite Fire House into question
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The future of an iconic Chester structure is in question as the organization that has been responsible for it for nearly 38 years has expressed a desire to shed that responsibility. At a meeting on Thursday Jan. 22, Chester Historical Society President Ron Patch told the society’s membership […]
Open offices: What’s up in Chester, Andover, Grafton, Weston and Londonderry
©2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC Next week: We’ll outline the fiscal articles that will be on the ballots for Andover, Chester, Grafton, Londonderry and Weston. Chester petitions due Monday Petitions to run for elective office in Chester are due at the Town Office by 5 p.m. Monday Jan. 26. According to Chester Town Clerk Deb Aldrich, […]
Chester board considers eliminating votes during town meeting; adopts budget proposal for voter approval
By Shawn Cunningham ©2015 The Chester Telegraph The Chester Select Board is considering whether voting from the floor at town meeting should be eliminated. Two articles were proposed for consideration at the Monday March 2 meeting. Article 2 asks “Shall the Town of Chester vote on all public questions by Australian ballot.” Article 3 asks […]
Public Funds bring tidy return, Hearse House project to receive grant
By Shawn Cunningham © 2015 Telegraph Publishing LLC The three-member board that oversees more than a dozen funds given to the town for designated purposes met Tuesday to hear from representatives of People’s Bank who manage the $660,000 public funds portfolio and to announce a grant to support the rehabilitation of the Hearse House at […]
Chester board delays budget decisions; discussed land purchase in questionable executive session
By Shawn Cunningham ©Telegraph Publishing LLC – 2014 The Chester Select Board took up the 2015 budget at its Wednesday Dec. 17 meeting, discussing several issues from earlier meetings. But it was agenda item No. 7 – the proposed purchase of land – that raised questions about transparency in the town government of Chester. Town […]
Paving, police, library and health insurance among Chester budget topics.
By Shawn Cunningham ©Telegraph Publishing LLC – 2014 Taking up next year’s budget first on the agenda again at its Wednesday, Dec. 3 meeting, the Chester Select Board looked at issues from the cost of changing police and fire dispatch from Springfield to Hartford, to the need for a fifth full-time police officer and whether […]
Chester board addresses school funding, police resources, Popple Dungeon Road
By Shawn Cunningham ©Telegraph Publishing LLC — 2014 At its Nov. 19 meeting, the Chester Select Board continued to review a proposed town budget and received updates on a number of projects including the solar farm to be built on town land behind the Jeffrey Barn, the long delayed Popple Dungeon Road project and improvements […]
Chester voters keep new auto uses in Residential-Commercial zones
By Shawn Cunningham ©2014 – Telegraph Publishing LLC A 3-to-1 majority of Chester voters who turned out to cast ballots at town hall on Tuesday voted against leaving a 40-year-old prohibition on automotive uses in the town’s new zoning bylaws. The 160 to 460 vote was colored by a number of issues including a proposed […]
An explainer: Clearing up some confusion surrounding Chester’s referendum
By Shawn Cunningham ©2014 — Telegraph Publishing LLC On Tuesday Nov. 18, Chester voters will have the opportunity to cast a ballot – Yes or No – on a zoning issue. Over the past few weeks, there have been many posters, letters to the editor, Facebook posts, a petition and even a mailing from the […]
Chester Select Board raises sewer rates, green-lights design of water system upgrade
By Shawn Cunningham © 2014 – Telegraph Publishing LLC In a busy Nov. 5 meeting run by vice chair Derek Suursoo, the Chester Select Board raised sewer rates effective immediately for its 600 users, gave a nod toward hiring Golden Cross for a winter ambulance restructuring and OK’d a $155,000 contract to design a $4.6 […]
New zoning bylaws complicate Chester armory development
By Shawn Cunningham © 2014 – Telegraph Publishing LLC An application for a conditional use permit to convert the former Army Reserve armory on Route 11 west for light manufacturing met with a friendly reception from Chester’s Development Review Board on Monday night. But a snafu in the new Unified Development Bylaws made the process […]
Chester planning board to send referendum info letter to homeowners
The Chester Planning Commission met Monday, Oct. 27 to discuss the wording of a letter to be mailed to residents regarding the referendum on a zoning issue to take place on Tuesday, Nov. 18. The vote is a result of a successful petition drive signed by 148 registered voters to remove “automotive sales/service/fuel” use that […]
Chester Select Board talks budgets, sets date for referendum
By Shawn Cunningham ©2014 The Chester Telegraph The Chester Select Board set 6 p.m. Monday, Nov. 17 for a special town meeting and 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18 for the vote on the question of whether the sales and service of automobiles and other vehicles and the sale of fuel should be […]
Automotive section of Chester zoning changes to go to referendum
Chester Town Clerk Deborah Aldrich said the town has certified the signatures of 148 voters on a petition submitted on Tuesday, Oct. 7 asking for a town-wide vote on the question of whether to add automotive sales, service and fuel sales to the Residential/Commercial district of Chester. That district runs from the St. Joseph’s Catholic […]
Chester Select Board agenda for Wednesday, Oct. 15, 2014
The Chester Select Board will hold its regular meeting beginning at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15 at Town Hall, 556 Elm St. Below is its agenda. 1. Budget Review; General Fund, Water & Sewer 2. Approve minutes from the Oct. 1, 2014 Selectboard Meeting and Oct. 1, 2014 Executive Session 3. Citizen Comments 4. Response […]
Chester residents petition to put zoning change to a vote
©The Chester Telegraph — 2014 A group of Chester residents who oppose a change in zoning regulations adopted by the Select Board on Sept. 17 filed a petition on Tuesday, Oct. 7, requesting that the town of Chester hold a vote to decide whether that change should be removed from the new Unified Development Bylaws. […]
Chester board eyes shortfall, ‘edging’ toward balance
By Shawn Cunningham ©The Chester Telegraph — 2014 Entering the last quarter of the year and with budgeting ahead, the Chester Select Board’s attention at its Oct. 1 meeting was focused on money. With the collection of taxes and water and sewer bills lagging, storm expense awaiting reimbursement and the underpayment of the emergency services […]
Chester wrestles with tight budget; Hearse House planning moves ahead
By Shawn Cunningham ©The Chester Telegraph — 2014 During the Chester Select Board’s regular meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 17, town manager David Pisha reported that funds – including property taxes — are coming in slower than last year. Select Board member Derek Suursoo noted that the financial report handed out didn’t give him the detail […]
Objections to zoning changes fail to sway Chester Select Board
By Shawn Cunningham ©The Chester Telegraph — 2014 On Wednesday, Sept. 17, about 25 Chester business owners and residents gathered at the Chester Select Board to express their views on several proposed changes to the town development bylaws. Most were concerns about two specific changes — raising a minimum residential lot size and rezoning a […]
Free Wi-Fi access available in downtown Chester; daffodil bulb sale to help beautify Chester
The Chester Connection, free public access to the Internet via Wi-Fi, is up and functioning in downtown Chester. To utilize this service select The Chester Connection from the list of available Wi-Fi networks on your phone, tablet, or laptop and agree to the terms and services listed on the splash page. The service is available […]
