Wednesday, November 07, 2018
Town of Chester voters OK arts center purchase, switch to wards
Town voters approved all three propositions on the ballot Tuesday, paving the way for wards to replace the current system where council members are elected at large, and the purchase of the Sugar Loaf Performing Arts Center for $1.1 million.
They also approved the Chester Public Library's $633,992 spending plan. The library budget will henceforth be put up for a public vote.
Preserve Chester, a citizen's group, has been pushing for a ward system as a way to mitigate the bloc-vote power of Greens at Chester, a Hasidic Jewish development under construction.
The development is expected to add 3,000 residents to the town. Preserve Chester says it wants the Town Board to represent the entire town, not just one area or group.
The Performing Arts Center is one of several properties the town hopes to buy to protect and preserve open and undeveloped land in Chester. The town has not decided what to do with the property at this time. It is currently fielding proposals but has said it will likely continue its present use by either leasing the center to an operator or hiring a consultant to manage it.
The library and the town had mutually agreed to put the library budget on the ballot under New York's Chapter 414 law. If approved, the library would have become autonomous from the town and would have had a predictable funding stream.
The library will have to continue petitioning the town for funding.
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