CHESTER— The board of finance Tuesday restored $18,000 to the proposed 2012-2013 budget for Chester Elementary School after a public hearing where a recommended $20,000 cut in the local education budget drew both support and objections from residents.

Meeting after the close of the hearing, the board decided to restore $18,000 to the $4.2 million elementary school budget, while deferring $18,000 that was in the capital expenditure plan for repairs to the school roof. First Selectman Edmund Meehan said Monday Wendy King, chairwoman of the local board of education, had told the finance board the school board could accept a delay in funding for the roof repairs.

King said during the public hearing the school board could identify only an additional $2,000 cut for various supplies and repairs. She urged the finance board to restore $18,000 to the $4,205,900 elementary school budget, which would be up by only $41,831 from current spending with the full $20,000 cut.

About 40 residents turned out for the public hearing at the Chester Meeting House, with some speaking in support of restoring funds to the elementary school budget. But others, including finance board members, said a reduction could be justified by continuing drops in enrollment at the kindergarten-sixth grade school. Enrollment has dropped over the last five years, with enrollment of only 256 students expected in September. King said the school board has reduced staff in recent years in response to the declining enrollment, including reduction of a half-time teaching position in the proposed budget.

Tax Collector Madeline Meyer urged the finance board to hold down total spending in the face of the continuing state and national economic slowdown. Meyer said collection of unpaid back taxes has become slower in recent months. “The economy has now hit Chester and it’s not coming in at the same rate,” she said. The budget plan assumes a 98.5 percent collection rate for property taxes.

Virginia Carmony, board of finance chairwoman, said the board has often deferred funding for town projects in recent years to maintain funding for the elementary school. She said this had led to the need for a $102,000 increase in the capital expenditure plan for 2012-2013 that includes funding for needed road repairs.

Meehan said the $18,000 adjustment would not change the total proposed town/school expenditure of $12,748,081 that would be funded by a tax rate of 22.45 mills, an increase of .34 mills from the current tax rate. The new rate, $22.45 in tax for each $1,000 of assessed property value, would represent about $102 in additional tax for a home assessed at $300,000.

In setting the tax rate at 22.45 mills, the finance board included a transfer of $174,641 from the town’s undesignated fund balance to hold down the tax increase. The transfer is expected to leave about $1.34 million in the fund balance in June 2013.

The total proposed spending package, which also includes the town’s $4,683,977 share of the Region 4 education budget, now goes to voters for approval at the annual budget meeting scheduled for Tuesday May 15 at 7:30 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House. The Region 4 education budget goes to the voters of Chester, Deep River, and Essex in an eight-hour referendum on May 8.

CHESTER— The 2012-2013 budget plans for town government and Chester Elementary School will be presented at the annual budget hearing on May 1 at the Chester Meeting House on Liberty Street. The hearing convenes at 7:30 p.m.

The town government budget totals $3,411,243, and is combined with a $446,961 capital expenditure plan. The town government budget is up by $87,525, or 2.63 percent, over current spending. The capital expenditure plan, which had been reduced for this year’s budget, would increase by $101,961 in the fiscal year that begins July 1. The proposed $4,205,900 budget for the elementary school is up by $41,831, or one percent, over the current appropriation for the elementary school.

First Selectman Edmund Meehan, preparing the his first budget since winning election to the top job last November, said the major drivers for the town government budget are funding for anticipated higher fuel oil and gasoline expenses, and a two percent wage/salary increase for all town employees, including elected officials. The two percent pay increase matches the increase awarded to the eight town employees in the American Federation of State, county, and Municipal employees (AFSCME) bargaining unit. The contract extends to 2017-2018, when the pay increase for union employees would be three percent.

The proposed capital expenditure plan includes $303,961 for road repairs, $50,000 toward replacement of the firehouse roof, $50,000 toward the planned replacement of a 1988 fire truck, $18,000 for roof repairs at the elementary school, and $25,000 for the town hall space/needs study.

Meehan said one issue that is likely to be discussed at the hearing is the board of finance directive for a $20,000 cut in the elementary school budget. Meehan said the finance board recommended the cut based on declining enrollment at the kindergarten through sixth grade elementary school. Enrollment is projected to be at around 256 students this September.

The finance board has recommended a transfer of $174,641 from the town’s undesignated fund balance to limit the required increase in the property tax rate to .34 mills. The current tax rate is 22.11 mills, with the proposed 2012-2013 rate at 22.45 mills, or $22.45 for each $1,000 in assessed property value. The transfer would leave about $1.34 million in the fund balance as of June 30, 2013.

The town government and elementary school budgets are combined with Chester’s $4,683,977 share of the Region 4 education budget for a total 2012-2013 spending levy of $12,748,081. The Chester share of the region 4 budget is down by $39,000 because of fewer students from Chester attending Valley Regional High School and John Winthrop Middle School.

The Region 4 budget goes to the voters of Chester, Deep River, and Essex in a 12 noon to 8 p.m . referendum on May 8. The annual budget meeting vote on the town/elementary school budget plan is set for Tuesday May 15 at 7 :30 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House.

CHESTER— A dispute over zoning requirements for a backyard human burial that began in 2005 was argued this week before the Connecticut Supreme Court by attorneys for the town and local resident Elise Piquet.

The dispute began after the town zoning enforcement officer learned that Piquet had buried her late husband, John Shaboe Doll, on her eight-acre South Wig Hill Road property after his death in the fall of 2004. The burial had been done under the supervision of a licensed funeral director, but the state Department of Public Health had requested confirmation from the town that a backyard burial was allowed under Chester zoning regulations. The regulations did not address private burials, and the planning and zoning commission determined that means such burials are not allowed.

Piquet had appealed for a variance from the zoning board of appeals to allow the burial, but the case was never presented for a public hearing after the town withdrew a cease and desist order against the burial to give Piquet and the Department of Public Health an opportunity to resolve the issue. Piquet filed suit against the town in 2007 after the commission continued to maintain she had violated local zoning regulations and needed a permit for the burial. A Middlesex Superior Court judge later ruled in favor of the town, and the requirement for zoning approval, but Piquet then brought the case to the Connecticut Appellate Court.

The Appellate Court reversed the judge’s decision on mostly technical grounds, sending the ultimate issue of whether town zoning approval is required for a backyard burial to the state Supreme Court. Piquet was represented in Tuesday’s arguments at the court chamber in Hartford by New Haven lawyer William Gallagher. The town was represented by town attorney John Bennet, a Chester resident. The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the case by this summer.

CHESTER— An expression of interest from Essex Savings Bank about leasing soon-to-be-available space on the first floor of town hall drew strong support from residents Tuesday night as the board of selectmen held an informational meeting on options for the space that has been leased by a Bank of America branch for more than a decade.

About 50 residents turned out for the meeting that was called after Bank of America announced that it would close the branch and vacate the space by the end of June. The board was seeking input from residents on options for using the space, including possible town use as a community center. But the recent expression of interest from Essex Savings Bank dominated the discussion.

Bank of America occupied the space when the town purchased the building at Middlesex Avenue (Route 154) in 2002 and converted other sections on the first and second floors into town hall in 2003. First Selectman Edmund Meehan said the bank has leased 3,200 square feet on the south side of the first floor at an annual rent of $75,000. The lease expires in August, but Bank of America is expected to vacate by the end of June.

Meehan said the town has received a payment of $280,000 from insurance carriers to replace the former community center building, located further south on Route 154, that collapsed under the weight of heavy snow in February 2011. Meehan said the total insurance payment was about $337,000, with some funds already expended for demolition and stabilization of the former community center site. The funds must be used to create a similar community center building for public use.

Meehan said there are options for town use of the vacant space at town hall, including a community center or possible use by the Chester Public Library, which is awaiting a feasibility study due in late June on a possible renovation and expansion of the historic 1908 library building on West Main Street (Route 148).

But nearly all of the residents at the meeting appeared to favor leasing the space to another bank, particularly a local institution like Essex Savings Bank. The bank’s president, Greg Shook, and Thomas Lindner, a vice-president who serves as the bank’s community relations officer, were at the meeting. After nearly an hour of discussion, Shook told the crowd Essex Savings Bank would be “honored to to able to fill the hole,” left by the departure of Bank of America.

Speakers at the meeting said the library should remain at the current site on Route 148, and some speakers questioned whether the town needed to replace the demolished community center with a new building. Lori Clymas, one of many who favored offering the space to Essex Savings Bank, said the community center insurance reimbursement could be directed to renovating underused space on the second floor of town hall for wider community use.

Several residents said Chester would benefit from having a second bank operating in town. With the departure of Bank of America, the only bank would be the First Niagara branch located on Water Street. Essex Savings Bank currently has two bank facilities in Essex, and branches in Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, and a new branch that opened last year in Madison.

Meehan said he is proposing an appropriation of $25,000 in the pending 2012-2013 town budget to pay for a space and needs study of town facilities that would include “taking a look” at further renovations and other uses for the second floor at town hall. Meehan said the board of selectmen would discuss options for the first floor space at town hall, including possible lease talks with Essex Savings Bank, at a future meeting. He said the town must make a decision on use of the insurance proceeds from the former community center by the end of 2014.

CHESTER— Bank of America is ending its lease of space at the Chester Town Hall on Route 154, with an April 17 information meeting set to discuss possible town uses for the ground floor space.

First Selectman Edmund Meehan announced at Tuesday’s meeting of the board of selectmen the bank will close the branch and vacate the space by June 22. The Bank of America branch has been in operation for more than a decade, but the town became the landlord in 2003 when the it purchased the building and converted the other sections on the first and second floor in to the town hall.

Meehan said there will be 3,200 square-feet of space available on the first floor of the building. The bank has been paying the town $75,000 per year for the space, which includes a drive-through. Meehan said the town has potential uses for the newly available space, either for the library, a community center, or some combination of the two options.

The town’s community center building, located further south on Route 154,  was demolished last year after the building collapsed in February 2011 due to the weight of accumulated snow on the roof. The Chester Library is currently considering options for a renovation and expansion of the historic 1908 library building on West Main Street, also known as Route 148. Library directors are awaiting a feasibilty study of expansion options that is expected by the end of June.

Meehan said a public information session would allow the selectmen to receive input from residents on possible town uses for the space.  “We need to hear more from the community on this,” he said

Meehan said he is also proposing a $25,000 appropriation in the 2012-2013 town budget for an architectural/engineering design study of possible town uses for the space. The April 17 public information meeting convenes at 7 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House on Liberty Street.

CHESTER— State Department of Transportation officials Thursday outlined plans for the replacement of the Main Street bridge over Pattaconk Brook that include a start of construction, and five-month closing of Main Street in the downtown village beginning in January 2015.

About 40 residents turned out for the session at the Chester Meeting House where the plans for a complex construction project were presented by engineers and project managers. The bridge, constructed in 1921, carries the brook through a narrow channel that runs along or near several downtown buildings. Project manager David Stahnke described the construction area as “a very tight site.” The bridge is located just south of the intersection of Main Street and Route 148, also known as Water Street.

DOT project manager David Cutler said the 90-year-old bridge is rated poor, with deterioration to both the substructure and superstructure. He said repairing the bridge is not an option. The existing bridge is 22 feet long and about 65 feet wide. The new bridge would be 32 feet long, with two 12-foot travel lanes and wider shoulders than the existing bridge. The plans also call for improvements to the road approaches and sidewalks around the bridge.

Cutler said preparation work for the estimated $2.5 million project would begin in the fall of 2014. Main Street around the bridge would be closed during the heaviest construction, planned for a five-month period between January and May 2015.  Traffic would be detoured off Route 148 on to Straits Road and Prospect Street to Maple Street and back to Main Street.

Stahnke said a temporary bridge would be set up around the work area to maintain pedestrian access to Main Street. The project will require acquisition of rights of way from at least two downtown property owners, a process that was explained by David Hummel, property agent for the DOT’s Division of Rights of Way.

One of the issues that generated discussion at the meeting is whether there should be no night work during the most active period of construction, or whether residents could accept some night work if it would speed up completion of the project. Michael Joplin, chairman of the town’s Main Street Committee, maintained residents and downtown business owners could live with a 12 or 13 hour workday if that would help ensure the project was finished, and Main Street reopened to traffic, by May 2015.

Cutler said the state is ready to coordinate work on the bridge project with the town’s plans for a reconstruction of Main Street, the locally-funded project that is being directed by the Main Street Committee. The state also plans a replacement of the Water Street bridge over Great Brook, located just east of the Main Street bridge. Work on the Water Street bridge replacement is expected to begin later this year. The Main Street reconstruction is expected to be done around 2013-2014, between completion of the Water Street bridge replacement and the start of work on the Main Street bridge project.

CHESTER— The state Department of Transportation will hold a Feb. 16 public information meeting on the planned replacement of the Main Street bridge in the downtown village. The session begins at 7 p.m. in the Chester Meeting House on Liberty Street.

DOT engineers will be present at the meeting to outline and answer questions from residents and downtown business owners about the latest plans to replace the Main Street bridge over the Pattaconk Brook. The bridge replacement project is expected to begin in 2014.

A nearby bridge project, replacement of the bridge on Water Street, is expected to begin this summer. The town is planning a reconstruction of Main Street in the downtown village to be done over the next two years, around the same time as the two bridge replacement projects. The Main Street Committee, a group of volunteers appointed by the board of selectmen, is coordinating and supervising the town’s Main Street project.

CHESTER— Assessor Loreta Zdanys has filed an October 2001 grand list of taxable property that totals $502,698,090 an increase of $3,580,619, or .70 percent, over the 2010 grand list total. The increase is expected to generate about $79,000 in new tax revenue at the current tax rate of 22.11 mills.

The increase is slightly larger than last year, when the net grand list was up by .50 percent from the 2009 total, with all of the increase attributed to motor vehicles. The 2011 grand list shows increases in both motor vehicles and real estate, while personal property is down from the 2010 total. The real estate total of $451,502,570 is up by $2,412,905 from the 2010 total. The motor vehicles assessment total of $27,959,970 is up by $1,780,874 from the 2010 total. The personal property assessment total of $16,148,030 is down slightly, by $87,290, from the 2010 total.

The list of top ten taxpayers is unchanged from 2010. The top ten taxpayers in descending order are Chester Woods Inc. (Chester Village West), Connecticut Water Company, Whelen Engineering Company, The Eastern Company, Whelen Aviation LLC (Chester Airport), Connecticut Light and Power Company, Roto Frank of America, Arthur and Judith Schaller, Margaret and Robert Sbriglio, and Chester Marina LLC. Schaller and Sbriglio are residential properties on the Connecticut River.

CHESTER— Town Democrats and Republicans have selected new town committees for the 2012-2014 term at recent party caucuses.

Democrats selected a 24-member town committee with ten new members. Incumbents returning to the town committee include Samuel Chorches, Lori Ann Clymas, Lawrence DiBernardo, Robert Gorman, Charlene Janecek, Henry Krempel, Justin Kronholm, James Miller, Isaac Ruiz, Sandra Senior-Dauer, Selectman Lawrence Sypher, John Yrchik, former Selectman Peter Zanardi, and Kurt Ziemann.

New members include First Selectman Edmund Meehan, who was elected to the town’s top job last November. Meehan’s election ended six years of Republican control of town hall that began with the election of former First Selectman Tom Marsh in 2005. Marsh resigned in August to take a job as town manager in Windsor, Vt.

Other new members are Robert Bibbiani, Joe Cohen, David Fitzgibbons, Errol Horner, Arthur Henick, Pantelis Kehayias, Suzane Levine, Margaret Meehan, and James Ready.

Incumbents leaving the town committee include former First Selectman Martin Heft, who was unseated by Marsh in 2005 after serving 12 years in the top job. Heft, an aide to Lt. Governor Nancy Wyman, moved to West Hartford last fall. Also leaving the town committee are Charles Della Rocco, Kristina Finnerty, Region 4 Board of Education member Elaine Fitzgibbons, Emily Maste4rs, Michael Peck, and Priscilla Robinson.

Town Republicans selected a 25-member town committee that includes five new members. Incumbents returning to the town committee include Joyce Aley, David Clark, Selectman Tom Englert, Terri Englert, Region 4 Board of Education member and current town chairman Mario Gioco, Laura Gioco, Victor Hoehnebart, John Huston, Alexa Jamieson, Joni Malcynski, Darolina Marguez-Sterling, Ashley Marsh, Karl Ohaus, Maria Ruberto, Kristian Seifert, Melvin Seifert, former Selectman Bruce Watrous, and Beverly Watrous.

New members are Jamie Grabowski, Jon Joslow, Tracy Ohaus, Jill Sakidovitch, and Brian Sakidovitch. Leaving the town committee are Marsh, Kathy Marsh, Frank Palka, and Betty Palka. The new town committees are seated in March, when the panels will elect officers for the 2012-2014 term.

CHESTER— The planning and zoning commission has continued the public hearing for a new vegetarian restaurant at 6 Main St. in the downtown village to Feb. 2. The hearing will reopen at 7:30 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House on Liberty St.

The commission on Jan. 5 opened the public hearing on the application of Chester Properties LLC of Old Lyme for a restaurant in the former Chester Savings Bank building at 6 Main St. The proposed restaurant would have 40 to 50 seats, with a liquor license and bar. It would serve organic vegetarian cuisine.

The site plan for the building also calls for a 700-square-foot retail space with a separate entrance, and two residential apartments on the second floor. The project also requires a permit from the inland-wetlands commission because of the proximity of the building to the Pattaconk Brook. The IWC is expected to review the permit application at a Jan. 30 meeting.

The planning and zoning commission elected new officers last month, with Jon Lavy named as chairman. Lavy, a Democrat, has served on the commission since 2005. Lavy replaces Michael Joplin, a Democrat who had served as chairman of the panel for more than a decade before losing his seat in last November’s town election.

Michael Sanders was named as vice-chairman. Sanders, a leader of the Chester Common Ground Party, was elected to the commission in 2007.

CHESTER— Main Street in the downtown village will be improved and reconstructed around the same time as two state funded bridge replacement projects, but decisions are still pending on the exact scope and cost of the town funded work on Main Street.

That was the message Wednesday as about 40 residents turned out at the Chester Meeting House for the first public information meeting held by the Main Street Committee, an 11-member group appointed by the board of selectmen last fall to coordinate the Main Street improvement project. Committee Chairman Michael Joplin and other members presented the latest information on the project. The committee recently conducted a mail-in survey to help gather opinions from residents on the extent of the town-funded project.

While noting the bridge replacements and the Main Street reconstruction are separate projects, Joplin said the goal is to begin the Main Street work around the same time as the bridge projects. Joplin said the state Department of Transportation will hold a public information meeting on the first project, replacement of the Water Street bridge, on Thursday Feb. 16 at the Chester Meeting House.

Work on the Water Street bridge project is expected to begin this summer, with a temporary closing of Water Street expected to begin this fall. Replacement of the Main Street bridge over Pattaconk Brook is expected to begin in 2014.

Committee member Chuck Mueller said the committee and board of selectmen, along with the town as a whole, must decide on the extent of the Main Street reconstruction. Mueller said options include focusing on Main Street in the immediate downtown area, near the bridge and intersection with West Main Street (Route 148), or extending the improvements east on Main Street to the intersection with Route 154, and up sections of Water Street, and North Main Street to the location of the Norma Terrace Theatre.

Mueller said the town currently has $440,000 set aside for the project, including a state Small Town Economic Assistance Program (STEAP) grant. The cost of the project could be significantly higher depending on the extent of the improvements. Committee member Steve Tiezzi said the town could apply for additional state grants after the extent of the project is determined.

Residents at the meeting also discussed the option of relocating electric power lines underground, instead of overhead, for a portion of the project area. Joplin said relocating the power lines underground would cost at least $3 million.

CHESTER— The planning and zoning commission has scheduled a Jan. 5 public hearing on a special permit application for a new restaurant at 6 Main Street in the downtown village. The hearing convenes at 7:30 p.m. in the Chester Meeting House on Liberty Street.

Chester Properties LLC, which has an address at 102 Sill Lane in Old Lyme, is seeking approval for a full service restaurant in the former Chester Savings Bank building at 6 Main Street. The restaurant would have 40 to 50 seats, with a liquor license and bar. There would be 8 to 15 full and part-time employees.

The site plan for the property also calls for a “small retail space with a separate entrance,” and two residential apartments on the second floor of the building. The proposed restaurant would be open seven days a week.

CHESTER— The board of selectmen has approved a new 15-year contract with the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority for disposal of solid waste and recyclables.

Meeting after Tuesday’s town meeting, the board approved a new contract that will replace the current CRRA contract that expires in November 2012. Chester has been a member of CRRA since it was established in the mid-1980s, and is one of 13 area towns that dispose of solid waste and recyclables at the CRRA regional transfer station located off Route 154 in Essex. Solid waste is compacted and trucked to the CRRA Mid-Connecticut incinerator in Hartford.

First Selectman Edmund Meehan said Chester would be paying a tipping fee of $59.50 per ton under the new contract, less than the $70 per ton fee the town is currently paying. Meehan said Chester has one of the highest number of residences and businesses served by commercial trash haulers of any of the towns using the regional transfer station, with nearly 99 percent of the properties in town served by paid haulers that collect trash at the curbside. Chester becomes the third area town to approve new disposal contracts with CRRA, following Deep River and Lyme.

In other business, the board appointed Melvin Seifert to fill an alternate vacancy on the planning and zoning commission. Seifert, a lawyer, had served on the commission in a vacancy appointment since last year, but failed to win election running on the Republican and Common Ground Party ballot lines in the Nov. 8 town election.

When the board appointed Democratic commission alternate Henry Krempel to fill a regular member vacancy on Dec. 6, Seifert asked to be considered for the regular member opening. Republican Doreen Joslow, who was elected to a two-year regular member vacancy term on Nov. 8 actually offered to resign to open up a spot for Seifert.

Meehan said Joslow has decided to remain a regular member, with Seifert stepping in to the alternate seat. There remains one alternate member vacancy on the commission, a spot that was not filled in last month’s election.