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Chester Voters Reject Parker’s Point Land Purchase

By: Charles Stannard

CHESTER— Voters in a referendum Tuesday rejected funding for proposed town acquisition of 4.6-acres of riverfront land at the end of Parker’s Point Road.

All five questions related to the proposed land purchase failed in the day-long voting. All of the questions needed to pass for the land buy to win final voter approval. A total of 1,075 of the town’s 2,563 registered voters turned out for the referendum.

The main question, whether to authorize up to $1 million in bonding to fund the acquisition, failed on a 696-378 vote. A question authorizing a town acquisition of the parcel failed on a 690-383 vote.

The town would have bonded only about $455,000 over ten years, with the remainder of the purchase price to be covered by a combination of grant funding and private donations. But the three questions on accepting funding assistance were also rejected by the voters.

A question on whether to accept a $464,520 state open space acquisition grant failed on a 689-383 vote. A question on whether to accept a $50,000 grant from the Connecticut River Gateway Commission failed on a 679-390 vote. A question on whether to accept a $30,000 contribution from the Chester Land Trust Inc. for the proposed acquisition failed on a 679-391 vote.

First Selectman Tom Marsh, who had supported the proposed open space land purchase, said he was “personally disappointed” by the result, but pleased with the turnout for the referendum “The margin sent a clear message of what the interest of the community was,” he said.

Posted by admin on Tuesday, November 10, 2009 at 9:58 pm 
Filed under Chester · Tagged with ,

  • Chester Resident
    It disappoints me that our town consider this project and related spending in these economic times. Our property values our down in Chester, and taxes are UP!!! Personally, I struggle to hang on as a Chester resident due to the taxes. If the town feels that they have hundreds of thousands to spend, HIRE MORE TEACHERS, the class sizes have risen from 12 and 13 to 22 students! Fix the roads! Let's put our money towards the basics before we consider buying prime real estate.
  • Chester Local
    Actually, I'm glad it was considered and rejected. That way it's clear what the majority view is -- that we don't need a land preserve in one of the poshest parts of town, out of the way from where most residents hang out. Common area, my eye; it was just a way to make an exclusive neighborhood even more exclusive while taking the land off the grand list.
  • John
    Chester Resident complained that our property values are down in Chester. Yet, the poster is opposed to buying open space. I hope the poster realize how little sense this makes - if you want your property value to go up, then Chester needs to be a more desirable place to live. Oneway to make a town more desirable to have more open space/parkland, especially along the river. People don't move to ugly, congested towns - they move to well-planned and livable towns, which most often include ample open space and parkland. Its one of the reasons towns like Madison or Guilford, or Simsbury and Glastonbury by Hartford, constantly support more open space purchases.

    In short, if you want to increase your property values, then you were dead wrong to oppose this vote.
  • Chester Local
    Baloney. It would increase the value at already expensive Parker's Point, not for the rest of us. We already have plenty of open land; it's called Cockaponset State Forest.
  • guest
    Our property values HAVE gone up, about 3% to 5% since 2004, despite the general economic downturn. But if this is the argument for more open space, ......pretty shallow thinking. There's more to the quality of life in a small town like Chester than rising property values.
  • Chester Resident
    Chester resident realizes full well that the basic ways to make Chester a more desirable place to live. Let's start with the basics, smaller class sizes would be a great start. The tourist season was filled with UGLY with our roads all torn up. Sorry, but I am very confindent that my vote went in the right direction, and you are DEAD wrong!
  • wren
    Fret not everyone. There are better properties to purchase than this parcel that was just voted down. Who says Chester can't buy apiece of property with a house on it?We could use a community center or better yet convert it into a gym/workout or community center.Many of the houses sit high up on the river where it DOESNT flood in spring. Even if Chester bought a 2 or 3million dollar property with its own money It would still be a better value. Some of the houses even have nice docks where residents could tie up their boats. You people think small sometimes.

    I bet less than 5% of the town would have actually used Parkers Point.
  • jbrianbuckley
    I agree. I am not against the acquisition of open space, but it is important to get our priorities right. In a community such as Chester that enjoys such small town charm without big box stores and large industry, we must realize where the tax burden actually falls. This issue has been studied, debated, and argued for the 31 years I’ve been a resident. The one theme that has been prevalent all this time is the realization of what we have and the desire to maintain it. This comes at a cost; you get what you pay for. The Board of Selectmen and the Planning and Zoning Commission know this and have done a superb job in maintaining a reasonable balance. It truly is unfortunate that this opportunity came during these difficult economic times, but there will be other days and other opportunities. Let us be grateful for what we already have.
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