By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER–Voters will be asked to consider four funding appropriations at a March 16 town meeting, including the town’s contribution to a firehouse expansion project.
First Selectman Tom Marsh said the meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House, would be asked to authorize an expenditure of $64,700 towards a planned expansion of the firehouse on High Street. Marsh said the Chester Hose Company is planning a one bay expansion of the firehouse that is expected to cost between $250,000 to $300,000.
Marsh said the hose company has received private donations to cover the remainder of the cost, including funds that were remaining in a bank account held by the former Chester Ambulance Association, which merged with the hose company several years ago. He said the volunteer firemen hope to complete the expansion project this year.
Voters will also be asked to authorize an expenditure of $70,050 for air handling system upgrades at Chester Elementary School, and $5,460 for removal of aquatic weeds in Cedar Lake. The weed removal at the lake is expected to be done in May.
Voters will also be asked to approve an expenditure of $150,000 to the town’s highway department for purchase of a new front-end loader. The new equipment would replace a 1993 model loader.
Marsh said funding for nearly all of the appriopriations is already included in the capital expenditure fund of the current town budget, except for $50,000 of the cost of the front-end loader. In a final resolution, voters will be asked to approve a transfer of $50,000 from the town’s undesignated fund balance to be directed toward the $150,00 expense for the loader.
By Charles Stannard
Chester First Selectman Tom Marsh
Marsh, 50, said his business and municipal leadership experience would bring “a different dimension” to the gubernatorial race. Marsh said he began considering a run for the state’s top office in November, after winning re-election for a third term as first selectman and after Republican Governor M. Jodi Rell announced she would not seek re-election this year.
Marsh said he talked to about a dozen people from around the state, including legislators and former gubernatorial candidates, before making a decision to run. Marsh said he had initially considered running as an independent petition candidate, but later decided to compete for the Republican nomination.
The consultations did not include members of the Chester Republican Town Committee, who learned of Marsh’s plans in an e-mail sent Thursday. Marsh said he told Republican Town Chairman Mario Gioco earlier this month that he was considering a run for a statewide office.
Candidates for the Republican gubernatorial nomination now include Lt. Governor Michael Fedele of Stamford, businessman and former ambassador Thomas Foley of Greenwich, former third district congressman and college president Lawrence DeNardis of Hamden, and Simsbury businnessman Nelson “Oz’ Griebel. Marsh noted that none of these candidates are municipal leaders or from a rural part of the state.
“State government is broken because of shortsighted solutions and an unwillingness to make tough decisions,” Marsh said. “We need leadership that incorporates the accountability and democratic process that exists in local government.”
Marsh said he would begin accepting contributions for the exploratory committee and meeting with Republican town committees around the state in the coming weeks, but would not allow the exploratory campaign to take time away from his duties as first selectman. Marsh said he would not participate in the state’s public financing program for campaigns because he does not believe the state should fund political campaigns during the current budget problems, and would raise funds “the old fashioned way” through private donations.
Marsh said he would make a final decision on formally entering the governor’s race within about two months.”If my message resonates and keeps moving forward, then I’ll keep moving forward,” he said. Marsh said he would not rule out accepting the nomination for lieutenant governor if asked by a presumptive GOP nominee.
A married father of three grown children, Marsh was elected first selectman in 2005 after making an unsuccessful run for the office in 2001. He and his wife, Kathy, operate a business, Commercial Cleaning and Restaurant Services. He has served on Rell’s statewide Early Childhood Educatiion Task Force, and is the current chairman of the Connecticut River Valley Council of Chief Elected Officials, a group comprised of the chief elected officials of 17 area towns.
Marsh is the second Chester first selectman to seek higher office. Former First Selectman Martin Heft, the Democrat Marsh unseated in 2005, made an unsuccessful run for state representative in the 36th House District in 2000. The current representative from the district, Democratic State Rep. James Spallone of Essex, is considering a run for the open Democratic nomination for Secretary of the State.
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.
By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Charles “Chuck” Della Rocco, the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for first selectman in the Nov. 3 town election, was arrested by state police Thursday on forgery and larceny charges.
Della Rocco, 41, was arrested on a court warrant and charged with second degree forgery and third degree larceny/fraud by computer or phone. Della Rocco turned himself in Thursday afternoon at the Troop F barracks in Westbrook and was later released on a $1,000 non-surety bond for a Nov. 17 appearance at Middlesex Superior Court in Middletown.
Della Rocco, a former Old Saybrook police officer who currently serves on the Chester Board of Education and the Chester Democratic Town Committee, was defeated in the election by Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh on a 758-465 vote.
Della Rocco currently works as a police officer for the state Judicial Branch, providing security at the State Library/Supreme Court building in Hartford. Rhonda Stearley-Hebert, a spokeswoman for the Judicial Branch, said Friday Della Rocco would be assigned to desk duty “with no police powers.” when he returns to work next week. She said department officials are currently “gathering information,” on the charges against Della Rocco.
The charges were filed after an investigation of a complaint from a neighbor, Peter and Cheryl Lynch of Turkey Hill Road. The investigation that began in July focused on allegations that Della Rocco had allegedly borrowed a pick up truck from the couple, and later sold the vehicle to another person using the Craigslist website.
Della Rocco, contacted Friday, referred questions to his attorney, Hartford lawyer Paul Spinella. Spinella could not be reached Friday for comment.
Marsh said Friday he is “surprised and disappointed” to learn of Della Rocco’s arrest. Marsh said he learned of the allegations involving Della Rocco during the summer from the Lynches, adding that town Republicans never raised the subject during the fall campaign because they did not have complete information on the situation.
Marsh also contended that various members of the Chester Democratic Town Committee were aware of the allegations involving Della Rocco when he was nominated for first selectman at a July 27 caucus. Top town committee members could not be reached Friday for comment about the situation involving Della Rocco.
Mario Gioco, chairman of the Chester Republican Town Committee, has sent a letter to three Democratic state elected officials who endorsed Della Rocco at appearances in Chester during the fall election campaign. In the letter, Gioco asks state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, Comptroller Nancy Wyman, and Secretary of the State Susan Bysiewciz whether they were aware of the investigation of Della Rocco when they made the endorsement and appeared at local fundraisers for his campaign.
By Charles Stannard
CHESTER— A recount is set for Monday in a close race for the Region 4 Board of Education seat after a municipal election that brought Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh a third term in the top job.
In the Region 4 race, Republican Pamela Christman, who currently chairs the local board of education, led Democrat Lori Ann Clymas by a vote of 585-579, a six-vote difference that requires a recount. Town Clerk Debra Calamari said Wednesday the recount would be conducted Monday at 9 a.m.
Marsh won a third term Tuesday over Democrat Chuck Della Rocco on a 758- 465 vote. Repubo8ican Tom Englert, with 655 votes, and Democrat Lawrence Sypher, with 549 votes, won seats on the board of selectmen. Just under half of the town’s2,563 registered voters cast ballots Tuesday.
Winners for the board of finance were mixed, Republican Joyce Alley and Democrat Jennifer Rannestad each won seats. Incumbent David Cohen was unopposed, and incumbent Democrat Virginia Carmany won a two-year vacancy term over Republican James Bisaccia on a 596-521 vote.
All candidates for the Chester Board of Education will be seated, including Democrats Amy Safran, Lianne Rutty, Majorie Della Rocco, and Eileen Sypher, Republicans Ashley Marsh and Carol Johnson, and Common Ground Party candidate Margaret Reyer. The top vote-getter was Rutty, with 697 votes.
Republican Steven Merola, and Democrats Errol Horner and Keith Sherber were elected to full terms on the planning and zoning commission, with Democrat Michael Joplin, the panel’s current chairman, elected for a two-year vacancy term. Common Ground Party candidate Lynne Fredriskson, Democrat Louis Desjardins, and Republican Stephen Sepowski were elected as planning and zoning commission alternates.
Democrat Michael Desnoyers and Republican John DeLaura Jr. were elected to the zoning board of appeals, with Democrats Robert Gorman and Justin Kronhelm elected as ZBA alternates. Democrat Dudley Clark Jr. was elected to the board of assessment appeals.
Democrats John Bellows and Elizabeth Gourlay were elected to full terms on the inland-wetlands commissioin, with Caryl Horner and Peter DeLisa elected to two-year vacancy terms on the panel.
By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh was re-elected for a third term Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco on a vote of 757-465.
Marsh’s running-mate, Republican Tom Englert and Democrat Lawrence Sypher also won seats on the board. Englert received 653 votes, with 549 votes for Sypher. Englert replaces six-term Republican Selectman Bruce Watrous, who did not seek re-election. Sypher replaces Democratic Selectman Martin Heft, who also stepped aside this year. The new board takes office on Nov. 17.
Marsh had unseated Heft, who had held the top job since 1993, by a narrow 30-vote margin in 2005. Marsh won a second term in 2007, defeating Democrat Justin Good on an 858-493 vote. Check Localonlinenews.tv Wednesday for results of other races on the Chester ballot.
By Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh is defending his four-year record against sometimes sharp criticism from Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco in the Nov. 3 town election contest.
Marsh, 50, was first elected in 2005, defeating six-term incumbent Democrat Martin Heft by 30 votes. He was re-elected in 2007 on an 858-493 vote over Democrat Justin Good. Marsh had run unsuccessfully against Heft in 2001. The owner of a cleaning services company, Marsh is a married father of three has lived in Chester for the past 20 years.
Della Rocco, 41, is an Old Saybrook native who became a police officer in that town after serving previously as a military policeman in the U.S. Army, including service during the 1989 Panama Intervention. He left the Old Saybrook force in 2007 and currently works as a police officer for the state Judicial Branch, providing security at the State Library/Supreme Court building in Hartford. The married father of two elementary school children has lived Chester since 2002.
Tom Marsh
Della Rocco said economic development and building the town’s commercial and industrial tax base would be the major issue facing Chester over the next two years. He criticized Marsh for transferring a $500,000 state Small Town Economic Assistance Program grant that was awarded to help fund construction of a Route 148 public water line to the Inspiration Lane Industrial Park to help pay for the sewer expansion project that was completed last year. “Taking care of the sewer project is fine but he has not tried to get money for the water service that is needed at the industrial park,” Della Rocco said.
Marsh said the $500,000 in state funds would not have covered the entire cost of the water main project, which is on hold because property owners at the industrial park are currently unwilling to contribute to help fund the full cost of the project.
Della Rocco said Marsh made no effort to locate a regional probate court that is scheduled to open in 2011 at the Chester Town Hall. “You’re just giving it away,” he said, rejecting Marsh’s position that there is not space for a nine-town court in the Route 154 town hall building. Marsh said first selectmen from the nine towns that would be included in the regional court, including the larger towns of Clinton, Old Saybrook, and Westbrook, favored locating the court in Old Saybrook, where the town has offered rent-free space. Marsh said the Chester Town Hall would have been “overwhelmed” by the activity generated by a nine-town court.
Marsh said controlling and reducing town budget expenditures has been the major accomplishment of his two terms, noting the current town budget is lower than the spending plan he inherited in 2005. Della Rocco maintains Marsh has “moved money around,” to reduce the budget total, particulartly by shifting money budgeted for road projects to a capital projects fund.
Chuck Della Rocco
“We pay attention to it but we don’t want to spend any more money on it than we have to at this time,” Marsh said. Della Rocco said the town should consider closing the community center if it is not planning to maintain the building.
Della Rocco said he remains undecided on the proposed town purchase of 4.6-acres of riverfront land on Parker’s Point Road that goes to the voters in a Nov. 10 bonding referendum. While agreeing the parcel is “a beautiful piece of property,” Della Rocco said the $948,000 purchase price is too high and suggests delaying the referendum in an effort to negotiate a lower price.
Marsh, who supports the open space acquisition, said the owners are not willing to lower the price. Marsh added the net expense for the town, now at about $400,000 plus bonding expenses, would not be a changed by a lower price because state grant funding, now at $484,520, would be reduced if the sale price was lowered.
The make-up of the three-member board of selectmen will change, regardless of the outcome of the contest between Marsh and Della Rocco. Both Democrat Heft, who has served on the board since losing the top job in 2005, and six-term Republican Selectman Bruce Watrous are stepping aside this year. Marsh is running with Tom Englert, a Whelen Engineering employee who serves on the water pollution control authority and the zoning board of appeals. Della Rocco is running with Lawrence Sypher, the owner of a local internet technology business who serves on the planning and zoning commission.
By Charles Stannard
CHESTER–The proposed town purchase of 4.6-acres of riverfront land on Parker’s Point Road drew a mixed response from residents at a town meeting Tuesday night.
Nearly 100 residents turned out for the informational town meeting where no votes were taken on any resolutions related to the proposed acquisition. All resolutions, presented in five separate ballot questions, have been referred to a Nov. 10 referendum. Residents at the town meeting extended the referendum hours to the same hours as a regular elecion or party primary, from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the town hall polling place.
The purchase price for the property, which was acquired by David and Maria Otfinoski in January 2005, is $948,000. Two funding grants, including $464,520 from the state Department of Environmental Protection and $50,000 from the Connecticut River Gateway Commission, along with a $30,000 donation from the Chester Land Trust, would reduce the net cost to town taxpayers to about $400,000.
Voters will be asked to authorize up to $1 million in bonding for the purchase. But with inclusion of the grant funding and donation, the actual amount to be covered through bonding would be $455,000 including expenses related to selling the bonds.
The bond would be paid off over ten years at a total net expenses to taxpayers of $529,400 that includes an anticipated $74,400 in interest on the bond. The annual payments would range from a maximum of $63,650 in 2011 down to $46,350 with the final payment in 2020.
First Selectman Tom Marsh said the parcel had an assessed value of $1.1 million and generates about $16,000 in property tax to the town. It has about 600-feet of frontage on the Connecticut River.
Amy Paterson, a representative of the non-profit Trust For Public Land, said two appraisals were done last year and reviewed by the state Department of Environmental Protection before the determination of the $948,000 purchase price. Paterson said the TPL helped facilitate negotiations for the purchase.
During more than hour of discussion, some residents contended the price was too high, and questioned the broader public access that would be allowed if the town accepts state funding assistance for the purchase. Others questioned parking for the property, which would be available at an abutting town-owned boat launch area.
But other residents noted that acquiring additional access to the Connecticut River has always been a priority in the town plan of conservation and development. Proponents contended the town has a unique opportunity to acquire riverfront land with substantial funding assistance from other sources.
“We will never have a chance to get grants like this again,” said Claudia Van Ness, who lives nearby on Parker’s Point Road. “As far as riverfront, this is it,” she said.
Marsh said each of the five ballot questions, one on the bonding, one on the land acquisition and three on accepting the grants and donation, must pass on Nov. 10 for the purchase to go forward.
Video is courtesy of the Chester Common Ground Party.
By: Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Republican First Selectman Tom Marsh and Democratic challenger Chuck Della Rocco sparred over economic development and other issues during the single public debate of the campaign for the Nov. 3 town election.
About 70 residents turned out for the session Tuesday that was co-sponsored by the town’s Democratic and Republican town committees and Chester Common Ground, a group that is running candidates for some board and commission seats on the ballot. The videotaped debate, moderated by former state Rep. Claire Sauer of Lyme, will be broadcast at various times next week on the Comcast public access channel.
The 90-minute session, which included questions from reporters and members of the audience, was cordial, despite occasional sharp criticism of Marsh from Della Rocco, a former Old Saybrook police officer who currently serves on the local board of education.
Marsh, who unseated six-term Democratic First Selectman Martin Heft in 2005, said his record over the past four years merits a third term. Marsh said the current town budget is lower than the budget he inherited in 2005, with no major reduction in services. Marsh said ten new businesses have opened at two industrial parks and other locations in Chester over the past four years.
Della Rocco contended Marsh has become aloof from residents and has acted unilaterally on several issues, including a decision not to take advantage of a new state law that would have allowed the town to defer a property revaluation update completed last year that resulted in sharply higher assessments for some homeowners. “He’s listening but he doesn’t hear you,” Della Rocco said.
Della Rocco also claimed Marsh failed to prevent the relocation of a new regional probate court from Chester to Old Saybrook, and has failed to maintain some town buildings, particularly the Chester Comminity Center property on Route 154.
Marsh said delaying the revaluation was “a sword that cut both ways,” and would not have helped more than a third of the town’s residential property owners who experienced no major jump in assessments from the update. He said the town would have “wasted” the $80,000 spent on the update while still being required to complete a revaluation by 2011. Marsh said the decision on the location of a regional probate court was driven by the larger municipalities, such as Old Saybrook and Clinton, and suggested Chester Town Hall would have had difficulty accommodating the staff for a larger probate court serving nine area towns.
On the proposed Parker’s Point riverfront land purchase, Della Rocco claimed Marsh has not provided residents with all information on the purchase. Marsh said all information on proposed bonding and grant funding for the purchase would be available before a scheduled Nov. 10 referendum, adding “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”
The two rivals agreed on some issues, rejecting the idea of a four-year term for first selectman and board of selectmen, and opposing Chester participation in a regional health district that is now comprised of Clinton, Old Saybrook, and Deep River.
The candidates each expressed some support for a developing plan for a full regionalization of Region 4 schools, while avoiding making a firm commitment until a detailed proposal is presented by the Region 4 Board of Education. Marsh said the district’s current governing structure, including four separate school boards and a Supervision District Committee managing shared services, “is too cumbersome.” But he expressed some concern about how the district’s budget preparation process would function under a single elected regional school board made up of representatives from Chester, Deep River, and Essex.
Della Rocco said residents will have to weigh the possibility of cost savings against a possible loss of control over the local elementary school when a regionalization plan is presented to voters of the three district towns in a referendum expected sometime next year.
By Charles Stannard
CHESTER— Tuesday’s town meeting on the proposed purchase of 4.6-acres of riverfront land on Parkers Point Road will be for discussion and information only, with no votes taken on resolutions related to the proposed acquisition.
First Selectman Tom Marsh said the town meeting, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the Chester Meeting House, would be a public information session on the proposed $1 million bonding authorization for the purchase that will be presented to town voters in a Nov. 10 referendum. The town meeting was initially expected to include voting on resolutions related to town acceptance of two grants and a donation from the Chester Land Trust intended defray some of the costs of the purchase.
Marsh said the board of selectmen voted unanimously last week to send all questions related to the bonding and land acquisition directly to a referendum vote after determining that a vote at the town meeting not to accept the grants and donation would block the actual referendum on the purchase. He added that some opponents of the land buy were preparing to vote against all resolutions at the town meeting as a way to prevent a full vote on the purchase because the acquisition would not go forward without the funding assistance from the grants and donation.
“Nobody wanted a town meeting vote to decide whether or not we buy the land,” Marsh said. “It would be unfair because you could not get approval to buy it from the town meeting but you could stop it at the town meeting.”
Marsh said during discussions over the past two months, members of the board of selectmen and board of finance, including some who oppose the purchase, were unanimous in feeling the deciding vote on the purchase should come through a referendum.
The town would be responsible for about $500,000 of the total $938,000 purchase price for the parcel. Funding assistance includes a grant from the state Department of Environmemal Protection, a smaller grant from the regional Connecticut River Gateway Commission, and the land trust donation. The total $1 million bonding authorization includes some funding for bonding expenses.
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