Chester board OKs federal grant application, solar field purchase

By Shawn Cunningham
© 2026 Telegraph Publishing LLC

In one of the most unusual agendas in recent memory, the Chester Select Board held two meetings last Wednesday with three executive sessions and a legal tutorial on the roles of the board and town manager in Vermont statutes from town attorney Jim Carroll.

While the remainder of the regular meeting agenda consisted of boilerplate items and some tobacco and entertainment licenses, the most consequential was the question of whether to apply for an unusual federal grant. Town Manager Julie Hance, who has written a number of successful grant applications, told the board that this was unlike any grant she has seen.

Safe Roads for All grant

This federal Department of Transportation grant would fund planning and demonstration projects that would explore scenarios for regionalizing EMS and fire services in initiatives to prevent fatalities and serious injuries on roads and highways. Hance said this is a completely different type of grant than the town is used to because the scope of the project is not defined ahead of time but is developed as part of the project.

The amount of the Safe Roads for All grant would be $3 million with a 20 percent match, but the match can be in-kind from partner agencies including the work of the ambulance service and Springfield Hospital, which would be a partner. According to a grant document, the focus is the improvement of “Infrastructure for post-crash care, emergency response coordination, and pre-hospital blood transfusion activities.”  Included in this, said Hance, is the ability for the grantee to purchase equipment needed for its demonstration projects, such as an ambulance.

Hance told the board that this year, the DOT grant has a particular emphasis on public safety infrastructure, noting that the town’s emphasis on cross training of police, fire and EMS puts Chester in a particularly strong position to lead the grant and develop projects with other municipalities such as Bellows Falls, Ludlow and Springfield. And as the lead partner, the funding would come through the Town of Chester. She also said that no other municipality in Vermont has applied for one of these grants.

However, such a large, complex grant comes with a complicated and involved application and, if awarded, a substantial administrative burden. Earlier this year, Hance told the board that she would not be writing many grants this year because she will already have a lot of grant administration on her plate.

“Could I write this, yes.” Hance told The Telegraph on Friday. “Would I be successful? Probably not.” She said that the application alone would take her several weeks and is in an area of expertise that’s not familiar to her. To get around this, Hance told the board that the town could hire a company that has successfully written these grants. And if the grant is awarded, that company would be able to administer it and be paid for that work out of the grant funds.

Hance told the board the grant writing fee of $15,000 could be paid for with some funds from the police, fire and ambulance budgets along with the town’s grant fund. The grant application is due May 26 and, after some discussion, the board gave Hance the go-ahead to apply.

Three executive sessions, one decision

In a special meeting at 5 p.m., the board held one executive session to receive legal advice regarding Kirk MacGinnis’ lawsuit against the town regarding Wyman’s Falls Road. A second session was held to receive legal advice regarding a Class 4 Road Policy that is pending adoption. According to minutes of that meeting, the board exited both sessions without taking any action.

But at the end of the third session, the board authorized Hance to a sign an “asset purchase agreement” and other documents for buying the solar field at the Jeffrey Well site on Route 103 North for $925,403.89. The purchase, which is funded by a bond issue passed by Australian ballot at Town Meeting Day in  2025, has been complicated, especially by the seller’s apparent delaying. But according to Hance the agreement is done and will be final in a couple of weeks.