An aerial photo of the Village of Chester. Photo: CKBW File
The Municipality of Chester (MOC) and the Village of Chester have shared fire services for decades and they will do so for another 20 years after a new agreement was finalized this week.
Not everything will continue as usual though, with major changes to the Fire Services Committee and how it’s structured.
Prior to the new agreement, the Committee was exclusive to residents who resided within the village, essentially locking out municipal residents from participating.
Under the new rules, a new committee will be formed, with a 50/50 makeup of residents from the village of Chester and MOC.
Chester Municipal Warden Allen Webber says it made sense to change the committee as municipal residents should be able to have their say on fire services. “For the past few decades fire services have extended further and further into the municipality, and until now municipal residents were footing around half the bill without a seat at the table,” Webber said.
MOC isn’t holding any grudges over that and Webber says the services under the prior agreement were excellent but as the old agreement was set to expire this year, it just made sense to do it now.
Under the new arrangement, MOC will share in ownership of the assets, which their residents have contributed to in the past.
Nancy Hatch, Chair of the Village of Chester Commission, was pleased that a long-term agreement was reached that will help shape the relationship in the years to come.
“The Village Commission felt it was important to strengthen the relationship between the Village Commission and Municipal Council. The Chester Volunteer Fire Department provides a first-rate fire protection service. We have heard from its members that an agreement that better reflected a partnership and provided longer-term financial sustainability is needed. We are happy that an agreement was reached and look forward to jointly providing governance of the service.”
-Nancy Hatch
Fire services will continue to be provided by the Chester Volunteer Fire Department, along with support from other departments in the area through mutual-aid agreements.
Work to appoint the new committee is now underway.
