Town Board 1/15/26

Town Board member Eaton, who also served over the past two years as Chair of the Zoning Update / Housing combined committee, said that work over that period of time by that joint committee has resulted in a draft proposal for a Planned Residential Development that is ready for distribution for Board review. He detailed some of the specifics of the proposed law.

Eaton also said he also expects to submit some of the joint committee’s work on a proposal for multi-family housing in the town. He noted that the town has recently approved its first single lot exemption under a housing law that was passed in 2025.

Mary Gail Biebel, who chairs the Community Preservation Fund Board (CPFB) established in 2023, reminded the assembled audience that CPFB was created by town law to allow for the preservation of farmland within the Town of Chatham. She said that the CPFB is making progress on developing a system to review and select applications to present to the Town Board for discussion and approval. She credited the Town Board and the Chatham Agricultural Partnership for consistent support for the CPFB’s efforts. The CPFB is currently working on application forms that will allow landowners to apply for funds for preservation and developing a competitive review process to ensure there is a standard by which applications are considered and approved. She expects to release and post information on this process later in January. The board expressed appreciation for all the work Biebel does with the agricultural community and various funding sources to put Chatham in a favorable position to make preservation of farmland a reality.

Board member and newly appointed Housing Advisory Committee Chair  Lisa Simonetti gave an update on her work to populate the Housing Committee. She said she expects to have the committee membership identified by next month and then to proceed with the committee’s work.

Board members Wapner and Werwaiss, who will co-chair a new Zoning Code Review Working Group, announced they are recruiting members at present. Populating the committee and  clarifying what areas of the zoning code will be the focus of the working group are current priorities.

In new business, Supervisor Collins noted that the draft of the Park Master Plan is posted on the town website. He recommended that interested parties review the Plan prior to a presentation at the next workshop meeting on February 5, 2026. Parks & Recreation Committee member Jim Marks will be providing an overview and commentary for the public at that time.

In formal action, the board completed these resolutions:

• Reappointed Guillermo Maciel to the Community Preservation Fund Advisory Board, after an initial term of two years, for the period from February 2, 2026 to January 31, 2031.

• Appointed Tim Mackerer to the Chatham Agricultural Partnership Committee (CAP) on the recommendation of said committee.

• Accepted the resignation as long-time Chair of the Chatham Agricultural Committee (CAP) of Henry Corson with thanks for his years of leadership; and accepted his request to continue as a regular CAP member.

• Appointed Eric Ooms as Chair of the Chatham Agricultural Partnership Committee (CAP).

• Appointed Evan Young to the Citizen Housing Advisory Committee to serve for all or part of 2026. The resolution cited Young’s contributions over the past two years as a member of the Town’s Zoning Update Committee, his work on town housing legislation, and his assistance with a recently submitted grant application that could fund survey and planning for a tract of land owned by the town to assess suitability for a site of future housing. 

• Authorized the Town Supervisor to invest accumulating funds from the Community Preservation Fund in an interest-bearing investment, and insure that proper records of such investments are maintained and reported. The accumulating funds are not currently required for any expenditure for conservation related purposes as stipulated in the 2023 establishment of that fund. The resolution asserted that any earned interest would remain part of the Community Preservation Fund, unless otherwise directed by the Town Board. 

• Authorized purchase of a loader for a balance of $186,418.52 (purchase price minus trade in value of a 2025 loader) at the request of the Highway Superintendent.

• Approved the purchase of a replacement copier / scanner / printer for use by the Building Department, Assessor’s office, and Planning and Zoning Boards, at the cost of $3865.00.

• Tabled a resolution that would authorize an allocation from the Community Preservation Fund to provide funding for “items such as appraisals and land surveys” for selected landowners who apply to conserve farmland through the Community Preservation legislation.

A video of the January 15 meeting summarized above is available HERE and on the Town website under the Town Board tab.

The next town board meeting will be a workshop meeting on February 5 at 6:30 pm with attendance in person or online.