Administrator reports: new county fire board, subdivision code timetable, website redesign and boundary change

County Administrator Michael Hester used his April 7 report to brief Chester County Council on several administrative items: formation of a new county fire board, a timeline for the subdivision code review, progress on a county website redesign, and a boundary-realignment update with Fairfield County.

Hester said for the first time in many years all 12 county fire departments and their chiefs attended the new county fire board meeting, indicating stronger countywide coordination on fire service. He commended chiefs for submitting fiscally conscious budgets and noted some departments reduced requests or redirected fee-in-lieu or district tax revenue toward operations rather than new capital.

Hester outlined the subdivision code review schedule: draft 3 of the subdivision code would be sent to the planning commission and council on April 9; the planning commission plans to review draft 3 on April 15 and then forward recommendations to council; council’s regular April 21 meeting will include discussion of draft 3 with first, second and third readings now tentatively scheduled across May and June depending on any requested changes.

On the county website, Hester said redesign work is approximately 40–45% complete and that the county expects the modernized site to be finished in roughly six months. He also reported that a Chester–Fairfield boundary plat was certified in March and that the effective date for the boundary realignment is scheduled for June 2025. Hester said he had not heard major resident concerns but noted public hearings had been held.