Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Local Government topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Chester council previews ethics ordinance and Home ARP shift to housing ahead of Wednesday vote
Summary
Ahead of Wednesday's council meeting, Chester staff said Ordinance B1 (a new Code of Ethics) will be on the final-reading calendar and proposed Resolution 42 would reallocate Home ARP funds—moving about $1.19 million toward affordable rental housing while removing two smaller lines for supportive services and nonprofit operating costs.
City of Chester officials on April 6 reviewed several items scheduled for the council's regular meeting on Wednesday, including a final-reading ethics ordinance and a proposed reallocation of Home ARP money toward affordable rental housing.
City staff told the deliberative meeting that Ordinance B1 would add a new Article 149 to Chester's codified ordinances to set ethical standards for elected and appointed officials and employees and to repeal inconsistent provisions. A council member said she had a question for the solicitor about the ordinance's language and asked to follow up after the meeting; the item remains on the agenda for final action on Wednesday.
The most detailed exchange during the deliberative session concerned Resolution 42, a substantial amendment to Chester's Home ARP allocation plan. Staff said the amendment would remove a supportive-services line of $132,027 and a nonprofit operating line (amount in the transcript listed with incomplete digits) and increase the allotment for development of affordable rental housing to a total of $1,188,244. When a council member asked which specific project would receive the funds, staff replied that no single project is named in the resolution as printed. "Miss Gaffne knows," one participant said when the question was raised.
Staff described an existing project the city has already funded: Liberty Development Housing Corporation is constructing a six-unit development on the 1100 block of Morton Avenue intended for people exiting nursing homes, with on-site supportive services and an office. Staff also said another developer has applied for Home ARP funds but still needs to close a budget gap before the city could commit money to that proposal.
Council members pressed for money to be used toward physical development rather than redirected to supportive services, noting they wanted units that serve households at or below 30% of area median income and other HUD-qualified populations. A council member asked whether the reallocated funds had to be obligated by a near-term deadline; staff answered that Home ARP (administered under HUD rules) has a different timetable from ARPA and that the city has several more years to allocate the funds.
Other items listed for Wednesday's meeting include Resolution 40 (ratifying the appointment of Candace Nuome as the city's open records officer, effective April 1, 2026), Resolution 41 (appointing Janelle Brown as acting city clerk when the open records officer is unavailable), Resolution 43 (amending language to rescind an earlier resolution and signal council policy against privatization), Resolution 44 (authorizing a quote from SJ Thomas Company Inc. for police station exterior repairs not to exceed $382,839.30), and Resolution 45 (approval of an intermunicipal liquor-license transfer following a public hearing).
Council met in executive session earlier in the day to discuss a legal matter, and the deliberative meeting adjourned with no votes taken on the items previewed; formal action is scheduled for the council's regular meeting on Wednesday.
