Chester County voters face a $34M sales tax decision this fall. What it covers
Chester County voters will have a $33.5 million decision to make this fall when the county asks them to extend a 1% sales tax through 2035 to fund capital projects. So, what will residents get for that bill?
“They will see within a few items something in their community, or something that touches their lives,” said Susan Kovas, chairwoman of the citizen committee that created the project list.
Chester County Council voted on Monday to put the 29-item list on the Nov. 3 ballot. It came from 67 proposals sent to the six-person citizen committee that started meeting last August.
Projects mainly focused on public safety like fire and police service, recreation and building rehabilitation.
Five nonprofits, all with long ties to Chester County, would receive funding. Projects on the final list will make Chester County safer, provide more recreation opportunities and bring economic growth, Kovas said.
“Ultimately I think we produced a list of projects which will touch every part of our county,” she said.
Chester County is working on a website with renderings and information on the approved project list, said County Administrator Brian Hester. But he also emphasizes what the November vote doesn’t include.
The penny-on-every-dollar tax isn’t new, he said, but a continuation of what’s in place now.
The 1% capital sales tax would extend the tax approved six years ago by county voters. It completed 53 projects at about $19 million, Hester said.
If approved this fall, the new tax would pick up where the previous one expires in spring 2028. The new funding amount in a similar seven-year span is the result of community growth and increased spending.
“You can see how much more our penny’s worth now,” Hester said.
Here’s a closer look at the six most expensive items on the list voters will see in November:
Chester post office
The county would spend $5.6 million to renovate the historic post office in Chester. The former post office and federal building at 158 Main St. was built in 1908.
It’s part of the Chester Historical District, an area that’s part of the National Register of Historic Places. The building has been used most recently for county functions like planning and zoning services, appeals court and other governmental needs.
Baseball complex upgrades
The next most expensive item is $4.4 million worth of improvements to the baseball complex off Dawson Drive. The county baseball complex hosts youth league and tournament play, and is the home park for Chester High School baseball. It has five baseball or softball fields and a picnic area.
Fire station improvements
Improvements to the Rossville Volunteer Fire Department station in Richburg made the list at $3.5 million. The southern Chester County department that began in 1964 is one of a dozen volunteer or combination (paid staff plus volunteer) units in the county, along with a city department in Chester.
Several countywide fire service allocations are listed, as are items like 911 radios ($560,000). The North Chester Fire Department also would get $500,000 for a station there.
Air packs for fire service in Chester County
One of those allocations is $3.3 million for air packs that would go to countywide fire service. The wearable breathing systems allow firefighters to work in areas with smoke or toxic vapors.
Ladder truck purchase
Another fire service item toward the top of the capital projects list is the $2.5 million purchase of a ladder truck in Richburg. The combination fire department in Richburg covers a large industrial area just off Interstate 77. Richburg is home some of Chester County’s largest industrial sites, like the Giti Tire facility.
Great Falls utility work
The final project at more than $2 million is a sewer system upgrade in Great Falls. That $2.5 million project comes in the southeastern Chester County community that borders Lancaster County at the Catawba River and Great Falls Lake.