Cheshire Town Council Opens 2026 With Schools Update, Union Deal, and Library Grant

Town Council · Meeting of January 13, 2026

CT CHESHIRE — Cheshire Town Council unanimously approved a four-year public works union contract and a $75,000 library grant for the visually impaired at its January 13 regular meeting. The collective bargaining agreement with Public Works Union Local 1303-202 of Council 4, AFSCME AFL-CIO runs July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029; Town Manager Sean Kimball praised "productive, respectful negotiations" and singled out union President Kyle Hobson. The council also accepted a three-year grant from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven totaling $75,000, appropriated $25,000 annually, for the Cheshire Public Library to purchase Braille kits, audiobooks, assistive technology, and e-content for the roughly 800 homebound visits the library makes each year.

School Building Committee member Andrew Gusenberg reported both Barnum and Norton schools remain on time and under budget, with site work 54 to 65 percent complete and a mid-July certificate of occupancy still targeted. The council additionally approved stipulated tax agreements covering Rite Aid properties on Main Street and a Cheshire Station LLC property at 1021 South Main Street, and referred a potential sale of town land at 422 North Brooksville Road to the Planning and Zoning Commission.

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Source: the Town Council meeting of January 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

CHESHIRE — January 13, 2026 — The Cheshire Town Council opened its first regular meeting of the year Tuesday by unanimously approving a new four-year collective bargaining agreement with the public works union, accepting a $75,000 library grant for visually impaired residents, and receiving an on-track progress report on the town's two new elementary schools.

The council voted 9-0 on every item before it, working through a lengthy agenda that included routine annual resolutions, three tax stipulated agreements, and a string of appointments before adjourning from executive session.

The Full Story

The meeting's most consequential action was the approval of a collective bargaining agreement between the Town of Cheshire and Public Works Union Local 1303-202 of Council 4, AFSCME AFL-CIO, covering the period July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2029. Town Manager Sean Kimball praised the process after the vote.

"I just want to say thank you to the public works union for very productive, respectful negotiations, particularly President Kyle Hobson and the entire negotiating team. It was a good process and I think a fair settlement on both sides." — Town Manager Sean Kimball

On the capital side, the council accepted a three-year responsive grant from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven totaling $75,000, to be appropriated $25,000 per year for the Cheshire Public Library. Library Director Sandy Hernandez told the council the funds will pay for large-print materials, audiobooks, Kindles pre-loaded with e-content for homebound patrons, Braille kits, assistive technology devices, and software such as screen readers for public computers. Hernandez said the library averages roughly 800 homebound visits per year. Council Member Gregory Wolff credited the library's quick turnaround on the application.

"I'm proud of you and I'm proud of the library for going after this. I know that you did it on very short notice, putting it together and being successful is a huge accomplishment." [no timestamp index supplied] — Gregory Wolff, Town Council Member

On the school construction front, School Building Committee member Andrew Gusenberg reported that both Barnum School and Norton School remain on time and under budget, with overall site work 54 to 65 percent complete and classroom wings 48 to 58 percent complete. Both buildings are projected to receive certificates of occupancy by mid-July, with demolition of the old Norton School building expected to be finished by November. Gusenberg noted that staff parking during demolition will be handled through an agreement with a Catholic church across the street from the Norton site.

The council also approved three tax stipulated agreements following executive session: one between the town and Fern Inc., Rite Aid, and MK Menlo Rite Aid for properties at 180, 154, and 198 Main Street, and a second between the town and Cheshire Station LLC for the property at 1021 South Main Street. Both agreements were approved unanimously.

The meeting opened on a celebratory note with Chair Peter Talbot reading a proclamation honoring Richard Pruitt Jr., Assistant Superintendent of Highways and Grounds, as the 28th annual Connie Wallace Employee of the Year. Kimball noted the award, named for a 36-year town employee, has been presented since 1998 and is chosen by a peer vote of all town employees. Pruitt, a Cheshire resident employed by the town since 2005, also serves as a volunteer firefighter with the Cheshire Fire Department.

Why It Matters

The four-year public works union contract locks in labor costs for a large segment of the town's workforce through June 2029, providing budget predictability as Cheshire prepares to open two new elementary schools this summer. The $75,000 library grant arrives without cost to taxpayers and extends services to an underserved population: the roughly 800 homebound residents the library visits annually, many of them seniors experiencing vision loss. The school construction timeline means Cheshire will open Barnum and Norton schools for the 2026-2027 school year, with demolition of the old Norton building running concurrently into the fall. The Planning and Zoning Commission has also been asked to review the potential sale of town-owned property at 422 North Brooksville Road, a process required under Connecticut General Statutes Section 8-24.

Key Motions & Votes

- Vote: Approval of minutes — December 16, 2025 Town Council special meeting and January 6, 2026 Town Council special meeting Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Consent calendar for January 13, 2026 (Resolution 011326-1) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Acceptance and appropriation of $75,000 Community Foundation for Greater New Haven grant for Cheshire Public Library visually impaired programming (Resolution 011326-2) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Annual review and approval of sealed bid requirements, $35,000 threshold, January 1 through December 31, 2026 (Resolution 011326-3) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Adoption of amended Town Council rules of procedure (Resolution 011326-4) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Reappointment of Diane Calibro as Town Historian, February 1, 2026 through January 31, 2028 (Resolution 011326-5) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Appointment of Patricia Mottola as Town Poet Laureate through December 31, 2027 (Resolution 011326-6) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Appointment of Peter Talbot as Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments representative through December 31, 2027 (Resolution 011326-7) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Approval of 2026 Town Manager Goals and Objectives (Resolution 011326-8) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Special revenue appropriation of $5,940 from sale of surplus vehicle to Public Works Capital Asset Proceeds Account for purchase of UTV plow (Resolution 011326-9) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Referral to Planning and Zoning Commission to review sale of town property at 422 North Brooksville Road per Connecticut General Statutes Section 8-24 (Resolution 011326-10) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Motion to enter executive session Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Stipulated tax agreement between Town of Cheshire and Fern Inc., Rite Aid, and MK Menlo Rite Aid for properties at 180, 154, and 198 Main Street (Resolution 011326-11A) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Stipulated tax agreement between Town of Cheshire and Cheshire Station LLC for property at 1021 South Main Street (Resolution 011326-11B) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Collective bargaining agreement with Public Works Union Local 1303-202 of Council 4, AFSCME AFL-CIO, July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2029 (Resolution 011326-12) Tally: Approved unanimously

- Vote: Appointments of Neilhan Karthier to Youth and Human Services Committee (corrected term) and Kevin Daly to Historic District Commission as full member Tally: Approved unanimously

Source Cheshire's community access TV: Town Council meeting, January 13, 2026