Cheshire Council Approves Four-Year Public Works Union Contract in First 2026 Meeting

Town Council · Meeting of January 13, 2026

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.