Organizations press Chester council for support

CHESTER - Several local organizations put public pressure on the Chester City Council to demonstrate greater support for their community projects during a meeting Wednesday evening.
Desire Grover, an organizer for the Chester Energy Justice Network, pushed council members to sign a petition committing them to increase Chester's number of "green jobs."
"It used to be a very gray city and now we're paying for the pollution that happened here. Now we want to turn this into a green city," said Grover, advocating for job creation that also benefits the environment.
Only Councilwoman Marrea Walker-Smith has signed the petition to date, Grover said.
Mayor Wendell N. Butler Jr. told Grover she has the board's support and promised to have a representative meet with her organization. Several members of the Chester Community Grocery Co-op, including founder Tina Johnson, also spoke at Wednesday's meeting to ask for more explicit support for their co-op's expansion.
"I feel that the Chester Co-op is a viable business," argued Rod Powell, an instructor at the Chester Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired and a co-op board member. "The reason why I'm here is to get your blessing on a Chester Co-op."
Butler promised the group had his "blessing," and that he would promptly coordinate a meeting between city officials and co-op organizers.