| Joanne Cole |
On a split vote, the Select Board decided to override a policy prohibiting alcohol on Town property in order to enable Brickyard Hollow Brewery to sell a commemorative beer at the 250th celebration and fair in September. Brickyard Hollow must still request a liquor license from the board.
In other action at the August 5 meeting, the board opened bids for a septic system at the Fairgrounds – a step toward permanent bathrooms. They also approved bid documents for demolishing the former salt and sand storage building in the Upper Village and authorized legal review of a draft agreement on a proposed pedestrian-bike path between the Town Hall Complex and Church Road, among other items.
Beer at NG 250th celebration in September? By a 3-2 vote (Hathorne, Bragdon opposed), the board approved in principle beer sales by Brickyard Hollow at the 250th celebration at the Fairgrounds on September 7.
The board vote overrides a policy forbidding alcohol on Town property. But Brickyard Hollow must apply to the board for a liquor license before it can roll onto the fairgrounds and open its taps.
The 250th Celebration Committee had been in touch with Brickyard Hollow about selling a beer specially created for the occasion. The plan is to bring in its licensed beer truck, alongside its food truck, and serve beer on tap, not in cans. The serving area would be roped off, board members heard. 250th Committee chair Linda Chase said the beer would probably sell for $8 a cup, a price she thought would discourage excessive drinking.
Board vice chair Stephen Hathorne and member Peter Bragdon questioned making an exception for what’s intended to be a family-friendly event.
“I am not at all in favor of it being open consumption at the Fair,” Peter Bragdon said, mentioning the Kids Zone and other activities. Hathorne raised liability concerns. Manager Bill Kerbin said the vendor would be responsible for permits and liability insurance.
Tammy Donovan urged trying it as a test case for future events at the Fairgrounds with music, food and drinks. “Other communities are doing it,” she said. “They have a location where people can gather.”
Support for a local business on a special occasion carried the day. A slim majority of the board gave Brickyard Hollow a green light to proceed, albeit after narrowing the serving window to run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Brickyard Hollow must next apply for a liquor license.
RFP approved for salt and sand shed demolition and disposal. For years, board members and town managers have discussed what, if anything, to do with the former salt and sand structure in the Upper Village. At this meeting, the board unanimously approved draft bid documents for demolishing and removing the structure. Bids are due by September 16.
Decisive in the board’s discussion was the fact that voters approved the work and a $40,000 budget at Town Meeting in May. Efforts to sell the structure–or even give it away to anyone willing to move it–had proved fruitless, and over time, a consensus emerged that the Town-owned parcel would be more attractive to buyers or developers or for the Town’s own use, without the structure.
Pedestrian-bike path between Town Hall Complex and Church Road to get legal review. A proposed easement agreement for a short path from the Town Hall Complex and across the First Congregational Church’s property to Church Road will get legal review, the board decided.
The five-foot wide path would be cut and maintained by volunteers and allow walkers and cyclists to avoid the Lower Village intersection and access a trail down to the Intervale Preserve.
Stephen Hathorne objected that taxpayer funds would be used for what he characterized as “putting tax dollars into a private entity” and that volunteers would cut trees on Town property.
The path would be for townspeople to use, Peter Bragdon responded. Tammy Donovan said, “We’re continuing to move forward to create an age-friendly, livable community. People are definitely worried about walking along the sides of the roads.” On to Legal the draft agreement goes, following a 4-1 vote (Hathorne opposed).
Economic Development Committee gets a name change; revised charge awaits. The Economic Development Committee asked the board to update the committee’s name to The Economic and Community Development Committee and to revise its charge to better align with the work the board has directed the group to do.
Said Town Planner Kathy Tombarelli, “I am super-supportive of the name change because that represents what they do and most towns have that.”
The board agreed. They also discussed the committee’s proposed charge, revising revisions proposed by the committee. A clean version will come back to the board at the next meeting.
In other Economic and Community Development Committee news, an event is being planned for October at Pineland, committee chair Connie Justice told the board. It will be open to the community and include a tour of Unity University, remarks by its president, networking opportunities – and refreshments courtesy of Pineland. Details to come, Justice said.
The Town’s purchasing policy to undergo further rewrite. The Town’s purchasing policy addresses which acquisitions and services must go out for competitive bid, use of preferred vendors and other topics. The board had directed Manager Bill Kerbin to propose revisions for the board to review, as the policy was last updated in 2020.
After discussion on August 5, the policy will go back to the drawing board for further revision.
Among changes the board balked at, Kerbin had proposed upping the amount a department head can spend without getting quotes or doing competitive bids from $2,500 to $14,999. As long as the department has enough funds in its budget, Kerbin said, the money can be spent without additional pricing or bidding steps.
Member Colleen Strickler called the increase from $2,500 to $14,999 “a drastic jump,” a view shared by her fellow members. Kerbin said that the $15,000 figure takes into account rising costs and inflation, but board members were disinclined to agree without examples of such significant rises. Under the draft, the threshold for requiring competitive bids would also be raised from $5,000 to $20,000. Kerbin will revisit those cutoffs.
Member Peter Bragdon also wanted additional clarification of the intent behind “preferred vendors” provisions in the policy. Chair Dustin Ward listed several other topics that the board had asked be included in the revision but were not, among them provisions around leasing, distinguishing between securing professional services and making purchases, and use of credit cards.
Cemetery Expansion on track. Nat Berry and Steve Libby of the Cemetery Association reported that the cemetery expansion project is on schedule and on budget. In May 2023, voters approved $160,000 for a four-year project to extend paths and lots in the Hill Cemetery on Route 100 near Gloucester Hill Road, the Lower Cemetery by Stevens Brook in the Lower Village, and the Upper Cemetery across from the Fairgrounds on Bald Hill Road.
Since then, the Cemetery Association has contracted with Nadeau Land Surveys for survey and design layout work. Nadeau’s Tom Blake, a New Gloucester resident, is serving as project manager. The survey work is nearly complete, Libby said, and the plan for lots, graves and roads is expected by spring 2025. Construction will follow.
Watch video of the August 5, 2024, Select Board meeting at this link. Find contact information for Select Board members and links to meeting agendas, minutes and related documents at this link.
