Government

Want beer or wine with that pizza? Select Board and residents say yes to Intervale Pizza license

Resident Andrew McDonough-Lee displays the Intervale Pizza cap his wife Hannah gave him. The two are “huge fans” of the business, McDonough-Lee said in supporting the license request. | screenshot from meeting video

| Joanne Cole |

Residents were ready to raise a glass to Intervale Pizza on Monday night at a public hearing on its request to serve beer and wine on premises. Public sentiment at the podium and in letters ran the gamut from enthusiastic to extremely enthusiastic. Near-neighbor Erik Hargreaves of Gloucester Hill Road was most succinct. “I think it’s great. Go for it,” Hargreaves told the Select Board. The board did, on a 4-0 vote (Larrivee absent).

At the January 9 meeting, the board also decided to temporarily close Quarry Road to through traffic, and they considered an updated town staff salary scale and new evaluation criteria for the town manager, discussed town board and committee charges and activities, and heard pointed public comment.

Intervale Pizza beer/wine license [Disclaimer: your NGX correspondent is a direct abutter.] Residents emailed and turned out at the Meetinghouse to express unequivocal support for a license for Intervale Pizza and Village Market to serve beer and wine on premises. The business is located at 405 Intervale Road in the Lower Village.

Erik Desjarlais, who operates Intervale Pizza, and Sam Coggeshall, who previously ran the Village Store and still owns the property, attended and saw firsthand an outpouring of support and affection for them and the businesses, past and present.

Residents spoke of an inviting place to connect with friends and neighbors, particularly in a rural community. Andrew McDonough-Lee of Sally Lane said he and wife Hannah arrived last summer and welcome the chance to “meet our new neighbors” over food and a beer or glass of wine. Offering their “whole-hearted support” in a letter, Evan and Jennifer Bradstreet wrote that as parents of a small child, they have few opportunities to get out and connect with the community. It would be so nice, they said, to go “just a few minutes up the road” for “a glass of wine or local beer with some fabulous local pizza” and meet people.

Longtime resident Kevyn Fowler of Intervale Road led off the hearing, saying, “I think it’s a law in Maine that you have to have a beer with pizza.” Fowler and others noted the importance of the business to the area and to the town. Residents suggested that, given Intervale Pizza’s hours, offerings and clientele, there would be minimal impact in terms of noise and disruption.

Board approval was swift. Members Tammy Donovan said the board intended the public hearing to be sure the request had “the blessing of the neighborhood.” Member Dustin Ward addressed Desjarlais and Coggeshall directly, saying the outpouring of community support was “a huge affirmation of both your business and yourselves” and showed “how much you’re appreciated” by the community.

So when might patrons enjoy wine or beer with that pizza? Desjarlais told NGX that his application next goes back to the state for final approval. He couldn’t predict how long that will take, but when the good news comes, he’ll let the community know.

Seasonal closure of Quarry Road. With much of Quarry Road gravel and a quagmire in spring, last year the board closed the road to through traffic for mud season. At Monday’s meeting they decided to close Quarry Road as soon as practicable, rather than wait until spring. “It’s mud season now,” said Tammy Donovan.

Located across Route 26 from Outlet Road and bounded by Shaker-owned lands, Quarry Road has long attracted dumping, vandalism, and unauthorized camping and fires. Representatives of Shaker Village have asked the town to consider closing Quarry Road permanently, but the board has so far been disinclined to take that step; they remained disinclined on Monday. Quarry Road did prompt discussion of other lightly populated or problematic roads, especially Swamp Road, but the board took action only on Quarry Road.

Updated town staff salary scale. After discussion, the board decided to use an updated salary schedule compiled by Manager Bill Kerbin as a guideline rather than a binding document in this year’s budget planning. The salary scale has ranges for staff positions and is based on compensation data from comparably sized communities. In recent years, when trying to attract new employees or reward current staff, the board’s hands were tied by the scale, members noted on Monday.

To give themselves more leeway, the board voted unanimously on Monday to uncouple the salary survey from the town’s personnel policy and to instead use it only as a “forecast” for the upcoming FY23-24 budget. Kerbin will undertake additional research and refine the survey next year.

Manager performance evaluation; proposed media policy. The board agreed to convene a workshop to further discuss methods and criteria for evaluating the Town Manager. There was consensus at this meeting that the current approach needs a re-boot, perhaps to ‘a 360 review’—that is, soliciting feedback from all who interact regularly with the person being evaluated. More to come. The board declined to adopt a town media policy proposed by Kerbin, preferring instead to maintain the status quo and let the manager address issues as needed.

Board and Committee charges, activities. The board took no formal action on an agenda item to review the charges and activities of boards and committees and what they should be working on in the future. During public comment, resident Don Libby, a long-serving member of town committees, pushed back on any ‘should be working on’ dictate from the board. Volunteer-filled committees deserve flexibility, Libby suggested, citing “too much interference” by the Select Board. “We run on the backs of volunteers in this town. If you don’t want that, fine. You guys can do it [the work],” he said.

Board members later discussed whether committees’ ‘job descriptions’ are clear and understood by members to be advisory in nature. The board will revisit the subject of committees, including the role of town staff. They decided that the Ad hoc Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is done and disbanded; a fuller discussion about how to move that work forward awaits.

Board member update; public comments. During board member updates, Chair Peter Bragdon read a lengthy “clarification/apology” he had posted that afternoon on Facebook. The statement addressed a recent incident in which Bragdon apparently sent to all the members of the select board a text message with a photo or post from a resident’s social media account. In his statement, Bragdon apologized and said the text “was meant to go to an individual as a joke” and was sent “as a group text to the board by accident.” Two residents apparently referenced in the text message chain spoke during public comment and said, among other things, that the texts from Bragdon and Stephen Hathorne were slanderous and derogatory. One speaker called on Bragdon to immediately step down.

Also during public comment resident Linda Chase renewed her call for Bragdon to step down in light of actions he took before and during the December storm. Chase said Bragdon “overstepped his position,” including by using a town radio and the EMS emergency channel to give direction to Public Works crews. In his clarification/apology statement, Bragdon said his intention was “to put the townspeople first” and he acknowledged that events “should have been handled by staff.” He said he has apologized to those involved. It is unclear what action, if any, might result from the incidents.

To view video of the the January 9 Select Board meeting, click here. For meeting agendas and supporting documents, click here.