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By Mary Romaniec
Grafton Flea Market’s plan to expand services to include a beer garden moved forward with the approval by Selectmen for a liquor license.
Owners Michael and Laura Peters, represented by attorney Henry Lane, from Lane & Hamer, said the license was necessary to provide their customers what competitors in surrounding communities were already offering. The liquor license allows Grafton Flea Market to set up a fenced in section off the side of the restaurant to cater to the clientele.
The effort to obtain the liquor license has been an ongoing process for the flea market, as they worked to meet permit criteria asked for by Selectmen, the Zoning Board of Appeals and Police Chief Normand Crepeau Jr who advised Selectmen that he preferred a six-foot privacy fence, not the four foot one proposed, suggesting the lower fence was not enough to deter minors from obtaining alcohol. Laura Peters said the average customer were older who wanted to enjoy their hot dogs with a beer.
Crepeau also expressed worry about knives sold at the flea market, in combination with the sale of alcohol, was a potential safety concern. He asked that all weapons be banned for sale at the flea market, including BB guns, pellet guns and knives. Michael Peters countered that while he understood the need to ban any kind of weapon sale, he wondered where to draw the line since he has vendors who sell kitchen knives.
Selectmen agreed with the owners, including approving the four foot high fence, noting the ambience of other beer gardens was a lower fenced in area. However, it was agreed that no one under 21 would be allowed in the fenced area with staff at the entrance to check identifications.
DPW Building Committee regroups after loss: Still stinging from the loss at Town Meeting, the DPW Building Committee met with Board of Selectmen on Tuesday to discuss a new approach to get a building that meets the needs of the town.
At the May Town Meeting, the $13.85 million proposed building was hard to swallow for voters which led to a less than the two-thirds approval needed to pass. Opposition to the building landed primarily on cost and location of the project slated to be built off Estabrook Road, known as Hennessy II. Building Committee Chair John Bechard said the feasibility study that was done pointed to Estabrook as the best site option based on the needs of the building.
Bechard then asked Selectmen for their input on responding to the town’s needs while planning the next move to replace the antiquated building on Upton Street. “Are we looking at a short term? A long term?”
Mostly, the Building Committee and Selectmen wondered what could have been presented to voters differently on why this project was necessary, including the cost. Building Committee member Sue Robbins said voters believed the cost of the project was difficult to accept, not the location. Although it seemed that location was used as a reason for some voters, the cost to benefit was not easily identified to the public, according to Bechard.
The committee now has to take another look at how to re-engineer the current site to meet the needs of the town. Looking at the layout of encroaching wetlands, and the interrupted acreage that goes around the post office, Bechard speculated a 38,000 square foot building could be squeezed onto the existing Upton Street site with a $2 million cost savings compared to Estabrook but wondered if that would be enough to sway voters.
Selectman Craig Dauphinais said the operation costs of the building was also a factor. “We collect buildings,” he said of how Grafton repurposes buildings in town. “The cost of operation is a big number.”
“We have to do something,” said Selectman Brook Padgett. “[We need] to get something that will pass.” Padgett later added that the DPW building was not scheduled for a vote until 2020. By moving it up, Padgett said, the project was jeopardized as was the library expansion project. Padgett said the thought lingered that the voters were not comfortable with projects that would add to their property tax bill.
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