Board makes post-Boudreau plans

By Melissa Fales
Turley Publications Reporter

WARE – While amidst preparations for the Annual Town Meeting Monday, May 11, selectmen are now faced with finding a replacement for Town Manager Steven C. Boudreau.
The board voted 4 to 1 not to renew Boudreau’s contract at their March 17 meeting. Selectman Richard Norton cast the lone dissenting vote against the motion made by Matta and seconded by Vice Chairwoman Melissa D. Weise.
Regarding the board’s decision not to extend Boudreau’s contract, Matta said afterward, “We have to do what we feel is in the best interest of the town.” Following the board’s vote, Boudreau said “I am disappointed that I did not get renewed.”
Among the items listed on the agenda for the board’s March 24 meeting were “discussion/vote relative to hiring process” and “discussion/vote relative to interim town manager.” Boudreau commented on these items and told the board there was no rush to fill his position. “I am obligated personally, professionally, ethically and contractually to be the town manager until June 30,” he said, adding that he planned to stay on for the rest of his contracted term, “unless I win the lottery or get a better deal somewhere else.”
He said if he did receive another job offer, he would give the town a full 30-days notice. Matta said the discussion about finding a suitable interim town manager is necessary because the position is unlikely to be filled before Boudreau’s exit on June 30.
During an earlier interview, Boudreau said there was still a lot of work to be done on the budget and that he planned to make good use of the time he had left in Ware. “I can’t just sit and watch the clock run out,” he said.
The agenda for the March 24 meeting also listed “discussion/vote relative to appointment of John Desmond, replacing Town Manager Steven Boudreau, as liaison for contract negotiations.” Boudreau questioned whether that was appropriate, pointing out that the charter specifically names contract negotiations as one of the town manager’s responsibilities.
Boudreau became Ware’s first town manager under the charter, which was adopted by voters in April 2007. He was originally hired as the town’s administrator in November 2006.
The board went into executive session to discuss its strategy as to the hiring process for Boudreau’s replacement. Matta had previously stated that in his opinion, the board of selectmen could find a suitable replacement for Boudreau on their own without forming a search committee. Selectwoman Catherine R. Buelow-Cascio said she disagreed with Matta on that point. During the “Meet the Candidates” forum held by Ware Community Television on March 23, Buelow-Cascio said she thought the search process would be an intense, time consuming project and that the selectmen had a lot of work on their collective plate already.
The board also discussed how to best present the budget to the voters at the upcoming Annual Town Meeting in order to be consistent, clear, and helpful. They will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, April 8 at 7 p.m. with the Finance Committee, town manager, town accountant, municipal finance director and town moderator, in order to get input on how the budget should be designed.

Form casino could take up for discussion

By Douglas Farmer
Staff Writer

PALMER — Even as the Citizens Casino Impact Study Committee is readying its final report on potential impacts of a resort casino on the community to the Palmer Town Council, the ultimate form gaming in the state could take has shifted with the political tug-of-war in Boston.
The possibility of casinos at racetracks and slot machine parlors at different sites are competing for political and financial attention with the resort model.
Representatives of Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority (the governing body of the Mohegan Sun casino adjacent to Uncasville, Conn.) signed what was in effect a 99-year lease last fall on 150 acres of land owned by Northeast Realty Associates, across from the Massachusetts Turnpike entrance on Route 32 in Palmer. They did so with the expectation that some version of Gov. Deval Patrick’s bill to establish a licensing process for three destination casinos on the north shore, south shore and in western Massachusetts – a proposal that died in committee last year – would be signed into law during the current legislative cycle.
Paul Brody, the vice president of development for Mohegan, said he expects a lease will be signed for a storefront in downtown Palmer by next month that will serve as a clearinghouse for public, media and government questions related to employment opportunities and design of the site, that they currently envision as a casino with restaurants, retail shops, a 4,500-seat events center and a 600-room hotel providing jobs for 3,200 to 3,400 people. Renderings will be available for those interested, he said.
“It’s too soon to tell what’s going to come out of the Legislature but we think our model will be an element of it,” Brody said.
‘Mohegan has the capital’
While he acknowledged the international economic downturn has affected the casino industry – Mohegan Sun halted plans for additional hotel space in Connecticut last year and several casino operators have filed for bankruptcy nationwide – he said the corporation definitely has the capital to move forward with its Palmer concept.
In response to the legislation that Patrick filed in 2007, the Palmer Town Council appointed a committee of residents to analyze the financial, social, cultural and physical effects of a casino in the town. Subcommittees have been working on reports on impacts related to housing, education and infrastructure, among others. The Town Council has asked Gerald Chudy, chairman of the committee, to appear before them in April.
Last summer, a random telephone survey of 485 Palmer residents done by the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth Center For Policy Analysis indicated respondents favored a casino in town by 55 percent to 25 percent, with the remainder undecided. Clyde Barrow, the director of the center, noted that these results cut across all sorts of boundaries including gender, age and income, though those of higher education and income were less likely to be enthusiastic. The survey was financed by Northeast Realty, though results do mirror that of a non-binding referendum in town conducted in the late 1990s.
Regionally, town officials have gathered in the Western Massachusetts Casino Task Force in recent months, drafting a letter to then-House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi last year urging further study of ramifications for host and abutting communities where casinos are concerned. And the anti-casino group Quaboag Valley Against Casinos (which originated in Monson but has expanded to include other towns) has not only lent support to political candidates but is planning a letter to Palmer abutters of the Northeast Realty property and a traffic simulation to show what a large number of cars to and from the casino could mean to the area.
A horse race for casinos
But even as casino backers have seen renewed hope with the abrupt departure of DiMasi and the ascension of new Speaker Robert DeLeo (D-Winthrop), an advocate for gaming in Massachusetts, the picture has become hazy when it comes the structure and location of such facilities. DeLeo himself has been an advocate of establishing casinos at racetracks, welcome news to people like Gary Piontkowski, president of Plainridge Racecourse in Plainville, as well as those in western Massachusetts who care for and race horses in various states.
“In today’s age, there are a great many more slot players than casino gamblers and in the places that I race horses, the slots have been a boon and supply the cash for improved racing,” said Paul McHugh of Ware, who cares for and transports horses to Plainridge and other locations throughout the northeast. “Gary has been a great ambassador for the industry, which not only affects those at the track, but those who care for horses, grow hay and provide other services.”
That was a sentiment shared by others, like Nancy Schechterle of Wilbraham, who currently has four horses that she is either bringing to trotting competitions currently or plans to in the near future, traveling to tracks in places like Yonkers, N.Y. She said the influx of money that would come from some form of gambling at trackside would allow for increase purses for winners.
“I know how some people feel that it’s cruel but I can tell you, being down there with the horses with the trainers and drivers on the paddock, they love it,” she said.
And Robert Kenney of Belchertown, who sold a horse farm a few years ago, noted that while full-fledged casinos could take years to materialize, they could open at racetracks in a matter of months.
“In places like Plainridge and Suffolk Downs [in East Boston], the environmental studies have already been done and there is already security and a staff that is used to handling money,” he said.
Piontkowski has said he is not opposed to a casino in Palmer or anywhere else, but that racetracks made financial sense as the starting point for their development. While resort casinos are very expensive to create (Mohegan plans to invest around $1.1 billion in Palmer, should the Legislature allow it), Plainridge is eyeing a $100 to $125 million expansion with a 52,000 square foot building allowing for room for 300 video slots and many more machines.
Piontkowski and Brody have pointed to different studies in support of their positions. The former has referred to one done by Jefferies & Company, Inc. in February that smaller scale regional operations with fewer financial demands for taxes and capital have done better than destination resorts have, while the latter pointed to a report from Linwood, N.J.-based Spectrum Gaming Group commissioned by Patrick last year that said the state could collect between $500 and $700 million of the $1.1 billion spent in Connecticut and Rhode Island by residents of the state, should the governor’s concept move forward. It also pondered more unpredictable social implications of a casino, such as gambling addiction, drunk driving and an increase in traffic.
Uncertain political result for casinos
State Rep. Todd Smola (R-Palmer) has said with the budget crisis producing a considerable cloud over the work of the Legislature in recent weeks, he was uncertain the route the casino debate would take in the near future. However, he acknowledged that DiMasi’s departure presented a very significant shift in the political winds on the issue of casinos and gambling.
He said he was not in favor of giving racetracks preference, though he has also been careful not to say how he feels about casinos in general. He has always spoken publicly about the need for education on the issue, at both the state and local level.
“The racing industry has been on the decline and why should we go out of our way to support it,” he asked. “The way I see it, put licenses on the market to the highest bidder, if we’re going to have them.”
Add to that the political debate in the Legislature that has revolved around a preliminary proposal by state Treasurer Timothy Cahill to allow for the creation and licensing of three smaller scale operations and 9,000 total slot machines in the state along with the privatization of the state lottery (which he said would raise hundreds of millions in revenue), and one has about as clear a picture of what reality will look like in the end as that of a first-time gambler stepping to the card table for the first time.
Palmer Town Councilor Paul Burns, a member of the Western Massachusetts Casino Task Force, said this week he is troubled by the specter of Cahill’s proposal, because although it would presumably not put quite as much stress on local infrastructure as would a full-scale casino, it would also not create the same windfall of revenue from an operator. And he also pointed to discussions that began last fall surrounding hundreds of acres in Warren currently owned by the Massachusetts Turnpike that could be open for discussion when it came to the placement of a casino. In a somewhat perplexing move, when advocating for a casino in western Massachusetts in the contest of his broader proposal, Patrick included Worcester as part of “western Massachusetts.”
“I think something is going to happen it could be soon, and we may not have the luxury of time to respond to it,” Burns said. “At the council level, we haven’t made any decisions, but we may have to change somewhat the charge we gave to the Citizen Casino Impact Study Committee. With all the talk about it, and the condition the state is in from a financial point of view, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see another casino bill being debated this summer.”

Owners of Robbie’s Place sue town over nude dancing restriction

By Melissa Fales
Turley Publications Reporter

WARE – The owners of Robbie’s Place filed a suit against the town of Ware with Hampshire Superior Court Feb. 20, claiming that their constitutional rights were violated Dec. 23 when the Board of Selectmen denied their request for an entertainment permit to allow nude dancing at the 80 Pulaski Street establishment.
At a Nov. 25 public hearing regarding the permit, Springfield lawyer Daniel D. Kelly said that no matter how unpopular it may be, his client, Goldstein Enterprises, Inc. has a constitutional right to offer nude dancing. Citing Massachusetts General Law Chapter 140, section 180a, Kelly said the state calls for such a license to be granted unless it would “adversely affect the public health, safety or order.” Attorney Kelly said the law allows for the license, providing it would not cause disruptive conduct, an increase in criminal activity, health, safety or fire hazards, or increase the noise or traffic to unreasonable levels.
Residents of the area testified about difficulty finding a parking place on nights when the bar was open, and expressed concern that nude dancing would draw an even larger crowd. Police Chief Dennis M. Healey provided the board with copies of police logs describing incidents involving Robbie’s Place and its patrons. Healy expressed concern that nude dancing could lead to an increase in crime in the area.
“An adult entertainment establishment draws people from outside…without much concern for the neighborhood,” Healey told the selectmen.
The board unanimously decided to reject the application. A decision written by Selectwoman Melissa D. Weise and approved by Town Counsel David A. Wojcik, stated the board felt that allowing nude dancing “would adversely affect the public health, safety or order” and that offering nude entertainment would cause an unreasonable increase in both vehicular and pedestrian traffic within the already crowded neighborhood, as well as an unreasonable increase in noise.
“The evidence does not support their decision,” Kelly said. “We feel what we are asking for would not affect the safety of the neighborhood. We don’t believe it would substantially increase the amount of people coming from outside.”
Kelly also said the impact of allowing nude dancing would be minimal, noting that clothed female dancers are currently featured at the bar.
“If our request were to be granted, the public would not see any difference from the outside,” he said. “This is a small place that has a similar type of usage right now and has for some time.”
Board of Selectmen Chairman Gerald L. Matta said he is convinced of the dangerous secondary effects a nude dancing establishment could bring.
“There were many brought up at the public hearing,” he said. “That’s why we voted the way we did.”
Matta said he felt the board was acting under the law when it made its decision.
“In my opinion, we acted properly and legally,” he said.
This is the second time in six months that Goldstein Enterprises Inc. has filed suit against the town. The corporation sued the town last fall after the board revoked the bar’s entertainment license and suspended its liquor license for four weeks in response to testimony given at a Sept. 2 public hearing regarding alleged violations of its entertainment license. At the hearing, the selectmen heard testimony from an undercover police officer who said that on two occasions he observed activities at the bar that violated its entertainment license. He said he received lap dances and witnessed women dancing both topless and completely nude. That case ended in a settlement in November.

Board rescinds recent water/sewer rate hike

By Melissa Fales
Turley Publications Reporter

WARE – At the March 3 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, Selectwoman Catherine R. Buelow-Cascio proposed the board rescind its December decision to raise the water rate from $1.50/hundred cubic foot (hcf) to $3.64/hcf and the sewer rate from $1.75/hcf to $3.70/hcf.
Instead, Buelow-Cascio suggested moderate 15 percent increases of $1.73/hcf for water and $2/hcf for sewer.  In addition, she called for the board to create a water rate policy to be reviewed annually. Buelow-Cascio was the only board member to vote against the December rate increases.
Selectman John A. Desmond said he had only voted for what he called “very, very substantial increases” because he was under the impression that the town was facing catastrophic budget cuts.
Selectman Richard Norton was opposed to revising the rates. He said Department of Public Works Superintendent Gilbert St. George-Sorel should have a say in the change. Town Manager Steven C. Boudreau urged the board not to change the rates, saying that the difference between the two rates, approximately $300,000 would “blow a giant hole” into his proposed FY2010 budget. Norton said the town will never catch up to the costs of providing water and sewer services with incremental increases. “The only way to do it is bite the bullet one time,” he said. Buelow-Cascio said the water and sewer rates should remain separate from the budget unless the town votes to approve an enterprise fund for the services.
Desmond called the initial rate increases “a back door Proposition 2 and a half.” He said the tax payers should have the choice at town meeting to raise taxes or reduce services. “Let’s be honest with the people,” Desmond said. The board approved the revised rate increases 4 to 1, effective immediately. Norton was the lone dissenter.

Snow’s Restaurant receives written reprimand

In response to violations of the entertainment license for Snow’s Restaurant, the selectmen voted to include a written reprimand in the permanent file of the establishment’s entertainment license.
The board sought the opinion of town counsel following a Feb. 3 public hearing about a noise complaint about the Pleasant Street establishment the police received at 10:50 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 14. Snow’s Restaurant’s license states music must not be heard from outside the building and that music can only be played until 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights. Owner Joseph Novitsky said the complaint came during his own private Christmas party. He claimed a previous board told him liquor license regulations did not apply for his own private parties at the establishment. He said he lives in a small upstairs apartment and considers the restaurant an extension of his residence.
Town counsel concurred with the testimony given by Police Chief Dennis M. Healey during the hearing that any event held on the premises falls under entertainment license regulations. The board voted 4 to 1 for a written reprimand, with the assumption that the infraction was the result of a miscommunication between Novitsky and previous board members. Selectwoman Melissa D. Weise suggested that Novitsky learn from this experience, to “always get it in writing.”  Chairman Gerald L. Matta was the sole opposition vote. He cited repeated noise complaints and Novitsky’s uncooperative attitude towards his neighbors and the police as demonstrated at the hearing as a reason to impose a one-month license suspension. Desmond reminded Novitsky that the written reprimand was the first step in a progressive form of discipline and that any further infringements would result in more severe actions.
Novitsky was troubled about possible future violations, saying he had no way to control patrons in his parking lot. The board told him he is responsible for anyone on his property. Novitsky said he had inquired about paying for a police officer to be on site to help enforce the rules, but was told it wasn’t possible. The board encouraged him to check with Chief Healey.

Selectmen adopt inspection fees

At the recommendation of Building Inspector Michael Agnew, the board voted to maintain the town’s current building inspection and certification fees as suggested by the 6th edition of the Massachusetts Building Codes. Agnew explained that the state has just transitioned from the 6th edition of its building codes to the 7th edition. This latest version allows municipalities to adopt their own fee schedule. Agnew recommended against increasing the fees suggested in the 6th edition, which the town has been using for the past few years. Agnew said that they were “acceptable” and reasoned, “People will be getting hit hard enough with everything else.”