Selectmen approve annual license renewals

TEWKSBURY — The Tewksbury Board of Sel­ectmen met on Dec. 18, 2020, for their final virtual meeting of the year.

The board reviewed a National Grid pole petition at Andover Street and River Road. Member Mark Kratman and Town Engineer Kevin Hardi­man recently did a walkthrough on the site with MassDOT officials. Wal­greens will be realigning their driveway with fu­ture changes to the intersection.

The board approved the pole petition.

The board reviewed several license approvals. Kratman said he had been looking at other ci­ties and towns, and said that issues over coronavirus restrictions might be cause for waiving or reducing license fees.

“The town’s asking some­body to pay for something, the state says you can’t use it.”

According to Town Ma­nager Richard Montuori, the town receives $81,000 in beer and wine and all-alcohol pouring licenses, $7,350 in amusement de­vice licenses, and $575 in entertainment licenses. Montuori said that communities are addressing the issue differently, but he believes the town can make up revenue that is waived by the committee.

Chairman Jay Kelly said that he hoped future stimulus packages would provide help for small businesses, and said the board might consider of­fering a refund on next year’s payment as fees are paid in December. Compared to large corporations, “a lot of small businesses couldn’t even get a banker on the phone to get what they needed,” said member Jayne Well­man.

She asked about offsetting fee reductions using CARES Act money before it runs out at the end of the year. Member Anne Marie Stronach was hesitant about offering breaks specifically for small bu­sinesses and didn’t want to appear to favor one group over another.

The board voted to ap­prove all liquor licenses, with the exception of the Knights of Columbus and Saffron Indian Grill, which did not return pa­perwork. The board ap­proved all common victualler licenses with the exception of Saffron In­dian Grill.

The board waived fees for and approved amusement licenses with the exception of the Knights of Columbus. The board waived fees for and ap­proved entertainment li­censes. The board ap­proved pool table licenses and waived fees for nonprofits such as the Elks Club.

The board approved class licenses. Kratman invited businesses to write in to the board to help them understand how the coronavirus pandemic has affected their business.

In committee reports, Kratman reported that the LRTA is seeking to add bus shelters and change routes to include new stops, such as the public library. Kratman says the LRTA is opposed to cuts in services, ad­ding that Tewksbury is one of the top three towns in ridership numbers.

Wellmann added that po­sitions are open to serve on the town’s general by­law committee. She also noted that the draft statement for the town’s human rights commission is currently being reviewed by town counsel.

Board members thanked town employees for their hard work in keeping the town functioning over the year.

Member Anne Marie Stro­nach responded to the Tewksbury Teachers Asso­ciation’s no confidence vote in the Tewksbury Public Schools superintendent and assistant su­perintendent.

“I cannot leave tonight’s meeting without saying that I applaud the work of the school department dur­ing this pandemic,” she said. “We have to just settle for second best right now, and sometimes second best isn’t good enough, but we’re all handcuffed.”

The board wished residents a happy holiday season.

The next meeting is scheduled for Jan. 5, 2021. Residents wishing to comment may find the call-in number on their screen and on the meeting agenda on the town website. The meeting may be viewed on Comcast channel 99 and Verizon channel 33.