Saugus group gets chance to Speak Out against liquor regs

SAUGUS – Saugus Speaks Out will have its day in court, or more precisely Town Hall, to state its case for a change in the town’s liquor rules and regulations.The Board of Selectmen voted Tuesday to hold a public hearing on possible alterations to the regulations based on a suggestion from the non-profit group that’s been working to squelch underage drinking and drug use within the community.The request for changes came following the award of a beer and wine license to a convenience store, which Saugus Speaks Out vehemently opposed.Co-chairman Ellen Faiella said their proposed change calls that no license should be granted to any retail establishment where greater than 80 percent of the product sales are non-alcohol related.”We threw out 70 percent,” Faiella said later. “Eighty percent – we just used it as a benchmark. Frankly the purpose of this was to get the dialogue started. Will this be the final proposal? That will be up to the board.”Faiella told board members that she believes the community will support the change because residents want it. She said she is done lamenting what happened with the White Hen Pantry winning a beer and wine license, but she believes the board has it within its power not to exacerbate the situation.Selectman Peter Rossetti said he wasn’t convinced a bylaw change was the way to go.Rossetti said what the group hoped to change by altering the liquor rules could more easily be accomplished by simply attending the public hearing when a request for a liquor license came in.”You can come to any meeting and oppose something and we have to, by law, take that into consideration,” he said. “In my opinion that has more weight than changing a bylaw.”Selectman Michael Kelleher, however, disagreed and offered a motion to hold a public hearing on the proposed change and a second motion to run the language by Town Counsel John Vasapolli. Both motions passed unanimously.Co-chairman Donna McNeil said she thought the town needed to take the issue of underage drinking more seriously since the Acting Surgeon General, Rear Admiral Steven K. Galson, M.D., M.P.H., is making it his issue. She said he is kicking off his campaign by holding a town meeting of sorts and is encouraging other communities to do the same.She said one way to help keep alcohol away from underage kids is to limit accessibility and addressing the selling of beer and wine in convenience stores certainly does that.”And it’s very appropriate that we’re here at this meeting because April is alcohol awareness month,” she added.The hearing will be held during the board’s next regular meeting on April 22 at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall auditorium.