Selectmen in Saugus won’t alter bar hours

SAUGUS – While doing a little housekeeping Tuesday night, the Board of Selectmen took the idea of rolling back nightclub hours to 1 a.m. off the table.Selectman Stephen Castinetti said the proposal to roll back the hours has been sitting idle on the board’s to-do list since September and he wanted to dispose of it, once and for all.”Obviously we aren’t going to act on it,” he said.The issue first came up last fall when Janice Jarosz asked the board to consider rolling back the closing hours of all establishments that hold liquor licenses from 2 a.m. to 1 a.m. Jarosz argued then that with show cause hearings on tap for Tabu Ultra Lounge and Night Club, Oasis, there were ample reasons for the hours adjustment. Plus, she noted at the time, Lynn and Revere had rolled their bar hours back as well.The board did not offer a lot of support for the idea. It did however vote to ask Police Chief Domenic DiMella his opinion then it let the matter drop.Castinetti said Tuesday he didn’t see a need then to roll the hours back and he still doesn’t. Castinetti said people had been comparing the town’s nightclub problems to Lynn and Revere, both of which rolled their closing hours back.”But I’m convinced Saugus doesn’t fit that mold,” he said. “It should be based on as needed, especially during this economy. We don’t want to make it harder for businesses to operate.”Selectman Peter Rossetti said the board did receive a reply from DiMella and his recommendation was to leave the hours as they are. He said, if needed, the board could target a specific location but he was not a fan of the blanket approach that would penalize everyone for the faults of a few.Selectman Stephen Horlick said as long as the town retained the right to reduce the hours of specific license holders as the board sees fit he was fine with dismissing the request.The board voted 4-0 to take no action essentially disposing of the issue. Chairman Donald Wong, as a license holder, abstained.