The Select Board voted to extend the liquor licenses of the Swampscott Club, Italian Club, and Swampscott Yacht Club through March 31, but not before healthy discussion was had at Wednesday’s meeting.
The vote passed 3-0-1, with Chair David Grishman absent from the meeting and member MaryEllen Fletcher abstaining from the vote. Fletcher asked her fellow board members why they are only renewing the three social clubs’ licenses for one month at a time.
“These are three clubs in our community that from my understanding, there are no violations to their liquor license,” Fletcher said. “It almost seems punitive… now we want to extend it just 30 days?”
Fletcher said she wanted the board to extend the licenses for the entire year.
Board member Peter Spellios responded to Fletcher by pointing out that Town Counsel sent an email on the topic earlier that night that could provide answers to to the questions she was raising. However, he said, due to the short notice of the email’s arrival the agenda item was not altered.
“Consistent with your past that you don’t like to take action on things, we just got an email,” Spellios told Fletcher. “I haven’t even read the email on the topic.”
Fletcher said she wished the email from legal counsel was sent sooner, and that the overall procedure of approving the licenses monthly is unfair to the three social clubs.
“I think this is terrible,” Fletcher said. “These are citizens of Swampscott, they’re taxpayers, there’s three clubs, there’s no violations. I don’t know why we’re doing this.”
Board member Doug Thompson said that based on the advice of the Town Counsel in the email, that renewing them 30 days at a time is the best way to proceed currently.
Vice Chair Katie Phelan, who served as chair in Grishman’s absence, echoed some of Fletcher’s concerns and asked Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald and Grishman to resolve the matter.
“I think this matter has been drawn out,” Phelan said. “If it’s not intended to be punitive it certainly must feel that way to clubs.”
