Hyland, Still on the Hill

By Jonathan Cook
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE – News about Pioneer Brewing leaving Hyland Orchard & Brewery for a location on Main Street has garnered plenty of attention. But it has left many people wondering, what will happen to the orchard up on the hill?
Rest assured, proprietor Chris Damon said, not much will change.
“My family is committed to keeping it going,” he said. And that means, apples, animals, music and a brewery with a bar.
Only one question remains. Who will run the brewery?
Damon said he has had many offers from investors who love the place and don’t want to see anything happen to it. He has also talked with a brewer from New Hampshire who would like to come in and operate the brewery. But Damon says he is inclined to keep the operation close to his family once again.
While he credits Tim Daley and Todd Sullivan of Pioneer Brewing with “crossing some hurdles we weren’t able to cross” when they took over the brewing process in 2004 and made it a success, having another entity on the inside can be disjointed.
For example, Pioneer eliminated the Hyland line of ales and began making only Pioneer.
Also, Damon said two liquor licenses became necessary, creating a divide between the bar and the pavilion.
Once Pioneer has vacated, which Damon expects will occur in March 2010, he wants to reunify the license and bring back Hyland’s staple brews – Amber and Pale.
Furthermore, even when Pioneer takes a whole set of brewing equipment with them, Hyland has a second set ready to be plumbed in. Damon estimates it’ll take one month to begin brewing on site.
Until then the plan is to contract brew the Hyland recipes with another brewery, plus feature a variety of guest taps in the bar. Other than beer, also available is wine, bottled water, fruit juice, and soda.

The Hyland in the orchard

Something about the winding climb from Brookfield on Rice Corner Road and the straight uphill ascent made from Sturbridge on Arnold Road must have struck home for Jim Hyland more than 60 years ago.
It’s not hard to imagine why he sold three properties to buy 144 acres under the wide-open sky.
In 1945, he came to a hobby orchard that had been grown over for years and in his mind’s eye he saw thriving apple trees.
“He was rewarded with 30 years of clearing stones,” his daughter Sally Damon said. Yet, Hyland Orchard was born.
Sally, who is also Chris’s mother, grew up in the house and moved back in 1976 to raise Chris, Don, and Melissa. But somewhere along the way, the orchard and woodland acreage was sold to a developer. For more than 10 years the orchard remained untended, until Chris’s father Eugene Damon came in to finance the purchase of the bulk of the original land, build a brewery, establish a variety of farm animal populations, and plant new apple trees.
Then Chris, like his grandfather, began clearing overgrown land and saving what old trees he could while patiently pruning for five years before the fruit would grow. The work paid off this year in a bumper crop of apples. “The best I’ve ever seen,” Chris said.
All varieties but Courtland are outdoing themselves for size, ripeness and abundance, he said. The orchard sells overflowing bags or empty ones for those who like to pick their own.
For one thing, Damon, explained, the trees are hitting the prime of their productive years.
For another, equipment problems that normally crop up didn’t happen this year due to careful winter maintenance. Plus, there was lucky weather including a lack of the normal hail storm that will knock buds from the trees.
In October, Hyland is going full gear. This weekend is the Oktoberfest celebration with live music on Saturday and Sunday.
For Damon, keeping the place essentially unchanged means more than full time hours for part time pay, which is why he also runs a landscaping company.
October is the grand finale, but, beginning in early August, peaches and a couple of apple varieties ripen. That’s when weekend concerts begin under the pavilion. The orchard hosts weddings and charity events as well.

A community together

By Taryn Plumb
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE – These days, divisiveness seems to be the status quo.
Politicians, local officials, coworkers, neighbors, friends – even family members – are very often split down political, social and economic lines.
But that’s exactly the accepted norm that the Merchants of Sturbridge organization (or MOS) is trying to combat.
Beginning this spring, the group of local retailers, officials and residents – whose political differences have been, at times, as discordant as an un-tuned symphony – have unified as a cohesive force to promote and celebrate Sturbridge, and, ultimately, drum up commerce by drawing attention to its multitude of businesses from both inside and outside town borders.
“It’s community, really,” said Karin Rokicki, a committee member who represents town residents. “Everything that you can think of that would define a community is what we’re trying to establish.”
And in just a few months, they’ve been quite busy.
Headed by Selectman Thomas Creamer, the group collects membership dues and gathers monthly, and is now awaiting word on its application for non-profit status.
Since April, it has established an ambassador committee with members welcoming and greeting large tours and conference attendees while dressed in traditional 19th century garb, furnishing them with packets, booklets and coupons (which at times have been specially tailored to conference visitors). A Web site, http://www.merchantsofsturbridge.com, has also been launched; it provides an event calendar and a listing of dozens of town businesses, restaurants and services.
Smaller efforts have included hanging flags along Route 20 during patriotic events and holidays; incorporating food stations from area restaurants – such as The Copper Stallion, Sturbridge Coffee House, Enrico’s Brick Oven Pizzeria and Rovezzi’s Restaurant – into concerts on the common events to draw more families and promote local eateries; and unifying and beautifying area business fronts by offering volunteer weeding, gardening and planting.
But the organization’s largest effort thus far will come with its Feast and Fire event on Oct. 10, an evening of music, local cuisine and a blazing bonfire at Turner’s Field.
“From the littlest guy to the biggest guy, (we’re) working together to make this town a success,” said committee member Alexandra Pifer of The Seraph, which has had a presence in town for 28 years.
Because there’s no reason it shouldn’t be, she said. Consider the asset of Old Sturbridge Village, the hundreds of acres of open space, the location between Route 84 and the Massachusetts Turnpike at the “intersection of all New England.”
“It isn’t all about being a merchant, it’s about belonging, a sense of community,” she said. And the hope is this will be “contagious” and “reciprocal.”
“People think we’re out here selling our wares and they’re back there paying taxes,” she said. “But it’s all together. We all have to stand together if we want to make this town what it should be. People should support local businesses. The support of the community just has to be there.”
But therein lies the conundrum, the ultimate quandary that Merchants of Sturbridge has committed itself to solving.
Sometimes, as much as town residents want to support local businesses, there are deterrents – sometimes big hurdles.
For starters, because there isn’t always advertising, townspeople sometimes can’t tell from the names of new stores that crop up what they sell or what services they offer, she said. Also, because many shops and restaurants are in older buildings and homes, there are logistical issues – such as just finding the front door. She suggested businesses make a better effort to advertise what they sell and put up clearer signage.
Access is another issue.
Working moms and dads looking to make quick stops on their way home or on weekend mornings before practices and games often find shuttered shops, because some retailers close at 5 p.m. and hold limited hours on Saturday and Sunday, she said.
“It’s important that they at least have a couple of days where they’re extending their hours or shifting things around,” explained Rokicki, who has informal discussions with friends and neighbors to provide input to the committee. “We’re not asking for a change so they can work 17 hours a day, we’re just telling them why a big part of the population isn’t there.”
Another population that could be better served: Youth, according to Maryann Thorpe, another resident representative on the committee. “There really isn’t much for our children to do in town,” she said.
She’d also like to see merchants utilize Sturbridge’s open space by catering to eco-tourism.
Thirteen years ago, when she moved to town, she remembers it as “bustling.” But now, she’s “concerned by all the empty storefronts on Main Street,” she said.
Pifer, a longtime merchant, agreed that commerce in town is a “very complex problem.” Retailers have “lost focus” as to what people are looking for, she acknowledged. “Obviously the town is in dire need of something to make it cohesive,” she said. “It seems a little disjointed.”
And in some cases, people have given up. “A lot of people are fed up with trying to do anything,” said Rokicki.
But there’s no one particular person or thing to blame: It’s the combined fault of the town, the residents, the business owners themselves, Pifer said. There’s also a geographic challenge, she noted, with there being no “town center” that pulls everyone together.
Yet at the same time, “It’s not a big mystery that the economy is really, really bad,” she said. And in such instances, small, independent shops “are the first to fall.”
Rokicki agreed that, in casual conversation, people will sometimes refer to locations around town as “the so and so, that used to be the such and such, which was the blah-blah-blah.”
In the end, the goal is to keep businesses around for a long time, she said, so they can establish firm identities.
In some cases, it’s simply about starting with a unified look.
For instance, through MOS efforts, many businesses honored Pan-Mass Challenge participants this year with painted bicycles decorating their storefronts. Also, during the upcoming Sturbridge Harvest Festival, many retailers will place decorated scarecrows out front. And for Christmas, the hope is to get as many residents as possible to band together and place luminaries on their doorsteps to create a “town of candles,” as Pifer put it.
The group similarly hopes to put at least three Christmas trees along Route 20 this holiday season.
All told, Rokicki noted, “We’re really trying to wrap our arms around each other.”
Because in the end, that can foster what so many have been seeking for so long: Community. The goal is to make Sturbridge “as prosperous as we once were, for our many generations to come,” Thorpe said.
For more information, visit http://www.merchantsofsturbridge.com.

Search committee resigns in frustration

By Matthew Bernat
Turley Publications Staff Writer

STURBRIDGE – Four members of the Town Administrator Search Committee have resigned, citing a lack of direction from selectmen and saying their reputations – in the community’s eyes – would be tarnished if they continued.
“We don’t feel we have the confidence of the Board of Selectmen,” Reed Hillman, former search committee chairman, said.
“If perception is what guides you, if you don’t have the spines to stand up and say we have faith in these five people to do the right thing,” Hillman told the board. “For me, my integrity’s in play – I’m out.”
Barbara Barry, town finance director, Anthony Celuzza, resident representative, and Kevin Smith, chairman of the finance committee, also resigned at the selectmen’s Sept. 8 meeting.
The surprise announcement came after a debate between board and committee members. It was sparked by the committee members’ decision to tweak the language of the advertisement for the town administrator position.
Committee members had originally planned to release the names of three finalists, but instead told the board two of the applicants had since withdrawn. Hillman said no viable candidates were left from a field of 49.
Creamer said he was concerned it appeared the committee abandoned the original criteria, which might lead residents to believe, “the hometown candidate was given a significant edge.”
The “hometown candidate” referred to being Charles Blanchard, the town administrator for Paxton and husband of Board of Selectmen Chairwoman Mary Blanchard. Creamer said he discovered Mr. Blanchard’s interest through an e-mail correspondence.
“I feel, potentially, that the entire process has been compromised because I would have to wonder how many candidates did not submit their name based upon the established criteria,” Creamer said.
Committee members sought someone with seven years of experience as a town administrator, or assistant, and a master’s degree.
Mr. Blanchard has served as a town administrator for four years, and lacks a master’s degree.
“It concerns me that there are folks out there who are looking at this criteria and coming to the conclusion that a candidate was sent forward that did not meet that criteria,” Creamer said.
He went on to say Mrs. Blanchard should resign from the board if her husband were to apply for the position.
“It’s a thought,” she said. “But where not anywhere near being in that situation yet.”
She said there would not be a conflict of interest and had checked with the state’s Ethics Commission regarding the situation.
Regardless of Mrs. Blanchard’s inquiry to the Ethics Commission, Selectman Harold White said should Mr. Blanchard apply, it would create a “fundamental problem” for the board. He said the perception of impropriety would be enough to cause concern among residents.
Selectman Ted Goodwin also asked the “legality” of such a move be studied.
Hillman took issue with Creamer’s comments about the committee’s search procedure. He said at no time did any suspicious action take place.
“We have never taken any effort to favor any candidate,” Hillman said, and noted the extended search, “had nothing to do with any candidate, local or otherwise. This is an effort by the five of us to send to you three candidates, any one of whom we would be proud to see as our next town administrator.”
After about 40 minutes, the discussion ended and Barry, Celuzza, Hillman and Smith met outside of the main meeting room briefly. When they returned it was to resign.
“I feel that my integrity has been questioned and will be questioned by not only members of the board, but by the public,” Barry said.
She came to the committee with an open mind and a willingness to contribute, she said.
“I feel it’s unfortunate that from the very beginning of the process the search committee was not given any direction,” Barry said.
Hillman suggested the board hire an outside firm to conduct the search. Doing so would remove local politics from the equation, he said.
White said the Town Charter stipulates that a search committee be “appointed” and the board would not be able to hire a firm.
After learning of the resignations, board members discussed placing an advertisement to attract residents in order to rebuild the Search Committee. The fifth committee member, Selectman Scott Garieri, did not resign.
Garieri said the earliest date Sturbridge could expect to see a new town administrator installed – under the best circumstances – would be Jan. 1.

High School orientations successful

By Jennifer Grybowski
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE – The staff and students at Tantasqua Regional High School are doing all they can to make sure new students – freshmen and transfers – are ready as possible to embark on a new year at a new school.
Interim Principal Michael Lucas said this summer’s New Student Orientation, run by the Student Council, has been successful, with about 240 students attending – that’s about 80 percent of incoming freshmen and new students.
“The feedback is they feel much better as freshmen walking in the first day,” Lucas said. “We want the kids to be coming in excited, not anxious. And it prepares them to be good students.”
Student Council President Patrick Bressette agreed.
“It went really well,” he said. “We got them active and they had a really good time. I think most of them came because their parents asked them to, but when they left, they realized they had a lot of fun.”
Orientation included presentations from students and staff about academic success, non-athletic extracurricular involvement, the athletic program, scheduling and dress code and behavior; tours of the building; a cookout lunch on the patio; and a question and answer session.
Dean of Students Leigh Joseph also pointed out that orientation programs are not solely for students. There was a Freshmen Parent/Guardian Forum Aug. 26.
“It’s an opportunity for all parties involved to be on the same page,” she said. “For many parents, this is the first time they have a student coming to the school so we want to prepare them as well. We want them to view us as partners, to help them become more involved and to know what the rigor is.”
In addition to the orientation sessions, Lucas is looking to implement what he calls a Freshmen Academy next year. The focus, he said, is to enhance the experience of freshmen.
“The program makes sure they are welcomed into the high school environment,” he said.
Joseph said making the transition from the junior high to the high school – where the population doubles – is often difficult for some freshmen.
“We are looking at what we have to offer and see what we need to do to make it easier for them,” she said.
Assistant Principal Peter Dobrowolski will be overseeing the program this year, creating a study group made up of faculty to assess what freshmen need to succeed.

Millyard to become marketplace for co-op

By Jonathan Cook
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE – This is a place where a farmer who lives around the corner brings the morning’s ripest picks, and a baker brings warm bread in a basket. Musicians are strumming away over there. Two friends are dividing a box of organic coffee they got delivered for wholesale. There’s a beekeeper with big jars of local honey. Maybe a potter with salad bowls. And it’s all happening in the breathtaking space of a restored mill building.
But not really. Not yet anyway. For those interested it starts Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Be at the Millyard Marketplace and meet Melinda Kirkpatrick to be a part of what she is beginning.
“I’ve always wanted to start a co-op,” says Kirkpatrick, who grew up in Spencer, where her parents were in one. That model fell apart after a while because it was a lot of work for the members. But the co-op Kirkpatrick is setting up is “more than just looking through a catalog. We’ll have farmers, bakers, setting up a market day on pick up day” which will be once every month.
She envisions a co-op that will order as a group to get “high quality, wholesale, tax free” foods from Associated Buyers Club as well as from Frontier Wholesale. At the same time, she has been contacting the best local bakers, farmers and musicians to make pick up day a destination, instead of a chore.
Kirkpatrick is already having fun as she imagines aloud the potential for such an event – fresh flowers, celebrity chefs, people sharing ideas and trading garden surplus. “I hope there’ll be lots of swapping,” she says.
All of a sudden the old mill factory turned market on the Quinebaug River is alive with local economy. Co-op members will be charged a small annual administration fee. Products are purchased at wholesale cost. She said the co-op will probably form a board of directors, but that will be decided with members’ input.
For those who can’t make it Sunday, Kirkpatrick can be reached at info@ourtvspace.com or 774-241-0430.
The pick up will be held in Kirkpatrick’s place of business called OurTvSpace, which is composed of about 5,000 square feet of “mostly open” floor space.
She says the space is ideal because it can be used in foul weather, a freight elevator can hoist a vendor’s products, and because it’s wide open and big enough to accommodate a lot of activity.
She says she plans to offer pilates and yoga classes at some point in time.
“There’s going to be lots happening.”

Pedestrian Unfriendly

By Taryn Plumb
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE – Early afternoon on a weekday: Route 131 whirs and hums, a blur of SUVs, compacts, trucks, service vehicles and school buses. In a constant parade, they rattle and whiz by. The lulls – when there are any – last mere seconds, silence abruptly overtaken by a growing rumble.
Want to cross? Wait…wait…wait…Now! Go! Dash!
No doubt, officials and residents say, Sturbridge isn’t the most pedestrian-friendly place.
But, as the town moves forward on several planning projects and a major overhaul of one of its busiest roads, the hope is that pedestrians can soon roam free.
“We really want to raise awareness of walkability,” said Town Planner Jean Bubon. “How walkable are our sidewalks?”
Right now? Not very.
Among the issues discovered during a recent walkability workshop hosted by the Central Massachusetts Regional Planning Commission: Too few sidewalks, crosswalks and benches throughout town; too-narrow sidewalks; not enough public parking.
But ultimately, the hope is to eventually have a system in which people of all abilities (able-bodied, elderly, disabled, moms and dads pushing baby carriages and strollers) can walk around, poke in shops, and also sit when they want to.
Officials stressed that there is nothing in the works right now in terms of seeking grants or reconfiguring infrastructure to improve walkability. However, the goal is to incorporate pedestrian-friendly measures into several planning projects now in the works, including the master plan and the commercial tourist district revitalization plan, as well as the Burgess Elementary School project and the Route 131 reconstruction.
On the part of the planning board, it also means being cognizant of incorporating sidewalks and walk-throughs into new housing developments, which often (and inadvertently) discourage walking with cul-de-sacs and dead-ends, Bubon said.
Similarly, noted Jonathan Church, principal planner with CMRPC, parking lot entrances throughout town should be addressed – hardly any are oriented toward the pedestrian.
“When you go to cross them on they’re sidewalk, they’re designed to give the vehicles right-of-way, ” he explained, whereas they should be constructed to force cars to slow down and first allow pedestrians to pass.
CMRPC, which has explored walkability in Spencer, Hopedale and West Boylston, among other area towns, suggests sidewalks a minimum of five feet wide and crosswalks every 150 feet in the most heavily trafficked areas.
Another thing to keep in mind, Church said, is incorporating pedestrian traffic into urban design by linking sidewalks and crosswalks with trails and parks; Sturbridge might also consider capitalizing on its main tourist destination, Old Sturbridge Village, by directing sidewalks to its entrance.
All told, increasing walkability can help people to slow down and actually enjoy what’s out there, from shops to restaurants, Church explained. And, ultimately, it can help to increase tourism – something officials are constantly striving for. Similarly, amidst increased concerns about carbon footprints, it’s a positive way to promote green energy, he said.
“It’s really just coming up with a plan that allows people to circulate around town without the need of a motorized vehicle, ” said Church.
But, he and others noted, there are some issues to overcome before the town is privy to more foot traffic.
For instance, there’s the quandary of Route 20, which is a state-maintained road, explained Sandra Gibson-Quigley, vice chair of the town’s planning board.
If the town does indeed intend to make it more walkable, they would have to take back control of it, she explained. It’s an idea that’s been “kicked around” in the past, she explained, but there’s no plan in the works to actually move forward on it.
Ultimately, “we would like to see (Route 20) as a road where people can stop and shop, or get out of their cars and do things, ” she said.
But there’s also a question of destination.
“Where are you going to go?” said Gibson-Quigley, who described “nodes” of areas along the main roadways in town with big lapses of activity in between.
Clearly, the issue isn’t just as simple as laying down concrete or painting lines across the street.
“Creating a walkable community isn’t something you can just do,” she said. However, the different routes (both figural and literal) to walkability are now “percolating” as the town moves forward on its overarching projects.
“This is the perfect time to be bringing in these ideas,” she said.

Liqour law violators receive suspensions

STURBRIDGE – Selectmen voted to briefly suspend the liquor licenses of three area businesses following their failure to pass alcohol compliance checks conducted by police earlier this spring.
Following a string of public hearings at their June 15 meeting the board suspended the liquor license of Empire Village restaurant for one-day and handed two-day suspensions to Heritage Xtra Mart and Village Mobile.
For Empire Village this was their first offence since opening four years ago. Village Mobile previously had two violations in 1998, while Heritage Xtra Mart failed a check in 2000.
Police Chief Thomas Ford reported employees at all three establishments either failed to ask for proof of age, or misread identification provided by the underage investigators.
Representatives from all three businesses were present. They told selectmen steps had been taken to prevent violations in the future, such as disciplinary action against employees or installing software at the cash register that requires entering a birthday before an alcohol sale is allowed.
After the hearings the board considered reevaluating the current policy on punishing liquor establishments. During the discussion members considered setting a time limit of a number of years that would forgive previous offences depending on how long ago they occurred, or if the liquor license changed hands.

Committee named

The Board of Selectmen named the five people who are expected to serve on the committee to screen candidates for the town administrator position.
From the pool of candidates selectmen voted to name, Barbara Barry, the town’s finance director, Tony Celuzza, a resident and member of the traffic committee, Selectman Scott Garieri, Reed Hillman, a resident and former state representative and Kevin Smith, the director of the finance committee, to the panel.
Town policy stipulates the panel be composed of one department head, one selectman and three at-large members who are not employed by the town.
Selectmen had praise for all the individuals who applied. All of the candidates except for Smith were approved unanimously. Chairwoman Mary Blanchard, Edward “Ted” Goodwin and Harold White voted in favor of Smith, while Garieri voted against and Thomas Creamer abstained.
Garieri said he would have preferred to see a resident who could bring an outsiders perspective to the hiring process. “I want to see someone represent the citizens,” he said prior to the vote.
White nominated Barry over the other department head that applied citing the fact two other heads supported her involvement. He also cited her financial acumen.
Creamer nominated Garieri for his participation in the business community. Creamer noted Garieri would bring, “A fresh approach, a business approach,” and believed he would act, “In a business like manner void of politics.”
The board took little time in appointing Hillman, who was a nominee for the august positions of lieutenant governor in 2006 and U.S. Marshall in 2009.
Celuzza was described by Creamer as, “a balanced individual,” while Blanchard commented he possessed a “wide variety of expertise.” She noted he served as acting town clerk for a time and worked with the fire department, among other service to the town.
Outgoing Town Administrator James Malloy said the committee’s first order of business would be to advertise the position.

Budget passes

By Taryn Plumb
Turley Publications Reporter

STURBRIDGE – Despite increased fears about just about everything having to do with finances in this turbulent economy, residents passed the town budget with little resistance or fanfare on Monday night.
The total town budget for Fiscal Year 2010 was approved at $8.7 million. Voters at the meeting also approved the Burgess Elementary School budget, at $8.6 million, and Sturbridge’s Tantasqua Regional School District assessment, at $5.7 million.
After a line-item reading, just 16 of 182 items were held for discussion.
As part of that, voters approved the transfer of a surplus of $356,241 from the Burgess budget to a town reserve fund.
At the request of the finance committee, residents also voted to increase expenses for the printing of the finance committee report – which has often been in short supply at town meetings – from $3,400 to $6,000.
Similarly, the meeting approved police department concessions – a department head salary decrease from $102,444 to $92,200; overtime expense from $222,154 to $208,934; and salaries/wages from the Quinn Bill incentive from $1,448,499 to $1,398,171.
All told, the town budget reflected several decreases: 35 percent – from $60,778 to $39,140 – for the building inspector, and 15 percent — $20,000 to $17,000 – for the electrical inspector. There was also a 17 percent decrease in fire department expenses, as well as $0 stipends implemented for the town moderator, selectmen, assessors and members of the conservation commission and the board of health.
Meanwhile, 3 percent increases were approved for many town employees, including the town accountant, finance director, town clerk, town planner, tree warden, council on aging director, director of the department of public works and head librarian at Joshua Hyde Library. There was also a 10 percent increase in group insurance.
In other business:
At a special town meeting following the budget discussion, residents approved the appropriation of $1.7 million for a water main replacement on Route 131. As part of this, they also rescinded a vote in April 2008 for $3.4 million for funding the Route 131 sewer force main.
Voters approved designating 413 and 419 Main Street – the former Basketville building – as an “economic opportunity area.” Pioneer Brewing, LLC, currently housed on Arnold Road, plans to renovate the site. Similarly, residents certified the endeavor as an “economic opportunity project,” meaning that it will have a reasonable chance of increasing employment opportunities for residents of the area, thereby reducing blight, economic depression and reliance on public assistance. As part of that certification, the town will enter into a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) agreement with the company; this will offer a staggered tax rate over 5 years starting at 50 percent.

Mending Main Street

Selectman Tom Creamer addresses merchants last week.

STURBRIDGE – In a bid to reverse the town’s economic decline Selectman Thomas Creamer brought together business owners, government leaders and residents Tuesday, May 19 to rally support for the creation of a Sturbridge Merchants Co-operative.
Creamer described the Co-operative as a union between government and local business leaders to jumpstart the economy through a series of events and discount packages aimed at tourists. Another goal is to establish a town-wide “sense of place.”
At the end of his hour-long presentation, which ran the gamut from promotional ideas to making government/business relations “streamlined”, Creamer received applause from the 70 or so crammed into the Publick House ballroom.
Alongside small business owners were representatives from the town’s economic anchors such as Yankee Spirits, Old Sturbridge and the Publick House.
“We have a lot of work ahead of us,” Creamer said. “I know that there’s a bit of skepticism of how this is going to go because some of you folks have tried this in the past. I also know however that no selectman has tried this in the past.”
He asked those in attendance to consider a handful of events the community could “coalesce” around, like the Harvest Fest or the Pan Mass Challenge.
He tempered his comments by saying not all businesses would benefit from every single event the Co-Operative would hypothetically sponsor.
“I think the way we have to look at this is there are going to be trade-offs. There are going to times when your business is going to benefit greatly…there are times when your business may benefit only marginally or not at all,” he said.

During the meeting Creamer also proposed putting together a welcome package that would be passed out to guests when they arrive at a hotel or motel.
Merchants were relieved to hear there are no membership fees to be a part of the Co-Operative except for some “sweat equity” as Creamer put it.
The theme of Creamer’s presentation – communication, cooperation, coordination – was repeated throughout the evening as he peppered the audience with hypothetical examples on how to draw tourism dollars.
Among them: Themed event packages that utilize open space; visitor coupons; and a spaghetti supper or concert on the common held the night before the Pan Mass Challenge for the benefit of participants.
Pointing to the variety of the festivities held at the end of the Pan Mass Challenge compared to Sturbridge one audience member described the disparity as “embarrassing.”
“By being a part of this co-operative by working together with us, we end up in a situation where everybody gets a bite at the apple,” Creamer said. “I believe that’s what it’s going to take to turn this town around.”
Another meeting is set for 5:45 p.m. June 2 at the main ballroom in the Publick House.

Basketville development is brewing

By Matthew Bernat
Turley Publications Staff Writer

STURBRIDGE – At the May 18 Board of Selectmen’s meeting the board addressed a business owner seeking to redevelop the Basketville Building, asked residents to step forward and serve on the Town Administrator Search Committee and revoked the license of a car dealer, among other business.

From Basketville to Microbrew?

The Board has taken a step forward in the redevelopment of the Basketville building as it voted unanimously to approve a warrant article that would label the site an economic opportunity area.
Todd Sullivan, a co-owner of Pioneer Brewery, was present as the Board set a Special Town Meeting for June 8 at 7 p.m. where the article will be considered. An economic opportunity area designation would allow a company to apply for tax breaks under tax increment financing.
“The tax financing will assist them in that development,” said Town Administrator James Malloy.
A second caveat was met to move along the site’s conversion from retail space to restaurant as the Board gave a nod to increasing sewer flow there. Malloy noted a microbrew would need to be allotted more flow than the former retail building was allowed. He recommended 200,000 gallons per year and said that figure amounted to “a little bit more than two single family homes.”
“[The project] can’t go forward if we can’t increase the sewer flow,” Malloy said.
To compensate for the increase he said the board could direct him to reduce amount of flow held in reserve for commercial and industrial property. Basketville has been vacant for two and half years.

Searching for citizens

Outgoing Town Administrator James Malloy put the call out to residents to step forward and serve on the Town Administrator Search Committee. The committee will feature five members. It will be made up of two department heads and three residents.
Malloy said eight interested parties have contacted him so far. He said several “notable citizens” were on the list. He told the board he felt confident the committee would be a strong one. Malloy leaves for a Town Administrator position in Westboro at the end of June. Anyone interested in serving should contact Malloy by emailing him at: jmalloy@town.sturbrige.ma.us or by calling him at: 508-347-2500. Also, the Board formally recognized his 14 years of service to the town later in the meeting.