Dollar General's Plans for Cheshire Store Stumble

The board heard some of the updates from Monday's town meeting.

CHESHIRE, Mass. — Plans for a Dollar General appear to be stymied by a number of issues.

Town Administrator Mark Webber told the Selectmen on Tuesday that according to Building Commissioner Gerald Garner, the store's building permit was rejected because it was "unacceptable and incomplete."

Selectman Robert Ciskowski inquired if the town has any power now — after passing new zoning bylaws at Monday night's town meeting — because Dollar General has yet to complete the building permitting process.

Webber said he was not sure. The company had conducted work on a septic system and could be grandfathered in, bypassing the new bylaws that give the town power over what can be built in that area.  

Webber said he is sure Dollar General is looking into the the issue and he will contact town counsel.

Selectwoman Carol Francesconi said she had heard that construction on the proposed small-box discount store has slowed because of trouble with the land owner. Dollar General has been trying to construct a new store on the 12 South St. lot that contains a 19th-century Second Empire mansion.

Resident John Tremblay said he also read about trouble Dollar General is facing in a communication that stated Dollar General's engineering firm has decided to go in another direction.

Francesconi said the planned driveway entrance to the store may have been considered too dangerous by the state Department of Transportation.

"To me, it looks like MassHighway is not giving them an exit permit or a driveway permit, and they are not getting one on West Mountain Road, so where does that leave them?"Francesconi said.

In other business, Public Works Director Peter LeFebvre said he has been having trouble getting his workers to take the proper testing to receive licenses to operate town mowing equipment.

"All they have to do is read up a little bit and take a test," LeFebvre said. "I am not too worried. If we have to hire somebody with the proper license we will cross that bridge, and I am done pleading and asking them to do things they should be doing anyways.”

LeFebvre said he has offered to compensate his employees for taking time off work to take the test in Amherst, which is held monthly.  

The Selectmen felt there was no excuse for the DPW workers to refuse this testing and agreed to write the requirement into their new contracts that mandates that they have a minimum of a 2B and a 4B license to operate all town equipment. They also asked that the employees refusing the testing attend the next Selectmen's meeting.

Ciskowski said the town could receive fines if they operate without a license.

Webber informed the Selectmen that the Water Department needs to transfer money from the surplus account to the operating account and he anticipates this requires a special town meeting before the end of the fiscal year.

He recapped Monday night's town meeting with the Bushika gravel pit solar panel developer and the passing of Article 11, which allows metering credit for the proposed .5 megawatt solar array.

Webber said the developer has begun work on the pilot agreement and informed him that the state's Division of Wildlife and Fisheries agreed to purchase 30 acres of the backland because it is adjacent to some of its current holdings.

He also proposed to give the town the garage on the property although it needs a new roof.

"He said he has nothing he can do with it, and it's not imperative for a solar project, so if the town had use for it or someone else might," Webber said.

LeFebvre said the DPW has no real use for it but it is not in bad shape.

Webber also spoke to town meeting's acceptance of Article 6, which allows the town to sell 77 Depot St. taken because of unpaid taxes, and recommended that the town entertain an invitation to bid.

He said this would be less expensive than auctioning it and will give the town some control in price and in how the building can be used.

The Selectmen said they would like to have the building appraised and have an evaluation of the septic tank so they know how much money to accept for the property.

Because of controversy over a superintendent position and salary increase for the Water Department voted at Monday night's town meeting, Ciskowski recommended shying away from hiring a new employee and using a DPW employee in a "hybrid position." 

"This might be a good time to combine into a DPW instead of having separate water employees," he said. "The cost savings in the Water Department would pay some of the benefits and salary, and the Highway Department would pay the other.”

Although the line item increase did not affect the bottom line of the budget, many town meeting members questioned the need for a full-time position even if the state Department of Environmental requested that the town add the position.

The Selectmen said they will not hire anyone before seeing the letter from the DEP requesting the position and a job description.

LeFebvre said the beaver situation on Richmond Street has subsided, for now.

"I don't want to knock on too much wood because they are knocking down enough," he said. "We didn't trap any of them. We just aggravated them enough to make them want to move. Gave them a stern talking too basically.” 

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