Efforts to Re-Open Polish Club in Pittsfield Still Ongoing
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Steve Fillio has joined the efforts to reopen the Polish Community Club.
The club has been closed since the end of 2014 and members have been trying to re-open since. But, it had many hurdles in its way to get things aligned and now some two years later, it's still trying. Fillio is expected to take over managing the bar and he is currently heading efforts to renovate the interior.
"Right now we are cleaning up the place and getting it ready," Fillio told the Licensing Board on Monday. "The place is looking nice."
Fillio said he has recruited friends and volunteers to restore aspects of the building. That includes new flooring and fixing the heating system. The next step is secure financing from the bank. He hopes to have the club up and running in the spring.
John Kerwood had already brought the club through a number of steps to reopen. The issues began in 2014 when Stella Spence, the former club president and license holder for the liquor license, died. At that point, there was no formal manager picked to replace her and the club continued to operate without a bar manager. That summer police responded to a fight at the bar and found no manager, which brought the attention to the Licensing Board.
At the end of the year, the club closed its doors. Kerwood stepped in to reorganize it but faced issues with financing. The club's accounts were in Spence's name and the club needed to go through a new election process to get a new board of directors. It also needed to craft a new business plan to get bank financing. Kerwood spent the better part of 2015 and 2016 getting that in order.
Throughout the process, Kerwood kept up with paying the fees to keep the liquor license and has been keeping the board up to date on the slow-moving progress. Fillio was voted in by the club to manage the bar in October and has taken charge of the physical changes to the club's building.
"I'm doing everything I can do to help this club," Fillio said.
The change in manager still needs to be approved by the Licensing Board and Fillio said he would be filing that application. The change in manager is likely to come before the Licensing Board at its next meeting.
In other business, the Licensing Board began a show-cause hearing on the liquor license owned by the Crowne Plaza regarding overserving. Police Lt. Michael Grady reported to the board that a severely intoxicated man was arrested after he, and other patrons, taunted officers at a party in the early hours of Christmas Eve.
"It occurred on Dec. 24 at 1:20 a.m., multiple units from the Police Department were called to the hotel ballroom to assist hotel security and police detail officers who were there for a party in the ballroom," Grady said.
Grady said officers were there on detail for a private event. At the end of the night, the 23-year-man was severely intoxicated and argued with an officer after the police took a drink from his hands. When trying to escort the man out of the building, Grady said officers were faced with a number of "derogatory remarks" from groups of others who attended the event. He added there were other attendees who were noticeably overserved as well.
"He was ultimately arrested. The issue is there was some overservice," Grady said.
Crowne Plaza General Manager Charles Burnick said, "I wasn't aware that had even taken place."
It was just a week ago when police contacted Burnick about the incident and he was called to the Licensing Board. Burnick said he had his own security staff inside of the ballroom and they had not reported any such incident as taking place.
"I believe it happened outside of the ballroom area and in the lobby, down toward One West Restaurant," Burnick said.
He agreed to bring the staff working that night before the board next month to explain their views of what had happened.
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