The Williamstown Board of Selectmen voted unanimously Monday to suspend the liquor license for Wild Amber Grill for three days after an after-hours police visit to the establishment Sept. 13 that found a naked, underage woman, and liquor on the bar.
    The selectmen, who are the town’s licensing authority, took the recommendation of Chief of Police Arthur A. Parker Jr., who said the suspension would send a message that previous warnings had not conveyed.
    Parker had visited the North Street restaurant with Officer Kevin Garner at 3:15 a.m., prompting the police investigation of liquor law violations.
    The license will be suspended Nov. 9-11, a Thursday through Saturday.
    Parker said he recommended the three-day suspension after conferring with the restaurant’s owners.
    Parker would not say how many warnings the restaurant has received, other than it was “more than one warning†recently.
    “All involved in the violation acknowledged that it [the penalty] was appropriate,†said Parker, who made his recommendations during a public hearing on the license.
    The violations of the license, initially issued in 1996, were serving alcohol beyond the prescribed hours and allowing patrons to remain after those prescribed hours.
    Parker and Garner found five individuals at the restaurant when they made their early morning visit. Parker would say only that two of the five are listed as principals in the business.
    Two of the three listed on the license in the business known as Hot Pans Inc. are Alexander J. Smith of 18 Water St. and Edward F. Smith of 39 Spring St.
    The third, Gerard J. Smith of 35 White Oaks Road, has said he was not involved, as he was out of town at the time, and has resigned from the corporation.
    The timing of the suspension in November allows the restaurant owners to plan for it.
    Ware said this is the first license suspension hearing since she was elected to the board five-and-a-half years ago.
    Photech
    The looming bulk of Photech and its deteriorated Cole Avenue plant dominated much of the sometimes tense and edgy discussion at Monday’s meeting.
    Town Manager Peter Fohlin reported that the state’s $700,000 appropriation will likely fall short of the estimated $1 million to $1.2 million needed to clean the site and stabilize the building.
    Tighe & Bond expects to issue environmental and structural assessments soon. Until the report is made, discussions about the building’s fate are conjectural, selectmen said.
    Fohlin met with Marilyn Contreas of the state Department of Housing and Community Development, Evan Johnson of Tighe & Bond, town Department of Public Works Director Timothy Kaiser and Director of Inspection Services Michael Card last Monday, Sept. 18.
    Fohlin told selectmen that clear priorities, relating directly to public safety and health, are as follows: seal the well opening into the public water supply aquifer; demolish the wooden buildings on the site (the roof of one has collapsed and the large barn has a badly damaged foundation wall); remove the structurally unsound fire escape on the east side of the main building, and, install temporary shoring under the beams in the main building to keep the building upright at least a little longer.
    “The building is weakening quickly — many beams have deflected to dangerous levels. Four beams on the second floor have failed, and the floor has collapsed in this area. If the shoring is not done, the building may not be standing next summer. If it collapses, hazardous [and building] materials will end up in the Hoosic. The cost of cleaning this up would be substantially higher than remediation within the existing building,†said Fohlin in his report.
    “Contreas advised that a Memorandum of Agreement is needed between the town and Mass. Historical Commission before demolition [or rebuilding] may commence. As a condition of the agreement, MHC will probably require historical documentation [pictures, etc.] of the building, and the cost may be in the neighborhood of $5,000.â€
    The edginess and tension came in the exchange between Fohlin and Selectman Daniel Gendron, who urged putting the project in the hands of a committee, rather than in the purview of town administration.
    Gendron urged taking a more “proactive†role to “make the project more attractive to a developer.â€
    Ware said “there are laws on the books so that if the town outright owned the property the clock starts ticking, and if we don’t fix things there we would be subject to penalties.â€
    Fohlin said the town plans to actually own the building “only for an instant†in order to pass it over to a developer.
    “Whether or not we actually own it doesn’t affect what we do,†said Fohlin. “We act as though we own it because we have to.â€
    “The last thing you want to do is let that building fall down.â€
    The buildings have been vacant for at least 10 years, and the town is owed some $796,000 through FY ’99 in back taxes and sewer and water fees.
    Gendron urged vigorous pursuit of those involved in the corporation, but Fohlin rejoined that
    they had been traced as far as Rochester, N.Y., attorneys, who had not been paid.
    Individuals, it was noted, are not liable for debts incurred by the corporation.
    Developers Robert Kuehn, Mark Paresky, Peter Lafayette and George Kennedy have been contacted and will be provided copies of the Tighe & Bond report, Fohlin said. And he said that all have indicated continuing interest in the property.
    In another matter, the town’s former health insurance plan, Fohlin reported that Kathy Delfavero from Health Benefits Consulting Inc. examined documents and gathered data in July to verify the correct monthly enrollment figures for the two stop loss periods of July 1, 1994-June 30, 1995, and July 1, 1995-June 30, 1996. The town is cooperating fully in this audit which is being conducted by mutual agreement between the town and U.S. Benefits Insurance Services Inc. and Continental Insurance Co.
    The purpose of the audit is to determine the proper apportionment of stop loss costs between the two carriers, and to determine whether the town has paid the proper amounts. The town is protected by agreement from additional payments regardless of the outcome of the audit.
    “We have no foundation to reasonably believe that the audit will result in a refund,†Fohlin said.
    Information gathered during the July 18 visit is currently under review by the independent auditor at its Illinois offices.
    And finally, town real estate tax bills will be mailed by Oct. 1 and are due Nov. 1. Applications for abatement are also due by Nov. 1.
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Winter Weather Advisory Issued for Berkshires
Another snowstorm is expected to move through the region overnight on Friday, bringing 3 to 6 inches of snow.
The National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., has posted a winter weather advisory for all of Berkshire County and parts of eastern New York State beginning Friday at 4 p.m. through Saturday at 1 p.m.
The bulk of the storm will pass south of the region, into Connecticut, with heavy snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. This could affect parts of Southern Berkshire.
If it trends northward, the Berkshires could see up to 8 inches in the higher elevations.
Drivers should exercise caution on Friday night and Saturday morning, as travel conditions may be hazardous.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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