Pittsfield Board of Health Shows Mercy on Peaslee's Tobacco Permit
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Board of Health on Wednesday showed mercy to the owner of a local corner store after he had repeatedly missed tobacco permit deadlines.
The panel voted to issue a conditional tobacco sales permit to Peaslee's Package and Variety in effect on May 1 with two additional conditions: that the application is submitted by Friday and that there are no future violations.
Director of Public Health Andy Cambi recommended that the store's tobacco permit be revoked because this is the third time Shane Peaslee has missed the yearly application deadline of Dec. 31.
For 2020, he applied for the permit in March, for 2021 he applied in April, and Peaslee had not completed the application for 2022. He previously had an incomplete food retail permit, which was granted earlier this month after being completed.
Board members were torn on the situation, as Cambi had previously shown leniency to the owner on multiple occasions and Peaslee was deeply apologetic for his tardiness at the meeting.
"We actually send reminders via email, we send reminders via mail before these permits expired, so there's ample notice," Cambi said.
"I know that I've called personally, I spoke with him, and as much as I would have loved to keep his store afloat as he mentioned, I have a duty to do and I have to uphold the local regulations and that third time I just couldn't do it, I couldn't do it because there was no more leniency, there was no one excuses on my end."
Peaslee attributed it to an oversight between him and his sons and pleaded with the board, stating that a revoked license will close the store's doors for good.
"This has crushed our business, this has crushed our mom and pop store, we are hoping to recover, asking for mercy if you consider reinstating our tobacco license," he said.
"The two-year-long pandemic and inflation have presented many struggles for all small-business owners in Pittsfield, resulting in closures of business, I'm deeply concerned the rejection of my request will close our doors, thank you guys for the opportunity for me to present my apologies, I have learned a valuable and financial lesson."
The store has not had its permit for a month and a half and he said it has caused "tens of thousands" of dollars in lost revenue. Peaslee added that his sons are working for below minimum wage to support the business and that he is selling personal property just to keep it afloat.
Not being able to sell tobacco products until May might still cause the business to close, he said at the end of the meeting.
In addition, Cambi reported that the city has 54 tobacco permits and is not currently issuing any additional ones. If revoked, Peaslee's other option would be to buy a business with an active tobacco permit.
"We understand the importance of this," Peaslee said. "This is the biggest wake-up call in the world and you can rest assured that that will never happen again if you guys show leniency and give us a second chance."
To ensure that applications will be submitted on time, the store owner and his sons plan to use a spreadsheet to keep track of permitting deadlines.
The board agreed that Cambi was thorough with notifying Peaslee about the incomplete application but did recognize the impact that revoking the license would have.
"You put yourself and your business and us as a board, actually, in a really difficult position," member Brad Gordon said. "Because clearly, our goal isn't to put people out of business, but also there has to be a sense of fairness and compliance there, and it's doesn't sound like this is a one-off."
Member Kimberly Loring brought up the idea of an "in-between" option.
"I don't want to see a store close, but it's not like there haven't been a lot of warnings already," she said.
"And, on the one hand saying that the tobacco license is so vital to your business, but then not being able to keep up with it knowing that this is going to happen and then, having been warned so many times just feels, I don't know, I don't know if there's an in-between."
Chair Bobbie Orsi highlighted the placement of Peaslee's at 1 Wilson St. — where there are no other stores until Harry's Supermarket — and speculated it is probably an important place for that neighborhood.
With that being said, she added, there are rules and regulations in place to keep people safe and regulate tobacco products and she feels Cambi made the right call.
For these reasons, she supported a conditioned permit.
Notably, this was the first time that Peaslee was before the board and he requested the public hearing. Members clarified that if he were to be in front of them again for a violation, the license would be revoked.
Tags: board of health, tobacco regulations,
