Town offices moving in August
Now that voters have cleared the way for Town Hall renovations to begin, town offices are preparing to move to the Appleworks building at 325 Ayer Road during the first week in August. Town Administrator Tim Bragan told the selectmen this week that he hopes to have a lease ready for them to sign at their next meeting on May 7. The move had been set for May but was delayed by uncertainty over whether the Town Hall building project could proceed after it failed to get required variances from the Zoning Board of Appeals. Town Meeting settled that question by voting to exempt Town Hall—and several other municipal buildings—from the relevant provisions of the zoning bylaw.
Shaker Hills gets liquor license
The newly renovated and renamed Shaker Hills Country Club had no difficulty getting an annual liquor license and a common victualler license from the selectmen this week. Bouncing back from foreclosure under new ownership, Shaker Hills asked for and got permission to serve alcoholic beverages on the golf course from beverage carts, and at a new pavilion that will replace a former snack shack on the far side of the course from the clubhouse. The clubhouse itself is in Ayer, but the course and a planned new function tent near the clubhouse are both in Harvard.
In general, the liquor license conditions are similar to those imposed on previous Shaker Hills club licenses. The permitted hours are slightly longer: from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays and Saturdays, and from 10a.m to 11 p.m. on Sundays. The selectman cannot set different hours for different parts of the property, but the applicants readily agreed there would be no alcohol served on the golf course or in the pavilion after sunset. As before, the selectmen also stipulated that lighting must comply with Harvard’s Protective Bylaw.
Entertainment at General Store
General Store owner Scott Hayward has been getting requests from organizations wanting to hold fundraising and other events at the store after business hours, so he came to the selectmen for an annual entertainment license. After a brief hearing, at which no abutters appeared, the board voted unanimously to grant the license with roughly the same conditions they had recently attached to a similar license for the nearby Center on the Common. The permitted hours are from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, and 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Hayward seemed a little surprised to hear the stipulation that all events must be held indoors. The open space next to the store doesn’t belong to him, so he’d have to get permission from the Parks and Recreation Commission for an activity there, board members said.
Apple Blossom Festival license approved
The selectmen this week approved an entertainment license for the Apple Blossom Festival, which will be held this year on Saturday May 18 from 10 to 4 on the field in front of the library. Informed that the festival rain date is May 19, board members wondered aloud if the Ayer Rotary Club, the festival’s sponsors, had checked with the Bromfield Trust, which owns the field and is particular about its use when the ground is wet.
Great Elms agreement endorsed
The requested deed restriction changes would enable the Chelmsford Housing Authority (CHA) to develop the Great Elms farmhouse and surrounding land as affordable housing, increasing the bedroom count from the existing nine to seventeen. The CHA has entered an agreement to purchase property from Harvard Trust Nonprofit Properties Inc., which has been seeking a suitable buyer for some time.
Board members agreed they support the CHA’s plans and would vote first and track down their authorization later. But they didn’t have to wait long: later on in the meeting Selectwoman Marie Sobalvarro announced that she had located the authorizing article electronically.
