Most residents at Monday’s meeting of the Parks and Recreation Commission spoke in favor of a proposal to allow the consumption of alcohol on the public land between the General Store and the Congregational Church. The commission, however, delayed a vote on the question until its next meeting on July 21.
The request came from Scott Hayward, owner of the General Store, who originated the popular “grill nights” on summer Fridays, when his staff cooks burgers and kebabs in the outdoor area. Customers can eat dinner outside if they are having soft drinks, but those having beer or wine must take their food and drink to tables inside the General.
Parks and Rec has jurisdiction
Harvard’s bylaw bans drinking in any public or private area “without the consent of the owner or person in control of such public or private land or place.” The land between the General Store and the church is technically part of Harvard’s Common, although cut off from the larger part by Still River Road. As such, the area falls under the jurisdiction of Parks and Rec.
Because alcohol will only be consumed in the area, not sold there, the Board of Selectmen’s jurisdiction over liquor licensing does not apply, according to Selectmen Stu Sklar and Lucy Wallace, who were present at the meeting.
Parks and Rec Chairwoman Wyona Lynch-McWhite said that the first question was whether the commission had the authority to make the decision. She said Town Counsel Mark Lanza had informed the commissioners it was indeed their call. Lanza also said that the matter did not require a public hearing, Wallace reported, and so abutters such as the Congregational Church had not been notified. (In addition to being a selectwoman, Wallace chairs the Board of Deacons at that church.)
A number of town residents attended the meeting and spoke in favor of the idea. Joe and Mindy Atwood, of Old Littleton Road, who had written a letter to the commission in June asking it to consider the change, (see the Harvard Press, July 4, 2014, “Board to consider alcohol consumption on town land”) reiterated their support. Many others spoke enthusiastically of grill nights as times when townspeople can gather and socialize in the center.
Robert Curran of Slough Road said he supports anything that brings people of the community together and suggested that any problems that arose “would be self-policed by people there.” And Andrew Ashe of Bolton Road pointed out that Harvard has few venues where people can meet casually for food and drink. “Harvard is somewhat of an island,” he said, compared to other towns.
Commissioner urges caution
Commissioner Joe Schmidt urged caution, saying that the commission would be setting a precedent and that limiting public drinking to just one area might prove difficult. He also said that the board must not favor one private business—the General Store—over others in town. He asked the board to think how it might respond to requests for alcohol at the town beach, at the playing fields, at the December tree lighting on the Common, or at Halloween trick-or-treating.
Schmidt said he thought the decision was one that Town Meeting should make, so that residents could express their will. But Curran countered that residents could come to the open commission meetings to make their views known.
Lynch-McWhite brought the matter to a temporary close, asking Hayward and others who support the idea to bring a formal request, including specific days and hours when alcohol could be consumed in the public area, to the board’s next meeting on July 21. She asked that they submit the proposal within a week, so that it could appear on the Parks and Rec posted agenda.
