Council Reverses, OKs License Transfer to BJs

The resounding No given to BJs and the owners of Pour Richards a few short weeks ago on a request to move an all-alcohol license to BJ’s and move BJ’s beer and wine license to Pour Richards came back to the council last night like the proverbial bad penny.

The clarity of the law, the specific relevance or irrelevance of other licensing decisions made locally or elsewhere were all revisited. And Administrator was at pains to note that persisting in declining to approve the transfers could potentially lead to a judgement against the town plus a requirement to pay all legal costs for all parties.

While the dressing down wasn’t unexpected – the Council has had to back down or has been overruled before – it took time for councilors to digest the reality. The public, including a local liquor store owner, spoke about the matter. Some, like the owner, spoke against the approval, but others were sympathetic to BJs and company, advocating for a ‘yes’ decision as being basically pro-business.

When it all came to a vote (two separate votes, actually), it had to be done by roll call. Both measures passed 5 to 3.

Earlier in the evening, among other things, the Council heard citizen comment from Michael Videira, who expressed frustration at not being considered for a post on the finance committee, with the approval of executive Ken Ojukwu on the agenda for the evening.

Ojukwu was approved and Hellen used the occasion to express frustration with Videira and to comment on coverage of the topic in Observer, which he said had errors and was one-sided. [Unsuccessful efforts were made to reach Hellen and TC Chair over the weekend, because the article was acknowledged to be incomplete – Ed.]

On an upbeat note, Hellen praised Ojukwu for having attended many meetings about town finances and also expressed the hope that Videira, who is a CPA, will consider a future involvement on a town board.