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Date: 6/3/2020
EAST LONGMEADOW – Last week, Fenway Golf and the Town of East Longmeadow’s Health Department were the subject of much conversation after the health department served Fenway Golf a cease and desist order along with a fine after the business opened their driving range despite it being against Gov. Charlie Baker’s order.
At the town council meeting on May 26, the council used the first 15 minutes to discuss the onslaught of social media posts regarding the Fenway Golf situation. While the town alleged that Fenway was told on more than one occasion that they could not open the driving range, many council members also advised Town Manager Mary McNally to rescind the fine, and praised Fenway Golf for being supportive of the town in the past.
At the end of the council meeting, McNally explained that she was hoping to resolve some of the issues that were outstanding with Fenway the following day.
Since then, Fenway Golf’s Attorney John J. Harding II released the following joint statement from Fenway and the Town of East Longmeadow.
“The Town of East Longmeadow and its Health Department is continuing to do its best, in good faith, to carry out its work with the business community as it endeavors to follow our Governor’s guidance in support of local businesses as they reopen.
“The Fisk family has owned and operated Fenway Golf without incident for generations, providing great entertainment for many. Unfortunately, the Town Health Department and the Fisks, had a different interpretation and understanding of the applicability of the town’s enforcement process and interpretation of the Governor’s advisories.
“On the morning of May 27, East Longmeadow’s Town Manager, Ms. Mary McNally, met with the Fisks at Fenway Golf to discuss and hopefully resolve the misunderstanding and to assist our Health Department and Fenway Golf as they move forward to respectively enforce and follow these often changing and ambiguous guidelines.
“As a result of this meeting, both parties recognize and acknowledge that the Health Department’s email communications with the Fisks on May 7 regarding whether certain aspects of their business could open, were not understood as warnings by Fenway Golf. Further, the town also heard from the Fisks at that meeting, that they believed they were properly following the rules and operating within the Governor’s guidance as it was updated on 18 May.
“The Fisks are grateful to Ms. McNally, Ms. Petrosky, and Ms. Bowman for their willingness to consider and understand the Fisks’ perspective and for their promptness in resolving this issue. We believe the matter has been amicably resolved to our mutual satisfaction and consider it closed. Both parties regret the unfortunate commentary which this incident has spawned in various mediums, which has caused unnecessary upset and disquiet to everyone involved.”
In addition to the released statement, on behalf of the Fisk family, Harding added that the Fisks also wanted to add that “while this is an unfortunate misunderstanding, at no time did Fenway Golf’s Erica and Andrew Fisk attempt to break or circumvent our Governor’s guidelines or ever state that the town’s or the Governor’s rules are ‘ridiculous’ and thereafter open their driving range anyway as was improperly alleged by Town Councilman Pat Henry,” Harding wrote in an email correspondence to Reminder Publishing.
In addition to this, Harding explained that “at all times” Fenway Golf was “operating in good–faith,” and was “honestly trying to follow the often-changing and ambiguous Governor’s guidance as it was updated on 18 May – especially when many, many other driving ranges throughout the state were (and are) operating, without receiving discretionary, maximum fines of $300.”
Harding closed by adding that it is the Fisk’s hope that the town’s health department will “adopt Councilor Ralph Page’s very reasonable advice to first serve businesses with a formal, clear warning or a cease and desist order before maxing out, what is otherwise a discretionary fine.”
“Finally, we are grateful that the town followed the advice of Councilor Don Anderson and rescinded the $300 fine. We look forward to opening our driving range on June 8 as the state enters the next state of its reopening plan,” Harding said on behalf of the Fisk family.