Use this search box to find articles that have run in our newspapers over the last several years.
Date: 3/7/2022
BELCHERTOWN – During the Belchertown Select Board’s Feb. 28 meeting the board discussed allowing McCarthy’s Pub to put up a tent outside while COVID-19 concerns remain before appointing a new police sergeant.
To begin the McCarthy’s discussion, board member Ronald Aponte said he was in favor of owner Janice McCarthy’s plan to put up a tent for outdoor dining.
“I have no problem with it, Janice has done similar things in the past, she is well regarded and respected in the community, and she has the foot traffic and security already in place from previous events,” he said. “There have been very few complaints over the last 20 years.”
Board Vice Chair Jim Barry said he had concerns about approving the plan.
“I am all in favor of this application I am just not in favor of doing it open ended. I would say we could approve it for six months at a time,” he said. “Then the question becomes does it become more permanent? Should we consider asking them to go to the Planning Board and make sure that it is within the zoning and is COVID [-19] still such a big concern that we are still making exceptions to the rules as we are sitting here without masks.”
Barry added that he was worried about setting a precedent to allow businesses to keep outdoor tents set up for dining indefinitely.
Because of McCarthy’s Pub’s standing in town, board member Ed Boscher said he was in favor of the tent.
“I understand Jim’s concerns but there have not been any issues there and she has been in business there for a very long time, but I do think we should put some sort of time limit on it whether it is Halloween or whatever,” he said. “There have been very few complaints over the last 20 years.”
Board Chair Jen Turner said she was also hesitant to approve the plan.
“I just need a little bit more of a plan from her, I just do not know what she is looking for. I just need more information personally,” she said.
The board agreed with a 4-1 vote to allow a tent outside at McCarthy’s Pub from March through October with an option to apply to continue it.
While the board was set to discuss the Charter Cable Contract Committee, board member Nicholas Pucel said he was looking for more volunteers for the committee with the contract set to expire in 2023.
“We are going back to the table with Charter for the cable contract in town. We need to discuss with them how we are going to work with them to get equipment for the TV station and pricing. We would also like to include folks that might have knowledge of streaming services, any other things we may not have access to quite yet that we might want to bargain with them to get access to,” he said.
During the meeting the board also agreed to name Jared LaValley to sergeant to fill a vacancy at the Police Department, and Police Chief Christopher Pronovost discussed the process in bringing his name forward.
“Since we had the vacancy, we have been working to fill the vacancy; we have been looking at filling this position for about four months, starting with a written examination. Officer LaValley topped the written examination, also did extremely well in his oral interview and he is a great all-around police officer,” he said.
Pronovost also spoke highly of LaValley in the few years he has been with the department.
“He was one we were able to get from Northampton about four years ago and he comes highly trained. He worked in the detective bureau in Northampton and did some work on formulating policy and some administrative tasks in addition to being a well-rounded community police officer, we were lucky to get him and seems to be doing pretty well,” he said.
The board unanimously agreed to appoint LaValley as sergeant.
The Belchertown Select Board’s next regular meeting takes place on March 14 and coverage of that meeting will appear in the March 24 edition of The Reminder.