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Date: 10/7/2020
SOUTHWICK – During its Sept. 29 meeting, the Southwick Select Board hosted a trio of public hearings about tax classification, a civil fingerprinting bylaw, and a manager change at Crabby Joe’s Bar and Grill.
While the Select Board was scheduled to host a tax classification public hearing to determine if all classes of property should be taxed at the same rate during the 2021 fiscal year, the town’s Chief Administrator Officer Stinehart explained the hearing had to be put on hold to its next meeting.
“Because we are waiting for certain information, we would open and continue the hearing to a date certain and there would be no other discussion other than the fact that it relates to the email the assessors sent us on the form 504 from the Mass. Department of Revenue needs to be finalized,” he said.
With little discussion, the board pushed the hearing to its next meeting.
After continuing the meeting’s first public hearing, Southwick Police Lt. Robert Landis jumped into the call for the second public hearing about requiring fingerprints for certain businesses when applying for a license.
“What we’re looking to do is have a vehicle here that we can have all our applicants for the various licenses, whichever you see fit, to have them supply us with a set of fingerprints so that we can do a thorough background check on the FBI database, but we must establish a local bylaw to do that,” he said.
If the bylaw were put in place, it would cost business owners a once a year, $50 charge paid to the town along with another fee to the state.
Landis said that the idea for the bylaw came around after the town had difficulties conducting background checks on out of state businesses.
“What really got this going was our liquor licensees from out of state applying for licenses and we weren’t able to get a proper background check for them, so everything just kind of morphed from there,” he said.
Board Clerk Russ Fox said he was concerned with the process and charging local businesses to get their fingerprints scanned.
“I’m very concerned about the cost involved for people that we know, who are good standing in our community and have been part of the community for many years, and we’re going to subject them to finger printing on an annual basis and collecting another fee,” he said.
Ultimately the hearing did not require a motion for Landis to pursue the civil fingerprinting bylaw and received verbal permission from the Select Board to draft the bylaw.
The Select Board also hosted a public hearing about a change of manager at Crabby Joe’s Bar and Grill after a deal fell through with a potential buyer.
“We have somebody that is willing to buy it, but right now we are in the process of signing the contracts,” Joe Scuderi, a representative for Crabby Joe’s, said.
He added that if the current sale falls through, they will reopen in the spring.
“If the sale does not go through, we will open up in the spring and keep the license active. The license will be renewed in December, so the only thing I would need to pick up is all of my inspections. Whatever steps need to be taken will be taken,” Scuderi said.
The board unanimously approved the change in manager.