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Date: 7/3/2019
HAMPDEN – The first half of the Select Board meeting on July 1 focused on an ongoing dispute between the Casa Bella restaurant and their neighbors, Mary Drozdowski and Mitch Drozdowski.
The dispute stems from complaints by the couple that the smell from the dumpsters next to their property are a nuisance, an exhaust fan and exterior walk-in freezer cause noise issues, and lights from the restaurant shine into their bedroom at night.
The Drozdowskis said there are easy fixes for each objection. They would like the fan turned off after business hours, the dumpsters moved, and the lights tilted downward.
Three letters have been sent to the owners of Casa Bella by the Select Board. Although the restaurant had agreed to move the dumpsters to the opposite side of the property at one point, they did not follow through, citing drainage issues in that area of the parking lot.
Mary told the Board that the couple had done everything they can to handle the disagreement civilly, even going so far as to bake the owners a cake. The Drozdowskis said that each effort was rebuffed.
Building Inspector Wendel Hulbert went to the Drozdowski property to measure the decibels in an effort to address the noise complaint. He described his contact with the couple for the Board, saying that Mary followed him around and Mitch had told him to get off the property. The Drozdowski said they thought that they had gotten along “very well” while Hulbert was there and weren’t sure why he said otherwise.
Hulbert’s decibel readings showed 75 decibels at the roof of the restaurant by the fan and 65 decibels by the property line. The readings were taken during working hours, though the couple’s grievance is with the night time noise levels.
Mitch said that the town should keep the restaurant from running the fan at night.
“I don’t know what town would stop a business from running a fan,” Select Board Chair John Flynn said.
“They should have to yield to the residents,” Mitch insisted.
“We all understand and feel your frustration,” Selectman Donald Davenport told the couple, who had become visibly upset. Mary walked to the back of the room and cried.
The Board agreed that they should bring both parties before them at the next meeting on July 7 to solve the issue.
Ed Poulin was named Fire Chief by the Board and Flynn told him that as chief he would be involved in the ongoing firehouse expansion study. The Selectmen also discussed with Poulin the position of Fire Department’s Administrative Assistant, which has been compensated at four hours per week. The actual amount of work is significantly more.
Flynn asked if people already within the department could take on some of the tasks of the administrative job, to which Poulin replied that he would like to be on the job for a couple of weeks to determine what tasks can be handled by the fire department staff without taking away from their primary responsibility. In the meantime, the current Administrative Assistant, who was supposed to end her time at the department on July 1, said that she would stay on for those two weeks.
A reorganization plan that had been proposed by the Town Administrator, Mary McNally, and was slated to be discussed was pushed off until the next meeting on July 7, as she was not present. McNally has submitted her resignation and 60-day notice, as is required by her contact with the Town. She has not responded to a request for comment on her exit.