By Lindsay Sauvageau

It was procedural confusion during Tuesday night’s Selectmen’s meeting, when the board was unable to come to a final decision regarding a proposed set of License Commission regulations and policies.

Though most of the proposed regulations were referred to by Chairman Tom Alonzo as, “thorough and commonsensical,“ one proposed procedure regarding the advertising and accepting of liquor license applications was deemed - against the law?

According to conversations between Chief Administrative Assistant Laura Williams and members of the Town Council, a policy in which new licenses are advertised when they become available and designating a set timeline for application submissions and approvals, “goes against Massachusetts General Law 138.”
However, Chairman Tom Alonzo said he was confused as to how this was possible as the licensing regulations and procedures being reviewed by the board were based on a model being used by a neighboring city that has been following a similar procedure.

This same city also shares the same Town Council as Lunenburg.

“Town council said we cannot put this layer on top when it is obviously done in other places and out in the open,” said Alonzo.

“The Town Council recommends, in regard to the neighboring community, that some communities have gone for special legislation to do this and have reasons for incorporating certain language in their procedures that allow this,” explained Williams.

Alonzo said that without a procedure and timeline for advertising and accepting licenses, the board, as the licensing commission, would not be doing what is in the town‘s best interests.

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