Community Corner

New Vote Possible as Frustration Mounts Over Splitsville Issue

Supporters and proponents for Splitsville and the Howl at the Moon aspect of the establishment may not agree on many things. One thing they do have in common is the frustration building from the contentious situation.

"It’s not giving me any pleasure to sit here and watch people get assaulted in the papers and blogs. It’s disheartening. Everyone is up here because they was to do what’s right for the town," Selectman chairman Mark Sullivan said. "I understand the emotion and I know it gets frustration but it gets frustrating up here too."

With a petition protesting the 3-2 vote by the selectmen to reject an application for a liquor license transfer to Splitsville and an appeal by the Kraft Group to the ABCC on the way, residents for and against the project had a chance to voice their opinion on the matter at last night’s selectmen meeting.

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According to Ellen Garber, who informed the board of the petition two weeks earlier, nearly 900 signatures have been collected and presented to the selectmen.

Steve Harding and Paul Farmer read the initial statement from the group before letting others speak.

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“The Board of Selectmen may have acted a little prematurely with three of its members citing public safety for their denial after hearing no concerns from the chief (Ed O’Leary) who visited the venues. The very least you could have done is visited Howl at the Moon in person. Our chief did and he is on record saying that it would fit in,” Harding said.

All five selectmen did support the idea of Splitsville but members voting against the transfer were opposed to a lounge area with the Howl at the Moon brand and cited public safety concerns related to alcohol as part of the reason for their vote.

When Harding attempted to address specific issues with individual members of the board, Sullivan asked the crowd to address only the board and to refrain from addressing individual selectmen by name.

Nancy Campany supported the board’s decision, approving of the idea that members of the board did their own investigations and research. 

"I was surprised to hear that people were dismayed that the board did independent investigations," Campany said.

During the public hearings, research from the board mainly consisted of going to the Howl at the Moon website and calling a Splitsville in Fairview, TX.

When addressing Chief O’Leary’s visits to the establishments, Camapny said, “I think there’s a real benefit to unscripted interview and visits.”

But as Stephanie McGowen noted, no members of the board visited Splitsville or Howl at the Moon before the vote, leaving O’Leary as the only public official in Foxboro to make visits to the establishments prior to the vote.

McGowen added that she has been to both Splitsville and Howl at the Moon and said could not wait to take her family to the Patriot Place location when it opens.

Former selectman Lynda Walsh was one of the members of the public that spoke and had visited Howl at the Moon recently and was impressed with the operation.

“As they had mentioned in the hearing, they carded every person, they have a person at the front door in charge of counting heads, and when individuals leave, others are let in,” Walsh said. “Inside there were people of all ages singing along to the three piece band."

Bob Grabosky supported the vote against the license, praising the board for what he believed to be was an effort to put public safety first. He did however want to see a more respectful tone to the conversation.

“There may be a lot more said about this but I hope it’s said in a respectful way and people don’t get nasty about it,” Grabosky said. “I know some people are disappointed about this application but people also have to understand this is a community where we’re going to have different opinions from time to time.”

Addressing inaccuracies from those opposing the Splitsville/Howl at the Moon partnership, Kraft Group legal council Jim Corbry spoke of many of the concerns from those in favor of the selectmen’s vote

“We’re not talking about two applications, what we’re talking about is one application. It involves bowling, it involves eating, it involves dancing, and it involves drinking.” Corbry said, responding to accusations that the project was an attempt to license two bars with one application.

Responding to a concern that the bowling alley could not be a family friendly environment when those under the age of 18 would be asked to leave as early as 8 p.m. if unaccompanied by an adult, Corbry said the company did not have a firm policy on the issue.

According to the Splitsville website, the age restrictions vary based on the location with some locations offering no age restrictions.

At the Oct. 29 public hearing, co-founder Mark Gibson said no policy has been set concerning age restrictions for the Foxboro branch but they would be willing to discuss it with Chief O’Leary.

Ginny Coppola and Lorraine Brue, who both voted against the liquor license transfer, had no comment on the matter during the evening. 

Selectman John Gray, the third selectman to vote against the transfer, referred to executive session minutes from Sept. 25, 2012, which featured a discussion on a term sheet from the Kraft Group requesting eight new liquor licenses. According to Gray and the minutes, the board, which remains the same except for Gray, agreed to not support any nightclub establishments but would consider supporting licenses for restaurants. 

“It’s the concern that we’re operating a night club and that the focus is on alcohol consumption and public safety,” Gray said.

Both Sullivan and DeVellis said they have since gone to Howl at the Moon with positive reviews.

“There are misconceptions,” DeVellis said.

Sullivan admitted that he had a good time but that there were some aspects of the dueling piano bar that would not work in Foxboro, mainly referring to the large alcoholic beverages that would not be apart of Splitsville.

“None of this would be acceptable and I think we debated that on the board vividly but I had a good time, I enjoyed my time,” Sullivan said.

After listening to the public and seeing confusion on some issues, DeVellis suggested letting Sullivan and Gray meet with representatives from Splitsville and the Kraft Group to try to work on the application and give it more clarity with some give and take from both sides. 

“I think Jim’s suggestion is probably good. It was someone in the audience that said ‘you oughta check out some more facts’ and I think that would be appropriate,” Gray said. “I think some meetings with the Kraft Organization might shed some light on some topics.”

A recommendation whether or not to reconsider the application will be given at the Dec. 10 meeting.

Sullivan did mention that if there was another vote, that would be it for the board.

“If this board votes again 3-2, I’m going to respect that,” Sullivan said.


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