Stoneham officials battle through elements for PILOT program funds
Published on December 14th, 2005
STONEHAM, MA = Trouncing through a blinding white blanket of precipitation last Friday, Town Assessor Frank Golden and Town Counsel Bill Solomon secured $15,000 in funding from the state's Department of Revenue.
According to Town Administrator Ron Florino, who thanked the municipal employees for braving the winter weather to obtain the money, state officials have agreed in principal to the appropriation, which would fall under Stoneham's inclusion in the Payment-in-Lieu-of-Taxes (PILOT) program.
And while the PILOT funding pales in comparison to town officials' original belief that as much as $500,000 in reimbursements would clatter into local coffers with Stoneham's inclusion in the program last year, Florino felt that every dollar counts in this financial climate.
"Bill and Frank went into the state last Friday and were successful in striking a deal with the state. $15,000 nowadays is something we need to take advantage of and get now," said Florino.
Responding to concerns from Selectman Tony Kennedy, Town Counsel Bill Solomon assured board members that the acceptance of the appropriation wouldn't prevent local officials from obtaining more money.
In fact, the town attorney vowed to engage the state in additional negotiations to receive the appropriate financial windfall from Stoneham's state-owned property, which includes nearly one-third of the entire town's land.
"The problem is the bill which authorizes this gives the Department of Revenue total discretion over which land is included and what's not," explained Solomon, explaining that State Senator Richard Tisei (R) has filed legislation to remedy that obstacle.
"This agreement doesn't stop us from not only looking at new land, but also looking at the land we do have [included] and getting additional funding."
South Hillside Site Plan
The town's Board of Selectmen unanimously endorsed an amendment to its site plan approving the construction of the South Hillside Apartment Complex.
According to attorney Charlie Houghton, the project owner was seeking the right to alter a third floor common room into an additional one-bedroom apartment, bringing the total number of units in the building from 24 to 25.
"It will give a little more income to him and a little more tax revenue to you," Houghton commented. "There is already a common room on the second room anyway."
"We have now created a surplus of six spaces. And no department has any objection to these new spaces," Houghton added, referring to a Planning Board waiver for a cul-de-sac that granted the developer permission to line six new parking spots at the site.
License Approvals
As is the practice every year, the Selectmen also considered multiple license renewal requests for liquor sales, restaurant uses, and new and used car sales.
Although the Selectmen have battled a number of local businesses over meeting the deadline, payment, and insurance requirements required to obtain the various licenses - resulting in threats of rejecting the applications until they were completed in full - all the requests met the standards this year.
"Based on the information I received, everybody meets the requirements," said Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello, one of the most vocal critics of applicants who failed to meet the requirements in the past.
A list of the nature of the licenses approved and the businesses that received them is as follows:
Liquor License Renewals
oSavas Brothers Center Beverage Co., Inc. at 425 Main St.
oMcDonough's Liquors, Inc. at 9 Central St.
oCerretani Liquors, Inc. d/b/a Rapid Liquors at 171 Main St.
oStoneham Wines, Inc., d/b/a Redstone Liquors at 109 Main St.
oStoneham Theatre Corp. d/b/a Stoneham Theatre at 393 Main St.
o99 Restaurants of Boston, LLC d/b/a 99 Restaurant and Pub at 10 Main St.
oAngelo's Pizzeria & Ristorante, Inc. at 239 Main St.
oMoon Glow Restaurant, Inc., d/b/a China Moon at 170 Main St.
oFelicia's Inc. d/b/a Felicia's at 423 Main St.
oGaetano, Inc. d/b/a Gaetano's at 271 Main St.
oRCM Corp. d/b/a J.J. Grimsby & Co. at 301 West Wyoming Ave.
oKroMel's LLC d/b/a Kromel's Playhouse Cafe at 407 Main St.
o Marty's Caterers Inc. d/b/a Montvale Plaza at 54 Montvale Ave.
oLong Run, Inc. d/b/a Sato II Restaurant at 147 Main St.
oAmerican Legion Stoneham Post 115 at 11 Common St.
oBear Hill Golf Club Inc. at 5 North St.
oB.P.O.E. Lodge 2211 at 471 Main St.
oThe Marconi Club at 47 Pine St.
oImproved Order of Redmen Wamscott Tribe at 11 Franklin St.
Class 1 License Renewals
oStoneham Motor Company, Inc. at 185 Main Street
oDanvers N II, Inc. d/b/a Ira Nissan at 95 Cedar St.
Class 2 License Renewels
oAct Leasing Corp. at 51 Montvale Ave.
oCOV Motors, Inc. at 28 Pine St.
oNancy D. Flood d/b/a D & M Auto Sales at 41R Franklin St.
oFedele Auto Sales at 263 Main St.
oMichelle Mazzola d/b/a M&S Motors at 18A Gould St.
oPine Street Motors at 28 Pine St.
o Sharon M. Rotondi and John S. Nicholls d/b/a Rotondi Motors
140 Franklin St.
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