AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE BOARD OF SELECTMEN OF THE TOWN OF WESTON TO GRANT A LICENSE FOR THE SALE OF ALL ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES TO BE DRUNK ON THE PREMISES OF THE JOSIAH SMITH TAVERN AND BARN.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding sections 12 and 17 of chapter 138 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the board of selectmen of the town of Weston, for the purpose of preserving and operating the Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn consistent with a preservation restriction on the property, may grant a license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises to a nonprofit corporation established in accordance with section 2. The board of selectmen shall not approve the transfer of the license to any other entity or location. The Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn is located at 358 Boston Post road in the town of Weston and is owned by said town, subject to a 500-year historic preservation restriction held by Historic New England and recorded at the Middlesex south district registry of deeds at Book 15086, page 081-086.
SECTION 2. There shall be a body corporate to be known as the Josiah Smith Tavern Corporation. The corporation shall have all the rights, privileges, powers, duties and responsibilities of a corporation established pursuant to chapter 180 of the General Laws, and shall be deemed to be a nonprofit corporation established pursuant to said chapter 180 for all purposes of the General Laws including, but not limited to, liability of the corporation and its members pursuant to section 85K of chapter 231 of the General Laws. The corporation shall not be deemed to be an agency, commission, authority or other subdivision of the commonwealth or the town of Weston or an instrumentality of any of the foregoing for any purpose. The principal office of the corporation shall be in the town of Weston.
The purposes of the corporation shall be to assist, promote and support the historic renovation and reuse of the Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn in order to promote the common good and general welfare of the town of Weston. The corporation may hold the all alcoholic beverages license authorized in section 1 for use at the tavern and barn. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, the corporation shall apply to the board of selectmen for the license in accordance with section 15A of chapter 138 of the General Laws, and shall include in such license application the name of the responsible manager. Except as otherwise provided herein, the license shall be subject to said chapter 138. The board of selectmen may grant the license to the corporation and may condition, modify, suspend or revoke the license as it deems appropriate. The corporation may enter into such management and operations agreements as may be needed for the exercise of the license at the Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn. Any such agreement may allow the manager or operator to share in any of the profits earned as a result of the exercise of the license; but no such agreement between the corporation and the operator or manager shall be deemed a license transfer for purposes of said chapter 138. Any such agreement granting the manager or operator an interest in the license shall be approved by the board of selectmen and the alcoholic beverage control commission.
The corporation shall be governed by a board of directors, which shall have all the powers of the corporation. The board shall consist of not less than 5 members who shall be residents of the town and appointed by the moderator for staggered 3-year terms as designated by the moderator. No member of the board of selectmen, fire or police department, or any such member’s immediate family, shall be eligible for appointment as a director of the corporation. For purposes of this act, the term “immediate family” shall be defined as set forth in paragraph (e) of section 1 of chapter 268A of the General Laws. Members of the board shall serve until their successors are appointed and qualified and may be removed after a hearing. A vacancy in the board, however occurring, may be filled by the moderator for the remainder of the unexpired term. The board of directors shall annually elect a president, treasurer and clerk.
Initial appointments to the board shall be made not later than 1 month after the effective date of this act. The first meeting of the corporation shall be called not later than 2 months after the acceptance of this act by the town at an election pursuant to section 3 by a notice signed by the chairperson of the board of selectmen stating the time, place and purpose of the meeting, a copy of which notice shall be mailed or delivered to each member of the board at least 5 days before the day appointed for the meeting.
At the first meeting, the directors shall organize by the election of a temporary clerk, the adoption of by-laws, the election of officers, the adoption of additional articles of organization, consistent with this act, including whether the corporation will have more than 1 class of members, indemnification of directors, officers, employees and other agents of the corporation, the conduct and regulation of the business and affairs of the corporation, the street address of the principal office of the corporation in the commonwealth, the name, residential street address and post office address of each director and officer of the corporation, the fiscal year of the corporation and the filer’s contact information and such other matters within the powers of the corporation as the directors may see fit; provided, however, that no member of the board of selectmen, fire or police department, or any such member’s immediate family, shall be eligible to be a member or employee of the corporation. The temporary clerk shall be sworn and shall make and attest a record of the proceedings until the clerk has been chosen and sworn. Within 30 days after the final adjournment of the first meeting, the clerk shall make, sign, swear to and file in the office of the state secretary a copy of this act, any additional articles of organization approved by the board of directors, the by-laws, a certificate stating the date on which the meeting for organization was held and the names of the officers elected at such meeting and any other information or documentation required by the state secretary.
Members of the board shall not be subject to sections 23A and 23B of chapter 39 of the General Laws, but the board shall post its meetings in the manner provided in said sections 23A and 23B and otherwise abide by the requirements thereof. The members of the board of directors shall not be subject to chapter 268A of the General Laws, but shall abide by the provisions thereof as if they were special municipal employees for purposes of said chapter 268A.
The corporation shall make reports of its condition and activities not less than annually to the board of selectmen of the town of Weston and shall make all other filings and reports as would otherwise be required by chapter 180 of the General Laws.
The corporation shall be exempt from chapters 59 and 62 of the General Laws, and from any other provisions concerning payment of taxes based upon or measured by property or income imposed by the commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.
SECTION 3. Notwithstanding sections 11 and 11A of chapter 138 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the board of selectmen of the town of Weston shall cause to be placed on the ballot at a regular or special town election the following question:-
“Shall an act passed by the general court in the year 2008, entitled `An Act Authorizing the board of selectmen of the town of Weston to grant a license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises of the Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn,’ be accepted?”
Below the ballot question shall appear a fair and concise summary of the ballot question prepared by the town counsel and approved by the board of selectmen. If a majority of votes cast in answer to the question is in the affirmative, the town shall be taken to have authorized the town to grant a license for the sale of all alcoholic beverages to be drunk on the premises of the Josiah Smith Tavern and Barn.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved January 15, 2009