Meetings Ahead
Most meetings in Eastham are in person, typically with an online-attendance option. Click on the meeting you are interested in on the calendar at eastham-ma.gov for details. All meetings are at Town Hall unless otherwise indicated.
Thursday, Jan. 16
- Nauset Regional School Committee Communications Subcommittee, 9 a.m., Nauset Admin. Bldg. Conference Rm.
- Elementary School Improvement Council, 2:15 p.m.
- Finance Committee, 4 p.m. — meeting canceled
Tuesday, Jan. 21
- Historical Commission, 10 a.m., demolition hearings, 10:30 a.m., Public Library
- Joint Regulatory Workshop, 3 p.m., Public Library
- Board of Library Trustees, 4 p.m., Public Library
- Recycling Committee, 5 p.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 22
- Finance Committee, 5 p.m.
- Human Services Advisory Committee, 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 23
Council on Aging Board, 9 a.m.
Conversation Starter
Willy’s Gets Entertainment License
Barbara Niggel, owner of Willy’s World Wellness and Conference Center, appeared before the select board on Jan. 6 for a hearing that included relicensing of an “all alcohol on premises” license and an application for a new license for entertainment. All were approved, with some amendments to the hours permitted and with select board member Jamie Demetri casting a dissenting vote on the alcohol and entertainment licenses. Chair Aimee Eckman recused herself.
“When I repeatedly see a business that has been in town for decades stumble when it comes to alcohol and how it is handled on their premises, I am reluctant to issue those licenses,” Demetri said. The select board stipulated that alcohol may be served only when the kitchen is open and the menu is available.
During discussion of the new entertainment license, Demetri again objected, saying she would prefer to require Niggel to get temporary licenses for specific events given the business’s history of health and safety violations.
The hours for entertainment Niggel requested, 5:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends, would have been unprecedented in Eastham and did not line up with the town manager’s recommendation nor what Niggel described at the meeting: an occasional unamplified performance by her friend, Sarah Burrill, or a trio of Willy’s members. “I don’t want to be a nightclub,” she said.
Abutters present at the meeting worried performances could draw hundreds of people, but Niggel and select board members agreed the performance space would be limited to staff and 34 guests, the seating capacity of the room.
Niggel listed the improvements she had made to be in compliance for alcohol relicensing. “I’m hearing what you’re saying, Jamie. I think it’s unfair,” she said. “There’s a lot of judgment here. I really believe that I’ve proven myself, and to sit here and have to listen again to this? I’d like not to.”
The board approved the entertainment license for Thursday through Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., the same hours as the alcohol license. —Brian Zayatz
