WILTON – The Selectboard voted to grant a liquor license to the Wilson Lake Country Club Tuesday evening, after owner Harris Golf Co. paid the town thousands of dollars in back taxes.
The board had voted to deny issuing the license at a meeting earlier this month, due to Harris Golf owing $3,404.64 in personal property taxes that hadn’t been paid since the company took ownership in 2009. A total of $20, 071.89 was owed in property taxes, with approximately 75 percent of that delinquent from fiscal years 2013-14 and 2014-15. The remainder was due mid-May.
Tuesday, Town Manager Rhonda Irish reported that Harris Golf had paid off all back-owed taxes and was now up-to-date to this year.
The board voted unanimously to issue the liquor license. Course manager Mike Vella, who attended the meeting, thanked the board after the vote.
In other business, the board voted to hold a public hearing on June 2, to discuss a proposed amendment to the Comfort Inn TIF district. Town officials wish to amend the TIF to allow funds to be used for the payment of loans on capital improvement projects. When the TIF was first drafted in 2008, it included language that allowed such payments, but that language was inadvertently removed after debt on a sewer project was paid off.
The town wants to put that language back in the TIF. This would allow the funds to be used to pay off a portion of the debt on the new fire truck, among other purposes.
The June 2 public hearing would precede the June 15 town meeting, with the amendment appearing before voters as an article.
Upcoming events in Wilton include a Meet & Greet with the four candidates for the open seat on the Selectboard. Hosted by The Wilton Group, that event will take place on Wednesday, May 27 from 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. at the Calzolaio’s Pasta Company. All four candidates, Jeff Adams, Irv Faunce, Joey Kinsey and Jerry Whitney, will be running for Selectman Tom Saviello’s seat.
The town will also be recognizing Memorial Day on Sunday, May 24 at 2 p.m. There will be a brief ceremony near the town monument in the downtown.
There is really no reason for this small community golf course to need a liquor license. If you can’t play a round of golf without alcohol then maybe you shouldn’t be playing – stay home and drink. The country club isn’t large enough to accommodate even a small cafe so it’s not likely that revenues will increase with selling liquor. If the taxes haven’t been paid in almost 9 years (yes I know they have been caught up on, but this never should have been allowed to go on for so long in the first place) what makes anyone think they will pay the liquor licenses….. Sports and alcohol just don’t mix..
Sports and alcohol don’t mix??
Since when….
National Passtime seems to be…live vicariously (alcohol assisted).
Stupid behavior really.
Sports and alcohol don’t mix? Yeah, all those crazy drunk golfers getting trashed and flipping golf carts over…
All the more reason for Wilton PD to sit on the Weld Road and monitor! And lately there has been nice State Troopers Troopers going thru, especially State Trooper Hall from Carthage!