Blue Hill to hold Oct. 14 hearing on Blaze license renewal

Blaze, a restaurant in downtown Blue Hill, added an outdoor stage in June. Photo by Tricia Thomas.

By Tricia Thomas

BLUE HILL—The Blue Hill select board will hold a public hearing on October 14 at 5:45 pm in town hall to vet the pending renewal of a liquor license at the Blaze restaurant on Main Street. The board also will consider whether to approve a permit for Blaze to continue offering live outdoor music, which neighbors say is too loud.

Blaze, which opened about four years ago, unveiled its outdoor stage in late June.  After a neighbor complained about the volume of the music in early July, the board determined that Blaze had not applied for a special amusement permit to offer the concerts, as required by town ordinance, and directed code enforcement officer Martin Conant to send a letter of violation.

Restaurant owner Matt Haskell, who attended the board’s regular meeting on October 6 and plans to attend the public hearing, said he had only recently learned of the ordinance violation, and already had taken steps to rectify it.

“We thought [the special amusement permit] was already applied for and thought we had the license,” Haskell said during a recent telephone interview.  “It’s now applied for.”

Haskell also said he had not received the certified letter of violation, which Conant sent via certified mail on August 25 to Beto Guajardo of Atlanta, Georgia.  According to town tax records, the property at 66 Main Street from which Blaze operates is owned by the John B. Warren and Katherine N. Warren Trust.

Haskell told the board that he is willing to meet with neighbors about their concerns.

“Let’s figure it out.  Let’s find some guidelines,” he told the board.  “In the end, if it can’t work, we’ll cancel the music.”

Board chair Ellen Best encouraged Haskell to meet with neighbors before the hearing, if possible.

“You need to talk to the people who are concerned about it,” Best said.  “It’s one thing to go [to Blaze] to listen to the Mallett Brothers, and another thing to be sitting in your living room listening to the Mallett Brothers.”

In other business, planning board chair Matthew Martin urged the board to expedite its search for a part- or full-time code enforcement officer.  After former COE Bryce Emerson resigned on May 30 and stopped work over the summer, Conant agreed to take on the job on an interim basis for one day a week.  Martin told the board that the job requires more time and attention, and that the staffing issue has been leading to delays and postponements in planning board business.

“On behalf of the planning board and myself, we express deep gratitude to Mr. Conant for stepping up in a time of need for the town, and for helping us in a difficult position.  That said, clearly the work is overwhelming for the amount of time he’s able to spend on it,” Martin said.