Stoneham approves first Town Hall liquor license under 2024 bylaw change

STONEHAM -- February 13, 2025, Stoneham Select Board unanimously clears a one-day liquor license for a 300th Anniversary Committee art show at Town Hall auditorium on March 22. The 5-0 vote, taken with the board sitting as the Liquor Licensing Authority, marks the first use of a bylaw amendment passed at Town Meeting on May 24, 2024, that allows the Select Board to grant single-day licenses for civic and cultural events on town-owned property. The event had originally been planned for the Greater Boston Stage Company, but a concurrent set build blocked access to the theater. The committee will serve beer and wine only, with at least one TIP-certified server and wristbands for age verification if the event is open to guests under 21. Chair noted the application fit precisely what the bylaw change was designed to allow: "This is the 300th committee putting this on, it's a town committee."