Stoneham Select Board Awards $11,000 to Food Revolution, Waiving Long-Standing Grant Cap

STONEHAM -- May 27, 2025, Stoneham Select Board votes 3-1 to award $11,000 Commercial Improvement Program grant to Food Revolution, breaking a decade-old $3,000 cap. Director of Planning and Community Development Erin Wirtman brought the waiver request for Lisa Farrell's shared culinary incubator at 3 Marble Street, which supports 20 local food businesses and pays more than $3,000 annually in town Board of Health permitting fees. Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Megan Day testified that Farrell's corner location will not benefit from the $4 million downtown square reconstruction now under way. Board member Ramey cast the lone dissenting vote, warning the award leaves only roughly $1,800 in the program fund and sets a precedent other businesses may follow. The board also unanimously accepted a $100,578.26 library bequest from the estate of lifelong resident Shirley Ward, and held an extended discussion on plans for a summer public-engagement "tour" of town department facilities as groundwork for a potential fall tax-override ballot question.