Maynard Select Board Sets April Deadline for Dormant Liquor License

MAYNARD -- January 6, 2026, Maynard Select Board extends dormant liquor license deadline to April 7, approves $119,364 regional water study. The board voted unanimously to give Maynard Liquors license holder Pavan Patel until April 7 to open the long-shuttered package store, after attorney Arthur Pearlman and landlord Jonathan Kaufman told the board a building permit was issued the morning of the meeting and interior construction should take six to eight weeks. Town Administrator Gregory Wilson and board members voiced open frustration with a situation that has dragged on more than a year, with Chair David Gavin warning he expects to see progress that would satisfy "any reasonable person." The board also unanimously approved a $119,364 contract with Santech Consulting Services for a regional MWRA connection cost-allocation study shared among ten communities, with Maynard's share roughly $10,000, and a $55,800 security fence contract around the town's concrete water storage tank, well below an anticipated cost of $150,000. DPW Director Justin Barrett warned the board that the water treatment division is operating at 50 percent staffing capacity, with remaining operators averaging 80 to 90 hours per week, and that the town recently lost an operator to a neighboring community over a $5-per-hour pay gap it could not match.