The two buildings at 128 Main Street were condemned August 2-3 after a fire in the neighboring Groton Inn disconnected them from water and electrical service, because the building’s utilities ran through the inn. After several days, the utilities were restored. When the buildings were inspected in preparation to remove the condemnation order, a long list of health and building code violations were revealed. Existing tenants were allowed to return to their apartments after the most serious violations were addressed, but Pergantis was prohibited from renting to new tenants until all building and health code violations were fixed. Pergantis lives in one of the apartments.

Since then, Pergantis has slowly been making repairs. The original violation orders required the completion of repairs within 30 days. A number of small violations were fixed in the fall, and several others have been removed from the list since then. But subsequent inspections uncovered additional violations such as mold and mildew in the basements, linked to failed septic systems, which became an additional issue on the ToDo list. One of the most important original violations, that lead paint from the 1950s vintage buildings be remediated or sealed to comply with state regulations, has been delinquent. And Pergantis failed to meet several self-imposed deadlines to comply.

Pergantis has said that he suffered a catastrophic loss when the inn burned; that the property was under-insured; and without a restaurant or apartments to rent he has little cash flow and no money to spend on repairs. He said he has been doing the work himself, with one helper.

After waiting more than three months for Pergantis to submit a contract with a lead remediation contractor and to finish work on the list of violations, the Board of Health warned Pergantis in early November that they would impose fines. Two weeks later, after Pergantis missed another deadline, the board voted to impose a $100-a-day fine at its Monday November 21, 2011 meeting. Commissioner Jason Weber stated in an e-mail that because of the continued non-compliance, “… the board moved to enforce the fines as outlined at the previous meeting. It’s that simple. Mr. Pergantis’ request to allow additional rooms to be rented before complying was denied.” The meter has been running since then, running up more than $6000 in fines.

At its last meeting on January 23, the BoH voted to give Pergantis until the Monday, Feb. 6 meeting to finish up the required repairs or be cited into state housing court. Although the apartment buildings do not have a required certificate of occupancy, Pergantis has been advertising them for rent on Boston Craig’s List, the online classified ad site, since sometime in January. New ads seeking prospective tenants for one $700 per month and one $800 per month unit were posted on February 1.

On the day before the meeting, Sunday Feb. 5, Pergantis said in an interview with The Groton Line that he had submitted a signed contract with a lead remediation company to the Board of Health office last week. If the contract is in order, the fines may stop accumulating.

But that won’t be the end of the problems. In a meeting last fall, the Board of Health gave Pergantis until February 22 to connect the two apartment buildings to town sewer, eliminating the problems caused by the building’s failed septic system. The work of connecting them has not yet begun, although Pergantis said that an engineer’s plan had also been submitted to the town late last week. After telling the Board of Health on January 30 that the sewer would not be installed until April, he has since pulled the connection date in to late February or March, weather permitting.

The sewer connection is vital to another of Pergantis’s plans — to establish the “Carriage House Grill and Seafood Restaurant” in a building that started life around 1913 as The Groton Inn’s garage for “motor cars” and eventually became a function hall attached to the inn, since Pergantis has owned the property. Also known as the “Carriage House,” the building served as a restaurant between 1980 and 1991, when food service moved across the parking lot to the Inn building. According to Board of Health records, the kitchen has not been certified for preparation of food since the early 1990s. Pergantis and the Board of Health have been sparring about what is required to license both the building and its kitchen to meet stricter health requirements. As Pergantis has been trying to resolve the issues in the apartment buildings, he has also been trying to make progress on his new restaurant.

A connection to the town sewer is mandatory, the BoH has ruled; it will not approve necessary food service health permits until the hookup has been made. Before he can begin serving food, once he has BoH certification, Pergantis needs approval from the town land use office and Planning Board to open a restaurant; to obtain a common victualler’s license and liquor license from the Board of Selectmen; and possibly other permits from other boards.

Illegal Dump?

Even with the apartments up to code, and a sewer line laid to support the new restaurant, Pergantis has a third big problem with the town — a possible illegal dump on his lot. During one Board of Health inspection of the property, lead-contaminated siding, old laundry machines, and other debris surfaced in one corner of the property near the wetlands that separate Pergantis’s property from Gibbet Hill. Although that debris has been cleaned up, Board of Health officials are now concerned that the area has been used for illegal dumping for years, with the debris buried.

Pergantis said on Sunday that the trash was only stored there temporarily, until a dumpster could be emptied. Then the trash was moved from the wetlands to the dumpster. There are several seemingly abandoned vehicles on the site, and debris that could be from renovations, but the material that triggered the investigation into illegal dumping seems to have been removed.

At its last meeting, Board of Health officials discussed boring into the area, or making a small excavation with a backhoe, in order to ensure that hazardous debris is not buried there.

Timeline

This is a timeline of events related to the certification of George Pergantis’s apartments as “habitable” and certification of the Groton Inn’s garage as a restaurant in the aftermath of the devastating Groton Inn fire on August 2-3, 2011. Most text presented here is excerpted from Groton Board of Health meeting minutes.

The day of the fire was very emotional for all involved. For me seeing the fear in my tenants eyes was heart wrenching. I’m the type of person who will do all I can to try and help and make people feel better. But anyway, the night of the fire all five families were displaced from their homes due to the water, electric and gas being shut off from the entire building. Besides that the three units that did not suffer fire damage did suffer smoke damage so there was no way they were going to be able to stay in there. Two of the families chose to stay with friends and/or family members. The other three families did not have that option so the Groton Housing Authority housed them at the Residence Inn Marriott in Westford. Those three families stayed there for three nights. Unfortunately they didn’t have any vacancies after that so I had to find other places to put them. At this time the three families who were not burned out are back in their homes. One of the burned out families has been housed and the other family is still being housed by the Groton Housing Authority at an area motel until they secure permanent housing.

I put out a plea to my colleagues in the area to see if anyone had any vacancies. Two housing authorities responded but both were on the North Shore, which is too far for the families to relocate to. With the help of The Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), I was able to get one of the burned out families housed at the Littleton Housing Authority. The other burned out family was issued a mobile MRVP certificate. Those are similar to Section 8 certificates but they are good only for use in the state of Massachusetts. Getting that MRVP certificate for that family was like hitting the lottery. DHCD does not give those out anymore. We are very grateful to DHCD for their help.

The three families that did not suffer fire damage but suffered smoke damage are now back in their homes. They were allowed back in their homes on Saturday morning 01/28/12. There was a process we had to go through in order to get occupancy permission from the Fire Chief and the Building Inspector. Once we met their approval, they signed off and allowed the tenants back in. Basically what we had to do was update the smoke detector/CO2 detectors and repair a small hole that the Fire Department needed to make in one of the units. Fire Chief Joe Bosselait and Building Inspector Mike Kinney were wonderful through the whole process. They explained the process step by step and made it clear to me and my maintenance man that they were at our disposal 24/7. Without their support and help we could not have had those families back in their units as fast as we did. We had ServPro out to clean the three units. They clean the units from ceiling to floors and also clean the duct work. I have been able to speak to two of the three families and they have said they are pleased with ServPro’s work. I still want to talk to the third family before I sign off on their work. My maintenance man, Steve Aquaviva, arranged to have new front doors and storm doors installed on these units since he felt they had been compromised when the Fire Department had to kick them in. The regular doors have been installed on these units and we are waiting for the storm doors to come in.

The tenants who were burned out have been slowly moving their salvageable belongings out of their units. Steve and I have made ourselves available to them so that they can complete this process. For the first few days after the fire, the Fire Department was here whenever they wanted to get in their units. After the Fire Department signed off on that, they allowed us to let the tenants into their units to get belongings. The two burned-out tenants were never told that they only had a certain amount of time to get their belongings out or they would be thrown out. At this time we don’t even know when rehab of these units will take place. They were told that the things they did not want to take could be left in the units and would be thrown out when rehab started.

And the person who left the comment that this has been a burden on these tenants may be correct, but what they don’t understand is that everyone who rents at the Groton Housing Authority or any other Housing Authority is told at lease up time that it is important for them to have renters insurance to help them in situations just like what we have recently experienced here. This is even mentioned in their lease which they sign and are given a copy of. We are like any other landlord where our insurance does not cover a tenant’s personal belongings.

The Groton Housing Authority is run solely on the rents we take in. Our average rent is about $275.00 per month. Some people pay less, some people pay more. But the point I’m trying to make is that we don’t have a bundle of money in reserves. We don’t get money from the state or the Town of Groton to run this housing authority. What we take in is paid out again on bills. I feel we have gone above and beyond with the help that we have given to and continue to give to our tenants.

Another thing I would like to mention is that we are very grateful to the Groton Fire Department for their quick response time to this fire. We believe that their quick response is what saved us from losing the entire 5 units. We also want to thank the residents of our elderly building for opening up their community room to the displaced tenants. They provided clothes, blankets, food, drinks and best of all emotional support to our family tenants.

Hopefully you can use some of this for an update. I kind of jumped around a bit as I was writing all this down, so if you have any questions, please feel free to call me. The best way to reach me would be by my cell phone since I work part time here in this office. Please don’t publish my cell phone number. Thanks!

Sincerely,
Lisa

Lisa Larrabee
Executive Director
Groton Housing Authority
19 Lowell Road
Groton, MA 01450
978-448-3962

Co-owner Miranda Hersey said “Dozens of creative folk, friends, and supporters came by to admire Sharon’s stunning encaustics while enjoying good conversation and a lot of laughter. If you haven’t had a chance to see Sharon’s paintings in person, you can see her work at Open Studio through the end of February.”

She said that Monday’s opening is followed by the studio’s regular Tuesday and Wednesday free Creative Community hours sessions. The public is invited to bring laptops, journals, sketchbooks, needlework, or portable art projects and keep company with creative friends and neighbors, for half an hour or the entire session (Open Studio’s free weekly Creative Community Hours are every Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and every Wednesday from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 pm.). Open Studio provides focus, wifi, and good cheer. Light refreshments, coffee, and tea are available.

The Creative Community hours were the impetus for the new business. In an press release, Miranda Hersey and co-owner Ellen Olson-Brown said that after years of working in their homes, they

“Noticed that they were each struggling to get their creative work done at home and decided to do something about it. As anyone who has ever worked from home knows all too well, it can be a challenge to stay focused on the task at hand with all the distractions of home and family just inches away. In addition, working from home usually means working alone, without the collegiality and inspiration that come from working alongside other people.”

In the summer of 2011, wishing to foster that sense of collegiality while completing her certification as a creativity coach, Hersey hosted a creative open house at her home. Friends and the friends of friends brought their laptops, sketchbooks, scrapbooking supplies, and needlework projects. Fifty minutes of every hour were spent quietly working, with the last ten minutes set aside for socializing and sharing ideas.

“When I went to the first creative open house, I felt like an unspoken dream had come true,” says Olson-Brown, an educator and the author of four children’s books. “There’s only so long you feel like you can take up space at a coffee shop, and as much as I love the library, sometimes it’s too quiet. At home, I’m popping up every few minutes to answer the phone, let the dog out, or multitask. At the creative open house, I finished more writing than I usually do in a week, made new friends, and was inspired by the interesting work other people were doing.”

The creative open house continued monthly, and Hersey and Olson-Brown began meeting weekly, initially to work on individual writing projects. They asked themselves, “What if we could share our combined experience and sense of excitement and possibility with other people?”

In the fall of 2011, Hersey and Olson-Brown taught their first creative life design workshop at the Blackbird Café in the Mill Run Plaza in Groton. Response to the workshop was so positive that the pair decided to find a permanent home for additional workshops, creative open house time, and other creative projects.

“The space at 30B Hollis is perfect for what we have in mind,” says Hersey. “We call it the little space that’s big on possibility. As a certified creativity coach, I’ll be seeing my individual clients and small groups at Open Studio. And collaborating with artists, writers, musicians, teachers, and businesspeople, who live in Groton and the surrounding area is a major goal. We’ll display the work of visual artists, and we’re scheduling book readings and booksignings, musical soirees, and a variety of classes to begin this winter.”

Details are available at openstudiogroton.com.

Large very white lab, name Gabriel, was last seen near Surrenden Farm 10 a.m. Monday Jan 30.

Gabriel, a 9-year-old Labrador retriever, is missing.
If you have any information about Gabriel, please contact Jeanne Cassin at (978)270-0875 or jeanne.cassin@gmail.com.

The G-D Chamber Chorus committed to an “all or none” approach; all members would attend or the group would not go to London. Under Music Director Tim Savoy, the group of 10-12 graders specialize in performing a cappella pieces in a broad range, from classical to contemporary, using 8 to 14 part harmonies. In regional competitions held in New York and Philadelphia, they won first place in the Small Mixed Chorus category in each of the past three years, along with several best solo and best section awards.  Due to their success, G-D Chamber Chorus was approached by Kingsway International Concerts to perform at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

The Chamber Chorus will open the concert with several of the songs they plan to perform at the Olympics, and then turn the stage over to the Indian Hill Big Band to play a full concert of jazz and blues standards that have made the band so popular throughout the region. To add a fun twist to the concert, the band has invited some G-DRSD faculty members and a few of the talented students from the high school’s music program to sit in on a few numbers. Please join us at 7:00pm on Thursday, February 9th in the Black Box Theater at Groton-Dunstable Regional High School, 703 Chicopee Row, Groton. Tickets may be purchased online at the Chamber Chorus web site and will be sold at the door:  $15 for adults, $10 for students.

100% of the proceeds will be used to help these outstanding young vocalists take advantage of this unique opportunity to represent the United States in a very special way on an international stage. You can share their pride by joining the Indian Hill Big Band by giving them your support at this concert. You can also find information for making a tax-deductible donation on their website: www.gdchamber2012.com

Mastracola was the assistant superintendent in Peabody when he applied for, and won, the top position at Groton-Dunstable two years ago. Since then, he’s earned positive reviews as an efficient administrator and leader from many teachers, parents, and school board members. So it was something of a surprise to the Groton and Dunstable community when news reports from Peabody surfaced this week, naming him as one of three finalists for the Peabody position.

In his email, he said:

Last spring, the Peabody superintendent announced his retirement and their search process ended with the appointment of an interim to serve the current school year.

A few weeks ago, I was recruited and encouraged to apply for the position by several school and community constituencies after Peabody officials reopened their search process.

I have submitted an application to become involved in that interview process and informed our School Committee chair about this decision once it was made.

There is no other position for which I have applied nor intend to apply.

Peabody offers challenges in school leadership that have always been at the core of my career goals.

We have done great things in the G-DRSD, thanks to the support of the School Committee, respective town officials, staff, and parents. Namely, our upcoming FY13 budget presentation paints a continued stable financial picture for the district, the High School has maintained its accreditation, K-12 curriculum policies are now in place.

I remain dedicated to our school system until the entire Peabody process is completed. It will not affect the overall management of the district nor slow the current initiatives in motion for completion during this school year.

The School Committee will be updated as often as necessary about this situation.

The Peabody position attracted 17 applicants, who were winnowed down to eight and then four. One of the four declined to go further, leaving Mastracola; James Kelleher, interim superintendent of the Scituate Public Schools; and David Fischer, interim head of lower school grades 6-8 at the Salem Academy Charter School.

According to the Peabody Patch hyperlocal news site that broke the story, the Peabody school board is planning site visits to each finalist’s workplace and dinner with each or the three candidates, and its search committee may make a recommendation or decision on hiring by mid-February.

Fran Stanley, the town’s Housing Coordinator, worked as a resident with Karen Toumi, Assistant to the Groton Commissioners of Trust Funds to set up a central collection point for donations. They asked that residents who want to help purchase and donate “gift cards from area stores such as Donelans’, CVS, and Shaw’s can help replace food and toiletries. Gift cards to a general purpose store such as a Target (selling clothes, housewares, sporting goods, toys) can help with the replacement of other items.”

Gift cards can be mailed or dropped off to Karen Tuomi’s attention Town Hall, 173 Main Street, Groton, MA 01450.

In a email from Stanley, she wrote: “People who are open to your donation reaching beyond these five families, you are welcome to make a
contribution to the Community Children’s Fund. This fund is administered by the Commissioners of Trust Funds and helps Groton
children in numerous ways. Checks can be sent to the same Town Hall address.”

The damaged apartment building and 20 other units in the complex are owned by the Groton Housing Authority. The Petapawag Place fire started in the space above the kitchen ceiling and below the floor of the second floor of Unit D, Groton Fire Chief Joe Bosselait said, and the state fire marshal’s office was leading the investigation to determine the cause of the fire.

In the wake of the defeat, Haddad, Fire Chief Joe Bosselait and representatives of the Board of Selectmen interviewed each member of the town’s ad hoc Fire Station Site Selection Committee, looking for more information on the committee’s processes, the individual member’s thoughts about the process, and suggestions on ways to move forward.

Also, according to the release:

The Board of Selectmen has focused their review on the original Tier 1 Sites identified by the Center Fire Station Relocation Committee last Spring. Some of the sites originally identified were not pursued at the time due to cost of the land or the land owner was not interested in selling their land. The Board of Selectmen reached out to the land owners of several sites to determine if circumstances have changed since last Spring.

Google Maps

Lawrence Homestead Trust Site on Farmer's Row

One of the sites identified by the Center Fire Station Relocation Committee that was of interest to the Board of Selectmen for further study is land owned by the Lawrence Homestead Trust on Farmer’s Row that abuts the current Public Safety Building. The land is approximately 11 acres and is currently classified as Chapter 61A Agriculture Land. The Board believes that carving out a 2+ acre site closest to the Public Safety Building would provide a good location for the Center Fire Station. The Board has reached out to the Trustees of the Lawrence Homestead Trust to determine their interest in this potential acquisition. Discussions are on-going and the Board hopes to have a resolution on this within the next month. The Board is in the process of determining value and suitability of this land and is working with the Trustees to determine the viability of this acquisition.

In discussions before, and during Fall Town Meeting discussions about the Site Selection Committee’s process, chairman Don Black said one reason that the Farmer’s Row site hadn’t made the cut for further consideration in part because it was not served by town sewer. Extending the town sewer about a quarter of a mile to the site would cost several hundred thousand dollars, several sources said; a relatively small percentage of the estimated total cost of $5-6 million dollars for a new Central Fire Station.

Haddad’s press release confirmed that the town is also looking at the Prescott School site on Main Street, one of three “finalist” sites investigated by the committee. It also says “land owned by the Electric Light Commission on Station Avenue is still under active consideration.”

It concludes:

The Board of Selectmen is planning on holding public hearings over the next several months prior to the Spring Town Meeting to obtain input from residents and the general public on these possible sites for the Center Fire Station. Additional information will be released as it becomes available. In the meantime, residents are encouraged to provide input on this matter by contacting the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager either through email at Selectmen@townofgroton.org or by writing to the Board of Selectmen and Town Manager at 173 Main Street, Groton, Massachusetts.

This year’s festival is a friendly inter-class competition of plays. Each class is fielding a play, a student director, cast, and stage and lighting design in preparation for the competition. Actors are busy learning lines and developing their characters in the weeks leading up to the show. Outside judges have been invited to view Friday night’s performance; an award ceremony announcing the winners will follow Saturday night’s show.

The senior class will present “Stop the Clocks, An Abstract Play” by Keith Badham that uses 15 short scenes of trials and tribulations to reveal the meaning of life.
Director: Maria Smith.
Ensemble: Meag Biggs, Joey Dussault, Lauren Finch, Rose Gannon, Beckie Glennie, Ben Icenogle, Kerry Norton, Marisa Olson

The junior class’s entry is “Tracks,” ä drama by Peter Tarsi. Trapped in a subway station and eager to escape, a group of people must decide which train to take. Will it lead to Heaven or Hell? Though basically good people, each has committed a serious sin, making their final destination uncertain.
Director: Sam Biasi.
Cast: The Homeless Girl: Shannon Doherty-Keelan. The Old Man: John Michael Stroffolino. The Lawyer: Caroline Cocossa. The Professor: Troy Jenkins. The Nun: Margaret Blagbrough. The Businesswoman: Jessica Cernak. The Businessman: Garrett Rousseau. The High School Girl: Breanne Happell. The High School Boy: Micah Sheffield. The Waitress: Heather Cole.

The sophomore class presents “One Lane Bridge, A Ghost Story,” by Stephen Gregg. On a snowy night, Eli, a new driver, has agreed to drive Samantha, a friend of a friend, into town. As the car creeps along the winding mountain canyon roads, they tell stories to scare each other and pass the time. When Samantha’s story hits a nerve, Eli, wanting to put an end their trip together as fast as possible, begins to speed. What will happen when they cross the one lane bridge?
Director: Emily Gaines.
Cast: Eli: Lori Brackett. Samantha: Adrianna Barranco. Narrator: Amanda Kennedy. Narrators: Zach Berard, Gianna M. Hitsos, Jennifer Li, Rachel Olson, Sarah Stevens, and Hannah Tellier.

The freshmen class presents “Math for Actors,” a comedy by Emily C.A. Snyder. Studious Kate tries her best to tutor the easily distracted and full-of-himself actor, Keith, in trigonometry. Keith’s flair for the dramatic exasperates her until they find a common denominator.
Director: Jack Phelps.
Cast: Kate: Caroline Phelps. Keith: John Killian.

Tickets are $10 for regular admission; $8 for students and senior citizens.