After a meeting yesterday in the State House, state Rep. Paul McMurtry is hopeful the House can "finally, once and for all, move forward" by passing a measure that would allow Wegman's supermarket to sell beer and wine at the planned Westwood Station.
State Rep. William Galvin, D-Canton, has been holding up the the home rule petition because of potential traffic problems he said Station developers Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, have not examined.
"The town of Canton is not opposed to the project," Galvin said last night, but "a project of this magnitude needs an infrastructure in place."
Last week, Galvin doubted the presence of a quorum - a strategy that forces the House to adjourn without enacting legislation if 81 members, a quorum, are not present. Previously, state Rep. Angelo Scaccia, D-Readville, held the bill up on behalf of Roche Bros. supermarket, a future Wegmans competitor, for over a month because Roche does not have a beer and wine permit at its Westwood store.
McMurtry, the Dedham Democrat whose district includes Westwood, called yesterday's gathering to break the stalemate.
On hand were Canton Selectman Robert Burr Jr. and other Canton representatives were present along with Jay Doherty, president of Cabot, Cabot and Forbes, House Speaker Sal Dimasi, Galvin and other House leaders, McMurtry said.
An "agreement in principle" was reached between the town of Canton and Westwood Station developers after about an hour and a half of discussion, according to McMurtry.
He said both agreed to "continue to negotiate in good faith."
A "gentlemen's agreement" was made that developers would do what they could to address the concerns of Canton, and Canton would, in the future, look into dropping lawsuits filed against Westwood Station over infrastructure and release its hold on the Wegmans permit.
"It's a truce almost," said McMurtry.
The meeting has certainly paved the way for discussion, Galvin said.
He and Canton officials spoke to Station developers about their plans to build a traffic-alleviating bridge, he said.
A temporary bridge would be constructed where Canton Street in Westwood meets Dedham Street in Canton and would give way to a permanent crossing at a later date if need be.
Galvin did not understand why developers wouldn't just cut down on construction time and build a permanent bridge since it will definitely be needed.
Those issues, however, will now be negotiated between developers and Canton representatives in private.
The important thing is there was a meeting, Galvin said.
If the two parties came to terms before the next informal session, he said he would gladly release his hold on the beer bill Monday.
The next step should be a "celebration" on Monday, McMurtry said.
"Westwood and Canton have to partner in order for this to be successful," he said.
Not to show any disrespect to his colleague, said McMurtry, but bringing the bill to a halt at this level was unwarranted.
McMurtry said Dimasi told Galvin the same thing.
He reiterated that the House floor is not the place to protest this type of legislation, according to McMurtry.
Each day that the bill is hung up, said McMurtry, there's a greater risk of losing Wegmans. Letting this go until January, he said, would be "unsuccessful results on (my) part."
