The ongoing drama in the House over legislation granting a beer and wine license to a supermarket operator in Westwood is "close to some finality," the bill's sponsor said after Monday morning's House session.
State Rep. Paul McMurtry said he has a meeting planned with House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi. The Dedham Democrat, whose district includes Westwood, said he may be a "day or two" from reaching his goal of getting the bill enacted.
Asked why he was optimistic about a breakthrough on the bill, which has been held up by its opponents since early August, McMurtry said, "It might be something bigger than this bill that involves this bill."
State Rep. William Galvin, D-Canton, has repeatedly attended recent House sessions and blocked the advancement of the bill.
Wegmans supermarket is tied to Westwood Station, the $1.5 billion shopping, residential, office and hotel project slated for University Avenue. Galvin says that project will overrun Canton's roads with new traffic.
Galvin did not attend yesterday's session.
Afterward, asked if he was disappointed that leadership hadn't sought to enact the bill in Galvin's absence, McMurtry said, "Yeah, but there's something beyond my comprehension at this point."
Douglas McGarrah, the attorney for the town of Canton, said McMurtry's optimism may be a result of "some attempts to restart discussions" between Canton and Westwood Station developer Cabot, Cabot & Forbes.
Westwood Station isn't the only development seeking an alcohol-related favor from the Legislature. Under a bill passed in the House Monday, licensing authorities in West Bridgewater would be authorized to grant five alcoholic beverage permits to a proposed 380,000-square-foot shopping center.
West Bridgewater Town Administrator Elizabeth Faricy said Villages at West Bridgewater was in "the development stage" and that it had already received local zoning approval.
Asked about the increased scrutiny of alcohol license bills, a result of revelations about state Sen. Dianne Wilkerson's alleged bribe-taking in exchange for pushing license legislation, Faricy quipped, "Nobody stuffed this anywhere."
