Beer bid blocked yet again

Canton state Rep. William Galvin once again held up business on Beacon Hill, doubting the presence of a quorum as the bill to grant Wegmans supermarket a beer and wine permit for Westwood Station was being read.

Galvin, D-Canton, said he held up the bill for the fourth time because Station developers had not yet gotten back to Canton officials by the time the informal House session began yesterday morning.

In informal session, from Aug. 1 to Dec. 31, House members can question the presence of the quorum at any time. If 81 members are not present, the session is adjourned.

Representatives usually reserve informal time for unanimous passage of noncontroversial measures with less than a quorum present and generally without a challenge of the number of representatives on hand.

Galvin has been using the strategy to call attention to traffic issues his town has been having with Westwood Station developers. He has said he would not release his hold on the Wegman's measure until the two sides reach agreement.

State Rep. Paul McMurtry, D-Dedham, who represents Westwood and has been an advocate for Westwood Station in the State House, said he believes Canton officials and Station builder Cabot, Cabot & Forbes were to meet yesterday morning, but as of yesterday afternoon he did not know the status of that meeting.

Galvin said that despite the apparent delay, negotiations were still ongoing.

The two sides, he said, are working toward a "temporary agreement so this can move on," and it appears "they're going in the right direction."

He said he expects resolution should come sooner rather than later.

An informal session has been moved up from Thursday to today.

McMurtry said the change in schedule may be a move by the office of Speaker of the House Sal DiMasi to resolve the Wegmans issue as soon as possible.

"The House leadership wants legislation to pass forward," he said.

Galvin's protest, which McMurtry called "inexcusable," held up all other business yesterday.

Home rule petitions such as the Wegmans bill are usually passed without dispute.

This summer, McMurtry faced opposition from state Rep. Angelo Scaccia, D-Readville, when he held up the bill for Wegmans' beer and wine permit on behalf of Roche Bros. supermarket, which does not have a similar permit for its Westwood store.

"The voters of Westwood deserve better treatment from my colleagues and I'll continue to fight for them," McMurtry said.

His most recent dispute, however, is different from the Roche Bros. ordeal, he said.

"(Scaccia's) involvement helped correct a wrong" by fairly distributing beer and wine licenses to other Westwood businesses, said McMurtry. "I think this is completely off-base."

Galvin, he said, is causing problems after two years of negotiations over an issue that should be resolved by other means.

McMurtry, who expected the bill would pass yesterday, was disappointed the issue was not put to rest at a State House meeting last week.

An agreement, he thought, was reached at that Thursday meeting.

"Everyone wants to find some resolution," he said. "Apparently, my colleague from Canton wasn't satisfied."

McMurtry said he would continue to involve himself in talks between the two sides in an attempt to reach a compromise, but "the bottom line is (the bill) should be passed."