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Culture & Tourism staff warn of WineFest permit backlog; 54 event applications missing health documents
Summary
Town staff reported 96 event applications so far for the 2025 season — 55 tied to WineFest — and said organizers are late submitting required health materials for 54 WineFest events, risking late permits and additional safety reviews.
Town Culture & Tourism staff told the Select Board April 14 they have received a large number of event permit applications for the 2025 season and are pressing organizers to deliver missing health and safety documents needed to finalize permits.
Dina (staff member) said the department has received 96 event applications so far, 55 of which are for WineFest. "So far we've received 97, 90 6 event application, applications, as you can see by the very long and very hard to read, spreadsheet. It's a lot, but 55 of those have been from WineFest," she said. Staff reported that 18 of the 96 applications have been fully permitted and that many WineFest submissions remain incomplete.
Chantal (staff member) and Shonta (staff member) described increased interdepartmental coordination among police, fire and health to review larger and more numerous events. Chantal said the department is discussing policy changes to require earlier, complete submissions for larger events, possible fee adjustments and tracking staff time per application; staff are evaluating a software option to require upload of all required documents before an application is submitted.
Amy (staff member) told the board the Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission (ABCC) approved WineFest forms but is now requiring a report proving that more than 51% of WineFest proceeds go to charitable endeavors before the state will sign off. Dina and Chantal said WineFest organizers are officially 30 days late on providing health permit information; staff gave them a supplemental checklist and a deadline tied to event dates so tent permits and health approvals can issue no later than May 1 for events with 14 days' notice.
Board members pressed staff for historical counts of events year‑to‑year and expressed concern about the town’s resource capacity during peak season. Tom suggested earlier submission deadlines to reduce last‑minute work; Matt and other board members said they want historical trend data and a season‑end review to inform policy changes about event scheduling, spacing and whether some events should be encouraged off‑peak.
Staff said department meetings with public safety have been productive and that they will return with more historical statistics, recommended deadline changes and a proposal on software and fee structure after the season review.
The Select Board provided general support for staff’s approach and asked for a follow‑up memo with historic data on event volume, a proposed timeline for earlier submittal for large events and any suggested fee adjustments or software procurement costs.
