Residents urge Select Board to seek answers from Monadnock Food Coop about potential Peterborough site

Residents raised concerns at the Dec. 17 Select Board meeting about reports the Monadnock Food Coop of Keene is exploring a location in Peterborough. David Baulm and Francie Von Mertens told the board the Coop’s arrival could undercut existing local food businesses and asked the board to join a meeting with the Coop to hear plans, timelines and potential economic impacts.

Baalm said he had reached out to Dee Fitzgerald of the Coop but that a separate person, identified in the meeting as Ms. Williams, declined to meet. He asked the Select Board to send one or more members to the Coop’s board meeting so the town could hear plans directly and avoid sunk costs if a site is already being procured. Baulm framed the concern as a question of unintended consequences for small businesses, comparing the potential market disruption to the effect of a large retailer.

Chair Tyler Ward responded that the Select Board lacks authority to prevent private businesses from locating downtown and said he would attend any Coop meeting only as a Peterborough resident, not as a Select Board member. Ward suggested reviewing the Town Master Plan and involving the Economic Development Authority (EDA) to judge how any project aligns with community goals. Bill Kennedy said the matter could be scheduled for future discussion and recommended contacting the group that organizes community conversations; he declined to intervene directly in private business decisions. Bill Taylor said he would not want to see a local business forced out and noted concern about the Coop moving forward without a consulted site or community input.

No formal action was taken; the board agreed to add the topic to a future agenda for discussion and to facilitate contacts between residents and local organizers.