‘At some point, you have to draw the line’: Select Board issues deadline for The Woods documents

Editor’s note: This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.

The Select Board sent an ultimatum to the Friends of the Josiah Smith Tavern on Thursday, demanding in-depth documents and financial information surrounding the project. If those demands are not met by July 6, the Select Board states it will terminate the lease.

“There is no restaurant, nor has there been any substantive work to fit out the Josiah Smith Tavern for use as such, and the Friends are not paying rent,” the letter reads. “Absent production of the documents requested in the timeframe set forth, and renewed faith in the Friends’ ability to see this project to completion, the Select Board intends to terminate the master lease with the Friends.”

The letter to the Friends – the nonprofit organization leasing the building from the town – lists six demands. The first is a request for complete construction documents – something the Select Board and Planning Board have asked for several times. The Permanent Building Committee has also criticized the current construction documents’ lack of details.

The Select Board also asked for proof of financial security. At an Oct. 28 Select Board meeting, then-Chair Lise Revers requested financial information from Brian Piccini, the man behind the proposed restaurant. Jay Valenta, president of the Friends, said at the time the group was not obligated to share Piccini’s financial information. He and George Hanson, a fellow member of the Friends, said they reviewed Piccini’s financial records in 2024.

Select Board Chair John McDonald said the letter gives Piccini a final opportunity to meet the Board’s requirements, despite missing several milestones during the project.

“Over the course of more than a year, he [Brian Piccini] has repeatedly missed deadlines and made little progress in terms of the restaurant,” he said in an interview after the letter was sent. “If you’re surprised by this letter, you shouldn’t be.”

Piccini and Valenta had not responded to requests for comment as of Friday afternoon.

The rest of the demands are cost estimates, a comprehensive business plan, a permitting memorandum detailing all approvals required for the project and a detailed timeline for amending the historic deed restriction.

In September, the board requested Piccini submit a written timeline and a budget. At the follow-up meeting in October, Valenta and Piccini said no budget could be set before construction plans were finalized.

In addition to not producing these documents, the letter also states the nonprofit has not held up its end of the lease, and “under a plain reading of the master lease, the Friends is in default.”

The master lease, signed in March 2024, says the restaurateur would need to begin operations within a year. Lease documents also require BUWest, Piccini’s LLC, to begin paying rent a year after the restaurant’s liquor license was authorized in March 2024.

McDonald said the letter comes after months of frustration.

“We wanted to give him, not one more time, really, but several more times to see if he would make significant progress and respond to some of the issues we’ve raised in those meetings,” McDonald said. “Finally, at some point, you have to draw the line.”