Stow Select Board Schedules July Hearing on Wedgwood Pines Liquor License Violation

STOW — June 23, 2026 — Stow Select Board schedules liquor license hearing and confronts record-low groundwater. The board voted unanimously June 23 to schedule a July 15 hearing on alleged liquor license violations by Wedgwood Pines, which Town Administrator Denise Dembkoski said has continued to serve alcohol outdoors despite an explicit October 2024 warning that its license covers only the interior of its main building. Separately, Board of Health Chair Mary McDowell told the board Stow is at Level 3 — Critical — drought status, the highest in the state, with resident Alan Fierst presenting USGS data showing groundwater at a nearby Acton monitoring well has fallen to 19.71 feet below the surface, below the 24-year recorded low of 19.57 feet. Because Stow relies entirely on private wells, the town cannot issue a mandatory water ban. The board directed Dembkoski to update the town website with state Drought Management Task Force guidance immediately and to bring formal conservation recommendations for a board endorsement vote at its July 14 meeting.