Natick Select Board meeting recap: Town administrator aces review; ZBA interviews delayed; Gatsby’s Chop House mystery

The Natick Select Board plowed through a slew of agenda items at its 3-hour-plus meeting on May 14, starting with a behind-closed-doors discussion on the fire chief’s contract and then a public review of Town Administrator Jamie Errickson. (See Natick Pegasus recording for all the details.)

We’ll have to wait to hear about the results of the fire chief’s contact, but Errickson’s review was out in the open and documents on this are attached to the meeting agenda. But in short, the Board was loving Errickson, including his leadership during the override discussions and his partnership with the school superintendent during that process. He was credited for work on a forthcoming regional dispatch center with Framingham, for his communications skills, and his staff management.

Kristen Pope said to Errickson during a round of accolades by Board members that “you manage a lot very well and keep a calm, level demeanor, and I think you always try to do your best to keep us as prepared as possible for what’s coming.”

Errickson accepted the praise, thanked the Board, and in full “aw shucks” mode, deflected credit to his team. “None of what I do every day is really about me. It’s about the team.”

Errickson has served as town administrator since 2021 and previously had served the town as director of community and economic development.

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ZBA interviews… to be continued

About an hour of the meeting involved interviews with three candidates—Michael Lynch, Robert Steckback, and Gail Weston-Roberts—for three soon-to-be open Zoning Board of Appeals slots. Topics covered include neighborhood concerns, mansion-ization, and challenges of navigating the complex zoning bylaw.

There was supposed to be a fourth interview candidate—current ZBA Chair David Jackowitz—but he acknowledged a scheduling error for not being there (Whew! We feared he might have been on one last ZBA site visit to the soon-to-be low-income housing development at 5 Auburn St., in South Natick and got stuck trying to merge off the dead-end street into ever-worsening Rte. 16 traffic.).

The Select Board somewhat grudgingly voted to continue the ZBA interview process to May 28.

ZBA appointees play an important role making decisions on matters such as appeals from decisions of the business inspector, special permits allowed within zoning bylaws, and variances from the bylaws.

Gatsby’s Chop House mystery

The Select Board last summer approved an all-alcohol license for a planned restaurant at Natick Mall called Gatsby’s Chop House. The applicant tried to make a case at the time that this was going to be the classiest joint within miles—a claim other high-end restaurants in the area would no doubt take exception to.

“I’m trying to bring something completely very nice, high end to Natick,” said Chop House applicant Harry Harjani at the time, adding that people in the area generally need to head to Boston or elsewhere now for such fine dining.

Heading into this summer, there’s no sign of life in that mall space and the Board is now mulling whether to cancel the license. Board Chair Kathryn Coughlin did some sleuthing at the Mall and found that the equipment from the old Met Bar & Grill is still there. “There’s been no build-out, the lease has been canceled, and the doors are padlocked,” she said.

The license was never actually issued. The Board will decide at a meeting later this month on what to do about the license.

“So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.”

—The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

Also at the meeting:

• Well-rounded students Marin Gitlin (Natick High School) and Chidebum Chukwu (Nobles and Greenough School) earned  Mathworks Scholarships. Each Scholarship is structured as a 4-year award, with the 1st year being $1,500, the 2nd year $3,000, the 3rd year $4,500 and the 4th year $6,000.
• The Mile 10 Provisions package store on Rte. 135 failed in its bid for an all-alcohol license. It now has a beer-and-wine license. The Board found no public need for the change. It felt like déjà vu from Mile 10’s initial bid for the beer-and-wine license, which it eventually got.
• Police officer Jaylene Arroyo was recognized for de-escalating a tense situation with a Vietnam veteran who was struggling and making threats.
• Proclamations were read honoring Temple Israel on its 80th anniversary, and for individuals (Marlene and Harry Dodyk, and Elaine and Burt Marmer) who have played important roles related to the Temple and community.

• A proclamation was read honoring the community contributions of Meridian Lodge, which made 24 Main St., its permanent home in 1875.
• The MBTA will be running shuttle buses through Natick on 5/31-6/1 and 6/21-6/22 during planned commuter rail outages (not to be confused with whatever delays or outages the MBTA is always blowing up my phone about). The town is working with the MBTA to figure out where the bus stops will be given the roadwork in that area. The planned outages are not related to the long-awaited Natick Center station accessibility upgrades.

Correction: We originally published the wrong amounts for the MathWorks scholarships, but have updated the post with the correct amounts.