GREENFIELD — The closed Charlemont Inn now sports a sign in the old tavern window that says “This building matters.” The same slogan was crocheted in a handmade shawl that the Charlemont Inn co-owner wore to Greenfield Housing Court Friday, despite the torridly hot weather. It must have brought her luck, because the judge gave her three more months to complete Phase 1 of repairs to the historic inn, built sometime in the 1770s.
But Judge Rebekah J. Crampton Kamukala also warned Charlotte Dewey that if she and co-owner Linda Shimandle couldn’t keep up with deadlines for accomplishing required work, the building will be placed in receivership, as has been sought by the Charlemont Board of Health.
“I’m going to keep you on a tight timetable, and that includes paying the taxes,” Kamukala told Dewey. She also said if Dewey runs out of money for repairs, the judge may have to give the property to a receiver who could afford the renovation work.
Dewey’s plan in Phase 1 is to fully restore the kitchen so that it can be open for business as a catering kitchen. The work to be done includes restoring heat, electricity and plumbing to the kitchen, so that it has running water and an employee bathroom. It also includes waterproofing work for the basement, regrading the partial earthern floor and thoroughly cleaning it. After Phase 1, Dewey said, she’d like to have the smaller “Porch Dining Room” open in time for Valentine’s Day 2017.
Kamukala is ordering Dewey and Shimandle to complete Phase 1 by Dec. 1, and to allow the town to inspect any of the work. She also stipulated that “any work that should be done by professional, licensed persons be done by professionals.”
“If it looks like you’re falling behind, I may not let you continue on,” Kamukala said. She added there will be a review of the project Oct. 21.
Contractor Robert Obear of Montague has been proposed for receivership of the Charlemont Inn by the Board of Health. His plan was to invest between $250,000 to $300,000 to fix problems throughout the building and to do the work as quickly as possible, beginning this fall.
Lawyer Jeffrey Blake, representing town officials, said that, although Dewey is meeting a court order to pay $1,000 per month of back taxes owed to the town, she is falling behind on current tax payments. He asked the judge to change her order, to require current taxes be paid in a timely way. Kamukala said she was not going to modify the payment order for now.
After the hearing, Dewey said, “We’re very excited. We’re pleased with her decision. We’re ready to roll.”
In March 2015, the Board of Health responded to complaints about the appearance of the closed inn and its grounds by neighbors. This March, the Board of Health took the Inn to Housing Court, asking the judge to enforce the board’s correction order for violations, which included a leaking roof, deficient heating system, missing copper plumbing pipes and rotted ceiling joists, among other problems.
Another concern had been whether the inn would lose its grandfathered “public water” designation if the inn remained closed for more than five years. However, last month, the state Department of Environmental Protection approved reactivation of the inn’s public water supply and “it is now an active water supply,” according to Dewey’s attorney Mark Tanner.