Updated: School Board Considering Renting Charles Street Parking Lot To Stage House Tavern

The Board of Education is mulling a proposal to rent parking spaces in its administration building parking lot on Charles Street to the Stage House Tavern.

UPDATE: The Stage House Tavern was told to remove tables and chairs from an outdoor area until owners can show the township Zoning Board that they have provided more parking for patrons.

Vince Dominach, the township’s senior zoning officer, said he instructed Stage House management to remove the tables and chairs from the “VIP Club” area until the extra parking was provided.

The issue stems from the restaurant owners’ approval for the artificial turf area, Dominach said.

“They have a condition in their last approval that prohibits tables and chairs in the large turf area,” he said in an email. “If they want tables and chairs in that area they have to go back to the (board) and the only way the (board) would consider is if they had more parking.”

John Calavano, the school board business administrator, said he placed the proposed agreement on the agenda after he discussed it with Stage House management.

He said the restaurant will provide valet parking for the area so patrons do not have to worry about climbing over a fence or walking through a treed area.

A proposal to rent parking spaces in the school district’s administration building’s parking lot to the Stage House Tavern is being studied by the Board of Education.

A resolution on the Sept. 18 meeting agenda that would have done just that – for a $5,000 fee – was pulled at the board’s Sept. 11 work session after three board members expressed concern over the deal’s terms.

The administration building’s parking lot fronts on Charles Street. It is separated from the Stage House property by a fence and a tree line.

Board member Nancy LaCorte first asked the the resolution to approve the deal at the Sept. 18 meeting be pulled for further consideration.

LaCorte said her concern was that the proposed fee was too low, and that there were also safety concerns.

“They want to use it Thursday, Friday and Saturday and other days as decided, especially during the summer,” she said. Stage House is “a wonderful community neighbor and is very supportive of the district and the community … but the dollar amount is ridiculously low.”

Board member Ed Potosnak said the bar/restaurant doe snot have enough parking, and customers often park in other lots.

“Some folks have been parking behind the administration building,” he said.

“I think we can do even better” than the $5,000 fee, Potosnak said, which he called “nominal.”

Potosnak also raised concerns about safety.

Potosnak wondered if customers would have to “climb the fence” to get to the Stage House property.

The district has to be a “good steward and neighbor to the families in the area,” he said. He noted that late night behavior of departing customers, such as loitering and loud conversations, plus headlights from cars, might disturb the residents on Charles Street.

“Will there be fencing to block that from their homes?” he asked. “What are the hours for that lot? Does it need to be until closing, or can we have it end at something reasonable like 11 p.m?”

Board member Christine Danielsen wondered who would be responsible if someone was injured on the district’s lot.

Board vice president Eva Nagy said her colleagues had raised valid questions, and that the proposal had not been vetted by the board’s facilities committee.

“It should have,” she said.

The board members then unanimously passed LaCorte’s motion that the resolution be pulled and sent to the facilities committee for further study.

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