| Brewster Town Meeting Date: Monday, May 6th Time: 6:00 pm (doors open at 5:00 pm) Where: Stonybrook Elementary School, 384 Underpass Road, Brewster |
Article 17 – Bottled Water & Beverage Ban
Vote NO on Article 17
Article 17 is a citizen’s petition that has not even been endorsed by the town’s Recycling Commission. If passed, it would prohibit the sale of water or any other beverage in plastic containers on town property including The Captains Golf Course.
Freemans Grill would be the only restaurant in all of Brewster that would be negatively affected by this which seems grossly unfair. And the group that is proposing this bylaw change has never even offered to meet with anyone at the golf course to discuss the problems it would cause.
Sean Sullivan has advised us that, if it does pass, it would be very difficult for Freemans Grill to remain profitable because at this time there are no good alternatives available to replace plastic bottles which can also be recapped. And, as we all know, it is very difficult to keep any kind of open beverage from spilling if you are either pushing a golf cart or riding in one. If Freemans Grill loses this significant revenue stream, it is hard to imagine that they (or any other vendor) would be interested in renewing their contract with the golf course when it expires in less than 2 years.
Freemans Grill is the exactly kind of small business that the people of Brewster should be supporting. Sean and Zach have invested time, energy and their own money in making improvements that make their restaurant a destination not just for golfers but for the public at large. And they are more than willing to work with the Golf Commission and the Recycling Committee to try to find an alternative that helps us all move towards being a greener community while not negatively impacting their business.
Reducing our use of plastic is a wonderful goal but a lot more discussion is needed. The Brewster Recycling Commission has launched a work group to analyze Brewster’s plastic use. Let them do their work and wait until they have a proposal that makes sense for all those who may be impacted.