Halifax Select Board Approves Beer-and-Wine License, Reviews $1.5 Million Override Warrant

HALIFAX — March 24, 2026 — Halifax Select Board unanimously approves beer-and-wine license for Route 106 shop, reviews 25-article Town Meeting warrant anchored by a $1.5 million override question. The board voted 3-0 Tuesday to approve the license application of Vishveshwara Corporation, doing business as Halifax Beer, Wine, and Smoke, at 355 Plymouth Street, with attorney Sydney Krokos noting the applicant had submitted nearly 200 community signatures in support — "more, actually, than I've seen for other stores." The application now goes to the state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission for final review. Town Administrator Stephen Sobel walked the board through a draft 25-article warrant that includes proposals to convert the town clerk, treasurer-collector, highway surveyor, and water commissioner positions from elected to appointed, a new EV-charger revolving fund, and a Proposition 2½ override article set at $1.5 million — roughly a 7 percent tax-rate increase if approved at the ballot. Selectman Thomas Pratt said he still wants to explore splitting the override into separate questions, a decision Sobel said can be made before the warrant is locked in early April. The board also appointed Matthew Campbell to the Agricultural Commission and David Fryer to the Zoning Board of Appeals, both to terms ending June 30, 2029, and deferred action on a proposal to have Building Commissioner Michael Brogan serve concurrently as an uncompensated acting town planner, asking Brogan to appear at the next meeting to address conflict-of-interest concerns raised by Pratt and a member of the public.