HUBBARDSTON, Mass. — The Town of Hubbardston Select Board on April 7 authorized host community agreements with two cannabis businesses, Paper Crane Provisions LLC and Lovewell Provisions LLC, allowing the companies to proceed toward local permitting and establishing terms for community impact fees and a limited auto‑renewal feature.

Town Administrator (presenting): The agreements set terms the town will use with both entities and include a three‑year automatic renewal if the businesses remain in compliance with the agreements and any other applicable documents. The agreements also allow the town to invoice the businesses for specific services — described as “community impact fees” — capped at 3 percent and limited to actual billed services such as legal or consultant costs, not an automatic percentage payment.

Why it matters: The approvals clear a remaining local contractual step that the businesses must have before applying for a special permit to operate retail cannabis in Hubbardston. The auto‑renewal language was requested by the businesses to support longer‑term investment, and the board emphasized that renewals can be stopped if the companies breach the agreements. The agreements also memorialize how the town will seek reimbursement for discrete services related to regulation and oversight.

Details and debate: The Select Board discussed a revised draft that the town’s legal review had approved after earlier rounds of negotiation. The Town Administrator said the revised version aligns the town and operator with a previously agreed model while accommodating a requested change: “a 3 year auto renew if they met all of the specifications outlined both in the host community agreement,” which the board described as new language requested by the applicants.

A Select Board member summarized the town’s approach to the impact fee: under the draft HCA the town can seek up to 3 percent in community impact fees but only by invoicing for an actual billed service — for example, outside legal or consultant costs — rather than assessing an automatic percentage payment.

Board members offered limited public praise for the applicants’ cooperation. The chair said the operator had been “always compliant and very cooperative” during the town’s review, and the board voted to approve each agreement by voice vote.

Votes and next steps: The board authorized the Town Administrator to execute the two agreements. The Town Administrator said staff would contact the applicants to schedule signings and that the businesses may next apply to the local permitting authority for a retail special permit.

Ending: The board did not set further contract conditions at the meeting; members said future compliance would be monitored and any violations could halt auto‑renewal or trigger enforcement under the agreements.