WHATELY — The Selectboard conditionally approved the renewal of Club Castaway’s licenses Tuesday evening, as the business has paid off the majority of money it owed to the town.

Club owner Nick Spagnola appeared before the Selectboard for a public hearing Tuesday, as the town considered whether to deny, suspend, not reissue, not renew or revoke any renewals or licenses held by the 226 State Road business due to outstanding fees, including personal property taxes, real estate taxes and police detail bills.

As of the meeting, though, the club had paid off its personal property and real estate taxes and the vast majority of the police detail bills were settled, leaving just $742 in outstanding money that Spagnola said he’d be prepared to pay off Wednesday. In total, the club owed about $6,263 in police details from fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

“I can have the check ready for tomorrow to clear the balance up,” he said. “We’ll start 2025 off nice and even.”

Police Chief James Sevigne Jr. said the remaining $742 was just a “misunderstanding” between Spagnola and the Police Department because there were three police detail shifts that hadn’t been submitted yet.

“It wasn’t that he decided not to pay for December,” Sevigne said, “it’s just that he didn’t think he owed for that.”

The Selectboard members thanked Spagnola for paying off Club Castaway’s bills, although they requested the business try to keep up on payments in 2025. The club was previously brought before the board last summer, as it owed $3,000 in police details and about $2,200 in delinquent tax payments, which were subsequently paid off.

“I like the fact that, although it’s last minute, the bills have been, for the most part, paid,” said Selectboard Chair Julie Waggoner. “I’d actually like to see them completely paid prior to agreeing to new licenses and I would suggest that maybe we have a time limit in which those need to be repaid.”

The Selectboard conditionally approved the renewal of Club Castaway’s licenses, as long as the remaining bills are paid by the end of January.

Chris Larabee can be reached at clarabee@recorder.com.