Mendon Library Trustees Debate Tea House Lease for Town-Owned Rectory Building

Library · Meeting of June 5, 2026

Mendon Library Trustees raised concerns over a fast-moving proposal to lease the town's rectory building to Serenity Tea House, a local business that recently lost its private lease. The board met June 5 and heard that the tea house had already been invited — via a May 27 email from Town Administrator Jeremy with the subject "Serenity House Prospect for Town Public Library" — to a joint meeting of the Library Trustees, Select Board, and Council on Aging scheduled for June 4 at 6:30 p.m. Members flagged unresolved issues including an unconnected septic system, well capacity, parking conflicts, and the cost of renovating the space for food service, which one trustee estimated could rival the $100,000 the business reportedly invested in its current location.

A member identified as Allison said: "This is our first conversation we've even been able to have about it. And we're meeting next week. Like, with them." The board deferred a separate decision on whether to spend state aid funds on two unfunded FY27 budget items — two additional Monday hours and $2,500 for programming — pending a state aid policy discussion at the next regular board meeting, set for Tuesday, June 9.

In the full story:

• The library director reported the following
• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,765 words

Source: the Library meeting of June 5, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.