The Select Board at its meeting Tuesday voted 4-0 to schedule a public hearing regarding the status of Hillers Pizza’s common victualer’s license, which may lead to license revocation or suspension.

A common victualer’s license is required in Massachusetts for any establishment that has the necessary equipment for cooking, preparing and serving food for public consumption on the premises.

Calls for action regarding this license stemmed from the June conviction of owner Petros “Peter” Sismanis on charges related to a 2023 incident. He was accused of hugging and kissing a 16-year-old employee in the restaurant’s basement. Sismanis is serving six months of a total 2 1/2-year sentence in prison, with the remaining time suspended, for indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age. He also was found guilty of two counts of witness intimidation and sentenced to three years probation for both counts. The charges are being served concurrently.

Since the conviction, protesters have urged boycotting Hillers Pizza, located at 77 West Main Street.

According to a memo from Town Manager Elaine Lazarus, ownership of the business was transferred to Sismanis’ wife, Eleni Sismanis, in July. But the license remains in his name. The memo also stated that under state law, a municipality can hold a license hearing if it deems that the licensee “conducts his licensed business in an improper manner.”

During the meeting’s public comment period, several people spoke about Sismanis’ history of improper conduct. In September 1997, Sismanis was charged with two counts of rape and three counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14 years of age arising from an incident at another business in Hopkinton. He initially pled not guilty to all charges. He later changed his plea to guilty on two of the indecent assault charges.

Beth Malloy, a frequent picketer at Hillers Pizza, requested the revocation of the license. She said she represented “a coalition of concerned residents, businesses, parents and sexual abuse survivors united in our demand for immediate action to protect our children and restore the trust in our community.”

“This isn’t about a single business,” she stressed. “It’s about halting a proven predator, holding his apparent enablers accountable, correcting years of dangerous inaction and ensuring that Hopkinton does not become a safe haven for those who harm our most vulnerable.”

Commenters spoke about donations Sismanis made to Hopkinton’s athletic programs and other activities involving youth. They found them offensive given his behavior. Residents of Milford and Ashland also urged the board to revoke the license.

Others drew a parallel to the May conviction of former Hopkinton Police Deputy Chief John “Jay” Porter on three counts of child rape.

John Laskowsky of Ashland chastised the board for what he called its “undeniable legal and moral collapse in this situation.” He said the town failed to perform required Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) checks on Sismanis from 2018 to 2024 and renewed the business’s license during this period.

Attorney Benito Zappia spoke on behalf of the Sismanis family. He noted that the business is “in the process” of transferring the license to Sismanis’ wife. He also objected to the negative comments made against members of the Sismanis family, particularly by Malloy.

Chair Joe Clark reminded the audience that the purpose of the discussion was to determine if a public hearing should be held on the matter.

Cornell’s license requests approved

In another case, the board approved 4-0 the transfer of an all-alcohol license and a common victualer’s license to the prospective new owners of Cornell’s Irish Pub. It also approved an extended entertainment license, provided that conditions regarding fire safety and capacity enforcement are met.

Bradley Kaye proposed owning the business, located at 229 Hayden Rowe Street, with longtime employee Erin Trites. Trites said that Hopkinton Fire Chief Gary Daugherty said he wanted them to install a fire alarm in the main building in addition to the existing one in the kitchen.

Daugherty explained that the live music component prompted him to believe that this use fell underneath the nightclub law. A sprinkler system would be required under this law.

After a discussion with Daugherty, Trites proposed installing an entertainment response system. It would shut down any music performance and turn up the lights during an emergency. She hoped to have karaoke, music trivia events and performances by small bands. Daugherty called the decision “a happy medium.”

WSAB recommends MWRA connection

Members of the Water & Sewer Advisory Board (WSAB) recommended the proposed connection to the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority via Southborough as the best way to ensure that Hopkinton has a viable future water supply.

WSAB chair Paul Gallagher led a presentation on the need for a new and reliable water source. He also encouraged the town to continue to purchase water from Ashland.

He noted that even if filtration systems were put in all eight town wells, they would not be able to produce enough water to meet the town’s growing needs.

“It just makes sense to look to the external source in terms of reliability, security and water quality in terms of having insurance against what will likely be future declines in the output of the wells that we are actually using today,” said Gallagher.

He urged the town to take action. The intermunicipal agreement with Southborough, the MWRA approval process, and the construction of infrastructure would take between 5-7 years.

Department of Public Works Director Kerry Reed said the town’s consultant has been reaching out to the state agencies involved to do a “pre-filing scoping session.”

Fenneuff new Water & Sewer manager

Water & Sewer Department Deputy Manager Jed Fenneuff was appointed by the board to succeed retiring Director Eric Carty. Fenneuff has worked under Carty, a 40-year department veteran, for the past 12 years.

Members spoke positively about Fenneuff’s service and the town’s ability to find a qualified candidate from within the department.

Senate president asked for assistance

In a Main Street Corridor Project update, Assistant Town Manager Lance DelPriore explained that Verizon only planned to work on its portion of the project for “one or two days a week.” The town found this unacceptable. The utility explained that it would take up to six weeks to complete the job, even if it worked on the project full time.

Member Brian Herr said a letter was sent to state Senate president Karen Spilka, who represents Hopkinton. He hoped she could “reach up into the higher echelons of Verizon to move this along further.”