SALISBURY — The Board of Selectmen approved a bidding process for buyers interested in buying the old firehouse on Route 41 (Sharon Road) at a special meeting Monday, May 23.Selectman Bob Riva did not attend the special meeting. First Selectman Curtis Rand said that Riva, a Realtor, decided to recuse himself from the entire process.The sole item on the agenda was a document with two sections: “Guidelines for Bids” and “Auction Procedures.” The document was created by the town attorney.The town will consider “qualified bids” with a submission deadline of Monday, June 13.A qualified bid will specify the purchase price; provide a 10 percent deposit of the purchase price; specify any conditions the bidder wants to put on the bid; state that the deposit will be forfeited if the bidder “fails or refuses to purchase” the property; discloses the identity of the bidder; indicates the proposed use; and indicates whether a bidder is willing to leave an offer open if the town initially selects a different offer.The document assumes a closing date of no later than Aug. 12.The town will hold an auction Thursday, June 16, at 2 p.m. at Town Hall, among the qualified bidders, who will have a chance to decide if they want to increase or modify their offers.A bid, once deemed to be qualified, is subject to approval by taxpayers at a town meeting. Voters will be able to consider more than one offer; and the selectmen might or might not recommend a particular bid to the town meeting for consideration.Rand said there have been enough expressions of interest in the former firehouse to get the process started. The property has been on the market for several months.“This seemed like the cleanest way to proceed,” Rand said.Salisbury resident Peter Oliver disagreed. “This is a relatively convoluted way to run an auction,” he said, and pointed to an apparent contradiction in the language about qualified bids.Oliver also advised making the deposit amount a standard fee rather than a percentage.Salisbury resident Mike Flint recommended that the use of the word “town” be clarified. (“The Town” recurs in sentences such as “the Town shall have the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to determine whether any bid is higher or better than any other bid.”)Flint also said he believed state statutes require a public hearing, and asked who in fact is the deed holder on the property.Rand was unsure on the former, and on the deed said the firehouse is the property of the now-dissolved fire district and the town’s attorneys are working on getting the matter straightened out now.So the board, consisting of Rand and Selectman Jim Dresser, voted to adopt the guidelines and auction procedures with changes to the language about qualified bidders and a clarification of to whom the phrase “the Town” refers (the selectmen, for example, or the the town attorney, or the voters at a town meeting).On Tuesday, Rand said the process of changing the language for clarity on the points raised at the meeting was in progress. He said the phrase “the Town” applies to the Board of Selectmen, except when it refers to the town meeting that must approve any sale.He also said the deed situation would be in hand by the time a sale is pending.“The purpose is for us to make a decision on if the offers are legitimate,” he said, adding that there have been several expressions of interest, some from local people and some from out of town, and he hopes there will be competing offers for voters at the town meeting to consider.The guidelines will be emailed to real estate agents and posted on the town’s website as soon as those changes are made.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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