At their last meeting the Marlborough Town Board amended a section of their town code pertaining to the definitions of ‘Lot Line Change’ and ‘Subdivisions.’

Supervisor Scott Corcoran said, “on a simple lot line change the original wording was a configuration of two adjoining lots, which will result in the same number of lots with a different geometric configuration.”

Corcoran said to make it easier, they changed the sentence to read “a reconfiguration of lots which will result in a different geometric configuration.” An applicant still has to go the Planning Board but now a lot line request that results in two parcels is not as onerous a process.

Corcoran said the goal is to make the entire process simpler and hopefully, “when only two lots are in question, the Planning Board can make a decision at one meeting instead of perhaps three. He pointed out that when it is just about two lots a public hearing is not needed, “but if it is more than two lots then it is now a subdivision and it has to go to a public hearing.”

Corcoran said the request to revise this section came from the Planning Board, “because on a simple lot line change they saw they were having to go through at least three meetings. This is why we updated it.”

TOMVAC Status
Corcoran said he now has most of the bids back and they are signed. He is waiting on one final contract for the General Contractor, which he is expecting within a few days.

“Right after Labor Day you should start seeing some action up there,” he said.

Corcoran said they rebid the whole package because the General Contractor bid was too high and there was no plumbing bid submitted. As a result of rebidding, the overall numbers came down and a plumbing bid was received.

“Eventually everything came down to where we were within the margins of our original engineering estimates,” he said. “Now, with engineering, it stands right around $1.1 million and prior to the pandemic the original estimate was $800,000.” Corcoran said the town received a total of $800,000 from the late Assemblyman Frank Skartados, Assemblyman Jonathan Jacobson and State Senator. James Skoufis. Corcoran said the town has enough in their Building and Fund balance accounts to cover the difference without taking out a bond.

Corcoran said they’ve made a few changes to the project by increasing the square footage of the building, including Design Standards that has a brick veneer on the front, putting a porch with a metal roof in the front and including a cupola on the roof. He pointed out that a few years ago the town established Design Standards for all new projects along the Route 9W corridor.

“With this building we felt it was only right that we do what we were actually preaching,” he said. “We’re trying to make TOMVAC be a place where you can go and say this is what we would like to see happen when you build something in town. It’s a big investment by the Town Board but more so, it’s a bigger investment by the community.”

Corcoran said, “at the end of the day when this is competed, it’s going to be something we’re all proud of, it’s going to be fully paid for and then we’re going to move forward and have nice recreation and community rooms and a place where seniors can go for their meetings and events.”