By Rob Sample
Own an electric vehicle (EV) or a plug-in hybrid? The Town of Marlborough’s Cluett-Schantz park may get a set of new charging stations, as a result of a vote by the Town Board on Monday night, March 10.
In a special motion during the meeting, the Board authorized Town Supervisor Scott Corcoran to sign an agreement with Lynkwell, a Schenectady-based company that builds such charging stations as well as EV charging networks. If it moves forward, Lynkwell will construct three two-sided charging stations at the park – thus enabling six vehicles to charge their batteries simultaneously. The $711,000 cost would not require town funding, Corcoran said.
“This is all funded through Central Hudson and state grants,” he pointed out. “It’s not federal – that’s the first question I asked, with all the cuts by the new administration in Washington. The state money is already allocated [for projects of this kind].”
Once the agreement is signed, Lynkwell will visit the park to conduct a study to determine the best site for the charging stations. Once built, the town will be on the hook for the power cost, a portion of which will be rebated to the town based on the terms of the agreement it establishes with Central Hudson. In addition, users will pay a fee to charge their vehicles – which will generate additional revenue for the town.
Conservation Advisory Committee Mici Simonofsky pointed out that these would be “Level Three” EV chargers – the fastest kind. Depending on how much a driver has depleted a vehicle’s battery, Level 3 chargers get the job done in a half hour or less.
Simonofsky pointed out that one town resident she knows charges her hybrid car at home, using a conventional plug. The process can take an entire night. “An EV charger would be considerably quicker,” she said.
Among other business, the board voted to accept the resignation of Vincent Mannese, the current chairman of the town’s Ethics Board. Mannese, whose resignation takes effect on March 31, is relocating to South Carolina.
“I would like to leave you all by saying that I thank you for the opportunity to serve our great little town,” Mannese stated in the letter. “I hope to see each of you and say goodbye face to face… but in the event I cannot catch up with you, please know that my family and I will always be part of the Marlborough community.”
In a related vote, the Town Board approved several changes to the language of the town code governing the operations of the Ethics Board. This move followed a public hearing on the proposed changes, one of which removed language preventing members from holding office in a political party. It substituted language proscribing members from holding an elected local government post. A second change took out a provision limiting consecutive years of service on the Ethics Board.
The Town Board approved the appointment of Milton’s Maribeth Wooldridge-King to the Ethics Board, for a term beginning April 1 and ending December 31, 2026. The appointment of the Ethics Board chairman is still pending.
The board also okayed two resolutions relating to proposed subdivisions on private roads. Both subdivision proposals are subject to further review and action by the town’s Planning Board.
The first matter involved a requested waiver to the town rules governing private roads, which was requested by Jeff Aldrich of 132 Milton Turnpike. Aldrich has proposed a four-lot subdivision on property he owns off New Road – a town road. Those four lots would be accessed by a proposed private road on the property; the waiver gives Aldrich ownership of that private road.
A similar waiver was granted to Michael and Jennifer DiViesti for the private road – known as DiViesti Drive – that they own off South Street. A proposed two-lot subdivision there will increase the number of properties that use DiViesti Drive from four to five properties. The waiver grants an exception to the required frontage for one of those lots.
The Town Board also okayed the following resolutions:
• It accepted a bid from Plumley Engineering for landfill cap repairs at a cost of $14,800.
• It passed a resolution in support of the allocation by Ulster County of funding to local municipalities of funds to support local emergency medical services (EMS). This fund would total approximately $5 million and if the funds get allocated, Marlborough EMS would receive an estimated $250,000.
• It passed a resolution placing a measure on this November’s ballot increasing the term of the town supervisor from two to four years.