Finance Committee advances $1 million for library terracotta restoration

MARLBOROUGH -- June 1, 2022, Marlborough Finance Committee approves $1M to save historic library terracotta facade. The committee voted 4-0 to recommend a $1 million transfer from free cash to repair, rather than replace, the deteriorated terracotta pediment over the 1903 Carnegie library's West Main Street entrance, after an expert found the steel reinforcement behind it had rusted to within two to five years of failure. Mayor Arthur Vigeant warned councilors not to expect a refund if the work comes in under budget, saying the project still has "a long ways to go" and there will be no "separate set of books for just these tiles." The committee also unanimously approved a $1,735,807 omnibus transfer including $1,523,205 for the FY22 snow-and-ice deficit, set FY23 revolving fund caps (raising the Council on Aging cap from $70,000 to $150,000), and accepted a $219,982 state Community Compact fiber grant, with the matching funds redirected away from the lean WMCT-TV PEG account.