By Justin Saglio
Community Reporter
Marlborough – The City Council voted unanimously Aug. 1 to grant Marlborough Hospital a special permit to build a new cancer wing. The council approved the measure with little discussion.With its proximity to Marlborough residents, councilors cited the wing's benefit for the city's residents as a reason for granting the special permit.
Councilor At-Large Steven Levy supported the decision.
“We recognize the value a facility like that brings to Marlborough with its residents not having to travel so far. It will actually bring people to Marlborough and it will help economic development within the community.”
With permission from the City Council to build the wing, the hospital can now begin to raise the $1.5 million in funds planners expect to need for the expansion. The remaining $11.7 million will be provided to Marlborough Hospital by the UMass hospital system.
The need for a special permit pertains to a Marlborough bylaw that states no more than 30 percent of a property can be used for parking. With the addition of 14 new parking spaces to accommodate new patients, the hospital property will be just over 31 percent paved.
“The lot changed ever so slightly; that was the primary thing, but we did take in those issues raised in the public hearing,” Levy said.
The 14,500-square-foot expansion will offer radiation therapy to patients and expand the hospital's chemotherapy capabilities.
At a July 18 public hearing for the special permit, several Marlborough residents spoke in favor of the measure. Some of those residents heralded the hospital's effective cancer treatments already in place as a reason the permit should be awarded. Others cited having a closer facility would help eliminate arduous trips to Worcester and Boston for treatment.
Before construction can begin, hospital planners will provide site plans to the Fire and
police departments to ensure the building will be safely monitored. According to Levy, designing site plans typically takes three to four months.
In other business, a public hearing on altering three cell towers in Marlborough was rescheduled to be held during the Monday, Aug. 29 City Council meeting. According to Ward 6 Councilor Edward Clancy, an AT&T representative who was scheduled to speak at the Aug.1 meeting said that he was not aware ahead of time of the associated fees the city charges for upgrades. Therefore, the hearing was rescheduled until the later date.
“[The representative] wasn's aware the city of Marlborough sought money when anyone adds on to their equipment. He thought it was all free,” Clancy said. “He wasn's really prepared.”