MARLBORO — Mayor Matthew V. Scannapieco, Township Councilwoman Jo Ann Denton and about 40 municipal employees ended their workday on Aug. 1 by enjoying cake and coffee in the new, but bare, zoning and building department additions on the lower level of Town Hall.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony took place at 4 p.m., and employees got the opportunity to experience what it would be like in their new environment — offices, storage area, restrooms and a small kitchen/conference area — a project that has been under construction for 11 months.
Costing $700,000, the new building department space includes an office area for building department office manager Susan Donis, an office for construction official John Cavaliere and a file room and plan reviewing area.
Cavaliere provided a quick tour of the building department area as well as the new zoning department offices and space for the fire prevention department and a training area for the police department.
The space for the latter two departments will be finished by mid-September, according to architect Michael R. Winkler of the firm Saizan, Schneider and Winkler.
There is also an additional caucus room on the upper level adjoining Town Hall’s main meeting room–courtroom.
The architectural firm is the same company that is designing the basement of the adjacent recreation center for the construction of the town’s new cable television studio. The TV studio is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The construction company that built the zoning office, the construction department additions and the caucus room is Horizon Contracting of Union.
Scannapieco said the new additions will help with a municipal complex in which its employees have endured a cramped atmosphere more recently, as a result of the internal growth that has taken place since the complex was constructed in 1979.
"This space affords more comfort and a better working environment for the employees," the mayor said.
The 1,900 square feet of building department space will house 15 employees; the new zoning department space, measuring 1,125 square feet, will provide an area for three employees.
The lower-level addition provides access for the handicapped and will give zoning and building department employees the availability of their own shared fax machine and copy machine, Cavaliere said.
The extra space will also afford the employees the ability to have their own computers, he added.
Once completed, the fire prevention area will measure 400 square feet, and the police training room will measure approximately 750 square feet, according to Winkler.
The space for the new caucus room with adjoining waiting area, hallway and bathrooms measures 1,350 square feet on the upper level, he said.
"This will enhance our assistance to residents and contractors, also," Cavaliere said. "It gives us more room. Each person has his or her own desk, while at one point, we didn’t; we had to share," he said. "This new addition meets the needs of Marlboro and better services our citizens."

