Tyngsborough Planning Board Signals Openness to Triple Crown Estates Bond Release

TYNGSBOROUGH — December 4, 2025 — Tyngsborough Planning Board signals conditional willingness to tap Triple Crown Estates bond funds for contractor payments as nine-year subdivision drags on. Attorney Nicosia appeared before the board not to seek an outright bond release but to propose that the town pay contractors directly from the roughly $180,000 performance bond after each phase of work is completed and inspected — bypassing the developer entirely. Board members said they would entertain the approach only after receiving a written completion schedule, expressed concern that the town's engineering consultant TEC values the remaining work at approximately $266,000 against the developer's contractor estimates of around $130,000 combined, and warned that if the developer finished lower-cost items first and then walked away, the bond would not cover the remaining work at MassDOT weighted rates. "One of my biggest fears is he does the little stuff in the first phase, everybody gets paid, everybody's happy, and then he skips town," one member said. No funds were released and no formal vote was taken; Attorney Nicosia said he would provide a schedule within a week. The board also voted unanimously to appoint the chair as its new Community Preservation Committee representative and launched a formal discussion of tightening subdivision bond regulations — changes that would not require Town Meeting approval.