Hubbardston assessors accept several Chapter land applications, postpone one pending acreage and barn valuation checks

Town of Hubbardston assessors on an evening meeting accepted several land-classification applications in part, signed statutory exemption paperwork and a lien release, and postponed a complex Chapter classification decision while staff verifies building and bond valuations.

The board signed paperwork accepting Thomas Bracko’s application in part for 87.4 acres and similarly accepted a portion of Dennis Rogers’s application, the board said during the meeting. Town Administrator Ned Boudreaux praised new assessor staff members Steve and Leanne for quicker responses to residents and said their presence in the office has already improved service.

The most detailed discussion concerned a long-standing filing for Matthew Orlino, whose records show about 53.5 acres classified under ‘chapter’ for roughly 40 years. Assessors’ staff told the board 47.9 acres are contiguous non‑productive land and, under the cited Chapter classification rules, no more than 50 percent of land in the classification may be non‑productive. Staff…