No proposal for historic Marion Carll Farm

The Commack School District received no responses to its request for proposals for the possible sale or lease of the Marion Carll Farm, a historic 9-acre property it owns.

The district issued the request in August, asking interested parties to submit plans by Nov. 8 for buying or leasing the farm, which former owner Marion Carll deeded to the district in 1969 with the caveat that it be used as a historic museum and for educational purposes.

While several entities had expressed interest, district spokeswoman Brenda Lentsch said, the district received no bids.

Lentsch said the board of education will discuss the farm at its meeting on Thursday.

"The board has to decide what their plan is for the property," she said.

Last year, the farm's future came into question after the Holiday Organization, a Plainview-based developer, moved to purchase and develop the property. That plan was rejected by voters. The Holiday company developed the Hamlet golf course community, which surrounds the farm.

Bruce Ettenberg, president of the Commack Community Association, which has expressed interest in preserving the farm, said his group decided not to enter a proposal.

"The way the RFP was written did not fit what we thought we could do," Ettenberg said. "I'm hoping that [the district] will sit down with us and talk with us about ways to preserve this farm."

Ettenberg said his group is working with the Huntington Historical Society, the Peconic Land Trust and the Rotary Club of Commack-Kings Park on ways to preserve the farm.

The district has estimated that the farm, which has been largely unused for years, cost the district more than $43,000 in insurance, maintenance and other expenses during a six-month period in 2010.

Marion Carll Farm, which dates to 1701 -- the farmhouse was built in 1860 -- is on the National Register of Historic Places as well as this year's list of Long Island's endangered historic sites.

Meanwhile, a resolution submitted in August by Suffolk Legis. John M. Kennedy (R-Nesconset) that proposed using Drinking Water Protection Program funds to begin the process of acquiring the land for historic and cultural park uses is in committee.