The Lincoln Leaf Blower Study Committee (LBSC) is gathering input and presenting results and recommendations at three events this month, culminating with the Annual Town Meeting on March 29.
The LBSC will host a public forum on Monday, March 3 at 7:30 p.m. to gather input from residents on their experience of leaf blower use in town and collect ideas on potential solutions as it presents interim results from its leaf blower survey (see the Lincoln Squirrel, Jan. 14, 2014). The forum will be held in the Donaldson Room at Town Office Building.
On Wednesday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m, the group will meet with the Board of Health to discuss its report on leaf blowers and health. The meeting will take place in the Donaldson Room and is open to the public.
The LBSC will present its research and recommendations at the Annual Town Meeting, which starts at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 29. The committee has considered a wide range of source materials, including reports from national and international organizations, scientific articles and videos of leaf blower work in Lincoln. These materials, as well as the LBSC’s reports, minutes and agendas are available on the LBSC page on the town website. Additional research will be conducted to evaluate economics and feasibility of alternative solutions.
As authorized by Town Meeting last spring (Warrant Article 41), the LBSC was created to study noise and air pollution resulting from increasing use of leaf blowers for public and private property maintenance, to research alternatives to use of leaf blowers, to study the cost impacts to both public and private sectors from those alternatives, and to present findings and recommendations at Town Meeting 2014. The committee’s regular meetings are held every other Wednesday morning. Our last two sessions before Town Meeting will be held on March 5 and March 19 from 7:30-9 a.m. in the Town Office Building.
We look forward to your participation in our regular meetings and these three March events.