To the editor:
For the first time in many years, Lincoln has an opportunity to complete a long-held dream of many citizens by the addition of a multigenerational community center on a Lincoln community campus.
Lincoln first expressed the dream in 1932 and began its long tradition of celebrating diversity and inclusion with one small step—it built a ballfield. An anonymous donor, believing the town needed a place for the townsfolk of all ages and from all walks of life to come together and celebrate community, gifted a sum of money to allow the town to purchase the land that now forms the center field of the school campus. The field was deeded to the town, to be overseen by the Board of Selectman. The field became home of Lincoln’s semipro baseball team, the Mohawks.
Over the years, the town has repeatedly taken actions to support the notion of a community-gathering place at the Lincoln campus. In 1947, the town purchased adjoining land and to make “all other appropriate plans for the erection of an elementary school building, an auditorium, and appropriate school and community facilities.” Buildings would be added to form a campus that would serve the community, including Smith and Brooks gyms and Brooks auditorium.
When the town purchased Codman Farm in 1970 from the estate of Dorothy Codman, the selectmen recommended that the farm be converted to a community center. In 1973, Town Meeting rejected that notion, making it clear that the farm was to remain a farm and that community activities would be better served on the existing campus on Ballfield Road. The Codman Pool was soon added behind the Brooks gym to serve all ages.
By the late 1990s, the campus had become the home of not only our schools but also the town summer camp, day care, preschool, after-school programs, the Department of Parks and Recreation and many programs for adults. Indeed, during the school building project of the ’90s, there was discussion of the idea of officially calling the campus “the Lincoln Community Campus,” as it already served as a location for many diverse and inclusive multigenerational municipal activities, including hosting our community polls.
Now we have an opportunity to make a permanent reality of the dream first crafted in 1932—to celebrate diversity and inclusion—with the creation of a community center on the Lincoln campus. The idea was advanced in the study compiled in the Community Center Feasibility Study, submitted to the selectmen in 2012. The report examined the how to best serve growing programmatic needs of the Council on Aging and Parks and Recreation. Co-location was determined and to provide most cost-effective approach for best meeting the needs of each agency. The Hartwell area of the Lincoln campus was identified as the most practical location to address all concerns.
The report was presented to the town at last year’s State of the Town and received with enthusiasm. Those in attendance endorsed the positive benefits of having one location in town that would serve diversity, inclusion and multiple generations. And, as the schools were reinvigorating the discussion of a school building project, the time seemed right. Many senior citizens expressed enthusiastic support for a coordinated school building/community center planning process for the Lincoln campus, and the Board of Selectmen endorsed further study.
Town Meeting 2014 supported the creation of a Community Center Study Committee. The committee’s charge, makeup and work to date can be found on this dedicated page on the town website. This committee, chaired by former Selectman Penny Billings, is ready to make a progress report and ask for town feedback to guide next steps.
The town is offered the following ways to participate and comment:
- A planning charrette on Wednesday, Oct. 8 from 6–9 p.m. at Hartwell School Pod B.
- An Open House discussion hosted by the Council on Aging on Friday, Oct. 17 at 1 p.m. at Bemis Hall.
- A survey, available after October 8, on the town website.
Information gathered from these forums will be presented for discussion at State of the Town on November 15.
Perhaps this will be the era when we can come together to realize that seed of a dream first planted in 1932. Perhaps we can join generations together to revitalize our schools and create a multigenerational community center. Perhaps we can build around the field of dreams and make the dream of a place to celebrate a diverse and inclusive community a more permanent reality. And perhaps this will be our legacy as a gift to ourselves, our children and generations to come—a multigenerational community center on a Lincoln Community Campus.
Sincerely,
Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd.
Sara Mattes has served town boards, committees and commissions for over 30 years, including the School Building Committee in the 1990s. She served on the Board of Selectmen from 2000 to 2012.
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