The Campus Master Planning Committee (CMPC) will receive a draft report from its consultants with recommendations for reconfiguring the Lincoln School campus on Thursday, Dec. 10 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room.
Residents heard an interim report at the State of the Town meeting in November from LLB Architects, who outlined some examples of how the building areas, pedestrian walkways, playing fields, and roads on the campus could be configured to accommodate a school project and a new community center somewhere on the Hartwell side. They did not include site work cost estimates for the scenarios.
The CMPC also released results of an informal survey of residents who attended an October 17 public forum. About 160 people responded to seven statements with answers ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree.” The results of Questions 1 and 5 indicate support for reducing the footprint of the school building, which would most likely mean a two-story structure, although the overall character of the campus is still seen as important.
1. Gaining additional field space is a worthy reason to reduce the overall school footprint.
| Agreed or strongly agreed |
Neutral | Disagreed or strongly disagreed |
| 52% | 20% | 25% |
2. Locating parking near building entrances and fields is more important than the character of the campus.
| Agreed or strongly agreed |
Neutral | Disagreed or strongly disagreed |
| 17% | 21% | 60% |
3. Pedestrian walkways should take precedence over vehicular drives and parking lots.
| Agreed or strongly agreed |
Neutral | Disagreed or strongly disagreed |
| 54% | 30% | 15% |
| Agreed or strongly agreed |
Neutral | Disagreed or strongly disagreed |
| 38% | 25% | 31% |
5. We should consider reducing the footprint of the school in order to gain building efficiencies, better educational layout, and more space on campus for playing fields and other uses.
| Agreed or strongly agreed |
Neutral | Disagreed or strongly disagreed |
| 62% | 14% | 19% |
6. The value (functionality, appropriateness, and life expectancy) of the projects should take precedence in decision making if the costs exceed the previously projected costs.
| Agreed or strongly agreed |
Neutral | Disagreed or strongly disagreed |
| 8% | 19% | 67% |
7. Future projects should aim to reduce the impact on the regulated areas [wetland buffers, riverfront setbacks] to the extent that is practical.
| Agreed or strongly agreed |
Neutral | Disagreed or strongly disagreed |
| 27% | 25% | 42% |
The final report is due to town officials on December 31. The CMPC and its consultant have been working for six months on the project and have presented information at five public forums this fall.