Voters approved a total of $441,760 in Capital Planning Committee (CapComm) expenditures and $740,936 for Community Preservation Committee (CPC) projects at the March 25 Town Meeting.
CapComm received 26 requests and recommended 14 of them for voter approval. along with three capital exclusions totaling $300,000 ($75,000 apiece for a bucket truck and dump truck and $150,000 for a community center feasibility study). Those three requests were approved at Town Meeting and Monday’s town election.
Among the requests not recommended by CapComm:
- A new command vehicle for the fire chief ($47,000)
- A school safety/security upgrade ($35,000 )
- A library facility review ($13,750)
- A speed display trailer for the Police Department ($1,500)
| Capital project | Cost |
|---|---|
| Instructional display and audio technology for schools | $163,000 |
| New marked police cruiser | $45,185 |
| New unmarked police cruiser | $34,015 |
| New operating system for town IT servers | $30,000 |
| New courier food service van for schools | $29,000 |
| Radio communications system for the DPW and Communications Department | $25,055 |
| Repair existing guardrail | $25,000 |
| Additional funds for a ramp and stairs at the end of the Library Lane sidewalk | $20,000 |
| Electronic vote tabulators | $18,000 |
| IT backup system for town computer servers | $15,000 |
| Replace library's public access computers | $13,000 |
| Design study for use of the library's first floor | $10,000 |
| Upgrade Public Safety Building video recording system | $9,685 |
| Two police cruiser radar units | $4,820 |
Community Preservation requests
Four of the CPC projects totaling $40,000 are for work at the Pierce House (chimney repair, a new kitchen floor, renovated bathrooms, and exterior wood clapboard and trim).
The only item that provoked discussion was a $10,800 request by the library for historic preservation of an embroidered tapestry by Sophia Adams depicting her family register. Some residents questioned whether this was the best use of CapComm funds, but Planning Board Chair Margaret Olson said it was “a no-brainer when I saw it. It’s a very beautiful piece of town history.”
“It’s a rare opportunity for people of the town to see how important the history is of one of our families,” said library director Barbara Myles, noting that Adams made the tapestry as a Lincoln teenager in the early 1800s. Her family tree includes John Adams, the second president of the United States, and great-grandson Richard Adams Williams, whose widow, former Lincoln resident Cynthia Williams, donated the tapestry to the town.
“They really came back to us with a much sharper pencil,” said Chris Fasciano, chair of the CPC, in reference to the library’s original set of historic preservation project requests. The slate of CPC requests was approved with only a couple of nay votes.
CPC funds come from a 3 percent property tax surcharge and a partial match from the state, and the fund replenishes annually by about $950,000. They may be used only for projects relating to historic preservation, conservation, recreation, or affordable housing.
| Community preservation project | Cost |
|---|---|
| Debt service payment for town office building renovation project | $398,875 |
| Debt service payment on Wang property acquisition | $135,500 |
| Debt service payments on permanent borrowing for previously voted CPA projects | $93,150 |
| Housing reserve | $55,257 |
| Transfer to Conservation Fund for open space | $40,000 |
| Renovation of two Pierce House interior bathrooms | $15,000 |
| Preservation of the Sophia Adams family register | $10,800 |
| Replacement of Pierce House kitchen floor. | $10,000 |
| Replacement of Pierce House exterior wood clapboards and wood trim | $10,000 |
| Preservation of the poll and estate tax assessments for 1861, 1863, 1864, and 1866 | $7,412 |
| Preservation of Lincoln School Records Box 7 | $6,259 |
| Preservation of Lincoln School Records Box 10 | $5,940 |
| Restoration of Pierce House chimney | $5,000 |
| CPC administrative expenses | $3,000 |