Town seeks $325,000 to move ahead with community center

There will be a Special Town Meeting on Wednesday, Nov. 30 at 7:30pm in the Donaldson Auditorium that will ask voters to approve spending $325,000 for the next phase of work to develop a community center.

The money will pay for hiring an owner’s project manager and an architect for the project, which is expected to $23 million to $25.4 million in 2025 dollars, according to information presented at the 2021 State of the Town meeting (SOTT). The new Community Center Building Committee (CCBC) has been meeting since June to get up to speed on the work of previous community center studies and committees. The group is now assessing and refining the original concepts, mindful of lessons learned during the pandemic about programs and spaces.

In 2018, a previous committee and its architect came up with two possible design directions (included in the 2021 SOTT presentation) that residents supported in about equal measure at the time. The CCBC will refine and update the concept plans, prepare more detailed site plans, prepare schematic design plans, and refine cost estimates and budgets. They will provide an update on its process during SOTT Night 1 on November 14. See the town’s SOTT webpage or this Lincoln Squirrel article for details and registration links.

If the $325,000 appropriation is approved next month, voters will be able to select a preferred design option and budget at a Special Town Meeting in November 2023.

Click here to read previous Lincoln Squirrel stories about the community center, or go to the Squirrel home page and look for “Categories” at the bottom of the left hand column. Then click on “Community Center” in the dropdown menu.