At the first “open mic night” held by the Community Center Building Committee, comments ran the gamut from reluctance about building one at all to suggestions for a garden, cafe, piano, and room for repairing appliances.
Also on April 4, the CCBC launched an online survey asking residents about what they think a community center should be. The committee and architects stressed that this type of feedback will be crucial in shaping concepts. The deadline to complete the survey is April 21.
ICON Architecture has been working since early March to gather information on the Hartwell campus site and will present those “objective findings” on April 25, said Principal Architect Ned Collier. There will also be public forums about once a month, said CCBC Chair Sarah Chester.
“We need a public discussion about wants vs. needs. That has yet to occur in the 11-year history of this project,” said Dennis Picker. Collier responded that his team has emphasized that point when talking to stakeholders (primarily the Council on Aging & Human Services and the Parks and Recreation Department), and the survey “will help us identify if there are community-wide wants and needs that aren’t being met.”
Some of the roughly 100 residents who attended online and in person were not sold on the whole idea. “I’m not sure I even understand what you mean by ‘community center,’ said Peter Braun, saying the town’s existing spaces such as the refurbished school and the Pierce House are sufficient.
Lynne Smith agreed, saying, “I want Lincoln to invest in our existing buildings and make sure they’re part of our lives for decades to come” and look more closely at existing spaces “before totally sinking time into a new building.”
Several residents, while agreeing on the need for a community center, suggested that it be located in the South Lincoln commercial area, even though previous studies and the 2022 Special Town Meeting vote specified the Hartwell pod area as the chosen site.
The town’s 2009 Comprehensive Long-Range Plan calls for a compact, vital, walkable area in the village center to encourage social interaction, “but the Planning Board has not been involved in this [community center] process,” said Ken Hurd. As outlined in the state’s Housing Choice Act, South Lincoln will most likely be rezoned to allow denser housing and for mixed-use development — another reason why it would be the best site for a community center, he added.
But Ruth Ann Hendrickson pushed back, saying that revitalizing South Lincoln “is a terrific idea and many of us are hoping for that, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon… To hold off on building a community center until this difficult problem is solved is just not helpful today. We need to concentrate on what the needs are right now.”
The Hartwell location is best for children who attend LEAP and after-school Parks & Rec programming, and walking to South Lincoln is not a viable option for them, several residents noted. Ultimately, “you’re going to have a hard time locating it in a place where everyone can walk to,” Craig Donaldson observed.
Chester and Collier reiterated that any location other than Hartwell was not up for discussion. “Short of reopening past decisions, [the survey] would help us to understand what it is that we could do with you in this location that would really fly for Lincoln,” Collier said.
Many of those who spoke said they hoped the community center would be a place where people of all ages could gather and socialize informally, work remotely, play ping-pong, etc. “The town would benefit from a space that isn’t bound by specific programming [that’s] open and welcoming; maybe it doesn’t matter if there is an event scheduled and it’s possible to just drop by,” said Lis Herbert. A working kitchen or at least a cafe would be useful for everyone in that regard, several said.
Planners should also find a way to consult with children and teenagers as to what they would like in a community center, said Alice deNormandie — “I think they might have some interesting ideas.”
ICON will present some preliminary cost figures for various options at the Hartwell site at a CCBC meeting in June.
The powers that be at not asking neutral questions. They are posing questions as if the community center is a done deal. I for one do not seek or will I likely utilize such. As well, taxes are now quite high due to the 93 million dollar school that could have and should have been built when it first came before the town some years ago, at half the cost. While school costs are traditionally paid through taxes, I do believe that other facilities such as a community center should be funded differently. I believe that those who want the community center should pay for it and those who do not want it, should not be forced to do so. I think the powers that be and the town in general should look at the impact on additional taxes on its older residents who have retired, now working only part time and/or living off of savings, social security etc.
I think Alice captured the essence of the meeting!