The two community center options chosen in 2018 (click to enlarge).
With the $93 million school project drawing to a close this summer, the next big-ticket item on the horizon is a community center. All but two voters at the March 26 Town Meeting approved a measure to authorize the Select Board to appoint a building committee, with the goal of voting on a community center design and budget at a Special Town Meeting in fall 2023.
The facility is now estimated to cost $23 million to $25.4 million in 2025 dollars, according to information presented at the November 2021 State of the Town meeting and again on Saturday. That would result in an annual property tax increase of about $600 on a home assessed at $1.13 million (the median in Lincoln) whose owner now pays $16,866 per year. Construction could start in June 2025 and finish 18 months later.
“We’re not voting to fund a project today,” Select Board member Jonathan Dwyer said. “There will be three more [town-wide] votes before any shovel moves dirt. We’re voting today for the pursuit of more information, more dialogue, and updates along the way.”
The building committee will review previous studies and discussions on the community center proposal, building on earlier decisions to locate it on the Hartwell school campus and choose from one of two design directions (slides 5–10 in the presentation).
As of 2020, the town had another $29 million in borrowing capacity before reaching a debt level that would endanger its AAA bond rating. However, the project will require postponing some other large capital projects such as a seven-figure sum for acquiring more land for the town cemetery and $5 million to $7 million for roadway improvements.
Dwyer noted that even if the community center is not built, the town will have to spend millions of dollars to upgrade the three Hartwell pods, which are in “dire need” of renovation, he said. In a separate Town Meeting action, voters approved spending $60,000 to repair the leaking roofs of two of the pods to maintain their structural integrity and extend their life by about three years. Actually replacing the roofs would cost substantially more, but town officials were reluctant to invest that money in buildings that may be torn down or upgraded as part of a community center.
The pods currently house the Parks and Recreation Department and the Lincoln After-school Activities program, which will remain in one of the renovated pods once the community center is in place. The facility will house the PRD and the Council on Aging and Human Services, which currently operates in Bemis Hall but suffers from a lack of space and sufficient parking.
In answer to any concerns that Bemis Hall will go unused, “there are many organizations and activities in town that are desperate for space,” said Dilla Tingley, chair of the COA&HS and a member of the most recent community center planning design committee. “That beautiful building will always be there and always used.”
As for the specter of more tax increases, Tingley said there would be “aggressive local fundraising” to help defray the cost. “We’re excited about sharing the space with the whole community, providing space for all of us to come together and appreciate what we have.”