The Lincoln Squirrel – News, features and photos from Lincoln, Mass.

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Lincoln grapples with growth within and outside its borders

By Alice Waugh

As the population in the MetroWest area keeps growing, Lincoln will have to decide how to allow more housing and businesses — or whether it even wants to.

In an effort to direct growth around the MBTA station in Lincoln, the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee presented a draft of proposing zoning changes at the November 2 State of the Town meeting. Since Oriole Landing was approved, the town won’t face pressure for dense affordable housing developments for at least another decade — but several surrounding towns are not so lucky, Selectman Jennifer Glass noted in her “Setting the Context” presentation.

Neighboring communities are being forced to entertain 40B housing projects, which are allowed to circumvent many zoning restrictions for height and density in towns that have fallen short of state requirements for affordable housing. Hundreds of units (not all of them designated affordable) have been proposed or built in Sudbury, Wayland, Weston, and West Concord, Glass noted.

Already completed are the 250-unit Avalon apartment complex in Sudbury and the 56-unit Coolidge for residents 55+ in Wayland. For years, Sudbury residents fought Sudbury Station, a 250-unit rental housing proposal next to the cemetery at the town center. Last year, the town agreed to swap that property for another site on Route 117, where the developer has proposed the 274-unit Quarry North.

Weston has so many 40B proposals that it created a separate town web page on the topic. Among them: 180 rental units at 751 Boston Post Rd. just west of Weston Center; 150 rental units at 104 Boston Post Rd. close to the I-95 interchange; and 200 rental units on South Avenue near Weston High School. Sixteen rental units at 269 North Ave. just south of Dairy Joy and 10 condo units on Merriam Street are also being considered.

In Wayland, there are proposals for two major housing developments on Boston Post Road, one close to the Sudbury town line and the other on the site of the former Mahoney’s Garden Center.

Many of these proposals are tied up in court on appeals from either developers or residents, but eventually at least some of them will be built, and that means more traffic in and around Lincoln — as well as opportunities for local businesses. And South Lincoln may become more attractive because it’s one of the few towns in the area with a commuter rail station and commuter parking availability — hence the conversation around transit-oriented, middle-income housing.

“Adding some carefully planned mixed-use development near the station will help support the businesses we do have… and convince the MBTA that it’s in their economic interest to add more train service rather than slowly taking it away,” Glass said.

Lincoln is grappling with how to balance its desire for a sustainable, rural character and lots of conservation land vs. property tax hikes for the new school and other expenses down the road, including a possible community center. More businesses in South Lincoln could boost the tax base — but to encourage that kind of development, more housing is probably needed as well, which in turn costs money for schools and services. The State of the Town meeting touched on several of these interrelated topics: zoning, transportation, property taxes, the school project, and community choice electricity aggregation (now awaiting approval from the state Department of Public Utilities).

“This is an opportunity to reach out and collaborate and try to shape the coming changes to have a positive impact on Lincoln,” Glass said.

Changes in taxation, South Lincoln zoning debated at meeting

Should Lincoln try to ease the burden on taxpayers with a shift in property tax policy, and/or encouraging more commercial and housing development in South Lincoln? Residents got a chance at last week’s State of the Town meeting to discuss both ideas, and will likely have a chance to vote on then in the spring.

In the wake of the big tax increase resulting from the school project, the Property Tax Committee has been studying two ideas to help reduce the strain for some Lincoln homeowners: a local version of the existing state circuit-breaker program, and a residential tax exemption. Both ideas were also discussed at a public forum last month.

A circuit-breaker program would limit the percentage of income a homeowner would have to pay in property taxes based on their income, assets, length of time in town (10+ years), and age (65+). Funding would come from a small across-the-board tax rate increase. A residential tax exemption would exempt a certain percentage of the value of everyone’s property, meaning that the tax burden would shift toward those with higher-valued homes to benefit those with homes at the lower end of the range.

Under the local circuit-breaker scenario, “everyone pays a little bit more in order to provide significant benefits to those with identified need,” Selectman Jennifer Glass said at the November 2 town-wide meeting. Homeowners in Sudbury, which has a program like this, have seen an average increase of about $73 a year as a result, she added.

Glass acknowledged that some residents are unhappy with the idea of another tax hike for some property owners so soon after the big increase, seeing it as a “bait and switch” move. The median tax bill in fiscal 2020 rose by 12.7%, and the tax rate went up from $14.03 to $15.36 per $1,000 of assessed property. Of that new total, $1.95 is earmarked for the school project, she said.

Neither idea will be implemented without a town-wide vote; “it’s too big a policy decision to make without consulting the town,” Glass said, urging residents to fill out a short survey to express their opinions.

Residents at the October 15 forum were open to the circuit-breaker idea but mostly negative about a residential tax exemption. Sentiment was much the same for the few residents who spoke last Saturday.

“A residential exemption would have been a great discussion three years ago and might have factored into the decision-making process” about the school, former Finance Committee member Peyton Marshall said. “Now we’re encountering buyer’s remorse [when] people who didn’t show up in December opened their tax bill.” As a result, the town is in a “period of disequilibrium” when some are thinking of selling their homes either soon, or after the school project is finished.

“We should consider all this in three to five years after people have made their housing decisions… It’s really explosive” to discuss it now, Marshall said.

South Lincoln zoning

In an effort to make Lincoln more attractive to residents and businesses and perhaps boost the tax base, rezoning part of South Lincoln around the commuter rail station was also discussed at an earlier public forum.

At the State of the Town meeting, Planning Board members presented the proposal to replace the B-1 and B-2 districts in South Lincoln and create a new South Lincoln Village District zone with two subareas: Village Business and Village Residential (VB and VR). Handouts included a draft of bylaw language (created with the help of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council) that will be up for a vote at the Annual Town Meeting in March 2020.

In both subareas, the proposal would allow (by special permit) multifamily housing, with a “density bonus” in return for amenities and affordable housing. It would also expand the parameters of projects that would be allowed by right, and would set out design guidelines for the Planning Board to apply when evaluating projects. Mixed-use buildings could be up to 2.5 floors high along Lincoln Road, with residential structures up to three floors father back from the road.

This development in West Concord was cited by Lincoln officials as an example of a good mixed-use village project.

A recently completed mixed-use project in West Concord is “something on the order of what we want to see,” Taylor said. That project includes 74 housing units and 36,000 square feet of commercial space, and is located very close to the commuter rail station, village center, and rail trails.

The rezoning proposals come from a subcommittee of the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee. As detailed in this presentation by Planning Board chair Margaret Olson, SLPIC’s goals include promoting the area as a vibrant public gathering place; encouraging business and professional services; offering a broader range of housing options; and supporting more sustainable transportation through MBTA station improvements, better parking, and regional shuttle services.

Former board member Robert Domnitz worried that the changes won’t get Town Meeting approval if residents didn’t retain veto power over individual projects. However, the current path for getting town go-ahead is “a very cumbersome process that makes development a lot harder,” said board member Gary Taylor.

“It’s clear what we’re asking you to do is place some confidence in the Planning Board. It’s a more streamlined process and that’s intentional,” Taylor said. “It’s very difficult to shape projects on the floor of Town Meeting.”

One of the goals is to make South Lincoln more attractive as a place to shop for Lincoln residents and others who already drive through town without stopping, while also encouraging everyone to use the commuter rail and underground parking. However, some residents said there will be more cars and traffic in the area if more housing is available, regardless of whether the commuter rail is more heavily used.

“We’re not lowering traffic in the sense of absolute numbers, but there will be less traffic impact going forward than there would be otherwise,” Taylor responded.

Resident Sarah Mattes urged officials to expand and publicize the commuter parking that’s already available before considering “drastic zoning changes.” Others questioned where there was real demand for more commercial and transportation services in South Lincoln from residents who already live there.

Amid grumbling, voters approve another loan for Water Department

By Alice Waugh

The Water Department will be getting more oversight after its recent spending spree to fix a rash of problems with the water system. 

In response to the funding crisis, a team of town officials — Town Administrator Tin Higgins, Assistant Town Administrator Mary Day, Finance Director Colleen Wilkins, and Finance Commission members Jim Hutchinson and Tom Sander — are now attending the meetings of the three-person Water Commission to oversee their budgeting and decision-making process. 

The department needs to bond a total of almost $2 million after Superintendent MaryBeth Wiser discovered numerous problems shortly after she was hired in March 2018, Water Commission member Ruth Ann Hendrickson explained at a Special Town Meeting on November 1. With one “nay” vote, attendees approved borrowing $967,000 — just months after approving $1.01 million in borrowing at the Annual Town Meeting last March.

The Water Department is not funded by property taxes but rather by water rates assessed to Lincoln household who use town water. The latest expenditures will result in a rate hike of around 50%, on top of last spring’s 25% rate hike.

At the meeting’s outset, Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden warned the audience that “we’re talking about finances and not personnel and other kinds of issues,” a reference to controversy swirling around the Water Department’s management and staffing turmoil explored in an October 31 Lincoln Squirrel article.

Wiser was hired in March 2018 “and almost immediately realized many of the systems at the water treatment plant and well were showing signs of age and deterioration — they hadn’t been [properly] cleaned, maintained, and calibrated,” Hendrickson said. The new superintendent asked the Water Commission to hire a new engineering consulting firm, Tata & Howard, and we started getting a lot of suggestions,” Hendrickson added. 

Concord and Wayland use the same firm and are “pleased” with its work, and its reports to Lincoln “are much higher quality than what we had been getting from our previous consultants,” Hendrickson said.

Meanwhile, the town’s water has for some time been showing borderline high levels of a chemical produced by chlorine reacting with naturally occurring organic matter. The organic matter content in Flint’s Pond is twice what it was when the plant was designed in 2002, Hendrickson said, necessitating $330,000 for equipment to perform coagulation pretreatment.

Other issues that led to the funding requests were uncovered by the state Department of Environmental Protection in its triennial inspection in August 2018. That inspection report listed 27 deficiencies and 12 recommendations, whereas the 2015 report contained only three deficiencies and four recommendations. Current and former Water Department employees told the Lincoln Squirrel that Wiser actually encouraged the DEP inspector to find problems.

Also in the latest spending package is money to pay an outside consultant to work in the treatment plant one day a week at about $1,000 a day. The department has been short-staffed for months, reflecting a statewide shortage of licensed water operators but also, former employees say, a toxic work environment.

After the latest improvements and repairs, “we will have a plant that’s been fully refurbished while we’re examining what we’re going to do for the long term… and we won’t have any more of these surprises,” Hendrickson said. Whatever path the town decides to take — making continual upgrades, building a new plant, or investigating having water supplied by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority — “will take a number of years to bring to fruition,” she said.

Residents at the town meeting were not happy with how things have been run. “We didn’t get an honest answer at the last Town Meeting. Can we have a real long-term plan for the department — an honest estimate audited by somebody outside the town?” one resident said. “I don’t like this crisis-style management.”

Higgins acknowledged that because the Water Department operates as an enterprise fund separate from the rest of the town’s finances, its budgeting process has not been overseen by the Capital Planning Committee (CapCom) or the Finance Committee in the past. The newest iteration of the Water Commission — which now includes Selectman Jennifer Glass and member Michelle Barnes, who were sworn in several weeks ago after the resignations of Bob Antia and Heather Ring — “is more receptive to participating in some of those processes,” Higgins said.

“I speak with a bit of frustration,” said Peter Braun, a former selectman and CapCom member. More cooperation with other town boards “doesn’t mean allowing someone coming to your meetings — it means dialogue, and it just wasn’t happening… there was stonewalling, basically… it’s time to change the dynamic and the paradigm here.”

State of the Town meeting on Saturday

Updates on the school project, South Lincoln rezoning proposals, community electricity aggregation and property tax relief will make for a full agenda at Lincoln’s annual State of the Town meeting on Saturday, Nov. 2 at about 9:30 a.m., after the conclusion of a Special Town Meeting on Water Department funding. These links and Lincoln Squirrel stories offer some background on the issues.

School project
South Lincoln rezoning
Community electricity aggregation
Property Tax Study Committee

News acorns

Events rescheduled

  • The India Discovery Center has postponed its seminar on India and Britain from November 2 (when the State of the Town meeting will take place) to Saturday, Nov. 30.
  • The free screening of the documentary “The River and the Wall” originally scheduled for October 18 has been rescheduled for Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Filmmaker Ben Masters and colleagues traveled 1,200 miles along the U.S.-Mexico border via horse, mountain bike, and canoe. Sponsored by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee.

House party for Democrats in Congress

Learn about Force Multiplier (a strategic, voluntary fundraising organization) and meet legislators at a house party in Lincoln on Sunday, Nov. 10 from 2–4 p.m. Hear Rep. Katherine Clark’s analysis of 2020 election challenges and opportunities and meet Abigail Spanberger (Va-7), a newly elected Democratic representative who hopes to hold on to her seat in a red district. Sponsored by the Arlington, Natick, Lincoln and Wayland  Democratic Town Committees. RSVP and donate (location of event available with reservation).

Domestic violence workshop for faith communities

The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable is offering a workshop on “Our House Too: How Faith Communities Can Support Survivors of Domestic Abuse in Their Congregations.” This program is designed for clergy, members of social action/social justice committees, caring communities, and anyone who wants to make a difference in their congregations.

The first workshop will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 12 from 3–4:30 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room of the Wayland Public Safety Building (38 Cochituate Rd., Wayland). For those who prefer an evening workshop, the identical program will also be offered on Tuesday, Nov. 19 from 7–8:30 p.m. at First Parish in Wayland (225 Boston Post Rd., Wayland).

Roundtable board members from REACH Beyond Domestic Violence and Journey to Safety (the Jewish Family and Children’s Service response to domestic abuse), will lead the workshop and discussions. The workshop will highlight how important it is for people in faith communities to learn and talk about domestic abuse, clearly sending the message that abuse happens in “Our House Too.” Participants will leave with a better understanding of domestic abuse and action items they can carry out in their own congregations. For more information, email infodvrt@gmail.com.

Conservation Commission seeks new member

The Conservation Commission is looking for a new commissioner to fill a vacancy of a member who has moved out of town. The commission meets every third week on Wednesdays from 7–10:30pm. Its job is to approve or deny permits within our jurisdictional area under the guidelines of the state wetlands law and our own Town bylaw. In addition, the commission maintains 80 miles of trails in town and stewards 200 acres of agricultural land. Commissioners are also expected to participate on related town boards or committees as representatives from Con Com.

The best way to find out what the commission does is to attend one of our meetings.  Our next meeting is on Wednesday November 6 at 7 p.m. in the Town Hall. For more information please contact Tom Gumbart in the Conservation Department office (2612) or any commissioner. Anyone interested should download and fill out the volunteer form and send it to Peggy Elder in the office of the Board of Selectmen, which makes appointments to the commission.

FELS invites direct donations for pie-sale beneficiaries

Although the Foundation for Educators for Lincoln-Sudbury (FELS) won’t be selling pies this year, residents can donate directly to the organizations that benefit.

  • The senior citizens’ Thanksgiving luncheon is organized by the L-S MLK Action Project. To donate, send a check payable to LSRHS with “MLK Thanksgiving Luncheon” on the memo line and mail it to Susan Frommer, LSRHS, 90 Lincoln Rd., Sudbury, MA  01776.
  • To donate to the Lincoln food pantry, make a check payable to St. Vincent de Paul and mail it to St. Vincent de Paul, P.O. Box 324, Lincoln, MA. 01773

More borrowing, water rate hikes on the horizon

At the upcoming Special Town Meeting, the Water Department will ask voters for the second bond issue this year to pay for repairs and deferred maintenance in Lincoln’s water system — a bond that will result in another rate hike for those on town water.

The bond vote will take place at a Special Town Meeting on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 9 a.m., right before the State of the Town meeting. The Water Commission is still in the process of determining exactly how much money will be sought, but the figures should be available at the conclusion of the group’s special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at 10 a.m.

The requested allocation comes only seven months after residents approved a $1 million bond for the Water Department at the 2019 Annual Town Meeting (see page 46 of the 2019 town meeting warrant for details). Some of the new borrowing will go to finish paying for some of the unfinished projects from that list that turned out to be costlier than expected.

At a meeting earlier this week, commissioners discussed some of the items from the latest list compiled earlier by Water Department Superintendent MaryBeth Wiser. They were joined by Town Administrator Tim Higgins and Finance Board member Jim Hutchinson, who have been trying to get a handle on the department’s budgeting process and needs. Higgins was scheduled to meet late this week with representatives of Tata and Howard, the department’s engineering consulting firm, to learn more about costs.

Two of the three Water Commissioners were sworn in only last week as interim members: Jennifer Glass and Michelle Barnes. Glass is already a member of the Board of Selectmen, “but we were sort of in emergency mode and she graciously agreed to wear another hat,” Higgins said. The vacancies resulted from the resignations in recent weeks of commission members Bob Antia and Heather Ring.

An insert to the Board of Selectmen newsletter being mailed to residents offers some background. Since the town’s water treatment plant in Sandy Pond Road was complete in 2002, “water treatment technology has changed, software technology has changed, our water profile has changed, and as of 2019, municipalities are subject to federal regulations,” the insert says. Since Wiser’s hiring in March 2018, “she has examined each aspect of the plant’s operations. It has become apparent that the modest level of capital spending has now resulted in a consequential amount of deferred maintenance.”

Among the urgently needed new items that can’t wait until the Annual Town Meeting in March 2020 are replacements for filters that are well beyond their life expectancy. Funds are needed right away because the parts take several months to be assembled and shipped from the manufacturer in Australia, and they need to be installed in the spring before the summer when water demand is high. Wiser told the commission in October 2018 that the total cost for the 240 filter modules was about $192,000. This week she said the cost would be about $325,000.

Also on the list of new expenditures:

  • Installation of a catwalk required to safely replace the filter banks
  • Remediation of a chemical release at the Tower Road well
  • Costs related to maintaining the filter banks until the replacement filters are installed
  • A part-time contractor to assist with plant operation. Two positions (plant operator and plant manager) have been vacant for several months

The items will be funded by a combination of retained earnings and additional borrowing. The Water Department currently has about $1 million in retained earnings and has a policy of keeping at least $500,000 in the fund at all times, Higgins said.

Though the figures will not be final until next week, he said on Thursday that the latest borrowing amount would be “similar in size” to the earlier $1.01 million. The March 2019 allocation has actually not yet been bonded (expenses have been paid through short-term borrowing), so the upcoming bond will include both sets of expenses, Higgins said.

“The Water Commission has to decide on long-term objectives, but in order to address these issues, there’s going to need to be a pretty significant rate increase to support it,” he said. Back in January, the commission approved a 25% rate hike as well as a $5 increase in the quarterly base charge per water meter.

At this week’s meeting, Wiser said her fiscal year 2021 budget proposal would probably include either further upgrades to the treatment plant to meet expensive new DEP regulations for handling organic matter in the water, or possible even a new plant. “Sometimes retrofitting larger plants with these types of fittings is more expensive than starting from scratch,” she said.

“It strikes me as highly unlikely that it would be cheaper for us to build a separate new plant. We may decide that the MWRA is the right choice,” Hutchinson said. The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority supplies drinking water from the Quabbin Reservoir to several nearby towns including Weston and Lexington.

Aside from the treatment plant issues, aging water mains are another expensive problem in Lincoln and for water systems all over the country. The town had water main breaks on Bedford Road near the library in 2018 and under Route 2A in February 2019. Given the costs involved, some local and state officials are hoping that federal grants will materialize to help pay for proactive upgrades.

“Tensions” cited as factor in swap table dismissals

By Alice Waugh

A day after the town’s swap table volunteers were suddenly let go via letter, resulting in a flurry of dismay and speculation on LincolnTalk, Town Administrator Tim Higgins said that “tensions” at the transfer station facility played a role in the change, and that the town would welcome more volunteers there at some point in the future.

“We’ve encountered some tension between volunteers and residents of the town, so we’re in transition with the volunteer program,” Higgins said Thursday afternoon. “We’re expanding the swap table with the new shed and parking, and we’re hoping to reenergize and rejuvenate the volunteer program.”

Lincoln Mothers Out Front has been instrumental in creating the new composting program at the transfer station, “so we’re hoping they would view this as a logical offshoot of the work they’re doing” on promoting composting and other forms of recycling, he added.

Volunteers at the popular swap table and shed were shocked to receive dismissal notices signed by DPW Superintendent Chris Bibbo on Wednesday. Bibbo did not return calls on Wednesday or Thursday, but Higgins issued a written statement about the controversy early Thursday afternoon and later indicated to the Lincoln Squirrel that the statement spoke on Bibbo’s behalf.

“Swap tables are a wonderful form of sharing and recycling that can operate informally and without strict regulation when folks abide by rules of common courtesy, respect, and fair play,” Higgins wrote. “At the same time, swap programs frequently become a source of tension between heavy and occasional users, between folks vying for the same item, and philosophically between those who believe restrictions should be imposed on the resale of swapped items and those who support the swap table as its own form of cottage industry.”

At times, DPW staff “have been called on to de-escalate situations involving conflict between residents and volunteers when folks have felt that one or the other was monopolizing the program for personal gain or to benefit personal charities,” Higgins wrote. Other Massachusetts towns have encountered similar issues in running swap tables and have limited or closed them as a result.

“Going forward, we are responding to the tension by hitting the reset button,” Higgins wrote. The new swap shed “will allow the DPW to better organize the program, making it more efficient for users, staff, and volunteers… We are committed to developing a strong partnership between our professional staff and volunteers, and to establishing reasonable guidelines to ensure the viability, safety, and fairness of the program.”

Special Town Meeting on Nov. 2; register to vote by Oct. 23

A Special Town Meeting will be held on Saturday, Nov. 2 at 9 a.m. to vote on appropriating, transferring and/or bonding funds to purchase capital items for the Water Department and to supplement its 2020 operating budget.

The amount of money involved and the purpose(s) for which it’s being requested were unavailable as of Monday evening. The department is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at 4 p.m, to prepare for the Special Town Meeting.

Voters approved bonding $1.01 million for the department at the 2019 Annual Meeting to pay for deferred maintenance and work required by the state Department of Environmental Protection. A hike in water rates also went into effect earlier this year.

The Water Department is run as an enterprise fund, meaning that revenues are expected to meet or exceed expenditures on a year-to-year basis, and expenses (including bond payments) are paid through user fees and retained revenue.

Wednesday, Oct. 23 is the last day to register in time for the Special Town Meeting. The Secretary of State’s website allows you to check your voter registration status and register online. Residents may also register in person at the Town Clerk’s Office during regular business hours from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., and there will be extended registration on Wednesday from 4:30–8 p.m. at the Lincoln Public Safety Building.

The State of the Town Meeting will follow immediately after the Special Town Meeting.

Residential tax exemption idea draws criticism at forum

(Updated on 10/30/19 with link to the forum slide presentation)

By Alice Waugh

The idea of a residential property tax exemption that would shift the burden of taxes to owners of more expensive homes was met with opposition at an October 15 public forum.

The event was the second of two public forums hosted by the Property Tax Study Committee, which was formed in the wake of fears that some Lincoln residents would not be able to afford the tax increase resulting from the $93 million school project. At its first forum in June, the group presented two options it was studying: a means-tested “circuit-breaker” program and a residential tax exemption program.

Sudbury, Concord, and Wayland have enacted local versions of the state circuit breaker program for homeowners over 65. If they have lived in their town at least 10 years and meet certain income and asset thresholds, they pay no more than 10% of their income for property taxes. Renters who are paying more than 25% of their income on rent are also eligible under the state program, though the three neighboring towns don’t have this provision.

If Lincoln were to adopt a similar program, it would most likely follow the pattern of the three other towns by basing it on the existing state circuit-breaker program and funding it through a small hike in the local tax rate, capped at a certain amount such as 1%. Such a move would require Town Meeting approval preceded by special legislation, a multiyear process.

Alternatively, passage of a bill now in the state Senate would require only Town Meeting approval for a local plan, but “this would probably prevent us from customizing the law in any way,” and it would not benefit those under 65, said Selectman Jennifer Glass, the committee member who made the October 15 presentation.

The other option under consideration would make property taxes even more progressive than they already are by making a proportion of each property’s value exempt from taxes, with no consideration of the owner’s income or assets. Fourteen cities and towns in Massachusetts offer a program like this, but most have either a large commercial tax base, or many expensive vacation homes, meaning the benefit accrues to year-round residents.

In making their annual recommendation to the Board of Selectmen when setting the tax rate each year, the assessors “were quite adamant this was not meant for us,” said former Selectman Peter Braun.

The Board of Selectmen already has the power to create a residential exemption when it sets the tax rate every year, but has never done so. Ellen Meadors noted that she and other assessors felt such a move shouldn’t take place without input from the town as a whole.

Another possibility is creating a local circuit-breaker program that would also apply to younger homeowners, since special legislation would be required in any case. “We have thought of a few permutations) that we could try out with the state, but the state is very careful when comes to tax policy about setting precedent and not rocking the boat statewide,” Glass said.

“This brings us back to the big question: who are we trying to help, and what are we trying to achieve?” said Glass, adding that the town could choose to adopt either, both or neither of the two options.

Several forum attendees who packed the Donaldson Room in Town Hall objected to the idea of a residential tax exemption. “Every home above the [exemption] break point will have taxes go up, and the property value will go down,” one resident said “The bar will be reset and we’ll be right back where we are today.” The measure would not have the intended effect of promoting economic diversity and could very well benefit property owners who don’t need such tax relief, he added.

As a result of the school bonding, taxes went up this year by an average of 12.3%, Glass said. The tax rate for fiscal 2020 is $15.36 for every $1,000 of assessed home value; $1.95 of that $15.36 is paying for the school project.

“The town just took this vote on new school. Had we known there was another potential [tax hike] provision that gained more momentum… that vote night have turned out differently,” a resident said.

Glass assured the audience that there was “no way we would implement this unless the overwhelming majority of the town wanted it… message heard.”

Regardless of who pays how much, tax revenue has to rise to pay for the school. “It seems like we’re being taxed out of town, and it’s heartbreaking to me because I love this town,” said one resident to a chorus of “hear, hear!”

The property tax proposals will be discussed at the State of the Town meeting on November 2 at 9:30 a.m. Also on the agenda: zoning changes proposed by the South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee that would encourage denser housing and mixed-use development in South Lincoln. Such measures could broaden the commercial tax base and benefit middle-income homeowners, “addressing some of the very issues we’ve talked about tonight,” noted SPLIC co-chair Gary Taylor.

News acorns

Property tax forum on Tuesday

The Property Tax Study Committee will hold its second public forum on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 7–8:30 p.m. in Town Hall. The group was formed in reaction to concerns about the large tax increase required for the $93 million school project. At its first forum in June, the group presented two possible measures: a means-tested circuit breaker program and a residential exemption for certain properties.

Family fun at Walden Woods Farm

The Lincoln-based Walden Woods Project offers a day of fall-themed family activities at its organic Farm at Walden Woods (1047 Concord Turnpike/Rt. 2 eastbound, Concord) on Saturday, Oct. 19 from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. There will be an interactive full-size model of Thoreau’s Walden Pond house, packets of milkweed seeds to plant at home for monarch butterfly habitat, free apple cider and a ”solitude” selfie station. The event is part of the Concord Festival of Authors.

Scarecrow Classic 5K on Oct. 20

The seventh annual Annual Scarecrow Classic on Sunday, Oct. 20 starts at 9:30 a.m. on Codman Road by the fire station and runs along Lincoln’s scenic roads, fields, and trails. Proceeds from this event support the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (LLCT). After the race, there will be a raffle with prizes, live music, cider donuts, seasonal soup, and prizes for the top three runners in each age category. Raffle tickets can be purchased in advance at the LLCT offices, from LLCT trustees, or on October 14 before the race. Register online or at the event starting at 8 a.m. Visit scarecrowclassic5k.com for the route map and online registration.

Tales from the Night at Drumlin Farm

Put on your favorite costume, grab a flashlight, and join us for Tales of the Night — the silliest, spookiest, and most family-friendly Halloween tradition on Friday and Saturday, Oct. 25 and 26 at Drumlin Farm, from 6:30–9p.m. Costumes are encouraged. Visitors will have the chance to:

  • Explore the farm at night lit by our display of over 100 jack-o-lanterns
  • Meet some of the nocturnal wildlife of Massachusetts
  • Enjoy spooky treats, spider cider, and witch’s brew at the ghoulish graveyard
  • Step into a story on our Nursery Rhyme Trail to meet your favorite characters
  • Get a festive face painting at the Crossroads Barn
  • Venture out into the fields for a haunted hayride full of spooky surprises for the brave at heart (7–8:30 p.m.)

Tickets are available via advance purchase only — admission cannot be purchased at the gate. Mass Audubon members: $15. Nonmembers: $17. Free for children under age 2. Register early, as this event often sells out.