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

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Lincoln Kids’ Triathlon is June 15

Kids ages 5–14 are invited to join us for the 15th annual Lincoln Kids Triathlon that starts on Saturday, June 15 at 8:30 a.m. at Codman Pool. Race distances are as follows:

  • Ages 5-6: 25m swim (1 length), ¼-mile run (no bike) – each swimmer escorted by a lifeguard
  • Ages 7-8: 25m swim (1 length), 1-mile bike, ½-mile run – each swimmer escorted by a lifeguard
  • Ages 9-10: 50m swim (2 lengths), 2-mile bike, ½-mile run
  • Ages 11-12: 75m swim (3 lengths), 2-mile bike, ¾-mile run
  • Ages 13-14: 150m swim (6 lengths), 4-mile bike, 1-mile run

Register through Lincoln Parks & Rec website by clicking “Register for Activities” and then selecting the triathlon and the appropriate age group. The $30 fee includes a T-shirt and a finisher’s medal. Race day registration is $40 so register early. Organizers also need volunteers to help out on the morning of the race; please email Ginger Reiner at ginger.reiner@gmail.com.

Outdoor yoga sessions starting up

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum offers four Sundays of family yoga in the park on June 9, July 14, August 11, and September 8 with kids’ classes at 10:30 a.m. and adults’ classes at 11:30 a.m. Teachers from On the Mat Studio lead vinyasa yoga surrounded by sculpture and nature. Bring a mat and water bottle; click here to sign up.

Practice gentle hatha yoga with Melinda Bruno-Smith, certified hatha yoga instructor, in the Station Park Garden (160 Lincoln Rd. at the intersection with Ridge Road) on Saturdays, June 8, 15, 22, and 29 from 9–10 a.m. Sessions are free; bring a yoga mat, towel, or blanket to practice on and wear loose-fitting clothing. The session will be cancelled in case of rain. No experience necessary. For more information, contact Bruno-Smith at melindabruno@hotmail.com.

Help wanted at Water Dept.

The Lincoln Water Department is seeking two high school or college students who want some very flexible part time hours between July 1 and August 16. Pay is $12/hour. Positions are maintenance worker (lawn mowing and weed-hacking) and office assistant (filing and data entry). If interested, please email jobs@lincolntown.org.

Get free help with e-books

The Lincoln Public Library offers free 30-minute one-on-one help sessions to learn how to borrow and read e-books to read on your phone, tablet, Kindle or tablet on Thursdays from 3–5 p.m. in the Reference Room. Drop in or make an appointment by emailing Kate at ktranquada@minlib.net.

Lincolnites meet with Rep. Stanley on environmental issues

Last week’s meeting on environmental legislation included (left to right) Lincoln residents Paul Shorb, Lucy Chatfield, and Stacy Montori; Rep. Tom Stanley; and Lincolnites Joan Kimball, Barbara Slayter, Emily Haslett, and Alex Chatfield.

By Alex Chatfield

Lincoln residents concerned about climate change and its impacts on Massachusetts met with State Rep. Tom Stanley on Thursday. The group included members of Mothers Out Front, 350 Mass, and the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee. This was the second such meeting with Stanley to discuss several environmental justice and climate bills that have been introduced in this legislative session.

Among the Lincolnites present was Lucy Chatfield, a college sophomore and member of the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led climate advocacy group best known for introducing the Green New Deal in Washington last fall. She pointed out that meaningful progress on climate legislation has been stalled repeatedly due to the enormous influence of the fossil fuel industry on politicians at the federal and state levels. That industry has spent hundreds of millions lobbying Congress and promoting disinformation to cast doubt on the science of human-caused climate change.

Chatfield asked Stanley if he would agree to sign the “No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge” being used around the country to get politicians to go on record that they will forego donations from the fossil fuel industry and “prioritize the health of our families, climate, and democracy over fossil fuel industry profits.” Stanley readily agreed and signed the pledge form with Lucy at his side.

On June 4, the Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture will hold a hearing on several environmental justice bills including SD.1885/HD.3878 and SD.1824/HD.3523. Environment justice is the equal protection and meaningful involvement of all people with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws. Stanley pledged to be at the hearing and to offer testimony in support of these bills.

Other key bills that have been endorsed by multiple climate and environmental groups include SD.1625/HD.3092 (An Act Repowering Massachusetts with 100 Percent Renewable Energy); HD.2370 (An Act to Promote Green Infrastructure and Reduce Carbon Emissions), SD1541/HD 3009 (An Act to Advance Modern and Sustainable Solutions for Transportation), and H.2849 (An Act for Utility Transition to Using Renewable Energy).

We want to thank Rep. Stanley for his strong commitment to protecting the environment and a livable future climate. We look forward to working with him as these important bills make their way through the legislative process in the coming year.

New swap shed coming to transfer station

Yellow tape marks the future site of the transfer station’s new swap shed.

A square of yellow caution tape in the wooded area behind the recycling dumpsters at the transfer station marks out where a new swap shed will be built in the coming months.

The current swap shed facing the parking lot does double duty, serving as home to bins for recycling light bulbs, batteries, and deposit cans and bottles, as well as a shelf for residents to drop off items they no longer need but that a fellow Lincolnite might be able to reuse. Reclaimed treasures in the past have included everything from fishing lures to a Prada handbag.

The new 675-square-foot building will be a dedicated swap shed so the current site can be used exclusively for recycling, said Susan Donaldson, office manager at the Department of Public Works. the project is being funded by a grant and the DPW’s regular budget, she added. Though it’s still unclear when the project will be complete, the transition will be smooth — the old swap shed will stay in use until the enw one comes on line, meaning no temporary modular sheds will have to be brought in.

Board hears options for DPW alternate sites and construction

A sketch by Weston and Sampson of how the Lewis Street DPW site might be reconfigured (click to enlarge).

Consulting engineers detailed the need for new Department of Public Works facilities in a presentation to the Board of Selectmen — but with the school project underway and a new community center up next, the town isn’t likely to have the money for a major upgrade any time soon.

As part of a larger project to look at rezoning and redeveloping parts of South Lincoln, Weston and Sampson was hired in 2017 to identify the current and future needs of the DPW and to identify a potential site to address those needs. Their report released in January suggested a new facility costing about $15 million.

The Lewis Street DPW facility was built in the 1950s and 1960s, “and there’s been a significant increase in their responsibilities, but the facility really hasn’t kept pace,” Jeffrey Alberti, vice president and general manager of the Facilities division at Weston and Sampson, told the board at its April 22 meeting. The covered vehicle storage space is inadequate; “they do a great job of packing them in like sardines” with only inches of clearance, while other equipment is stored in makeshift structures of concrete blocks.

The facility is also out of compliance with current mechanical, fire, and plumbing codes and presents “safety concerns and operational inefficiencies,” Alberti said.

The firm showed a sketch of how one might reconfigure the current DPW site with new structures including enclosed maintenance, vehicle leaning and storage areas, but even then, the school buses now parked there would probably have to move to another new site. “It becomes tight once you start developing it with a new building,” Alberti said. “And it’s not really allowing for many other public functions” such as public parking or a public septic system.”

The firm drew up a list of potential sites for a refurbished or related DPW bases on the properties’ size, zoning, current use, floodplain, wetlands, conservation designation (if any) and present use. Other possible sites identified in the study are on:

  1. Old Bedford Road across from Battle Farm Road, on land owned by the Massachusetts Port Authority
  2. Virginia Road just west of the Lincoln North office park, on land owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  3. Virginia Road just north of site #2, on land owned by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
  4. North Great Road between the transfer station and Mill Street, on land owned by the federal government
  5. Cambridge Turnpike, on land owned by Farrington Memorial

Narrowing down the choices will require “a much higher-level assessment of the preferred site or sites” including subsurface conditions as well as zoning and permitting costs, Alberti said.

Building or rebuilding the DPW facility regardless of location would cost about $15.2 million. That figure includes the cost of decommissioning and demolition of the current site plus temporary facilities during the construction period, but would not include land acquisition costs. The facility will also have to include at least one structure (the salt shed) that’s 30 to 40 feet high to accommodate the salt pile and trucks.

“This is a pretty shocking number to many people because they look at these facilities as the highway barn and the garage, but I like to tell everyone that this is an operational facility and it has to be designed to today’s building codes,” Alberti said. This includes equipment to pressure-wash sanders and trucks and then collect and store the runoff for later removal, as well as a stormwater system that’s more complex than those found on the average street.

Selectman James Craig asked if any of the other towns Weston and Sampson has worked with have broken out their DPW facilities into more than one site. Actually, Alberti said, about 95% of towns are consolidating their DPW into a single site for greater efficiency, though some towns store seasonal equipment off-site.

“Given our capital commitments, spending $15 million is down the road a ways,” noted SLPIC member Gary Taylor.

DPW Superintendent Chris Bibbo said afterwards that “whatever the study would recommend would be fine with us” and that it would be “acceptable” to wait several years for a renewed facility. “We have equipment storage that’s very, very tight, but we manage to keep all the equipment under the garage roof,” he said.

The DPW is currently doing some renovations to update its office space using money from its regular operating budget for materials and labor by DPW staff as time permits, Bibbo said.

Lincoln committee pushing ahead with green goals

Gathering data on Lincoln’s greenhouse gas emissions and encouraging specific ways for residents to use more green energy are among this year’s goals for the Green Energy Committee (GEC).

The GEC serves as the primary resource for the town to identify technologies, initiatives, and means to reduce Lincoln’s CO2 emissions. One of its long-term goals is for the town’s public buildings to achieve “net zero” status for energy use by 2030 (with production of renewable energy equivalent to fossil fuel consumption) as required by a 2011 Town Meeting vote.

Among the efforts underway: finalizing a proposal for community choice aggregation, which uses the power of group electricity purchasing to offer a greater percentage of electricity from renewable sources than the 15% now required from Eversource. The voluntary Lincoln Green Energy Choice program will also offer a fixed price for electricity supply over a longer period of time. The prices for power will be slightly higher than they would be otherwise, though the figures for different sources of electricity under the program won’t be known until the town signs a contract with an electricity supplier.

The GEC also hopes to gather data and report each year on CO2e emissions. “CO2e” means carbon dioxide equivalent, which gauges carbon footprint by expressing the impact of each different greenhouse gas in terms of the amount of CO2 that would create the same amount of warming.

“Our focus is on tracking CO2e emissions and reductions data so that we can figure out how to have the biggest impact on reducing them as we develop a plan to become carbon neutral by 2030,” said GEC chair Peter Watkinson. The group is in discussions with a third party to provide this data for the town of Lincoln and “expects progress this quarter,” he added.

Other GEC goals for 2019:

  • Work with the School Building Committee on a high-efficiency school building powered completely by onsite solar PV arrays to achieve a net zero campus.
  • Encourage residents to buy or lease electric vehicles. Work to make it easier and less expensive to purchase residential charging stations, and investigate locations for public charging stations in town.
  • Continue residential efforts including encouraging home energy efficiency measures, energy-efficient heating/cooling systems, and solar installations.
  • Encourage/enable the development and implementation of solar PV projects at non-residential locations, including the Lincoln School, Codman Community Farms, the Lincoln Mall parking lot, the First Parish in Lincoln, the Public Safety Building, and the transfer station.

The Codman barn is now having solar panels installed, and the First Parish in Lincoln (FPL) Parish Committee has approved installation of solar panels on the roof of the parish house across from Bemis Hall (they now need approval from the Historic District Commission, according to Larry Buell, chair of the FPL Outreach Committee).

FPL Green was formed in fall 2017 under the leadership of Tom Walker in response to a membership poll that named energy and climate change as the most urgent public priority among a dozen possible. Twenty families are now driving electric vehicles and 35 are using 100% wind-generated electricity, Watkinson said.

Clark addresses impeachment and other issues with area Democrats

By Barbara Slayter and Joan Kimball
Lincoln Democratic Town Committee

Rep. Katherine Clark at the Middlesex Democrats breakfast.

Rep. Katherine Clark’s vigorous and penetrating analysis of critical issues both local and national brought numerous rounds of applause at the Middlesex Area Democrats breakfast on May 4.

Twenty Lincolnites were among nearly 100 enthusiastic Democrats from Waltham, Weston, Sudbury, Carlisle and other towns gathered at the Hilton Garden Inn in Waltham. They listened as Clark detailed how Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is “obstructing,” or preventing legislation from moving forward. The House has passed bills on gun safety, net neutrality, equal pay for equal work, voting rights, and dark money, but none of them has made its way past McConnell to the Senate floor.

McConnell, Clark said, has gone so far as to say we don’t need an infrastructure bill, even after Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had met on the topic with President Trump. Clark strongly advocated for local action saying that action starts here, not in Washington, and that we must work at home with state representatives and selectmen locally and support candidates who will make a difference.

Asked if impeachment  is “on the table,” Clark said, “Definitely it is. We cannot simply run out the clock.” However, Democrats have to bring the American people with them; impeachment, she asserted, should neither be undertaken nor avoided for political reasons. Rather, there must be a careful gathering of evidence, including a specific opportunity for the House to hear Robert Mueller’s testimony, as well as that of other key witnesses, and an effort to assure that the American public fully understands the events that have taken place, Clark said.

All this needs to be in a context of clarity about constitutional responsibilities, and a serious effort to prevent foreign influence in elections, including the upcoming presidential and congressional elections in 2020, she added.

Other elected officials contributed key observations on critical topics. State Sen. Mike Barrett, a leader in the effort to limit greenhouse gases via carbon pricing, linked climate change to refugee migration, since farmers and laborers in many parts of Central America are no longer able to make a living in agriculture. He praised Waltham for its policies for effectively serving its refugee population, especially those from rural Guatemala, who are coming in unprecedented numbers but are revitalizing the city.

Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian noted the significant mental health issues afflicting the prison population and the need to address the connections among mental health, drugs, and crime.

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan discussed the “interference” she’s encountered with ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). She and another district attorney have filed a federal lawsuit demanding that courthouses be places of sanctuary, assuring public safety for witnesses, victims, and defendants.

Everyone paused in a moment of silence for Lincoln’s Foster Fargo, who passed away on April 14, and speakers expressed appreciation for the many years of work by his wife, former State Sen. Susan Fargo.

Lincolnites get tips on becoming climate change activists

Andrew Gordon speaks to the Bemis Hall audience about climate change action.

By Barbara Slayter and Peter Pease
Co-chairs, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee

Dozens of Lincoln residents turned out to learn how to become effective advocates around the issues of environmental justice and climate change at a session led by Andrew Gordon, legislative coordinator from 350 Mass, a grassroots environmental organization.

Gordon, who spoke on April 6 at the invitation of Lincoln’s Democratic Town Committee, began by outlining his organization’s agenda:

  1. Environmental justice — acknowledging that race and class usually correlate closely with pollution, unequal protection, and vulnerability, and that the communities most negatively affected by climate change and fossil fuel pollution must be central to implementing new policies and must not be harmed by them.
  2. Renewable energy — aiming for 100% by 2045 including heating and transportation, with 100% renewable in electricity by 2035
  3. Equitable and green investment in our communities to become net zero in greenhouse gas emissions, directing revenue and resources to disadvantaged communities that are less able to take effective action without help from the Commonwealth.

Gordon also introduced some new names, policies, and concepts, including:

  • Marshall Ganz, a prominent Harvard professor who writes and lecturers on leadership, organizing communities and mobilizing for change.
  • The Transportation and Climate Initiative, whereby 13 states are developing a regional low-carbon transportation policy to set up a carbon pricing mechanism to reduce transport emissions.
  • Carbon pricing — levying an added charge on carbon-emitting fuels, with variations including a revenue-neutral proposal long advocated by Sen. Michael Barrett, or a Massachusetts House version by Rep. Jennifer Benson in which fees charged would be returned to poorer communities for green infrastructure.
  • Mass Power Forward, a coalition of various environmental and other civil society groups working to provide Massachusetts and the broader region with clean, affordable reliable energy and a thriving economy.

Attendees had detailed questions and comments about costs, trade-offs, timelines, and the magnitude of the challenges ahead as Massachusetts and the nation try to address the problems of climate change.   Buzz Constable went to the heart of the issue, asking, “Can we really solve social problems and climate change at the same time?” Is there an inherent conflict between “going slow together to get it right” and the urgent timeframe for diminishing carbon emissions?

Larry Buell asked about approaches for galvanizing disadvantaged communities and ways to provide incentives for poorer communities to participate in climate change policies. Joan Kimball raised a concern about the high levels of compartmentalization of professionals such as those working in the health and environmental fields.

Gordon made a compelling argument for the need to “push and expand the narrative of what is possible” if we wish to transform our economy and address the escalating problems of climate change.  He reminded us of the years required to enact comprehensive, effective policies. The text cannot be filed and then voted into law in the same year. Everyone needs to be able to take ownership and help refine the policies, he said.

Some suggestions for effective advocacy, particularly with regard to the Massachusetts legislature, emerged from event for activists of all stripes:

  • Build coalitions with like-minded groups and organizations.
  • Let your voice be heard and be vigilant in expressing your views.
  • Be inclusive, bring in the stakeholders, and bring key people to the table.
  • Figure out your next “ask,” and then ask it with persistence.
  • Activate your networks outside Lincoln.
  • Make sure your representatives know you want them to direct resources to other, disadvantaged communities.
  • Be proactive in your expenditure of political capital.
  • Build and sustain the connections between electoral activities and issues-oriented organizations in order to change policy outcomes.

Click here to watch a recording of the event, including charts (the sound is missing only for the first minute or so).

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L-S Spring Instrumental Concert this week

The L-S music department presents the Spring Instrumental Concert on Thursday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln-Sudbury Auditorium. Ensembles performing include the Orchestra, Symphonic Band, and Concert Band. The orchestra is directed by Mr. Kyung-Nam Oh, and the bands are directed by Thomas Grandprey.

Four senior violinists — Katherine Feng, Michael Yue, Evan Lee, and Emma Christman — will be featured on “4 Violins Concerto No. 10 in B minor” (RV 580) by Vivaldi. Members of the Concert Band’s percussion section will be featured on an eclectic work entitled “Arabian Dances” by Brian Balmages. The orchestra and bands will combine for “Grand Finale, Music from the DreamWorks film Gladiator,” and there will be awards for the student musicians. L-S Friends of Music will sell concessions to help support instrument purchases and fund master classes for the music program.

Bird-a-Thon fundraiser coming up

Mass Audubon’s annual Bird-a-thon fundraiser will take place for 24 hours on Friday and Saturday, May 10–11 from 6 p.m.–6.p.m., when hundreds of birders of all abilities will compete to ID the most species statewide over a 24-hour period. Bird-a-thon takes place in the midst of the spring migration, when millions of birds are returning to Massachusetts to breed and raise young, or stopping to rest and feed in the Bay State before continuing farther north. 

Not a birder? Not a problem! Bird-a-thon Boosters participate by fundraising for their favorite teams. Boosters may bird non-competitively, do their own nature-focused activity, or simply rally support for those spending long hours in the field. Last year’s participants raised more than $255,000—the highest amount since the event began in 1983—and identified 275 species, the most ever recorded. Sponsors this year include Presenting Sponsor, Comosse Masonry Supply of Worcester, and WBUR. Click here to participate, donate, and learn more about Bird-a-thon.

Food project selling seedlings, CSA shares

Purchase vegetable, herb, and flower seedlings to start your garden at The Food Project’s Baker Bridge Farm (94 Concord Rd., Lincoln) on Saturday and Sunday, May 11–12 from 10 a.m.–3 p.m. (rain or shine). The Food Project also has Lincoln CSA shares still available; visit csa.thefoodproject.org for details.

Community Capture the Flag

Join fellow Lincolnites for an all-ages Community Capture the Flag on Saturday, May 4 from 4–6 p.m. at the Pierce House. Rules will be explained when you arrive. Please wear clothing with your team color: blue for last names beginning with A–K, red for last names beginning L–Z. There will be extra uniforms for those in need. Park on the grass alongside Weston Road.

LLCT seeks summer help

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is looking for a part-time summer land management intern who will work closely with the LLCT Stewardship Coordinator on land management activities, trail maintenance, baseline monitoring, and special projects. The position is for 15 hours a week over two days from the week of June 1 through August 15(11 weeks), and additional weeks may be considered. Click here details about the position and how to apply. Applications are due by May 15.

Lincoln Dems to hold caucus

The Lincoln Democratic Town Committee will hold its caucus on Saturday, May 18 from 9–11 a.m. in Bemis Hall. All Democrats registered in Lincoln are invited to elect delegates and alternates to the 2019 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention on September 14 at the MassMutual Center in Springfield. Democrats from across the state will come together to discuss party business and focus on policies for the Democrats to support leading into the 2020 election.

Pre-registered Democrats who will be 16 by May 11 may participate and run as a delegate or alternate. Lincoln can elect five delegates and four alternates to the convention. Youth, minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals who are not elected as a delegate or alternate may apply to be add-on delegates to the caucus or at www.massdems.org. Questions? Contact DTC co-chairs Barbara Slayter (bslayter@comcast.net) or Peter Pease (ppease72@gmail..com).

Youth in Philanthropy Program accepting applications

The Foundation for MetroWest is now accepting applications for fall Youth in Philanthropy. All MetroWest high school students interested in making an impact in their communities are encouraged to apply. Programs will take place in Hopkinton, Natick, and Sudbury (dates, times, and meeting locations vary). Click here for more information and to apply. The priority application deadline is Friday, June 7. Students who apply after June 7 will receive an admission decision on a rolling basis as program space allows.

YIP’s experiential learning program teaches participants how to become engaged and informed civic leaders in our community via the importance of philanthropy and the needs that exist in our backyard. Students work together to evaluate grant applications and distribute funds to worthy area nonprofits. YIP also helps local youth develop valuable skills including critical thinking, understanding budgets, public speaking, consensus building, and case-making.

Upcoming events in deCordova galleries

  • Join  Biennial artist Emilie Stark-Menneg with collaborators Lyrae Van Clief-Stefanon and Desmond Bratton for “Confirmation: A Live Performance” in the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum galleries on Thursday, May 23 from 6–7 p.m. Free; registration requested.
  • In “Art and Neuroscience: A Gallery Talk with Nancy Etcoff” on Saturday, June 1 from 1–2 p.m., psychologist Etcoff will draw connections between art and the mind, offering a unique perspective on the Biennial. Free with admission or membership; registration requested.

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Ramsey honored for philanthropy

Meg Ramsey

Foundation for MetroWest, the community foundation serving the 33 cities and towns of MetroWest Boston, has announced that Lincoln resident Margaret “Meg” Ramsey will receive the Community Philanthropist Award.

In addition to being a trustee for the Foundation for MetroWest, Ramsey is a past board member of Belmont Day School and a past chair of the Lincoln Scholarship Committee. She also serves as a board member at the Discovery Museum in Acton, chair of the Lincoln Cultural Council, and a member of the Parents’ Council at NYU Tisch School of the Arts. She is founder and managing trustee of the Ramsey McCluskey Family Foundation, which funds projects in arts education and general education in eastern Massachusetts.

“Meg has been involved with the work of the Foundation for more than 15 years, originally getting involved through our Youth in Philanthropy program,” said Judy Salerno, executive director of the Foundation for MetroWest. “She has always had an interest in philanthropy education, and she truly represents what it means to be not only a philanthropist and a board member but also a caring member of the community.”

Ramway will receive her award at the Spring Inspiration Breakfast on Thursday, April 25 from 9–11 a.m. at the Wellesley Country Club.

Area meeting on 5G wireless technology

A recent FCC ruling on fifth-generation (5G) wireless technology has cut local government control and reduced revenue options to towns from wireless carriers. Come learn about local options and what communities are doing in response at a meeting of HATS (Hanscom Area Town Selectmen from Bedford, Concord, Lexington, and Lincoln) on Thursday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. in the Lincoln Town Office Building.

Cecelia (Cece) Doucette, technology safety educator and founder of Wireless Education, will speak. Topics will include:

  • How will the 5G build-out work?
  • How does the recent FCC ruling on 5G limit local government control?
  • What are the revenue implications for towns?
  • Have any towns generated model Small Cell Policies, and what do they include?
  • What are the health and safety concerns associated with 5G?
  • How will the 5G infrastructure interact with 3G and 4G?
  • What are 5G’s implications for privacy, energy conservation, and legal liability?

Codman Community Farm to draw all its power from the sun

These historic barns at Codman Community Farm will soon sport 21st-century solar photovoltaic arrays.

(Editor’s note: this story was updated with corrected figures on April 8.)

Codman Community Farms will install solar photovoltaic panels on the roofs of three barns and that will provide 100% of the facility’s electricity by this summer.

Work will begin soon on reshingling the barns (which were last replaced more than 20 years ago) at a cost of $110,000, paid for via Community Preservation Act funds approved at last month’s Annual Town Meeting. SunBug will design and build the solar photovoltaic array at a cost of $150,000, but two grants totaling $50,000 will offset some of that. Donations to CCF (including its ongoing capital campaign) will cover the rest.

The 54 kW system will generate all the electricity CCF needs. “With our conversion to a high-efficiency heat pump, we will no longer be reliant on fossil fuels and will effectively become ‘net zero’,” said David Alperovitz, president of CCF’s Board of Trustees.

CCF qualified for the $20,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Energy for American Program (REAP) due to its robust farm activities, with more than 50% of its income derived from agricultural products. Codman is only the second nonprofit to receive a REAP grant and the first in many years. The other grant for $30,000 came from the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources.

The farm will also save or earn roughly $15,000 a year on electricity and Solar Massachusetts Renewable Target (SMART) program tariffs, Alperovitz said. The state’s SMART program is a long-term sustainable solar incentive program that offers compensation for lean energy usage calculated as a proportion of the kilowatt hours of the electricity that a solar-powered facility produces.

Codman Community Farms will be the first town-owned entity to go solar, but certainly not the last. The Rural Land Foundation is hoping to build a 250 kW solar canopy in the mall parking lot this year, and the rebuilt Lincoln School, with a 700-770 kW system according to 2018 estimates, will be net zero for energy use when it comes online in 2023. The First Parish Church is also planning a 20 kW array.

Other nonresidential solar arrays are already up and running at St.-Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church and in the meadow behind Lincoln Woods.

Further down the road, officials are hoping for town-owned solar PV arrays on the Public Safety Building roof and atop the transfer station. That complex project is still tackling issues such as getting access to the grid through land owned by Minute Man National Historical Park. If and when the two projects are completed, they could generate up to 50% of the electricity used by town facilities.

“Working with the town of Lincoln has been amazing,” Alperovitz said. “[Town Administrator] Tim Higgins and [Town Facilities Manager] Michael Haines have been enormously supportive and helpful, and without them this would not have been possible. They pushed for funding for the shingles to be redone in a time frame that’s in keeping with our grant restrictions, and they’ve allowed us to thread a fine needle (still in process) through many obstacles and hurdles.”

The Historic District Commission has also been “wonderful and supportive,” he added.

“I’m reveling in the fact that the farm buildings will soon be powered by the sun (our eggs are already washed by water heated by the sun as well), and the fact that establishing this system will help to put the farm on better footing financially for the years to come,” Alperovitz said.