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

government

Newly elected Lincoln officials sworn in

Residents who were newly elected and reelected in the March 25 town election were sworn in last week by Town Clerk Valerie Fox (herself newly elected, succeeding the retired Susan Brooks). Back row, left to right: Douglas Harding (Commission for Trust Funds), Steve Gladstone (Planning Board), and Susan Taylor (School Committee). Middle row, left to right: Sara Mattes (trustee of Bemis), Heather Ring (Water Commission), Adam Hogue and baby (School Committee), Dennis Picker (library trustee), Laura Sander (Board of Assessors), and Fox. Front row, left to right: Anita Spieth and daughter (Parks and Recreation Commission), Trintje Gnazzo (School Committee), and Linda Hammett Ory (trustee of deCordova). Missing from photo: James Craig (Selectman), Keith Gilbert (Housing Commission), Conrad Todd (Cemetery Commission), Steven Kanner (Board of Health), and Setha Margaret Olson (Planning Board).

Town Meeting 2019 roundup

Here are some of the measures approved by residents at the March 23 Annual Town Meeting. See previous stories for coverage of the votes on the leaf blower bylaw and the deCordova/Trustees of Reservations integration.

Town budget

Voters approved a FY 2020 budget of $41.55 million, a 10.3% increase from this year’s budget of $37.68 million. The total includes $4.29 million in debt service for the school building project and a 2.39% increase in the operating budget. Property taxes on the median-value house (assessed value of $998,400) will increase by about $1,781 or 12.7%. See pages 4 and 6 of the Annual Town Meeting Financial Section and Warrant for pie charts showing revenues and expenditures by category.

Capital and community preservation items

Voters approved the requests from the Capital Planning Committee and Community Preservation Committee (see the Lincoln Squirrel, March 14, 2019). Also approved in a separate vote was an appropriation of up to $400,000 for an irrigation systems for the Codman athletic field next to the pool. This will be the second irrigated field in town; the first is the new Wang field on Bedford Road set to open this spring (the town’s first new athletic field in 60 years).

The largest capital item was $600,000 for a new roof for the Hartwell school building. The roof was installed 31 years ago but was designed to last for only 20, and the Finance Committee recommended doing it this year “because we could fit in in budget and we are worried about long list of capital projects on the docket in coming years,” FinCom chair Jim Hutchinson said.

Recognitions

This year’s Bright Light Award went to Gary Davis, who was recognized for outstanding volunteerism. Davis, a retired architect, headed a project to digitize and create a searchable index of Planning and Department of Public Works documents, as well as updating the Planning Department filing system.

Tim Higgins was recognized for his 25 years of service as Town Administrator. His citation noted his “integrity, accessibility to the community, creative problem solving. tireless diplomacy, eternal optimism, endless patience and thoughtful leadership.”

“There are very few dull moments in Lincoln; we seem to move from one interesting and challenging project to another,” Higgins said in accepting the award, which included his very own parking spot at Town Hall. “If you’re a public policy nerd like I am and a history-oriented person, you can’t imagine a better place to spend your career.”

Departing Water Commission chair Packy Lawler and School Committee chair Tim Christenfeld were also thanked for their service.

Solar bylaw

Residents approved changes to new definitions for roof-mounted solar systems, energy storage systems and carport/canopy PV systems; financial and ownership arrangements to allow power purchase agreements; increased height limits for canopy-carport solar arrays; and adding a general waiver section. See section starting on page 11 of the list of motions (Article 28) for details.

State flag and seal

Residents voted to support creation of a state commission to study the idea of changing the Massachusetts state flag and seal, which some believe depicts oppression of Native Americans by English settlers.

“I would put to you that this is your version of the Confederate flag,” said Patricia Thornton Wells, who grew up in Georgia. “It has symbolism that means certain things to certain people that is very offensive. Most people in my town growing up didn’t take offense, but every African American does. I think this needs to be reconsidered from the context of all the people in our community.”

Noting that the motto on the flag and seal reads in part, “By this sword we seek peace,” resident Peter Pease said, “If that is not an aggressive statement… It seems so wrong to put people who owned this land before we came and have them on a flag… with a sword over their head. Please, let’s get this out of here.”

About a dozen residents voted nay, including Michael Coppock. He referred to the Native American on the flag, partly modeled on Metacomet, who led a rebellion known as King Philip’s War. “It was most deadly war in U.S. history as a percentage of population loss… he abandoned his father (Massasoit’s) of peace,” he said.

Other measures approved

  • Authorization to bond $1.1 million for the Water Department
  • Bylaw changes:
    • Adding an exception for nonconforming lots that were reduced in size by an eminent-domain taking
    • Adding two new properties to the Brown’s Wood Historic District
    • Clarifying the definition of “demolition” under the demolition bylaw
  • A ban on sales of e-cigarettes (a preemptive measure since no stores on Lincoln currently sell them). A handful of residents voted no.

Voters approve ban on cannabis businesses in Lincoln

Lincoln voters have affirmed a ban on cannabis retail businesses in Lincoln that was first passed at a Special Town Meeting in October 2018.

Lincoln residents voted in favor of legalizing sales of recreational marijuana in Massachusetts in a statewide vote in 2016. Because of that result, state law required a twi0thirds majority at Town Meeting and a simple majority in an election if residents wanted to ban cannabis businesses within Lincoln. The ban can be reversed by another vote in the future if the town wishes, but once cannabis sales are legalized, they can’t be banned later. 

In unofficial results, the ban was affirmed this week by a margin of 279-126 (69% to 31%) on the ballot question. Last October, the ban achieved the required two-thirds majority by a tally of 73% to 27%.

Personal, noncommercial growing and possession of recreational marijuana are unaffected. Massachusetts law allows residents 21 and older to use the drug and have up to one ounce on their person (up to 10 ounces in their homes). Households with one adult over 21 can also grow up to six marijuana plants, or 12 plants if there are two adults in the household.

The Lincoln move also will have no effect on potential home delivery of marijuana products, should the state’s Cannabis Control Commission decide to allow it. As the law now stands, medical dispensaries can deliver cannabis products to registered patients but doesn’t permit deliveries of recreational pot.

Residents also voted in a new slate of town officials in this week’s election (though none of the races was contested). Click here for full election results. 

 

Leaf blower restrictions narrowly approved at Town Meeting

A new bylaw restricting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers in Lincoln was approved at Town Meeting by a leaf-thin six-vote margin after more than a dozen residents spoke passionately for and against the proposal.

The new bylaw allows residents to use gas-powered leaf blowers only during the fall and spring cleanup seasons with some exceptions, though electric and battery-operated machines can be used all year round. Police or the building inspector can issue a warning after the first violation and a $100 fine for subsequent violations of the bylaw, which takes effect on October 1.

  • More coverage of the 2019 Annual Town Meeting in the Lincoln Squirrel tomorrow

Supporters argued that gas-powered leaf blowers are unacceptably noisy and polluting and harm Lincoln’s rural atmosphere. “Gas blowers are the most polluting machine ever made,” one resident said. “It fills my entire house with fumes… they’re very noisy, very polluting, and very stupid. Get an electric blower or a rake.”

Eric Harris, who lives near Route 2, said he doesn’t notice the highway traffic noise much, “but the difference when you have a leaf blower is enormous, not just decibels but the kind of noise it makes — it’s the kind of noise you can’t escape from. I wish this proposal had been more draconian than it is.”

“This is a reasonable solution to a problem that’s resulted in over 70 unsolicited complaints on our website,” said John Koenig, a member of the Leaf Blower Study Committee, which has been studying the issue for several years and proposed the bylaw.

Other residents in favor of the new rules said limiting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers is the responsible thing to do for the environment, given climate change and the particularly polluting exhaust of the two-stroke engines that many of the devices use.

But others said the bylaw was an overreach and unfairly singles out just one of many noise-producing landscaping devices. Some electric leaf blowers are no quieter than gas-powered models, and because they’re not as powerful, “they’re making just as much noise and they’re out there three or four times longer,” said Jeff Sutherland. Also, since gas-powered devices can still be used during primary leaf-clearing times of year, the regulation won’t have any effect during the periods of heaviest use, he added.

Ironically, the rural town character that the bylaw is trying to protect is also a cause of the problem, noted Margaret Olson. “We have leaf blowers because we have big pieces of property because of our zoning… if you’re banning a consequence of the look we’ve created in Lincoln, that doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.”

“We are a rural town, and we have chainsaws, yard trimmers, lawn mowers and log splitters. These are the tools we use to maintain our property. Try farming without a tractor,” said Andy Payne.

“This issue really makes me sad. When we start legislating behavior against each other, there’s no end to it,” Noah Eckhouse said. Also, if police have to get involved in enforcing the new rules, “there’s a nonzero chance that our police force will be busy writing a ticket in some corner of town” when they’re needed for a medical emergency elsewhere, he added.

“There’s got to be a better way to do this. I’m really disappointed,” Eckhouse said.

It would be nice to be able to ask neighbors to tone down their use of noisy leaf blowers, “but I have businesses and condos around me, so I can’t do that. For those of you not surrounded by conservation land, it’s a real problem,” said Jessica Packineau.

Although the proposal needed only a simple majority to pass (because it is a general bylaw rather than a zoning bylaw), the voice vote sounded like a tie, which it almost was — the subsequent standing vote revealed a final tally of 112 votes in favor and 106 votes against.

Letter to the editor: leaf blow bylaw is the wrong approach

To the editor:

Like many in town, I really hate the fall and spring “cleanup” seasons when squads of lawn care workers descend upon the lawns of Lincoln with their high-powered leaf blowers to afflict us with an awful racket and clouds of debris and dust. It seems like it takes forever for them to do just to do one property, and you hear (and see) this mayhem for weeks all over town.

Also, the environmentalist within me cringes at the ways in which what are seen as “standard” lawn care practices harm the environment — such as the overuse of leaf blowers and the bagging of grass clippings — both of which strip important nutrients from the soil. This in turn increases erosion and encourages the use of fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides — all of which washes into our ponds and streams.

Every defense I’ve seen for this proposed bylaw — as much as I agree with them — focuses on how bad leaf blowers are, and how good it would be to protect the environment by eliminating their use. In other words, it is a moral argument. And (as history teaches us) attempts to legislate a specific standard of morality through a ban, without a solid communal consensus in support of it, tend to fail — badly. So, to me it is obvious that a ban such as this cannot work, and will cause a lot of needless strife and controversy.

As additional evidence for the difficulty of making such a ban work, it appears that the proposed bylaw has been rewritten and tweaked many times to address the concerns of specific groups. The introduction of such complexities and exceptions before the bylaw has even been brought up for a town vote is a clear indicator that the basic approach is flawed. This ban is not a robust solution. It is not a fair solution. It is not a workable solution.

Let me be clear: I heartily support the goal, but I am convinced that this proposed Bylaw cannot work, and will create significant negative consequences and complications — many of them unanticipated and unintentional. An entirely different approach is necessary.

Sincerely,

Allen Vander Meulen
30 Beaver Pond Rd., Lincoln

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Your handy background guide for Town Meeting

Here is a list of headlines and links to stories and letters to the editor that have appeared in the Lincoln Squirrel that relate to the Town Meeting warrant articles that will come up for a vote on Saturday, March 23 starting at 9:30 a.m. Click here for the warrant articles and financial report.

Articles 9, 10, and 11 – Capital Planning Committee and Community Preservation Committee

Article 12 – Citizens’ petition to ban sales of e-cigarettes

Article 24 – Water Department capital items

Article 27 – Integration of deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum with The Trustees of Reservations

Articles 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32 – Changes to bylaws regarding solar installations, eminent domain, demolition, and Brown’s Wood Historic District

Article 33 – Leaf blower bylaw

Article 34 – Citizen’s petition to support a study on changing the state seal

 

Letter to the editor: Fox asks for your vote

To the editor:

My name is Valerie Fox, interim Town Clerk in Lincoln, and I am honored to be on the ballot for a three-year term as Lincoln’s Town Clerk. I will follow esteemed predecessors Susan Brooks, who served as Lincoln’s Town Clerk for 13 years and retired last July, and Nancy Zuelke, who ably served Lincoln in the role for 22 years.

Service is the key word for this position and is at the forefront of all its functions. One of the oldest positions in municipal government, the Town Clerk is the official keeper of town records, attesting by her signature and application of the town seal to the authenticity of everything from Town Meeting appropriations to the finality of Planning and Zoning Board decisions.

The Town Clerk serves as the administrator of elections, the chief registrar of voters, and the conductor of the annual town census. The clerk is the local liaison with respect to campaign finance, open meeting law, and conflict of interest laws. The office is also the registrar of vital records and the issuer of marriage licenses and dog licenses. And in Lincoln, the clerk serves as the town’s cemetery agent, overseeing the operations and maintenance of the four public cemeteries and providing assistance to families in the burial of their loved ones.

I hope for your vote on Monday, March 25 and feel so fortunate to be offered the opportunity to continue serving the residents of Lincoln as Town Clerk.

Sincerely,

Valerie Fox
250 South Great Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: deCordova/TToR integration should go forward

To the editor:

On Saturday, March 23, we will gather for our annual Town Meeting. Town Meeting matters. It is the legislative body for our town. It is in this legislative body where discussion, debate and ultimately decisions (votes) take place that will govern our town for the coming year. As in other legislative bodies, during discussion and debate, amendments may be offered and voted on. This is why citizens who are registered voters must be present to cast a vote.

This year, the town will be asked to support a major change to an institution that has been an integral part of the town’s life since 1950 — the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.  Originally the estate of the late Julian de Cordova (1851-1945), it was gifted to the town in 1930 to be a public museum of art after Julian’s death. This gift has proved both a blessing and a curse for the town. The curse lies in the fact that Julian crafted a problematic will and did not provide for the ongoing support of this property and art collection. Over the decades, different boards and administrators have sought to find ways to maintain the museum and park. 

The town has been the beneficiary, as we have enjoyed innovative installations, a beautifully maintained (and expanded) facility, art classes, music programs, unique outdoor art, all in a stunningly landscaped setting. All this has been supported primarily by a few very generous donors, museum membership, and programs, with no financial support from the town. Valiant efforts by various boards, most recently led by Linda Hammet Ory, have not been able to “right the ship.” Continuing in the current structure, was unsustainable. Something had to change.

Under Ory’s leadership, the deCordova has found an enthusiastic potential partner, The Trustees of Reservations (TToR), to carry on the mission of the sculpture park and museum. TToR will bring not only financial backing and administrative support, but more importantly, a commitment to mission. TToR has years of experience in managing properties similar to deCordova (the Crane Estate, Fruitlands, etc.).

The deCordova the governance structure would be changed to include TToR. The governance of the museum is established through its bylaws, which can only be amended through town meeting vote.  We will be asked to vote on this change. Click here for more information.

From a Lincoln resident’s perspective, the experience of deCordova will remain the same.  Any major changes will be required to go before the Board of Selectmen and the town. The vote before the town is an opportunity to secure the future of this cherished property and institution while adding no financial burden to the town.

The leadership of the town — led by Selectman James Craig, the working group who crafted the agreement, the town’s administrative leadership led by Town Administrator Tim Higgins, the administrative leadership of the deCordova, deCordova director John B. Ravenal, and the leadership of the deCordova Board of Trustees and Overseers, Linda Hammet Ory — deserve our thanks and a vote of support for the proposed integration at our upcoming Town Meeting

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: support deCordova measure at Town Meeting

To the editor:

I’d like to ask for your support and vote affirmatively at Town Meeting this Saturday for the proposed integration between deCordova and The Trustees of Reservation.

My wife and I have had the wonderful opportunity to be involved in both organizations, she on the board of deCordova and I on the board for The Trustees. Through this mutual engagement, we know both organizations share overlapping purposes in seeking to connect people to special places of cultural and natural importance and inspire unique experiences that improve quality of life. Being part of The Trustees will secure deCordova’s future and create a long-lasting, strong financial future for our beloved institution.

if you haven’t been able to attend one of the many open forums, you can read more details on this proposed integration in this online FAQ, or simply drop me a note and I’ll be happy to connect. We all lead busy lives, but please take a moment this Saturday morning to come out and offer your vote for deCordova. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Bob Mason
207 Old Concord Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: vote “no” on leaf blower question

(Editor’s note: this letter was sent by Byrnes Landscaping to their customers in Lincoln, and the Byrneses asked that it also be published as a letter to the editor.)

To the editor:

At the upcoming Lincoln Town Meeting, there is a proposed bylaw to limit/ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. We have compiled some facts and thoughts on this issue. Our purpose in writing this letter is to explain how the bylaw will affect our customers (and their neighbors), not to get into a debate about the studies completed by the commission.

Although the proposed regulation has come along way from the outright ban they originally proposed, it still bans the use of all gas-powered leaf blowers from June 1 to October 1 and from December 20 to March 20. The bylaw does allow for the use of electric blowers to be used during this period. If this by law passes, it will require Byrnes Landscaping to either stop cleaning debris from client’s properties or charge an additional fee to cover the extra time required and the new equipment to be purchased. 

Currently, battery-operated landscape equipment is three to ten times more expensive than its gas counterparts and is significantly under powered. We continually monitor the progress of this innovative industry and will invest in new greener equipment when it makes good business sense. Following are some common misperceptions and our responses.

1. All gas-powered blowers use two-stroke engines which exhaust large volumes of toxic emissions.

  • Byrnes Landscaping uses STIHL four-stroke hybrid blowers. They are equipped with reduced-emission engine technology. They deliver low emissions, increased fuel efficiency, and low noise when compared with their two-stroke counterparts.

2. There is no need to blow off any hard surfaces (walkways, driveways, patios, etc.) from June 1 to October 1 since there are no leaves falling.

  • We are blessed in Lincoln to have lush trees and sprawling properties. This also means that debris is constantly being dropped from trees. In the Spring/Summer we have flower buds, pollen, and other tree debris. In the late Summer we have acorns, and leaves from the birch and apple trees.  When debris is not removed it becomes a slipping hazard and it can stain hard surfaces.

3. If this bylaw passes, all noise will be gone in Lincoln, since leaf blowers are the leading cause.

  • During routine maintenance, blowers are only used on average for 3-5 minutes at the end of the job to clear debris. Lawnmowers, which are not included in this bylaw, are used on average for 20-25 minutes during routine maintenance. Lawn mowers create more noise than blowers; therefore, the limitations on sound during the summer will be marginal.

4. Other towns are restricting blowers; therefore, Lincoln will not be alone.

  • Lincoln is unlike any other community east of 495. Lincoln is comprised of large properties, dense tree coverage, and houses that are spaced far from each other. To make comparisons to Cambridge, Arlington, Newton, or a community in California is misleading and uninformed. Lincoln’s population density is 555 people per square mile. Lincoln is 8-27 times less dense than those compared communities.
Final takeaway

In New England, there are only a few months each year that we can enjoy the outdoors without bundling up. We appreciate this and want to make your outdoor Eden (which you all worked so hard to earn) beautiful and safe. Our crews are courteous, efficient, and receptive to individual customer needs. Please feel free to give feedback on this issue and let us know how we can better serve you.

We ask that you vote NO on this bylaw in its current form. We would support regulations on older two-stroke blowers. We would also support a phased-in approach to electric equipment. An immediate ban puts undo stress on DIY residents and the companies that operate in Lincoln.

We respect the fact that the Leaf Blower Study Group has been working hard for six years on this issue and value their opinions. However, we need to remember that this is a voluntary committee (with exception to town employees/other board members) and their time was donated because they had an agenda or strong views against leaf blowers from the onset. Length of time spent on a project should not dictate a desired outcome if an equitable conclusion has not been derived.

Sincerely,

Kyle and Brendon Byrnes
Byrnes Landscaping (82 Mill St., Lincoln)

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.