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

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School Building Committee meeting rescheduled for March 12

Last week’s School Building Committee meeting that was cancelled due to weather has been rescheduled for Monday, March 12 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. The main focus of the meeting is to learn about the sustainability analysis performed by Bill Maclay Architects. Maclay will be on hand to talk about how “green” each of the project concepts is, and what it would take to make the Lincoln School a “net zero” building. If you can’t make it Monday, the meeting will be recorded and available on the web. Also, the same information will be presented at the community workshops sponsored by the School Building Committee and the Community Center Committee on Tuesday, March 13 at 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the Brooks gym (weather permitting).

Talk on Jerusalem and U.S. embassy

Lincoln resident Steve Low will speak on “Jerusalem, the Embassy, and the Future” at the Council on Aging on Monday, March 12 at 12:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. In his talk, he will discuss why Trump’s American embassy announcement was so controversial and what it might this mean for a two-state solution. A Q&A will follow.

Test-drive an electric car

Electric vehicles will be available for test driving on Wednesday, March 14 from 6:30–7:30 p.m. at Hartwell School lot. There will be a Nissan Leaf and a Chevy Bolt or Volt. Visitors may also sit in a Tesla S and a Prius Prime and speak with the owners. 

Poll worker training offered

The Town Clerk’s office will be offering a poll worker training on Friday, March 16 at 10:30 a.m. and on Monday, March 19 at 7p.m. If you are interested in becoming trained as a poll worker, please RSVP to brookss@lincolntown.org.

Two more L-S School Committee candidate sessions

L-S School Committee candidates Carole Kasper of Lincoln and Ellen Joachim of Sudbury (a write-in candidate), will make an additional appearance to meet Lincoln voters on Tuesday, March 20 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. The candidates had previously announced meet-and-greet appearances on March 9 and 14.

Woolapalooza coming to Drumlin Farm

Celebrate the coming of spring at Drumlin Farm annual Woolapalooza festival featuring fiber, food, and fun! On Saturday, March 24 from 10 a.m.–4 p.m., visitors will have the opportunity to meet new baby animals, shop local artisans, explore the sanctuary, and learn the history of wool and sheep. Festival highlights include:

  • Sheep-shearing demonstrations
  • Sheep herding with border collies
  • Sheep-to-Sweater Interpretive Trail: Learn how wool becomes yarn and make a craft to take home.
  • A hearty lunch made from Drumlin Farm’s own meat and potatoes for additional purchase.
  • Local artisans demonstrating and selling handmade products.

Tickets are $15 for Mass Audubon members and $17 for nonmembers (free for children under 2). No advance ticket purchase; walk-ins only. Parking is limited so allow extra time.

Letter to the editor: Hogue running for Parks & Rec

(Editor’s note: Hogue is one of three candidates running for the open seat on the Parks and Recreation Committee. The others are Rey Romero and Sarah Chester.)

To the editor:

My name is Adam Hogue and I am writing to announce my candidacy for Lincoln Parks and Recreation (Parks & Rec) Committee. I look forward to earning your vote on Election Day on Monday, March 26.

As a member of Parks & Rec, I will prioritize programs that bring our community together and increase summer and after-school programs for our town’s kids so that they have a safe place to interact with each other and learn more about themselves. I also want to promote our veterans’ events in our community because of our proud history of service and proximity to Hanscom Air Force Base.

I have been an active volunteer in our community since moving here in 2013. I am the president of the Lincoln Veterans Association and have helped plan the annual Memorial Day celebration as well as the 15th anniversary of September 11th remembrance ceremony. I have also spoken to our kids in the Lincoln schools about my military service and experiences overseas. I want to continue to serve this community as a member of this great committee.

I started my professional career as an officer in the U.S. Army Airborne, serving one combat tour in Afghanistan, and I am currently a major in the Massachusetts Army National Guard serving out of Hanscom. I also own my own financial services company, Ulen & Hogue Financial, offering individual and small business insurance and investment solutions. 

My education background includes a BA in history from UMass-Lowell, a MA in education from the University of Nebraska, and an MBA in management from Fitchburg State University, as well as a graduate certificate in financial planning from Boston University. I live on Todd Pond Road with my wife Katy (Green) Hogue, who is a lifelong Lincoln resident, our dog Woodstock, and our soon-to-be-born daughter. 

It would be my honor to serve each and every one of you on the Parks & Rec Committee and I would appreciate your vote. Thank you in advance for your consideration on Election Day!

Sincerely,

Adam M. Hogue
36 Todd Pond Rd.
Adam.m.hogue@gmail.com
978-828-6184

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: Glass runs for reelection to BOS

To the editor,

I write to declare my candidacy for the 3-year term on the Board of Selectmen, and I ask for your support at the town election on Monday, March 26.

Last year when I sought to fill the final year of Renel Fredriksen’s term, I knew that serving as a member of the BOS would be interesting and challenging. It is both, and I would also add the adjectives “energizing” and “humbling.” Energizing because grappling with issues such as housing, the School and Community Center projects, the town budget, solar panels, traffic, and zoning policy is an intellectually engaging, nuanced process that brings me in contact with a wide variety of community members. Humbling because the range of expertise and knowledge among our professional staff and residents is truly amazing. I am fortunate to be part of a collaborative board and of a community that strives to draw on its members’ vast talents for the betterment of our town.

During the last 12 months, our board has focused on reaching out to residents through meetings, individual conversations, a series of listening sessions, and our BOS newsletter. Our goal is to be transparent about the business of the town and to foster communication among boards and with the community. As residents of Lincoln, we have many (and sometimes conflicting) issues we are all trying to balance. I believe our goal is to keep our eye on how specific projects and policies can serve our town’s broader vision and mission while we pay careful attention to the details. I look forward to staying engaged with you, to being challenged by your questions, and to being inspired by your ideas.

Please put both the March 24 Annual Town Meeting and the March 26 town election on your calendars!

Sincerely,

Jennifer Glass
11 Stonehedge Road

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.

Town Meeting warrant articles published

A total of 36 warrant articles (13 of which will be considered as a group on the consent calendar) will be presented to residents for votes at the Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 24. The full warrant is online here. Articles include:

  • Customary financial articles
    • The town budget (including the Lincoln School and Lincoln-Sudbury High School budgets)
    • Capital expenditures, including a new fire engine
    • Funds for routine maintenance of town facilities
    • Appropriations to a retiree health insurance trust fund, and to a debt stabilization fund
    • A variety of other smaller appropriations
  • Campus building projects — Lincoln School and community center
  • Bylaw proposals
    • Mary’s Way proposed zoning overlay (allowing planning for the Oriole Landing mixed-income housing development to move forward)
    • Historic District expansion to include modernist homes (voluntary on the part of homeowners)
    • Site plan sunset provision
  • Green initiatives
    • Vote to initiate the “electricity aggregation” process
  • Citizens’ petitions
    • A ban on the retail use of plastic bags
    • A ban on the retail sale of individual plastic water bottles
    • An alternative ban on the retail sale of individual plastic water bottles that bans the use of such bottles on town property
    • A resolution to support tighter regulation of natural gas leaks
    • A resolution to designate Lincoln as a “safe and welcoming” town; and

The Board of Selectmen is meeting with residents who submitted citizen’s petitions. They voted last week to endorse retail bans on plastic water bottles and grocery bags while removing from the warrant a petition asking for reimbursements for residents’ legal fees.

On Monday, March 5, the board will meet with Mothers Out Front, the proponents of the gas leak resolution, and on Monday, March 19, the board will meet with the proponents of the “safe and welcoming town” resolution.

News acorns

PTO hosts candidate forum

The Lincoln School PTO will host a town election and candidate forum on Friday, March 2 in the Hartwell multipurpose room. The PTO will have a general business meeting at 8:15 a.m., and the candidate forum, including a question and answer session, will run from 8:30–9:30 a.m.

“Beauty and the Beast” with ballet

The Lincoln Public Library will host a reading of Beauty and the Beast geared to young children, accompanied by dancers from the Commonwealth Ballet Company acting out some of the parts in colorful costumes on Saturday, March 3 at 11 a.m. Free and open to all ages.

Session looks at “green” features of school options

How “green” are the proposed Lincoln School project concepts? Find out at the School Building Committee (SBC) meeting on Wednesday, March 7 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell multipurpose room. Bill Maclay, founder of Maclay Architects, and Martine Dion, principal architect and director of sustainable design at SMMA, will present the results of Maclay Architects’ energy performance analysis of each of the five project concepts presented at the January 23 community workshops. The analysis includes options for differing levels of building envelope energy performance, mechanical systems optimization, construction cost estimates, energy modeling for both annual consumption and building enclosure-related energy usage, and 20-year capital and operating costs and cash flow estimates.

Eighth-grade parents’ night at L-S

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School will host Eighth-grade Parents’ Night on Thursday, March 8 from 7–8:30 p.m. in the L-S auditorium. The agenda includes an overview of the ninth-grade curriculum and an outline of the scheduling process, followed by an opportunity to visit faculty members to ask questions about course selection and curriculum. Eighth-graders will have received the Program of Studies earlier that week. The snow date will be Tuesday, March 13 from  7–8:30 p.m.

LSSC write-in candidates’ night on March 5

The decision by Gerald Quirk of Sudbury to withdraw as a candidate for the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District School Committee leaves only one candidate, Carole Kasper of Lincoln, in the race with two seats open. The League of Women Voters of Sudbury will invite write-in candidates for that race to participate in Candidates Night on Monday, March 5.

Anyone who sends written notification of his or her intention to be a write-in candidate to the Sudbury or Lincoln town clerk or the Lincoln-Sudbury registrar by the end of the business day on Friday, March 2, will be invited to participate in Candidates Night. Closing hours on Friday are noon for the Sudbury town clerk, 5 p.m. for the Lincoln town clerk, and 3 p.m. for the Lincoln-Sudbury registrar. Write-in candidates are not required to file their intention with town clerks or the registrar and may enter the race at any point, but will not be included in Candidates’ Night unless they file a written intention to run by that deadline.

If there are three or more candidates for the two seats, the League will offer a panel in that race with the chance for all the candidates to introduce themselves and respond to questions. If there are only two candidates for the two seats, the race will be treated as uncontested and the candidates will have a chance to introduce themselves.

Candidates’ Night will be held in the auditorium at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School on Monday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m., with a chance to meet the candidates starting at 7:15 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. The program also includes candidate panels in the races for Sudbury Board of Selectmen and Sudbury School Committee (K-8). For more information, please contact Nancy Brumback at 978-440-8304 or nancy.brumback@gmail.com.

Forums planned for Town Meeting and election issues

Oriole Landing update on Tuesday

Residents are invited to hear reports from town officials, boards, and committees on the proposed Oriole Landing mixed-income housing development on Tuesday, Feb. 27 from 7–9 p.n. in Town Hall. Hosted by the Housing Options Working Group. There will be ample time for questions, discussion, answers, and suggestions in preparation for the Planning Board public hearing on March 6 and the Town Meeting vote on March 24.

Kasper to appear at three events

Lincoln’s Carole Kasper is running for the seat being vacated by Nancy Marshall on the Lincoln-Sudbury RHS School Committee. There are three public events upcoming in Lincoln at which citizens will have an opportunity to meet Kasper, learn about her involvement with various Lincoln institutions, and get a sense of her views and goals for L-S. Coffee and light refreshments will be served. The election is Monday, March 26; the polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

  • Friday, March 9 — Lincoln Woods Community Room, 9:30–11 a.m.
  • Wednesday, March 14—Lincoln Library Tarbell Room, 9:30–11 a.m., and Bemis Hall, 1:30 to 3:00 p.m.

Green Energy Committee sessions on Town Meeting articles

At Town Meeting, there will be several articles and citizens’ petitions related to the environment and sustainability. In one article, the Green Energy Committee (GEC) will be asking residents to consider supporting a Lincoln “Community Choice Aggregation” program. Aggregation programs can provide advantages for price, price stability, and renewable energy content that is included in our electricity purchases. A “yea” vote would start the process involving about a year of planning, bid solicitation, and staff review. Pending the Board of Selectmen’s approval, the town would sign a formal contract with an electricity supplier on behalf of the town.

To learn more about this and the other “green” initiatives that will be voted on at Town Meeting, come to the Green Energy Committee Forum on Wednesday, March 14 from 7:30–9 p.m. in Hartwell Pod B. On the agenda:

  • “Community Choice Aggregation,” sponsored by GEC
  • “The Regulation of Sale and Use of Bottled Water,” sponsored by the Lincoln-Sudbury Environmental Club
  • “The Regulation of Sale and Use of Bottled Water — Alternative,” sponsored by Jim White, owner of Trail’s End and Lincoln Kitchen
  • “Protecting Consumers of Gas and Electricity from Paying for Leaked & Unaccounted-for Gas,” sponsored by Mothers Out Front

The forum is a chance to meet and talk with sponsoring groups and others engaged in sustaining the environment. Immediately before the forum from 6:30–7:30 p.m. in the Hartwell parking lot, residents can meet owners of electric vehicles, ask questions and learn more.

Report: Oriole Landing will boost revenue by up to $115,000 a year

A fiscal analysis performed for the developer of the proposed Oriole Landing project says the housing will result in a net boost to town revenue of at least $75,000 per year.

The report for Civico Development done by Fougere Planning & Development, Inc., looked at increased revenue from property and excise taxes as well as costs from added school-age children and emergency services. The Milford, N.H. company is also doing a fiscal impact analysis for the proposed 180-unit LCB Senior Living development in Lexington.

With an estimated value of $16 million, Oriole Landing would be expected to generate first-year tax payments of $217,870 based on Lincoln’s current property tax rate of $12.60 per $1,000 valuation, the report says. Another $32,813 in revenue would come from automobile excise taxes and $6,536 in the 3 percent property tax surcharge that funds the Community Preservation Act. The added estimated revenue totals $257,219.

Fourgere analyzed three years of emergency call data from 1,582 apartment housing units to project annual increases of 29 calls a year and 14 more calls for fire and ambulance services. Based on Lincoln’s Public Safety Department call records and budgets, the town would pay an additional $18,641 for Oriole Landing services. There will be no added road maintenance costs because the development’s road maintenance and garbage removal will be paid for by the apartment complex operator.

The report analyzed the school impact of the 30 proposed two-bedroom units, disregarding the 30 one-bedroom units since those tenants would presumably not have children living with them. Using the Lincoln Woods units (minus its three-bedroom units) for comparison, Fourgere projects that 9–16 school-age children may live at Oriole Landing, with 70-80 percent of them in grades K-8.

Oriole Landing’s fiscal impact according to the Fougere report (click image to enlarge).

Based on Lincoln’s class size policies, this will result in less than a single additional class, meaning an extra teacher costing about $100,000 probably would not have to be hired. However, the firm included a figure of $60,000–$100,000 “to account for some school-related costs… to cover potential teacher salaries.” K-8 school enrollment is down 12.5 percent since 2011-12, according to school data cited in the report, so “given the declining enrollment trend, the need for additional staff is unlikely.”

When everything is added up, the net fiscal impact will be an estimated $75,437–$115,437 in additional revenue for the town.

The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Civico’s preliminary site plan on Tuesday, March 6 at 7 p.m. in town hall. Residents will also be asked to amend zoning bylaws to establish a North Lincoln Planning Development District and approve the prelininary site plan at Town Meeting on March 24.

On Thursday, Feb. 22, Civico Development will host a presentation and Q&A for the Council on Aging at 2:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall and an open house in the Lincoln Public Library from 6:30–8:30 p.m. There will with additional open houses on March 8, 15, and 22 and another COA session on March 16. A full list of meetings can be found here.

Dueling water bottle bans at Town Meeting

A group of high school students is trying again to get Lincoln to ban the sale of single-serve plastic water bottles and retail distribution of plastic grocery bags—but one of last year’s bottle-ban opponents has advanced his own ballot measure that goes even farther.

Students in Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Environmental Club have submitted two citizen’s petitions for the Annual Town Meeting on March 24. One measure seeks to ban single-use plastic check-out bags at supermarkets and other retail stores. The other would prohibit retail sale of bottles of 1 liter (34 ounces) or less containing non-carbonated, unflavored drinking water. Bottles could still be given away at any time or distributed in the event of a town-wide water emergency.

The petitions are identical to last year’s, which the students withdrew after some residents and officials urged more discussion. Instead, voters passed “sense of the town” motions that expressed support for the concerns raised by the students and urged them to “continue to explore options, including the contemplated bylaws, in consultation with key Lincoln stakeholder groups.”

The owners of Donelan’s supermarket and two new restaurants in town also objected before Town Meeting in letters to the editor of the Lincoln Squirrel.

The Environmental Club has advocated alternatives to plastic water bottles, such as water in aluminum cans or boxes similar to orange juice containers boxed water and water in aluminum containers, and pushed for more water fountains and hydration stations on public and private property for refilling reusable water bottles.

Lincoln resident Jim White, co-owner of the Trail’s End and Lincoln Kitchen restaurants, said he had a “positive conversation” with the Environmental Club and supports the students’ goals in trying to reduce harm caused by discarded bottles to the environment and human health. However, he still thinks the proposed restriction on sales of water bottles isn’t good policy. “What that does is puts the burden of compliance on essentially two businesses in town, and that’s unfair,” he said.

White has submitted his own citizen’s petition that goes even farther than the student measure—it would also prohibit anyone from bringing the same water bottles onto town-owned property, including schools, conservation land, recreational fields and public buildings.

“If Lincoln is going to make a statement, then let’s have everyone in Lincoln make a statement—let’s be a leader,” White said.

The L-S students had better luck last year in getting Sudbury voters to approve the restrictions on plastic grocery bags and water bottles. An October 2017 vote to repeal the measure water bottle was defeated. Both of Sudbury’s plastics rules goes into effect on July 1, 2018. Only Cambridge and Concord have approved similar sales bans in Massachusetts.

San Francisco has banned the sale of single-use plastic water bottles on city-owned property, including at large-scale outdoor events on public property, though sales are still permitted in stores. The city is installing more hydration stations on public property and now requires new buildings to have them.

Details on Oriole Landing released; hearing on March 6

The Planning Board’s public hearing on Oriole Landing, a proposal for 60 units of mixed-income housing on Mary’s Way, is scheduled for Tuesday, March 6 at 7 p.m.—just 18 days before residents will be asked to vote on the matter at Town Meeting.

The proposal calls for 60 one- and two-bedroom units on six acres of land adjacent to The Commons. Fifteen of the 60 units would be deed-restricted as affordable according to state guidelines. At the March 24 Town Meeting, voters will be asked to approve a bylaw amendment to establish a North Lincoln Planning Development Overlay District as well as a Preliminary Development and Land Use Plan for the project (click here to view the draft warrant article). Five projects have been approved under this process in Lincoln: Battle Road Farms and the Lincoln North office building (1986), Minuteman Inn (approved in 1989 but never completed), and Minuteman Commons and The Groves/Lincoln Deaconess, now The Commons (2006).

The Planning Board has created a detailed FAQ document about the project, and the Housing Commission also has a website with an overview and background on affordable housing in Lincoln. Plans and other documents relating to the March 6 public hearing are available here. A list of upcoming public forums and official meetings can be found here.

If approved next month by a two-thirds vote, Civico Development must return within two years to the Planning Board for site plan special permit approval through another public hearing process. Civico must also go before the Historical Commission if they plan to demolish an existing structure on the property that may be deemed historically or architecturally significant. The company is working with the commission to develop a plan that will “honor a historic house located on the property,” according to the FAQ document.

Other information from the document:

  • The development would have the second-highest density of housing units per acre in town (10.5), lower than The Commons (11.95) and greater than Minuteman Commons or Lincoln Woods (8.72 and 6.28 units per acre, respectively).
  • Nine to 16 school-age children spread over various grades would be expected to live in Oriole Landing. Since there will be only one- and two-bedroom units, Civico believes the number will be on the lower side.
  • A traffic study indicates that there will be no significant delays at any of the nearby intersections due to added traffic from the development. It is also “not anticipated to have a significant impact” on the Deerhaven Road/Garland Road community. The town is having the traffic study reviewed by a third-party consultant.
  • Estimated rents will run from $1,564–$1,759 per month for the designated affordable units, or $2,200–$2,900 for the market-rate units.
  • The state is expected to allow up to 70 percent of the affordable units (10 of the 15) to be rented to households qualified as “local preference”—tenants who are already Lincoln residents, employees of the town or of Lincoln businesses, or families with children enrolled in the Lincoln Public Schools.
  • The Lincoln Housing Coalition projects that the town will need to add 10 units of affordable housing per decade just to keep pace with development trends and maintain Lincoln’s Subsidized Housing Inventory (SHI) at a minimum of 10 percent. If the SHI falls below this state-mandated threshold in the 2020 census, developers can bypass local zoning restrictions to build so-called 40B projects. Lincoln needs approximately 10 units of affordable housing to meet requirements for 2020.
  • Future expansion is unlikely because the developer is keeping the bedroom count under 90 bedrooms in order to use a septic system. Bedroom counts over 90 require construction of a package treatment plant costing approximately $1 million.