government

Letter to the editor: Kasper running for L-S School Committee

February 7, 2018

To the editor:

I am announcing my candidacy for the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee (LSSC) and looking forward to earning your vote on Election Day (Monday, March 26).

As an L-S School Committee member, I would prioritize the support and enhancement of the many strengths of our dynamic 21st-century high school, including rigorous college-prep academics, educated and experienced faculty, thoughtful core values that guide decision making, and responsible management of budgets and resources in supporting a school environment that encourages well-rounded students who value learning, leading, initiating, serving, and developing both their intellectual and social-emotional potentials. As a current L-S parent, I have seen first-hand the significant positive impacts that these factors have on the daily lives of our students.

There are always ways to improve, and I would prioritize these as well. A climate of inclusion and social safety for all students should be a key focus area within a school culture committed to the core values of fostering caring and cooperative relationships, respecting human differences, and cultivating community. Facilitating smoother eighth-to ninth-grade transitions for all students should also be highlighted, as well as a continued emphasis on reasonable class sizes. Increasing awareness of the L-S Four-year Plan, guidance for a college planning process that entails student initiative and follow-up, would also serve students and families more fully. And further, our Lincoln and Sudbury communities need to continue together in a spirit of relationship building, open communication, creative collaboration, and shared commitment to excellent pubic education for all of our L-S students.

I have been an active volunteer in our local community. Most recently, I contributed as a member of the LSSC School Start-time Sub-Committee (Spring 2017), initiated and led the First Parish in Lincoln Intergenerational Women’s Group (2014-17), led the town-wide Lincoln Campus Master Planning Committee as chair (2015-16), and led the Lincoln School K-8 PTO as chair/president (2011-14).

Professionally, I spent many career years as a management consultant, trainer, facilitator, and educator, serving in various roles on college campuses and within firms before founding my own national consulting company that specialized in strengthening organizational performance and building workplace communities. My professional experiences spanned both private and public sectors, and included collaborations at every level of government from federal to local.

My educational background includes a B.A. in communication science and an M.Ed. in organization development with a specialty in multiculturalism. I have designed and taught undergraduate semester courses, and have professionally fostered on-campus student communities on two major college campuses.

My husband and I have two teenage sons. Our 10th-grader loves his life at L-S, while our eighth-grader will graduate from the Lincoln School this June and then begin ninth grade at L-S this fall. Our family is invested in L-S and its future, and it would be an honor to represent Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston families in maintaining and increasing the excellence of our beloved high school.

Thank you for your consideration on Election Day!

Carole Kasper
140 Concord Road, Lincoln
kasperlssc@gmail.com

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.

Lincoln to hold Democratic caucus on March 3

February 5, 2018

Registered Democrats in Lincoln will hold a caucus on March 3 at Bemis Hall to elect delegates and alternates to the 2018 Massachusetts Democratic State Convention. This year’s state convention will be held June 1-2 at the DCU Center in Worcester, where thousands of Democrats from across the state will come together to endorse Democratic candidates for statewide office, including Constitutional officers and gubernatorial candidates.

Registration for the caucus—which is open to all registered and pre-registered Democrats in Lincoln—starts at 9:30 a.m. and the caucus starts at 10 a.m. Pre-registered Democrats who will be 18 by Sept. 18, 2018 will be allowed to participate and run as delegates or alternates. Lincoln can elect six delegates and four alternates to the convention. Youth, minorities, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ individuals who are not elected as delegates or alternates may apply to be add-on delegates at the caucus or at www.massdems.org.

Those interested in getting involved with the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee should contact co-chair Gary Davis at garyddavis04@gmail.com.

Public forums and other meetings scheduled for Oriole Landing proposal

February 4, 2018

A schedule of important dates for the Oriole Landing proposal (click image to enlarge or click here to see this on the town’s Oriole Landing website).

Civico Development and town officials have scheduled several public forums and meetings on the proposed Oriole Landing mixed-income housing development. The next forum is Tuesday, Feb. 6 from 2:30–4 p.m. in Bemis Hall.

If approved, Civico will build 60 units of housing—15 of them deed-restricted as affordable—in two adjacent buildings on Mary’s Way abutting The Commons (see this January 15 Lincoln Squirrel article for more information). The developer touts the proposal as a way to attract both new residents and current Lincoln residents looking to downsize but stay in town.

Residents will be asked at the March 25 Annual Town Meeting to approve two measures relating to the project: a zoning change to establish a North Lincoln Planning Development Overlay District, and a preliminary development and land use plan for the project. If it gets those approvals, the plan must later undergo a site plan review with details on traffic and environmental impacts and get a special permit from the Planning Board.

More information:

Town of Lincoln website on Oriole Landing, including links to information about the town’s approval process and affordable housing inventory
Civico Development’s Oriole Landing website (via CoUrbanize.com)
Oriole Landing Facebook page

21 Lincolnites take out candidacy papers for town election

February 1, 2018

As of Thursday, Feb. 1, the following residents have taken out nomination papers for town offices that will be up for election on March 26, 2018:

Board or Committee	Openings/terms	Candidates
Board of Assessors	One for three years	Edward Morgan*
Board of Health	One for three years	Patricia Miller*
Board of Selectmen	One for three years	Jennifer Glass*
Cemetery Commission	One for three years	Susan S. Harding,* Carol DiGianni
Commissioners of Trust Funds	One for three years	—
DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Trustees	One for four years	Jonathan Rapaport
Housing Commission	One for three years, one for two years, one for one year	Evan Gorman,* Bijoy Misra,* Keith Gilber
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee	Two for three years**	Gerald Quirk,* Carol Marie Kasper, Robert Stein
Parks and Recreation Committee	One for three years	Adam Hogue, Rey Romero, Sarah Chester
Planning Board	One for three years	Gerald Taylor*
School Committee	Two for three years	Peter Borden,* Alvin L. Schmertzler*, Catherine Bitter
Trustees of Bemis	One for three years	Mimi Borden
Water Commission	One for three years	Robert B. Antia*

* incumbent

There are still no candidates for Commissioners of Trust Funds position.

Nomination papers must be taken out by Friday, Feb. 2 and filed by 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 6. A final list of candidates who will appear on the ballot will be published after that.

Letter to the editor: Marshall not running for reelection

January 31, 2018

To the editor:

I write to announce that I will not seek reelection to the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee this March. In 2009, I was elected with the support of both towns and it has been an honor from start to finish.

We have a high school treasured by the communities of Lincoln, Sudbury, and Boston. Our teachers and staff are creative, dedicated and deeply committed to educating and preparing our children for the 21st century. The core values of the district —fostering caring and cooperative relationships, respecting human differences, pursuing academic excellence, and cultivating community—are all behaviors to be mirrored in our own lives, our conversations at the dinner table, and in our actions.

I am grateful for the responsiveness of our towns’ Boards of Selectmen, the proactive counsel of our Finance Committee liaisons, the relatively new relationships we have begun with both towns in advocating our capital needs and forecasts, and of course of our voters. This has been process and relational work I have thoroughly enjoyed.

I am indebted to many members of the committee with whom I have had the great pleasure of serving. I have learned a great deal and, while we found ourselves sometimes agreeing to disagree, our committee has always focused on our charge as elected officials, namely,;’ what is in the best interest of our students within the fiscal guidance we are given. Working well together and listening to each other is critical given our tasks.

Finally, to those inside the building who do so much to clear the snowy sidewalks and open the building, who have it optimally at the ready to allow education to happen; to those who work to teach, to challenge and engage and to be present for their students, who create unique, dynamic, relevant curriculum; to those who allow our students to take risks and grow, and who support those who are struggling inside and outside the classroom, I will miss you the most. While we have four children who gleaned so much from their education and are now on unique paths as young adults, my service was far from being just about them. For me it was about the Lincoln-Sudbury community—the faculty, the administration and staff, the families, our towns, and, first and foremost, all of our students.

Thank you.

Nancy Marshall
2 Beaver Pond Rd.

Letter to the editor: Taylor running for reelection to Planning Board

January 29, 2018

To the editor:

It doesn’t seem so long ago, but it has been three years since I declared my candidacy for the Planning Board, and I’m asking you to elect me once again for a three-year term.

In my initial letter, I summarized my previous service to Lincoln on the Finance Committee, the Housing Commission/Housing Trust and as a Selectman. Now I would point to how the Planning Board has improved since you first elected me, and commit to you that, if elected, I would continue to work to give Lincoln the forward looking planning effort that it needs and deserves.

When I asked for your support previously, I identified two objectives that I would pursue. First, the board should spend much more time actually planning and much less time in the process of negotiating with people about what they could and couldn’t do with their residential properties. The second objective, related to the first, was to make the process of residents seeking reasonable improvements to their property much simpler and less costly. We have made substantial progress on both fronts.

The process through which residents seek to develop or improve their properties has become much simpler, more efficient, and far less costly. The board now delegates to its talented staff, Jennifer Burney and Paula Vaughn-Mackenzie, the task of resolving conflicts between applicants’ plans and Lincoln’s bylaws and board policies. Most issues are addressed at the staff level, so public hearings required for approval are focused narrowly upon any conflicts that remain and any concerns raised by abutters and interested parties.

Unlike in the past, it is rare that we continue a public hearing (forcing applicants and their architects to return) except in cases of substantial public interest, such as development of the new Minuteman High School facilities, or very large and impactful residences. The board protects the town’s interests but makes the process as user-friendly as possible. Furthermore, the board is considering changes to the bylaws governing site plan review to make them much more equitable.

By making its permitting function more efficient, the board and planning staff have been able to turn their attention to the planning that Lincoln needs. In addition to following and supporting the school building and community center development committees, the board has begun efforts to revitalize the Lincoln Station/mall area and to improve wayfinding and connectivity in Lincoln. The Lincoln Station effort includes working with the MBTA to improve commuter rail facilities, alterations to zoning to improve incentives for private commercial and residential development, and creation of “spaces” to make the mall area more attractive.

Wayfinding and connectivity initiatives seek to better inform people of what Lincoln has to offer and where to find it, and to develop facilities such as walkways, crosswalks, and trails to increase foot and bicycle access to key locations and improve safety. Our staff has brought in over $600,000 in grants to support these efforts, and we are actively pursuing additional grant funding.

I ask your support in the upcoming election to further pursue these efforts.

Sincerely.

Gary Taylor
2 Beaver Pond Rd.

COA activities in February

January 28, 2018

Want to try out your singing voice outside the shower?
February 2 at 12:30 p.m.
Come join the Lincoln Traditional Jazz Band at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2 at Bemis for an hour of old-time jazz. There will be tunes to try out your singing voice in the comfortable company of other seniors as you join them in singalongs and there will be tunes to just listen to and tap your feet. Either way it will be a fun way to spend a lunch hour as the regulars will tell you.

Lincoln Academy with Police Chief Kevin Kennedy and REACH Advocates Jyoti John and Pat Cooper: Update on safety and security issues in our community
February 5 at 12:30 p.m.
Come to Bemis Hall on Monday, Feb. 5 at 12:30 to hear Police Chief Kevin Kennedy and REACH Advocates Jyoti John and Pat Cooper discuss “An Update on Safety and Security Issues in Our Community.” Unfortunately, Lincoln is not immune to the problems of the world outside our borders, whether these be the opioid crisis, crime and scams, domestic violence and elder abuse, and more. Come hear our police chief discuss some of the issues facing our community and how the Lincoln Police Department is responding. We will also hear about a new project to combat elder abuse by REACH Beyond Domestic Violence from Elder Community Advocate Jyoti John and Project Coordinator Pat Cooper. The COA provides beverages and dessert. The lectures last about an hour, including a question and answer period. Participants are welcome to stay after the program to continue their discussion. All ages welcome.

Workshops focus on three main school project options

January 26, 2018

The Lincoln School today.

The SBC has narrowed the Lincoln School project options down to three, and architects presented them to residents at community workshops on January 23.

Attendees also heard detailed price estimates from another firm, as well as information on taxation and borrowing scenarios from Finance Committee Vice Chair Andrew Paine, who recapped some of the information from the presentation by FinCom Chair Jim Hutchinson at a multi-board meeting on January 9.

The first set of options considered by the SBC was for an “optimal program” of 178,041 square feet, as shown on pages 7-8 of SMMA architect Joel Seeley’s presentation. (The current building is 148,464 square feet.) Those options ranged in price from $115.6 million to $120.3 million, so the committee asked SMMA to return with some less expensive concepts. The resulting four “A” options retained the L-shaped school on the north and west sides of the ballfield, while the “B” options concentrated just on the north and “C” on the west.

The next round, the “essential program” (pg. 9-10) consisted of eight “A” and “B” concepts calling for 158,171 square feet and ranging from $73.6 million to $100.4 million. The SBC and the architects then added back some of the space cut from the “optimal” concepts to come up with five “essential–refined” options (pg. 11-12) of 160,971 square feet. At this week’s meeting, they presented three options (A1.1, A3.4, and B6) as well as estimates for repair-only and repair-and-renovation options.

Repair only – $48.7 million

Install new HVAC, plumbing and electrical systems, add a fire sprinkler system, do accessibility and building code upgrades, replace the roof and the older uninsulated windows, do minimal roadway improvement.

Repair plus basic renovation only – $59.2 million

Make the repairs above but replace all windows, do moderate roadway improvements, install new interior finishes (cabinetry, doors, etc), and replace the Smith boiler room.

The three newest options call for:

Demolishing some or all of the older Smith building (and more, for Option B6)
Adding central administration offices
Adding three pre-K classrooms currently located in the Hartwell building
Adding a central kitchen and a dining commons area that would also be used for grade-level gatherings, project-based learning or extra art/drama space as needed
Adding a connector between the Brooks building and the Reed gym

Two of those options (A3.4 and B6) include hubs for grades 3-8—“neighborhoods” with classrooms as well as breakout, small group, special education, and resource rooms surrounding “a collaboration space providing for flexible, differentiated learning,” SMMA architect Joel Seeley explained. Option B6 calls for demolishing everything except the two gyms, the auditorium section, and the 1994 media center portion. It would consolidate the footprint on the north side of campus, adding a second floor on the east side for grades 7 and 8.

Option A1.1 – $75 million (15,538 SF demolition, 29,700 SF new construction) – pg. 27-30 of the presentation
Option A3.4 – $88.3 million (10,937 SF demolition, 37,550 SF new construction) – pg. 32-36
Option B6 – $89.8 million (72,497 SF demolition, 77,125 SF new construction) – pg. 38-43

The latter three options are not optimal in terms of the number and size of classrooms and hubs—”this is a compromise as we think about the budgetary impact,” said Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall. However, they all represent an upgrade educationally, and Option B6 in particular “offers us a huge improvement in the way we can teach and the way in which kids have the opportunity to learn,” she said.

As teachers in the new Hanscom Middle School have discovered, hubs and spaces of varying sizes “have been a catalyst for thinking about the ways we teach,” McFall said. “We need spaces like this to give students the opportunity to work in teams, foster social and emotional interactions, be curious and problem-solve and debate. This allows us that flexibility to be creative.”

Option B6 may also offer the most flexibility for a future addition if there should be a spike in school enrollment, and Seeley said future refinements might indicate ground-level or vertical expansion possibilities. One resident worried that the town could outgrow the school more quickly than expected if 60 new units of mixed-income housing are approved.

Repair estimates have gone up

The estimated cost of a repair-only project has jumped from Dore and Whittier’s $29.2 million in 2015 to $48.9 million for a project beginning in the second quarter of 2020. However, the 2015 figure did not include any improvements to roads and parking, landscaping, stormwater management, or utility infrastructure, nor did it take into account the cost of phasing or temporary accommodations for students during construction.

The latest cost estimates were prepared by owner’s project manager Daedalus Projects using data from the Massachusetts School Building Authority, which tracks all school construction spending in the state. The cost of new construction has climbed from an average of $367 per square foot in 2015 to a projected $471 in 2019, said Shane Nolan, senior project manager at Daedalus. Contributing factors include a building boom in Boston’s Seaport district and construction of the casino in Everett, which are leading to labor shortages and high demand for materials and equipment, he said.

Borrowing limits

Echoing Finance Committee Chair Jim Hutchinson’s statements at a multi-board meeting on January 9, FinCom Vice Chair Andrew Payne said that Lincoln’s bond advisors have indicated that the town could borrow $100 million for the school and community center projects and perhaps more while still maintaining its AAA bond rating.

State guidelines set a bond debt limit for Lincoln of $106 million (the town currently has about $9 million in outstanding debt), but since the bonding would go toward a school and a community center, getting approval to go over that limit should be “straightforward,” he added.

Property tax impacts

What will this mean for property tax bills? If the town borrowed $100 million over a 30-year period, property tax bills could go up by as much as 20 percent, with the average single-family tax bill climbing from $15,185 in fiscal 2017 to $17,702, assuming a bond interest rate of 4 percent (pgs. 13 and 15 of the FinCom’s presentation). The committee’s scenarios use bond interest rates of 4 and 5 percent, though the current rate is just below 3 percent (pg. 18).

To cushion the blow, the FinCom recommends using some of the town’s debt stabilization fund (currently $4.7 million) to pay down some of the balance for the first two or three years of debt service, so a 15 percent tax hike could be “smoothed” to three years of 5 percent increases.

Comments from several residents indicated mixed feelings. While many cringed at the potential tax hike, most also dismissed the repair-only or repair-and-renovation options, and some even wondered whether classrooms could be added.

On Tuesday, Jan. 30, residents will hear about possible designs and costs for another major construction project: the community center. There will be identical sessions from 8–10 a.m. and 7–9 p.m in Hartwell pod B.

Lincoln women rally on one-year anniversary of 2017 event

January 23, 2018

(Editor’s note: Click here to see Lincoln Squirrel coverage of the 2017 women’s marches in Boston and Washington, D.C.)

To the editor:

Last Saturday, four women from Lincoln—Lucretia Giese, Julie Hibben, Suzy Karl and I—joined the throngs of marchers on the Cambridge Common to commemorate and advance the goals of the first anniversary of the extraordinary Women’s March of January 21, 2017.

It was an unexpectedly mild January afternoon, and the crowd was a cheerful and lively mix of families, students, women and men, young and old (though predominately young), and even pets. There was not an actual march. Rather, one might call it a rally or gathering featuring several speakers from diverse backgrounds, including Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey, Congresswoman Katherine Clark, and Cambridge Mayor Mark McGovern.

Two of the signs seen on Cambridge Common. (Photos courtesy Barbara Slayter)

We four Lincolnites largely milled around the Common with others trying to inch ever closer to the platform so we could hear the speeches and see Healey’s “The Future is Female” T-shirt. While we heard only parts of her speech praising activists for standing up for immigrants, safe communities, health care and civil rights, we had ample opportunity to marvel at the clever signs and posters and enjoy the presence of children clad in pink jackets, hats or mittens, and the many dogs with pink (even pink plaid) woolen coats. I had dusted off my pink “pussy hat” from last year’s march and joined the ranks of pink-hat-clad women!

Organizations touting their advocacy roles ranged from Jamaica Plain’s Grandmothers for a Brighter Future (of which there is an active contingent in Lincoln) to the Boston Mayday Coalition, which focuses on protecting undocumented immigrant workers from the threat of deportation. Issues were also well represented on numerous signs: “I March for 100% Renewable Energy,” “Save DACA Now,” “Resist Deportation,” and “Black Lives Matter.”

Left to right: Suzy Karl, Lucretia Giese, Julie Hibben, and Barbara Slayter.

The expansion of the continuing Women’s March agenda was reflected in the sign saying “We rise by lifting others, all genders, all abilities, all races, all religions.” Noteworthy was an emphasis on respect, dignity, and full equality for all people, which was reflected in speakers who represented not only women from minority groups but also those concerned about prison reform and violence.

Is last year’s Women’s March morphing into a movement? Is women’s activism, whether on specific issues or in seeking office, emerging into a significant political phenomenon? This remains to be seen, but the continuing energy exhibited by women activists is heartening. Posters such as “Grab ‘Em by the Polls,” “First We Marched, Now We Run,” and “See You at the Polls” suggest that we’ll be hearing more from the marchers of 2018.

Sincerely

Barbara Slayter
7 Trapelo Rd.

Clark rallies the Democratic troops at Lincoln event

January 17, 2018

Rep. Katherine Clark addresses the crowd of close to 100 in Bemis Hall on January 14.

U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark (D-Mass. 5th) advocated for national Democratic candidates running for Congress at a “Campaign 2018 Red to Blue Kickoff Rally” sponsored by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee in Bemis Hall last Sunday,

Clark is now vice chair in charge of recruiting for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), whose goal is to identify, train and encourage Democratic candidates in targeted congressional races across the nation. She described 18 new candidates that the DCCC has endorsed in 16 states from Arizona to New York, with more expected in upcoming primary elections.

These young candidates make up a group referred to as the Blue Wave that Democrats hope will retake control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the November elections. Twenty-four seats must “flip” from Republican to Democrat for Democrats to regain the majority.

So far, over 400 Democratic candidates have registered with the Federal Election Commission for Congressional races—almost seven times the previous high number in 2007. Democrats are encouraged by recent election results in Virginia, New Jersey, Alabama, Florida and Wisconsin, where this week a first-time Democratic candidate won a state senate seat that had been held by the opposition for over 17 years.

Clark also asked the audience to volunteer and support candidates running to replace retiring Congresswomen Niki Tsongas (D-Mass. 3rd) and Carol Shea Porter (D-N.H. 1st). Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass. 6th) has endorsed several candidates with military experience for a variety of offices including Congress on his ServeAmerica PAC. Emily’s List is likewise endorsing women for seats in state and local elections as well as for Congress and the Senate.

—Submitted by Gary Davis and Barbara Slayter, co-chairs of the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee