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

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Public hearings coming up

Planning Board

The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m. to review an application for Site Plan Review. The applicant, Robert Domnitz, 21 Mill St., proposes to add a ground-mounted solar array.

Zoning Board of Appeals

The Zoning Board of the Appeals of the Town of Lincoln will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Oct. 5 at 7:30 p.m. on the following petitions:

  • Wendy and Richard Finnerty, 7 Old Farm Rd., for a special permit to replace an existing carport with a garage.
  • Joshua and Cailin Gidlewski, 54 Tower Rd., for a special permit for a chicken coop.
  • Natalie Miller, 107 Old County Rd., for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • DeNormandie Farm Real Estate Trust, 65 Trapelo Rd., for renewal and transfer of name of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • Stephen and Emily Nohrden, 14 Old Cambridge Turnpike, for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • Sandra Bradlee, 259 Old Concord Rd., for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.
  • Martha DeCesare, 244 Concord Rd., for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment.

 

Correction

A News Acorn published on September 13 incorrectly stated that the Board of Selectmen would meet on September 28 at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum cafe. The meeting is actually on Monday, Sept. 25. The original article has been corrected.

News acorns

Selectmen’s Sept. 25 meeting at deCordova

The Board of Selectmen will hold its regular meeting on Monday, Sept. 25 in the new café at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum.  The meeting begins at 7 p.m., and as always, it’s open to the public and will be taped for later broadcast. Items on the agenda will include:

  • An update from the deCordova
  • Roadways & Traffic Committee (RTC) recommendation on Old Winter Street
  • South Lincoln Planning & Implementation Committee (SLPIC) recommendations
  • A status update from the newly formed Housing Options Working Group (HOW)

At future meetings this fall, selectmen expect to:

  • Receive regular updates from the Community Center Planning & Preliminary Design Committee (PPDC) and the School Building Committee (SBC)
  • Form a group to understand the implication of the recreational marijuana law and study the town’s choices for implementation
  • Plan for the November 4 State of the Town Meeting, which will include reports form the PPDC and  SBC as well as previews of Town Meeting by-law proposals and citizens’ petitions

The board will also be scheduling twice-monthly listening sessions at different locations around Lincoln. These will be opportunities for residents to meet with a selectman to ask questions and share ideas. Dates and locations TBA.

Submit nature photos for LLCT calendar

The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust is looking for high-resolution nature photos from the trails and fields of Lincoln for consideration for use in its annual Open Spaces of Lincoln Calendar and note card series. Funds raised from the sale of the calendar help fund educational and conservation efforts of LLCT and the Rural Land Foundation. Photos may be submitted through Monday, Sept. 18. Email submissions to llct@lincolnconservation.org, or mail a CD or flash drive to Lincoln Land Conservation Trust (Attn: Calendar Photos), P.O. Box 10, Lincoln MA 01773 (mailed submissions will not be returned unless by special request.)

For a complete list of directions on style, format, usage and notification procedures, see the LLCT project guidelines. Photographers of all ages and abilities are encouraged to participate!.

Tret Fure at First Parish

Tret Fure

Acclaimed folk singer-songwriter Tret Fure will perform on Sunday, Sept. 24 at the First Parish in Lincoln during the 10 a.m. worship in the Parish House (14 Bedford Road). The service is open to the public and refreshments will be provided. Fure has 15 albums to her credit and has won the South Florida Folk Festival Singer/Songwriter competition in two out of three categories, as well as the prestigious Jane Schliessman award for outstanding contributions to women’s music.

Codman Harvest Weekend coming up

Codman Community Farms’ annual Harvest Weekend kicks off on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 5 p.m. in the Codman barn with a farm feast catered by Blue Ribbon Barbecue with beer, wine and lemonade followed by a barn dance for all ages. Tickets ($40 for adults, $15 for children (12 and under) must be purchased in advance at the farm or online at www.codmanfarm.org. The CCF Harvest Fair takes place on Sunday, Sept. 24 from 1–4 p.m. with games for children and families, hay rides, a petting zoo and a rooster run. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children (free for CCF members). For more information, call 781-259-0456 or email info@codmanfarm.org.

Apply to show your art in the library

Applications for 2018 shows in the Lincoln Public Library’s main art gallery are now available and will be accepted until September 30. Copies of the application and art exhibitor agreement form can be found here. Copies are also available at the Reference Desk.

Adult ed classes at L-S

Lincoln-Sudbury Adult Education’s fall program is underway, with new classes including Social Media Marketing, Make an iPhone App, Learn to Draw, Container Gardening, Men’s Pick-up Basketball, Zumba and Yoga. Click here to see the brochure and registration information.

Group aims to keep two building project committees aligned

The Campus Coordinating Group (CCG), which met for the first time on September 7, will begin work on an overarching timeline that lays out joint milestones and public workshops and charrettes for the Community Center Preliminary Planning & Design Committee (PPDC) and the School Building Committee (SBC).

The CCG was formed so the members of the two groups working on planning for a school project and a community center can keep each other up to date on their progress. It includes three members of the SBC (Superintendent Becky McFall; Chris Fasciano, chair; and Craig Nicholson) and three members of the PPDC (Tim Higgins, town administrator; Ellen Meyer Shorb, chair; and Owen Beenhouwer).

The next meeting of the CCG is Thursday, Sept. 14 at 7:30 a.m. in McFall’s office (second floor of the Hartwell building). After that, the group will meet at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday mornings every other week. All meetings are open to the public.

Elizabeth Warren speaks to overflow crowd in Concord

Sen Elizabeth Warren speaks to the media and overflow crowd at the town hall event in Concord (click to enlarge).

By Gary Davis

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren criticized the failed health care bills as well as growing income inequality in the U.S. at a town hall event that drew an overflow crowd of more than 1,500 area residents to Concord-Carlisle High School on August 25.

Preceding Warren were state Rep. Cory Atkins (D–14th Middlesex) and State Sen. Michael Barrett (D–3rd Middlesex), who opened by discussing some of the critical legislative issues facing Massachusetts residents. He mentioned two pending state bills he authored, one to counteract the effects of carbon dioxide and climate change and another to require presidential candidates to submit their tax returns to qualify for the ballots in the primary and general elections.

Click here to see a video of the August 25 town hall

When Barrett introduced Warren, the audience greeted her with a standing ovation. She began by thanking grassroots organizations and individuals for saving the Affordable Care Act by speaking up at Town Hall meetings, and visiting legislators’ offices as well as calling and emailing to express their opposition.

The health care bills presented in the House and Senate would have created  tax benefits for the wealthy and health insurance companies that would come from cuts to Medicaid and reduction of essential services for millions of Americans, Warren said. “Those bills did not represent our values,” she said. “They were not who we are as a country. We believe that health care is a basic human right, and we will get out there and fight for it.”

State Rep. Michael Barrett and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Addressing income inequality, Warren said that from 1935 to 1980, the GDP rose 70 percent, with 90 percent of the benefits going to the middle class through basic income growth, new protective financial regulations, a new progressive income tax, investment in education to provide an equal and better future, and investment in infrastructure. However, starting in the 1980s, the economy focused on tax breaks for the wealthy and corporations; between 1979 and 2012, the income of the top 10 percent of earners grew about 76 percent, while income of the bottom 90 percent decreased by about 9 percent even though the GDP rose, according to the World Wealth and Income Database, she said.

Answering questions from the audience for over an hour, Warren spoke of the need to respect and honor our transgender troops, strongly condemned neo-Nazis and white supremacists, and encouraged the audience to make a commitment to work for a Democratic and accountable government based on shared prosperity and equal opportunity.

Public hearings coming up

 

Historic District Commission

The Historic District Commission will hold public hearings on Tuesday, Sept. 5 starting at 7:30 p.m. to consider the followng applications:

  • Michael Barnicle and Anne Finucane for a Certificate of Appropriateness for a new structure known as a sleeping cottage at 20 Trapelo Rd.
  • John and Lara MacLachlan to replace 15 windows and a side door at 49 Bedford Rd.

Zoning Board of Appeals

The Zoning Board of the Appeals will hold a public hearing on Thursday, Sept. 7 at 7:30 p.m. to hear and to act on the following petitions for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment:

  • Erin Kelly and Lionel McPherson, 2 Forester Rd.
  • Sarah Cannon Holden, 60 Weston Rd.
  • Andrew Pickett, 12 Longmeadow Rd.
  • Kelly and Lincoln Greenhill, 12 Page Farm Rd.
  • William Churchill, 6 Horses Crossing
  • Peter Von Mertens and Dea Angiolillo, 16 Tower Rd.

The ZBA will also hold a public hearing that night to hear and act on two more applications:

  • Charlene McCart Jackson, trustee of McCart Realty Trust, 14-16 and 22-24 Lewis St., for an extension of an existing special permit for the expansion of non-conforming residential use in a B-2 District.
  • James Pingeon and Elizabeth Graver, 47 Old Sudbury Rd., for a special permit to extend the roof to cover the landing outside the front door.

Property tax classification hearing

The Board of Selectmen will hold a public hearing on Monday, Sept. 11 at 7:30 p.m. for the purpose of determining for fiscal year 2018 the percentage of the real estate property tax burden that shall be borne by the residential and commercial classifications of property respectively. General inquiries prior to the hearing may be directed to the Assessors’ Office, 781 259-2611.

News acorns

Clarification on Elizabeth Warren town hall location

Due to the editor’s oversight, the location for the August 25 town hall with Sen. Elizabeth Warren was omitted from the August 22 edition of News Acorns. The event will begin at 6:30 p.m. at Concord-Carlisle High School (500 Walden St., Concord). Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

School Council seeks new member from the community

The Lincoln School Council is an advisory body to the school principals that includes parents, teachers and a community member. Due to a resignation, the group is seeking a new community member to serve. The council meets on a monthly basis, typically during the school day. Recent School Council work includes supporting goals in areas of homework, community building, and technology. Anyone who has questions or is interested in participating may contact one of the Lincoln School principals:

FOLL book sale seeks volunteers

The Friends of Lincoln Library Book sale is looking for additional volunteer help, The group meets on Tuesday afternoons from 1–3 p.m. to sort and cull donations of used books and other materials. The book sale takes place on the second Saturday of the month in the Bemis Hall basement from 9 a.m.–noon. Getting involved is a great way to get first dibs on books for yourself and family, or just to meet with like-minded bibliophiles. For more information, contact Susan Hallstein at reerichards1@gmail.com or 781-259-1023.

L-S Boosters membership now open

L-S All Sports Boosters membership is now open. Your $85 donation gets each family member an L-S Boosters card to use for admission to all home games (excluding playoffs). Get your card now and join us for the first home football game on Friday, Sept. 8. To purchase a membership or find more information, go to www.lsboosters.org.

News acorns

Sen. Elizabeth Warren

Sen. Warren to hold town hall in Concord

U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren will be hosting a town hall in Concord on Friday, Aug. 25 at 6:30 p.m. and all are invited. She will be making remarks and answering questions about what’s happening in the Senate and how she’s fighting for Massachusetts families. This is also a chance to talk with her staff about any questions or concerns you might have, or assistance you may need. Doors open for the event at 5:30 p.m.

West Bank/Gaza movie rescheduled for Aug. 27

The date for a second screening of The Law in These Parts sponsored by the GRALTA Foundation has been changed from August 20 to Sunday, Aug. 27 at 2 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Click here for details.

Solar home tour reminder

Four homes in Lincoln will offer tours and Q&As about their solar installations on Sunday, Aug. 27 from 13 p.m. Additional details about the homes can be found here. Lincoln residents are also welcome to tour similar homes in Wayland on Saturday, Sept. 23 as part of the three-town Solarize Massachusetts PLUS program.

Art and Ales at the deCordova

The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum will host Art and Ales with Aeronaut Brewing Company on Thursday, Sept. 7 from 5–8 p.m. The event features beer tastings matched with sculptures in the park, plus live music and a food truck. Tickets (buy online here or in person on the day of the event) are $20 for deCordova members and $30 for nonmembers, and free for children 12 and under.

Residents wary of planned study on location of DPW

Several residents at a recent Board of Selectmen meeting protested the notion of moving the Department of Public Works to the transfer station area, but planning officials stressed that they intend to study a range of options for the DPW site.

The South Lincoln Planning and Implementation Committee (SLPIC) plans to ask the Board of Selectmen for about $9,000 to pay a consultant to study the DPW site on Lewis Street. SLPIC and others are interested in the possibility of using part or all of that property as part of a larger effort to revitalize the South Lincoln area centering on the train station and surrounding commercial area. Moving the DPW elsewhere would free up valuable land that could be put to commercial, residential, and/or municipal use.

The issue arose at a selectmen’s meeting in June and again on July 31, although SLPIC postponed a planned appearance at that meeting. Nevertheless, several residents spoke in opposition to the idea of moving the DPW to the transfer station.

“That’s probably one of the most environmentally sensitive sites you could find in this town,” said Oakdale Lane resident Keith Hylton, noting that the DPW’s work involved diesel fuel and other chemicals and the transfer station lies within the Cambridge reservoir watershed. Some houses in the area also use well water, he added. In addition, there could be contamination in the soil at the Lewis Street site that could cost “millions” to remediate if the town planned to convert it to some otherl use, Hylton said.

If the Lewis Street study does show environmental issues that need to be addressed, “you can’t ignore it,” said former Planning Board member Robert Domnitz, a Mill Street resident. “If you start walking down this path, you may find yourself locked into a cleanup that not only costs a lot of money but impairs the forward-looking value of that parcel.”

“We understand that this is a sensitive issue,” Lynn DeLisi of SLPIC, who is also a member of the Planning Board, said on Sunday. Some years ago, a different study apparently recommended moving the DPW to the transfer station site, “but we don’t know details; that’s partly why were having another meeting” before going before selectmen with a budget request, she said.

There is no language in the draft charge for the yet-to-be hired consultant about the transfer station, and SLPIC will look at a variety of options for the DPW site, including moving some functions to a neighboring town or simply preserving the status quo, DeLisi said. Also, if the consultant makes a recommendation that SPLIC or a majority of residents are opposed to, “we don’t have to pay attention to it.”

However, if the new study does show potential hazards from environmental contamination on Lewis Street that must be rectified, “we have a right to know about it—it’s right in the center of town,” DeLisi said.

Also at the July 31 Board of Selectmen meeting (as summarized by former Selectman Peter Braun), the board:

  • Accepted a plaque presented by members of the Donaldson family to rededicate the Donaldson Room and to honor Robert Donaldson (1870-1964), who was a selectman for 28 years and builder of some 80 Lincoln houses and the original town office building.
  • Met with Mothers Out Front, an organization that includes Lincoln residents, that is focused on natural gas leaks and other environmental issues.
  • Approved a curb cut requested for 19 Granville Rd., following a recommendation by the Planning Board.
  • Discussed concerns raised by abutters with respect to a new Wayland soccer field to be located in a meadow close to the Lincoln town line in the Oxbow Road area.
  • Heard reports from Town Administrator Tim Higgins regarding:
    • Questions raised by several residents about compliance of the June 19 Board meeting with the Open Meeting Law.
    • Requests by wireless carriers for installation of repeaters on utility poles.
    • Initial activities of the Community Center committee.
  • Scheduled further discussion of Old Winter Street traffic questions for September 25.
  • Scheduled the State of the Town Meeting for November 4 and had an initial discussion about the agenda.
  • Discussed its continuing efforts to coordinate with the Housing Commission and other boards regarding the town’s affordable housing strategy.
  • Discussed proposed content for its next newsletter.
  • Heard liaison reports from:
    • Selectman Jennifer Glass on the School Building Committee’s activities, including its engagement of an Owner’s Project Manager and its process for considering an architectural firm.
    • Selectman James Craig on highlights of a report from a consultant by the Cycling Safety Committee on ideas for accommodating cycling on roadways.

Letter to the editor: support Bob Massie for governor

letter

To the editor:

Bob Massie is running for governor of Massachusetts. Recently I drove to Concord to meet him at an event sponsored by the Concord Democratic Committee. Massie is an inspiring speaker; he is approachable but most important he listens. His responses to the many questions were thoughtful, informed and convincing.

When Massie was asked about his stance on single-payer health care, I was moved by his unique personal story. As a child, he was unable to walk from the age of 4 until his family moved to France when he was 12. There he was able to benefit from the excellent universal health care easily available to all. He says health care is a right.

Local Lincoln green activist Wen Stephenson, author of What We’re Fighting for Now Is Each Other: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Climate Justice, sums up Massie’s “compassion and activism” in a recent article in The Nation:

“Massie taught for years at Harvard Divinity School; wrote the definitive, prize-winning history of the anti-apartheid movement… won the Democratic nomination for Massachusetts lieutenant governor in 1994 (when Democrat Mark Roosevelt lost the governor’s race to Republican Bill Weld); led Ceres, the international alliance of businesses, investors, and environmental organizations; created two influential sustainability organizations, the Global Reporting Initiative and the Ceres Investor Network on Climate Risk; and… became president of the New Economics Institute, leading its re-launch as the New Economy Coalition, a driving force in the movement to replace exploitive and extractive global capitalism with just and sustainable local economies. For the past two years, he led the Sustainable Solutions Lab at UMass–Boston, with an emphasis on climate justice in low-income communities.”

Gov. Charlie Baker has yet to fulfill even one of his campaign promises and has so far demonstrated that he does not have the long-term vision the Commonwealth urgently needs. Bob Massie’s political and managerial experience and his ability to bring people together from all points of view convinced me he’s the governor this state needs, now.

Massie has already visited 60+ towns in the Commonwealth and aims to visit all. When he comes to Lincoln, I hope you will meet up with him to share your ideas and ask questions.

Sincerely,

Jean Palmer
247 Tower 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.