government

Letter to the editor: Minuteman in dollars and cents

February 3, 2016

Editor’s note: This is the fourth in a series of letters about Minuteman Regional Vocational School District from Sharon Antia, Lincoln’s representative on the Minuteman School Committee. The previous letters were published on January 4, January 14, and January 24. She invites readers with questions to email her at Sharon.antia@gmail.com.

To the editor:

Massachusetts evaluates a town’s ability to pay for public education based on property values and personal income (“wealth factors”). Using this information, the state determines the fair and equitable distribution of state funds for education by subsidizing schools serving communities with low wealth factors at a higher rate than schools serving towns such as Lincoln where wealth is determined to be high. This matter is determined by the state and is not something that can be controlled at the local level.

Burney dives into Lincoln planning and land use

January 31, 2016

Jennifer Burney

By Alice Waugh

Jennifer Burney’s opinion after a week in Lincoln? “I love it!”

Burney is starting her second week as Lincoln’s new director of planning and land use, was director of planning in Southborough for three years. Before that, she held the same post in Bolton for six years, and assistant town planner and director of community development in Sudbury from 2006-07. Burney succeeds Chris Reilly, who held the position for five years until becoming planning director in Billerica in late 2015.

Letter to the editor: Minuteman district governance at issue

January 24, 2016

Editor’s note: This is the third in a series of letters about Minuteman High School from Sharon Antia, Lincoln’s representative on the Minuteman School Committee. The previous letters were published on January 4 and January 14. She invites readers with questions to email her at Sharon.antia@gmail.com.

To the editor:

On February 23, Lincoln will hold a Special Town Meeting at which we will be asked to vote on two things: whether to approve the amended Minuteman school district’s regional agreement, and whether to withdraw form the Minuteman school district. The new Minuteman regional agreement, which all 16 towns in the district must vote on, has two important changes to the district’s governance.

1) Voting mechanism for school committee members—Under the current structure, each of the 16 towns in the district has one school committee representative, and each representative has one full vote. Some towns send many students and some only send a couple, yet each representative’s vote holds equal value.

With the new amendment, 50 percent of a town’s voting strength will be shared equally among members and 50 percent will be based on that town’s four-year rolling average enrollment. Recognizing that some towns may withdraw from the district and that Lincoln sends only a few students to this high school, it is difficult to determine exactly how this change will impact Lincoln, but it is likely that the value of our vote will be diminished.

At least as important as the actual vote is having a seat at the table and being part of the conversation in the district. As history has shown, we expect that some of our students will want to attend this high school, and the new school will be built in our town. The ability of the Lincoln Planning Board to manage building size, scale, and impact on abutters is constrained by state statute. However, as long as we are part of the district, our representative to the Minuteman School Committee has the ability to question program-driven design such as the proposed new theater.

2) Selection of school committee members—Unlike our K-12 system in which citizens elect school committee members, Minuteman School Committee representatives are appointed by town moderators. One of the proposed amendments will move this appointing power to the Board of Selectmen in each member town (or by the mayor in the case of a city), unless the community provides otherwise by bylaw or charter.

Minuteman School Committee members act, as do K-12 School Committee members, as advocates for public education in their respective schools. Without an election process for a Minuteman School Committee representative, an appointment by the town moderator has provided a balanced alternative to select strong advocates for education.

Minuteman High School has been part of Lincoln’s educational system since its inception in 1971. We have expected its School Committee, just as we expect our K-8 and L-S school committees, to be strong advocates for investments in quality education. This must be part of the conversation as we consider change.

Sincerely,

Sharon Antia, Minuteman School Committee
165 S. 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 must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, 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.

Learn about gun laws and Town Meeting resolution

January 19, 2016

Residents are invited to learn about gun safety and a pending Lincoln Town Meeting resolution advocating a national gun safety law on Saturday, Jan. 23 starting with a reception at 9:30 a.m. in Bemis Hall.

Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Kennedy and Sgt. Paul Westlund will speak at 10 a.m. about gun law differences in neighboring states and how they impact Massachusetts residents. They will also discuss safe practices for handling guns in homes, particularly where children are present.

At 11 a.m., there will be a discussion of a draft Town Meeting resolution on “A Petition to the U.S. Congress to Adopt a Uniform National Gun Safety Law Applying Equally to All States.”

Light refreshments will be provided. The event is sponsored by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee. For more information, email garyddavis04@gmail.com.

Letter to the editor: concerns over leaf blower group activities

January 12, 2016

To the editor:

Last fall, the Leaf Blower Study Committee spent $829.81 of the taxpayers’ money to mail a flyer to every postal patron in Lincoln, describing the alleged risks of leaf blowers. The flyer said nothing of the benefits of leaf blowers or costs of restricting their use. The money was taken from the Selectmen’s printing budget and categorized as “educational.” Town taxpayers also paid to obtain an Internet domain name for the Leaf Blower Study Committee.

News acorns

January 4, 2016

Group forms to study vocational education possibilities

The newly formed Vocational Education Options Working Group will hold its second meeting on January 11 to explore options for Lincoln students in the event the town decides to withdraw from the Minuteman High School district.

At its first meeting on December 29, the group discussed its change and composition, with formal votes expected on Monday, Jan. 11 at 6 p.m. in the Selectman’s conference room. Members thus far are Selectman Peter Braun, Town Administrator Tim Higgins, Finance Committee member Laura Sander, Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall, and at-large member Patricia Mostue, a member of the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Committee.

The Board of Selectman decided to form the Vocational Education Options Working Group on December 21, the same night it scheduled a Special Town Meeting on February 23 at which Lincoln residents will vote on whether to withdraw from the Minuteman district and whether to ratify the new regional agreement. Students from Lincoln will still be able to enroll at Minuteman if the town withdraws, though they will not be guaranteed a spot.

Card still working on coffee shop/bookstore plan

Lincoln resident Richard Card is still looking for a location for his planned bookstore, coffee shop, and cocktail bar because the first site he had in mind fell through due to parking issues.

Blazes was hoping to work out a lease at 10 Lewis St. in part of the space owned by the Food Project, but the parking at that site wasn’t sufficient, he said. He declined to specify other possible sites. Card added that he has “investors who are very, very interested but haven’t signed anything yet,” but may do so once a site is secured for the business.

Letter to the editor: Wolf won’t run again for Planning Board

January 4, 2016

To the editor:

After serving two terms totaling 10 years on the Lincoln Planning Board, several times as chair or co-chair, my tenure is ending. As much as I have enjoyed these past years, I will not be seeking reelection in March. It is time for a newer, fresher resident to have a seat at the table.

Letter to the editor: many Minuteman issues to mull

January 4, 2016

(Editor’s note: the most recent Lincoln Squirrel article about Minuteman can be found here.)

To the editor:

Minuteman High School has become an important topic of discussion here in Lincoln. On Tuesday, Feb. 23, we will have a Special Town Meeting at which we will be asked to decide if we want to remain in the Minuteman School District. There are many incredibly complex issues to be examined and an informed decision will require much thought, consideration, and understanding from all of us.

Letter to the editor: examine options, trade-offs for projects in 2016

December 30, 2015

To the editor,

As we approach the New Year, we have much to be thankful for and much to consider. Our form of governance—run by dedicated volunteers and an open town meeting where we all have an opportunity to shape our community life—is certainly something we should celebrate.

In early November, we had just such an opportunity at our annual State of the Town as we discussed moving forward with a much-needed school building and campus planning project. The State of the Town added important new information as the town advances planning our community campus for future generations. The information presented at the meeting was almost exclusively focused on traffic, parking, regulatory, and space (land) use choices, as this was the scope of the charge to the Campus Master Planning Committee (CMPC) and their consultant. Potential costs were briefly mentioned.

Help is on the way for Five Corners intersection

December 29, 2015

A map of the Five Corners intersection showing the new and relocated stop signs (click to enlarge).

By Alice Waugh

Drivers entering the Five Corners intersection from Trapelo Road will soon encounter some changes designed to make the five-way intersection safer.

Cars turning right onto Bedford Road from Trapelo Road will encounter a new stop sign between the library lawn and the flower pot. And drivers coming into the intersection from Trapelo Road will notice that the existing stop sign has moved a bit to the west, where those who are in the know already stop before entering the intersection.

The changes were recommended by the Roadway and Traffic Committee, which also suggested a new “Do Not Enter” sign at the south end of Old Winter Street to prevent cars coming from Waltham from using that road as a shortcut during evening rush hour. Selectmen voted 2-1 against that measure, however.

“It’s the historic heart of our town, but also a pretty darned complicated intersection,” Selectman Noah Eckhouse said of the Five Corners area. While there have been few accidents, the intersection has seen quite a few near-misses because the existing Trapelo Road stop sign is behind the flower pot, which is not a good vantage point for seeing traffic coming into the intersection. Drivers who are familiar with the intersection stop a second time a bit further on, though there is no legal requirement for them to do so. Also, pedestrians crossing the road between Trapelo and Bedford Roads are at risk because there is no stop sign before the crosswalk.

“Clearly, placement is a contributing factor for pedestrian safety,” Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said. “Traffic will certainly flow better because everyone can see who’s positioned in the intersection.”

The Historic District Commission was asked to look at the stop-sign placement issue in light of the historical nature of the intersection, but members issued a finding of nonapplicability because they have no jurisdiction over roadway and safety issues of this type. However, they said that they hoped selectmen “would be mindful of the aesthetics of the area in making a decision.”

The new Five Corners signage will be tested for six months to gauge its effectiveness and make sure it doesn’t inadvertently divert traffic onto other roads.

A third issue involves drivers coming down Bedford Road to Five Corners turning left onto Trapelo Road. Legally, they are allowed to turn left between the flower pot and the library, though some residents have suggested requiring them to loop around the south side of the flowerpot. However, the sense of the Roadway and Traffic Commission (RTC) was “let’s try to solve one problem at a time,” said Eckhouse, who is also a member of the RTC.

Old Winter Street

Evening commuter traffic heading out of Waltham on Winter Street into Lincoln is sometimes backed up at Trapelo Road, so some drivers have tried to jump the line by using Old Winter Street. The RTC recommended trying a “Do Not Enter” sign that would be effective during evening commuting hours at the south end of Old Winter Street (which would apply to Old Winter Street residents as well), but Selectmen Peter Braun and Renel Fredriksen were not in favor of the idea.

“These are public roads. All the roads are open to all people unless they’re truly private roads,” Braun said, adding that he was worried about a “slippery slope” with other problem areas in town. For example, there is a long line of eastbound traffic on Lincoln Road at morning rush hour, which might theoretically encourage drivers to use Peirce Hill Road and Tower Road as a go-arounds.

“I get it, but when you look at other situations, what’s next? There’s Baker Bridge Road, Old Sudbury Road—it’s just endless,” Braun said. “I’m troubled by the notion that we should get into the head of the drivers and say your motives [for taking a certain route] aren’t good enough for us.”

Fredriksen, who commutes to East Cambridge, said she uses shortcuts like this on her way to work, “and it would feel like the height of hypocrisy for me to do it, but not in my town.” She and Braun voted against the proposal, though Eckhouse voted in favor because he is a member of the RTC.