An article headlined “Minuteman presents building options on April 27” stated that Minuteman High School officials would hold a public forum in Lincoln on the school’s building options. In fact, they will be at a regular meeting of the Board of Selectmen, not a public forum, though the public is welcome to attend this and any other Board of Selectmen meeting.
By Alice C. Waugh
Officials at Minuteman High School are gathering public input from its 16 members towns on option for renovating or rebuilding the school, and Lincoln residents are invited to a forum on Monday, April 27 at 7 p.m. in the Town Office Building.
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Editor’s note: Fitzgerald is commenting on the April 16 letter from Margaret Flint.
To the editor:
As a former member of the Historic District Commission, I am surprised that the commission has not publicly voiced stronger objections to the significant expansion to this addition. It will be clearly visible not only to neighbors but to those passing through the area. It may also have an adverse impact on both the privacy and value of abutting properties.
The expansion may also increase the capacity of the facility that may generate more traffic problems and impact parking in a part of the center that is already often short of parking space. It is frequently difficult to find a parking spot to get into the library conveniently during its hours of operation. Bemis Hall also has too few spaces. What consideration has been given to that issue?
Sincerely,
Eleanor Fitzgerald
12 Juniper Ridge Rd.
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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 Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.
Editor’s note: The Planning Commission continued its April 14 hearing for the First Parish Church to April 28 at the request of the church, which still needs approval for its drainage and landscaping plans and the roof material for rebuilding the Stearns Room. It has already won zoning approval for the proposal.
To the editor:
I would like everyone involved with the new Stearns Room to imagine themselves living on the corner of Lincoln Road and Sandy Pond Road, a 1/3-acre lot. Now imagine the proposed Stearns Room replacement right next door: a higher ridge line, a metal roof, the new building extending back many feet beyond what is there now, with added windows overlooking their lot. I would like everyone involved—the Planning Board through site review, the First Parish Building Committee, the congregation—to imagine how profoundly the design will alter the quality of life of those living on the corner.
Since they moved to town, time has not been kind to these neighbors. Traffic has multiplied; their view of the conserved Chapin Field—to which they contributed—has already narrowed, and now there is the threat of a building project that will restrict their property even more. If you lived there, would you want that? Or would you rather work to find compromise, to meet the needs, not just the wants, of both the congregation and the neighbors?
Quality of life is why we live in Lincoln. Let’s keep it.
Sincerely,
Margaret Flint
Lexington Road
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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.
A graphic in a March 24 Boston Globe article about property taxes reveals that Lincoln has the third-highest average property tax bill in Massachusetts. The only municipalities with higher average bills (for cities and towns where data was available) were Weston and Sherborn. The top 10 were as follows:
| Weston | $18,059 |
| Sherborn | $14,720 |
| Lincoln | $14,367 |
| Dover | $13,715 |
| Wellesley | $13,326 |
| Carlisle | $13,127 |
| Concord | $12,890 |
| Lexington | $12,191 |
| Wayland | $12,049 |
| Sudbury | $11,598 |
| Cohasset | $11,114 |
On the other hand, the pace at which Lincoln’s tax bills have been increasing since 1999 is the lowest among eight area towns, according to data presented by the Finance Commission at Town Meeting last month. Lincoln’s average bill has gone up by 4.5 percent during that time, while Lexington’s has gone up the fastest at 6.3 percent:
Growth in average property tax bills in Lincoln compared to other area towns since 1999 (click to enlarge).
In fiscal 2016, Lincoln’s average tax bill is expected to rise by 3.9 percent (it won’t become official until the town sets the tax rate in July). Most of that increase is due to the appropriations at Town Meeting of $750,000 for a school project feasibility study and $75,000 for a school campus master plan. Without those two items, the average tax bill would have gone up by only 0.8 percent.
Since 2011, the average Lincoln tax bill has risen by an average of 4.26 percent:
| Fiscal year | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | Total 2011-2015 |
| Change in average tax bill in Lincoln |
6.08% | 7.48% | -0.51% | 3.68% | 4.54% | 4.26% |
| Change in average home value in Lincoln |
-1.64% | -3.47% | -3.32% | 2.45% | 6.75% | 0.16% |
Tonight: talk on Revolutionary battlefield“Discovering Parker’s Revenge Battlefield: April 19, 1775″ is the topic of a talk on Tuesday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The speaker will be Dr. Meg Watters of PBS’s “Time Team America” and principal investigator for the ongoing Parker’s Revenge Project at Minute Man National Historical Park. She’ll discuss efforts to better understand the Battle Road engagement between the retreating British regulars and the militia and Minute Men of Lexington, Lincoln and surrounding towns on April 19, 1775. The site is on the border of Lincoln and Lexington within the national park.
Dr. Watters received her B.A. in classics from Trinity College, an M.A. in GIS and remote sensing in archaeology from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in new methods for archaeo-geophysical data visualization at the University of Birmingham, where she helped build the IBM Visual and Spatial Technology Centre, where she provided geophysical survey expertise.
The talk is one of several observances of the start of the Revolutionary War. For more information, click on one of the event titles on the Lincoln Minute Men website and battleroad.org.
On Thursday, April 23, the Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS) will host Paul Regan, Executive Director of the MBTA Advisory Board. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Office Building.
Regan plans to discuss a broad range of topics related to the current state and future of the MBTA, including general matters raised by the recent winter’s challenges and the recently-issued report of the Governor’s special commission, as well as specific matters of concern to the four HATS communities. Also on the agenda for April 23 are updates on the Route 2 project and a status report from the MassPort/Hanscom Field Community Advisory Committee.
The public is welcome to attend all HATS meetings, which may also be viewed live on Lincoln public access media via lincolntv.pegstream.com, Verizon channel 33, or Comcast channel 8, or beginning several days after the meeting at lincolntv.pegcentral.com or on the local cable channels.
HATS is an alliance among the Selectmen and other officials of the towns of Lincoln, Concord, Lexington and Bedford that focuses on Hanscom Air Force Base, Hanscom Air Field, transportation and other regional matters. HATS recently had discussions with MassPort CEO Tom Glynn regarding MassPort’s strategic plans, various business and government experts helping manage Rt. 128 and related traffic concerns, the Air Force Base’s local commander, and senior representatives of the Governor’s Military Assets Task Force. For more information about HATS and access to agendas, minutes and videos, please visit www.hanscomareatownscommittee.com.
Also on Thursday, April 23, join the Walden Woods Project for a special screening of a new film by Fulcrum Publishing, “Wilderness in America: From Conquest to Conservation.” The 55-minute film chronicles the evolution of wilderness preservation in America over four centuries that ultimately led to the protection of 110 million acres.
The film will be shown at the Walden Woods Project’s Thoreau Institute at 44 Baker Farm Rd. in Lincoln. Free admission. To reserve seats, call (781) 259-4707 or email wwproject@walden.org. A wine and cheese reception, sponsored by the Cheese Shop in Concord will be held at 7 p.m. followed at 7:30 p.m. with remarks by Robert C. Baron, Fulcrum’s founder and president, and the film screening.
The Walden Woods Project is a nonprofit organization that preserves the land, literature and legacy of Henry David Thoreau to foster an ethic of environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Click here for other outdoor springtime activities coming up in Lincoln.
See some of the fascinating and beautiful places and monuments in this amazing historical and nature site on Friday, May 22 with the Council on Aging. After the tour of the cemetery, the group will go to Belmont Center for lunch at Asai. Each person will pay for their own lunch and cash is recommended. The trip is limited to 30 people. The Doherty’s bus will be at Lincoln Mall at 9 a.m. and arrive back in Lincoln around 2 p.m. For more information, contact Donna Rizzo at donna@ecacbed.com or Claire Mount at mounts781@gmail.com.
To the editor:
I totally agree with Eleanor Fitzgerald’s thoughts about the meager representation of North Lincoln on some of our boards. I don’t have “skin in the game” since I live in South Lincoln, but I have noticed over 40-plus years that the unwanted things tend to land in North Lincoln, which is already burdened by Hanscom and all the traffic it creates. Some kind of proportional representation might be a solution, if not on the Board of Selectmen (assuming we are satisfied with only three selectmen), then definitely on larger boards such as Planning, Zoning, etc.
Sincerely,
Diana Abrashkin
South Great Road
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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.
To the editor:
I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the voters in Lincoln and Sudbury who supported my reelection to the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee for a third term.
Thank you in particular to those who hosted and kept an eye on my campaign signs in their yard through the weeks of melting snow and wind, to those who wrote thoughtful and gracious letters to each town’s papers on my behalf, and to the brave souls who held signs for me at the polls, who weathered late March snow and wind and kept their humor.
We have a lot of work to continue, a great administration that deserves our attention and support, and students who are able to avail themselves of an incredibly rich educational and personal growth opportunity at Lincoln-Sudbury. Growing the relationships between our towns and our town officials has been a hallmark of our work over the past three years. Continuing that growth is critical. I look forward to facilitating increased opportunities for our towns to better know our excellent high school and each other. I am excited to continue my work with colleagues on the Committee whom I deeply respect and enjoy.
Nancy Marshall
Beaver Pond Road
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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.
(Editor’s note: This letter refers to Lincoln’s town election results.)
To the editor:
Precinct 2 includes Hanscom military base. Many at the base do not vote in local elections. There has not been a North Lincoln member of the Board of Selectmen for many years. Now there is no member of the Planning Board from North Lincoln. There are issues that affect residents of North Lincoln that are less impacting and important to other parts of town. Many homes have been taken from this part of town over the years to create the military base, the national historic park, and for upgrades to Route 2.
When I moved to town almost fifty years ago, Harold Lawson was on the Board of Selectmen. I am not sure there has been a North Lincoln resident on that board since then. Also, I believe we then had a five-member board. In my opinion, Lincoln town boards’ representation of the different parts of town ought to be more proportional than it is. North Lincoln sometimes seems the place to dump anything that is not wanted in other parts of town, such as the transfer station. I suppose the relocation of the Department of Public Works will be next to make way for yet another mixed or affordable income housing development on Lewis Street. In fairness, it seems to me that it should remain in a central location.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Fitzgerald
12 Juniper Ridge Rd.
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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.
To the editor:
The Lincoln election results are in and, for the most part, they are unsurprising. So few are the town-government positions ever the object of a competitive election that the practice of voting in Lincoln tends to be nothing more than an exercise in social engagement with neighbors.
However, there was one rare exception in last week’s election: the Planning Board seat held (until recently) by Bob Domnitz. Domnitz was challenged by Gary Taylor, who narrowly won the election by 40 votes out of 944 cast (or 922, excluding blank votes).
This contest revealed a profound precinct split. Lincoln has two precincts—#1, which covers the southwestern part of town, and #2, which covers the northeast. The ]other] results show that for the elected posts, the winning candidate generally carried the same percentage of “yes” votes in each precinct—i.e., the Lincoln electorate was united behind the chosen candidate. But the Domnitz/Taylor contest represents a striking exception. Bob Domnitz swept Precinct 2 with almost 60 percent of the vote; Taylor drew only 136 of 348 votes cast in Precinct 2. Taylor won the election because he carried Precinct 1, where more votes were cast overall.
A profoundly fractured electorate is of course common in many places, though it’s worrisome though for a small town like ours. It reflects sharp divisions in the community and all of us need to try and understand its causes. I hope town leaders will work hard to avoid policies that exacerbate the split and instead seek common ground. Without this kind of leadership, it is hard to imagine a bright future for Lincoln.
Sincerely,
Keith N. Hylton
5 Oakdale Lane
Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.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.