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

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Campus Master Plan group invites public to sessions

schoolThe Lincoln Campus Master Planning Committee (CMPC), which will complete its work by December 31, invites the public to attend of their meetings and public forums this fall.

The CMPC is is charged with studying the basic infrastructure and physical layout of the Ballfield Road campus and informing the planning for the contemplated school building and community center projects. There are three at-large representatives as well as representatives from the Lincoln Public Schools, Board of Selectmen, Conservation Committee, Council on Aging, Parks & Recreation, the Planning Board, and Roadway and Traffic.

“The community’s awareness and involvement in this project is critically important,” said Committee Chair Carole Kasper. “The Campus Master Planning Study represents a unique opportunity for Lincoln residents to look at the Ballfield Road campus in a truly holistic manner—to examine the different ways in which we use the schools, other Ballfield Road buildings and recreational facilities and determine how we can serve our community better. We welcome the community’s attendance at any of our regularly scheduled committee meetings and also encourage residents to attend one of the public forums.”

The CMPC’s full schedule of meetings and public forums is listed below. All meetings will take place in the Hartwell Multipurpose Room unless otherwise noted.

Thursday, September 3 at 7 p.m.
2nd floor hearing Room, Lincoln Town Offices

Thursday, September 10 from 5:30-7 p.m.
Lincoln PTO Back-to-School Picnic – Lincoln School green playground

Wednesday, September 16 at 8:15 a.m.

Thursday, October 1 at 7 p.m.

Wednesday, October 7 at 8:15 a.m.

Thursday, October 15 from 7-9 p.m.
Public forum – location TBD

Monday, October 26 at 7 p.m.

Friday, October 30 at 8:15 a.m.
Lincoln PTO public forum – location TBD

Friday, October 30 at 1 p.m.
Council on Aging public forum – Bemis Hall (2nd floor)

Monday, November 9 at 7 p.m.

Friday, November 13 at 8:15 a.m.
Committee State of the Town run-through – Donaldson Auditorium

Saturday, November 14 at 9 a.m.
State of the Town presentation – Donaldson Auditorium

Friday, November 20 at 8:15 a.m.

Monday, November 30 at 7 p.m.

Thursday, December 10
Public presentation of draft final report

Council on Aging activities for September

bemisSeptember 1 at 2:30
Coffee with artists Victoria and Bill Pearmain
Join Lincoln-born artists Victoria Pearmain (painter) and brother Bill Pearmain (multimedia visual artist) on Sept. 1st at 2:30 p.m. at a coffee to celebrate their exhibit at Bemis Hall’s Lincoln Artists Gallery. The exhibit will include paintings, photographs and sculpture and will be on view September and October. Victoria graduated from Massachusetts College of Art and her work has been in many shows and collections. Her paintings are primarily plein-air. Bill’s studies include New England College and Brandeis University. He has also exhibited in multiple shows and collections.

September 2 at 1 p.m.
Meet with an aide to Congresswoman Clark
You are invited to Bemis Hall on Wednesday, September 2 at 1 p.m. to meet with Anthony Moreschi, Constituent Service Representative for Congresswoman Katherine Clark. He will be available to assist residents with Social Security, Medicare and MassHealth/Medicaid. You are also welcome to discuss other matters that he may be able to help with. [Read more…] about Council on Aging activities for September

Route 2 landscaping still a sore point for some

Controversy began when trees were cut alongside Route 2, as seen above in this photo from spring 2013.

Controversy began when trees were cut alongside Route 2, as seen above in this photo from spring 2013.

The town has received a guarantee of additional landscaping work on the Route 2 project, but some of it probably won’t be done until next spring.

The $65 million project to create a flyover ramp at Crosby’s Corner and add service roads along Route 2 in Lincoln was originally set to be completed by next summer, but that has slipped by three months into fall 2016 due to the unusually harsh weather last winter, said Town Administrator Tim Higgins. However, some landscaping work such as construction of stone walls will begin this fall, he added.

Many Lincoln residents who live in the Route 2 area have complained since work began more than two years ago when the contractor removed more trees than necessary. More recently, some are also unhappy with some of the planting that has already been done in the Brooks Road and Oak Knoll Road that has since gotten patchy or died because they were planted at the wrong time of year or not properly maintained.

Town officials have been meeting regularly with the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) seeking remedies to address these issues. “We presented a parcel-by-parcel request with MassDOT has approved with very few changes,” Higgins said last week. “We’re pleased with how accommodating MassDOT has been.”

The negotiated landscaping work costing $600,000 will be funded by federal money that made its way to state coffers after some delays.

“We’re in the countdown phase to project completion, and we’ll be hiring our consulting landscape architect to come back and run alongside the process” to make sure all landscaping work is done according to the agreement with the town, Higgins said.

But several weeks earlier at the June 30 Board of Selectmen meeting, residents were far from pleased with the landscaping situation and what they saw as lack of communication from town officials. The complaints and sometimes heated responses from the board resulted in some fireworks several days before the Fourth of July, as selectmen expressed frustration at being caught between unhappy residents and an often slow state funding and approval process over which the town has no control.

Although the town’s consulting landscape architect said plantings needed to be completed by mid-October, work in the Oak Knoll Road area in both 2013 and 2014 was not completed until mid-November, “and the result was dead saplings and trees, grass failing to grow, and bare patches in vast areas with nothing but weeds,” said Oak Knoll Road resident Eoin Trevelyan. “We’re still waiting for an explanation.”

“I feel like you’re accusing this board of the transgressions of the DOT,” Selectman Noah Eckhouse said. “It’s outside of our jurisdiction. Help us understand what you would like this board to do.”

“My aim was to bring to your attention questions about the wisdom of relying on the notion that it we have a  landscaping project] budget and a timeline, that it’s necessarily going to happen,” Trevelyan replied.

“I feel this phase is very accusatory,” Eckhouse said. “If  we get super-aggressive about this one point right now, we could put this whole change order—which, let’s remind ourselves, was outside the scope of the entire project—we could put that at risk. Half of it’s been approved and none of it’s been implemented or scheduled… We’re trying to carefully balance the big picture. If we get too aggressive, we could lost their goodwill.”

Trevelyan responded that better communication between affected residents and town officials “would be a big help,” adding that the Route 2 Oversight Committee had not formally met since April 2014 and that the annual report issued in March said “there had been no communication in the previous 12 months.”

Eckhouse and Selectman Peter Bran bristled at the implication that the town had not been forthcoming with residents about the project, saying that there had been plenty of communication via email, phone and on site. “Did you send Tim an email and did he respond? Did Tim respond? It’s a really simple question,” Eckhouse said to Trevelyan. “You can’t even answer a question. You’re coming in here and you’re accusing town staff and volunteers of behavior we haven’t conducted. This is out of line here.”

“We were being misleading in our annual report? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Braun exclaimed. “Do you expect us to treat you with respect? There’s been a lot of communication.”

“I don’t think a week goes by that I’m not in communication with a resident and not two weeks go by that I’m not out in the field at someone’s property trying to resolve an issue,” Higgins said. “The reason why the committee hasn’t convened a formal meeting in over a year was because the watermark period was getting approval of the plan and getting everyone on the same page… It doesn’t mean in between meetings there’s radio silence.”

“You told us we were being misleading in our annual report. I think that’s repulsive,” Braun said. “It has no factual basis. This is just completely inappropriate. This has always been a delicate balance. We started from nowhere with exactly no leverage and we have created it. We have won on this, OK?

“We’re absolutely on it, they know we’re watching — as soon as we have information, we will provide it,” Braun added. “Your interests and the town’s interests have always been front and center every single step of the way.”

“The notion that there’s blind trust of the DOT couldn’t be further from the truth,” Higgins added.

The selectmen offered to schedule a meeting with residents as soon as there was something new to report from MassDOT.

Letter to the editor: intersection “both a bane and a blessing”

letter

To the editor:

Recent letters in various press outlets are, once again, calling attention to concerns about safety at the Five Corners intersection in the Lincoln Historic District (the “flower pot intersection”). And, as town officials have recently reminded us, our roadways are a “tricky business” and what’s old is new again.

The Five Corners intersection, like many of other area of Lincoln roadways, is both a bane and a blessing for those who travel on them and those who manage them. They are an integral part of Lincoln’s character—and a real challenge for the town officials who are responsible for providing for the public safety while protecting community character.

These quirky roadways are a product of topography and history. The paths of the 1700s—the paths of least resistance—are, for the most part, the same paths we travel today. The land dictated the layout of farms and fields, the first settlement being made in the 1600s. Increased settlement led to the creation of pathways beginning in the early 1700s, and these paths logically skirted the edges of the arable land and navigated wetlands. Needless to say, these paths twisted and turned to preserve land and also to provide viable passage for carts. Stone walls are evidence of famers moving rocks out of fields and creating the edges of fields and passageways.

The original path network, which radiated from the five corners, did not connect to the North and South Great Road throughways until the mid-1750s. It is this winding system of paths, edged with stone walls and shaded by ancient trees that create the beauty and serenity of our scenic roadways. That is the blessing of our history and the bane of modern day traffic demands. It is those paths that went from dirt to gravel to blacktop that our town must manage.

As reported by town officials, over the past 15 year, the town has had traffic engineers do analysis of each and every intersection, sometimes repeating that exercise when new concerns and ideas were presented. In addition, two volunteer Ad Hoc Traffic and Roadway Committees have done extensive study involving much citizen input and offered many thoughtful recommendations. When the town began a roadway restoration project of the major roadways in 2009 and 2010, it went neighborhood by neighborhood to review all concerns, revisit professional and committee recommendations, and engage further traffic and roadway engineers. In addition consulting with Public Safety as of critical importance as navigating these roadways by our ambulances and fire trucks is, indeed, “tricky business!” All this work guided location of signage and crosswalks, intersection configuration, and public safety protocols to conduct regular review of safety issues.

In 2012, the selectmen reviewed all studies and recommendations and put in place a set of guidance policies based on these documents to ensure all future roadway work would follow a professional rational. A standing committee, the Roadway and Traffic Committee (RTC), was established to guide future work on our roadways and roadsides. Town officials have invited all to the meetings of both the RTC and the selectmen to discuss ideas. As they have wisely cautioned, many have been down this path before.

Interesting suggestions have been made to fine-tune the historic Five Corners intersection and are worthy of further review. A review of accident reports would offer a reality check against the perception of danger, as was done in 2008. But in the end, while we tweak, fine-tune and refine, the history and topography of Lincoln has dictated our scenic pathways and which will continue to be a bane… and a blessing.

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes
71 Conant 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.

Energy-efficient lighting projects completed

greenlights montageThe Lincoln Department of Public Works and the Town Administrator’s office recently completed two projects that incorporate effective LED lighting.

At the transfer station, the old fluorescent lighting at the swap table shed was replaced with new lighting that will provide residents with a better and safer environment to enjoy the swap areas. Also, the old incandescent street lights at the intersection of Routes 126 and 117 were recently replaced by more efficient LED traffic signal and pedestrian heads. These new signal heads will not only use less electricity, but will also serve to reduce service calls and bulb replacement calls.

Campus Master Plan Committee is up and running

The Community Center Study Committee's "preferred option." Click on the image for more options and interior design ideas.

The Community Center Study Committee’s “preferred option” for the location of the facility on the Hartwell campus.

The Campus Master Plan Committee (CMPC) has begun meeting and is moving quickly, with plans to interview consultant finalists on July 16.

The committee is charged with examining the implications of a Hartwell campus community center on Ballfield Road campus roadways, traffic, parking, public safety and accessibility, and recreational facilities, and to understand site issues such as wetlands, conservation land, septic fields and geotechnical conditions. One of the CMPC’s first tasks is hiring a firm with the skills needed to do this work. Residents authorized $75,000 for this purpose at Town Meeting in March.

Members of the committee are Renel Fredriksen from the Board of Selectmen, Jennifer Glass  and Tim Christenfeld from the School Committee; Bryce Wolf from the Planning Board; Ken Bassett from the Roadway & Traffic Committee; Dilla Tingley from the Council on Aging board; Patricia Donahue from the Parks and Recreation Committee; either Peter von Mertens or Jim Meadors from the Conservation Commission; and at-large members Carole Kasper, Vin Cannistraro and Paula Cobb. There are four nonvoting members as well: Town Administrator Tim Higgins, Superintendent of Schools Becky McFall, Council on Aging Director Carolyn Bottum, and Parks & Recreation Director Dan Pereira.

News acorns – 6/4/15

Sam Bayer

Sam Bayer

Sam Bayer featured at Monday’s open mic night

Sam Bayer will be the featured performer at this month’s LOMA (Lincoln Open-Mic Acoustic) on Monday, June 8 from 7-10 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library’s Tarbell Room. He’ll perform a half-hour set starting around 8:30 p.m. Bayer has performed at First Night, Passim’s, Sally O’Briens, the Nameless Coffeehouse and other venues and has four CDs to his credit.

[Read more…] about News acorns – 6/4/15

Guests honor Domnitz (Lincoln Through the Lens)

Current and former members of the Planning Board, the Board of Selectmen, and other guests gathered on Sunday, May 17 at the Todd Pond home of Rick and Virginia Rundell in honor of Bob Domnitz's 12 years of service on the Planning Board. Pictured from top: John "JR" Robinson, Virginia Rundell, Frank Clark, Lynn DeLisi, Bryce Wolf, Margaret Olson, Rich Rosenbaum, Renel Fredriksen, Bob Domnitz (the honoree), Carolyn McQueen, Peter Braun, Bob Wolf, and Rick Rundell. Also attending but not in the photo were James Craig, Pam Gallup, and Ken Hurd.

Current and former members of the Planning Board, the Board of Selectmen, and other guests gathered on May 17 at the Todd Pond home of Rick and Virginia Rundell in honor of Bob Domnitz’s 12 years of service on the Planning Board. Pictured from top: John “JR” Robinson, Frank Clark, Virginia Rundell, Bryce Wolf, Lynn DeLisi, Renel Fredriksen, Margaret Olsen, Rich Rosenbaum, Bob Domnitz (the honoree), Carolyn McQueen, Peter Braun, Rick Rundell and Bob Wolf (far right). Also attending but not in the photo were James Craig, Pam Gallup, and Ken Hurd.

Readers may submit photos for consideration for Lincoln Through the Lens by emailing them to news@lincolnsquirrrel.com. If your photo is published, you’ll receive credit in the Squirrel. Photos must be taken in Lincoln and include the date, location, and names of any people who are identifiable in the photo. Previously published photos can be viewed on the Lincoln Through the Lens page of the Lincoln Squirrel.

Letter to the editor: Georgiou runs for Governor’s Council

letter

To the editor:

I am announcing my candidacy for Governor’s Council (a.k.a. Executive Council) for the Third District of Massachusetts, which includes much of Middlesex County and parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Worcester counties. Lincoln is at the center of the Third District.

Many Massachusetts citizens are unaware of the important—indeed, vital—work the Governor’s Council is charged with by the Massachusetts Constitution. The Council plays a seminal role in our state’s justice system and consequently in the functioning of our society. The council is the last chance the people of Massachusetts have to make sure that the best candidate for the job is picked. The council provides the “checks and balances” for the governor’s appointments to our court system. If the elected councilor does his or her job correctly, political appointments (people that simply donate to the governor) are not shooed in as a political favor.

The most critical part of the Governor’s Council is to approve, by its constitutional power of “advise and consent,” the governor’s judicial appointments to all courts (Supreme Judicial Court, Court of Appeals, Superior Court, District Court, Probate Court) and all adjudicatory agencies, such as the Appellate Tax Board, the Department of Industrial Accidents, and other similar agencies of the Commonwealth. In addition to judicial appointments, the council approves clerk-magistrates, public administrators, members of the Parole Board, justices of the peace, notary publics and many other gubernatorial appointments. All critical to the function of our justice system.

As is evident, this position requires a Governor’s Councilor to have expert and specific experience as well as knowledge of our justice system. More importantly, it requires the background and depth of experience of an attorney—one who has been in the trenches of the justice system for a respectable number of years. I believe that this experience is mandatory because it is the only way one is exposed to the traits and skills that constitute a good attorney who would make a good judge and will serve the people of Massachusetts competently, fairly and honestly.

What kind of a person should sit in judgment of others? That is the critical question a Governor’s Councilor must ask. After more than 25 years as a trial attorney, having practiced before almost every court and adjudicatory agency in Massachusetts and having taught law, I have the experience and background to make such judgment and advice the governor of good, fair or bad choices of proposed judicial and other appointments.

My experience stems from having dealt with dozens of judges and other various court functionaries and hundreds of attorneys and various other players in our justice system. I have represented plaintiffs and defendants and have a perspective from both sides of litigation. I know what constitutes a good attorney and a good judge. In my practice I have been before judges almost on a daily basis and I can without reservation say that no one can be a good judge with first being a good attorney.

I have the background and frontline experience acquired over the course of over 25 years of trial work to make decisions as to which candidate qualifies to by a judge and which candidate does not. I would be proud and humbled to serve the people of the Commonwealth.

It’s surprising the person who is currently representing Lincoln on the Governor’s Council is not an attorney and has held the position since 1998 primarily because people of the Third District are essentially unaware of the Council’s importance and the lack of the current councilor’s qualifications. I am hoping to change this and earn the people’s trust and vote in 2016.

Sincerely,

Peter Georgiou
126 Lexington 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.

News acorns – 05/11/15

Lincoln Democrats to elect reps to state convention

The Lincoln Democratic Town Committee (LDTC) will elect delegates to  the Massachusetts Democratic Party’s annual convention scheduled for September 19 on Saturday, May 16 from 9-11 a.m. at Bemis Hall. Light refreshments will be served. The public is always invited and encouraged to attend LDTC meetings and events, including these delegate caucus elections. Any Lincoln Democratic voter registered as of January 31, 2015 can nominate others, can be nominated, and can be elected as either a delegate or alternate to the state convention. You can even nominate yourself if you like. For questions, contact Gary Davis at garyddavis04@gmail.com.

Fundraiser party for Lincoln Police Association PMC team

For the third consecutive year, the Lincoln Police Association has a Pan Mass Challenge team, and residents are invited to support the team and fight cancer by attending a fundraiser on Friday, June 5 from 7-11 p.m, at the Pierce House. Team members are Dan Pereira of the Parks and Recreation Department, Lincoln Police Detective Ian Spencer and resident Kim Mooney. A donation of at least $50 lets you in to enjoy dance music from Honeytrain, an open bar, finger foods and more. Harpoon is sponsoring the beer but the team is footing the bill for the music, food and wine. For more information and to donate, see the team’s PMC profile page.

A bus full of donated supplies heading to Nepal earthquake victims.

A bus full of donated supplies heading to Nepal earthquake victims.

Lincoln’s Adrian Smith posts updates on Nepal relief efforts

Adrian Smith has succeeded in getting some supplies to an area of Nepal that was badly damaged by the recent earthquake, his mother Diana Smith reported (see her earlier letters to the editor here and here). “Less than two weeks ago we began with the idea of supporting a village of 50 families in the aftermath of the earthquake in Nepal. The outpouring of support we have received has allowed us to scale up our relief efforts to deliver over 14,000 kg. of food and other supplies (over 30,000 lbs.) to roughly 1,000 families who had not yet received any aid,” Adrian wrote on a Facebook page about his work. “We are overwhelmed with gratitude to all who have supported us and have made this possible.” For more updates and information about how to donate, go to the Nepal Earthquake Relief–Sindhupalchowk Facebook page or call Diana Smith at 781-259-9758.