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

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Letter to the editor: Exploring the need for a community center in Lincoln

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Editor’s note: for background information about the community center, see the Lincoln Squirrel, July 31, 2014.

To the editor:

In May, the Board of Selectmen appointed the Community Center Study Committee (CCSC) to evaluate the concept of a new community center for Lincoln. Their charge requires that we evaluate options for the long and short-term facilities needs of the Parks & Recreation Department and Council on Aging. That evaluation will include what succeeds and what fails with respect to their current locations. Many towns recognize the value of a facility serving both populations and as a central gathering place for all residents. Our goal is to make this evaluative process comprehensive, open and transparent.

On Wednesday, October 8 from 6-9 p.m., we will hold a town-wide planning charrette at Hartwell School Pod B. Everyone is encouraged to attend and participate. Refreshments will be served. You can attend for the entire evening or come and go as you please. We are seeking residents’ views on what form a community center might take in Lincoln and where it should be located.

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More on election (and a correction)

correction-smAccording to the Boston Globe’s town-by-town map of the September 10 primary results, Lincoln was one of only five mainland towns east of Worcester where the majority voted for Don Berwick for governor. The other four were Concord, Carlisle, Upton and Wellfleet. The only other towns east of Worcester that went for Berwick were West Tisbury, Chilmar, Aquinnah (all on Martha’s Vineyard), and the densely populated town of Gosnold, which comprises the Elizabeth Islands including Cuttyhunk. Berwick won 40 percent of the Gosnold vote, while 30 percent each went for Coakley and Grossman. That’s four, three and three votes respectively.

In the Lincoln Squirrel story about the September 10 primary election, several figures in the state-wide percentage column were transposed. The errors have been fixed in the original post.

School officials set meetings for public input

schoolThe School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC) will have a public forum on Tuesday, Sept. 16 to share preliminary cost estimates for the renovation options for the Lincoln School. The meeting will take place from 7-9 p.m. in the Smith gym.

The current SBAC began meeting in May and hired Dore & Whittier Architects in July to to develop repair and renovation options for the school. The moves were made in the wake of the Massachusetts School Building Authority’s refusal in December 2013 to consider a new application from the town to help fund a comprehensive project.

The SBAC’s schedule of upcoming meetings through January 2015 includes several other public forums:

  • October 16 – Presentation of alternative concepts
  • November 15 – State of the Town meeting
  • December 2 – Evaluation of alternatives
  • January 13 – Presentation of final report

The SBAC also plans joint meetings with other town boards and commissions on September 30 and November 5.

Letter to the editor: Vote for Conroy and Healey

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To the editor:

At the Democratic Nominating Convention in June, delegates from Lincoln and other neighbor towns cast an overwhelming majority of votes for Tom Conroy for state treasurer and for Maura Healey for attorney general. Now it’s the voters’ turn on September 9.

Conroy and Healey are running separately, but they share some common traits. Both are by far the most professionally qualified and experienced candidates for their respective offices. The Boston Globe and several other local newspapers have endorsed both Conroy and Healey. A Boston Globe editorial on September 1 says of Conroy that he is “…the candidate who is best prepared to perform the treasurer’s duties—and is most interested in doing so.” Another Globe editorial that day says of Healey that her “…clearer focus on the core responsibilities of the office, coupled with her evident tenacity and discerning legal mind, make her the superior choice.”

Healey, already a proven leader in the attorney general’s office, has also been a prosecutor and a civil rights attorney. She is the only candidate who is an experienced law enforcement professional. Visit her website at www.maurahealey.com to learn more. Conroy is the only candidate with unmatched education and experience in economics and finance in both the public and private sectors, and the legislature. Visit his website at www.tomconroy.org to learn more.

Please join me in voting for Tom Conroy for treasurer and Maura Healey for attorney general on at the primary election on September 9.

Sincerely,

Gary Davis, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee
20R Indian Camp Lane

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.

Letter to the editor: Vote in primary on Sept. 9

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To the editor:

Yes, primary elections do matter, and the September 9 election in particular will determine leadership in the major statewide offices for several years to come. On September 9, voters will decide which of the candidates will move forward to the General Election on November 4.

For many months, the candidates and their supporters have been working hard all across the Commonwealth to become known to voters and to win votes. They have tried to define positions on the important issues that face the Commonwealth, and to listen to voters. One source of information about the candidates are the video records of candidate forums held earlier this year as sponsored and organized by the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee. These forums featured all candidates for the four major statewide office races including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and state treasurer. You can watch videos of these forums on the Lincoln Cable TV website. Under the “All Folders” tab, select “Political.” Further information about most candidates can be found on the Politics1 website at www.politics1.com/ma.htm.

In addition to the four major statewide offices, Democratic candidates for regional races are:

  • State Senate, 3rd Middlesex district — Mike Barrett
  • State Representative, 9th Middlesex district — Tom Stanley
  • Middlesex District Attorney — Marian Ryan and Michael Sullivan

September 9 will be here before we know it. It’s up to us to fulfill the promise of democracy, to become informed, and to VOTE on September 9.

Sincerely,

Gary Davis, Lincoln Democratic Town Committee
20R Indian Camp Lane

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.

News acorns

acornVoter registration deadline is Aug. 20

The Massachusetts Democratic and Republican parties will choose their nominees for statewide office in the primary election on Tuesday, September 9. Polls will be open at the Smith School gym from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Massachusetts law permits unenrolled (also known as “Independent”) voters to vote either party’s ballot. The deadline to register to vote or to change your party enrollment is Wednesday, Aug. 20.

Primary election absentee ballots now available

Absentee ballots for the September 9 state primary are available now. A written request is required before receiving the ballot. The ballot may be voted at the Town Clerk’s office or the applicant may request that a ballot be mailed. Massachusetts law does not permit persons to pick up ballots for another person, although it does permit certain family members to initiate a request on behalf of another member. For further information, please call the Town Clerk’s office at 781-259-2607.

Boards looking for new members

The Lincoln Zoning Board of Appeals (ZBA) is seeking new members for open seats on the board. The ZBA is a land use board that interprets and applies the town’s zoning bylaw. It acts on a case-by-case basis on requests for variances, special permits and appeals of decisions by the building inspector, considering the impact on the town and neighborhoods and the requirements of the bylaw. The board, which generally meets one evening a month, has five regular members and three associate members. Click here to download an application or call the Selectmen’s Office at 781-259-2601.

The Lincoln Board of Health is also seeking a new member to fill out the three-year term for a member who has retired. Anyone interested should call Elaine Carroll at 781-259-2614 for further information.

Codman arts and crafts festival coming up

The 32nd annual Codman Fine Arts and Crafts Festival will take place on Saturday, Sept. 6 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Codman Estate. The event features the work of more than 100 local artisans and features items including wooden furniture and toys, pottery, photography, jewelry, glass, knitted sweaters and throws, children’s clothing, metalware, and folk carvings. Enjoy live music, a food court and first-floor tours of the Codman house. Free to Historic New England members and children under 12; $5 for nonmembers. Purchase tickets online or call 617-994-5900 ext. 5514 for additional information.

School Committee asks House to pass bill on mandates

schoolThe Lincoln School Committee has sent a letter to the state legislature’s Ways and Means Committee in support of a bill that would create a task force to examine the ever-increasing array of statewide educational mandates that Massachusetts school districts are required to follow.

“The issue is not with a specific mandate—it’s that there have been so many coming down at once,” said committee chair Jennifer Glass. “Many have very good aims, but having to do them all at once means it’s difficult to do everything well and with the energy each initiative deserves. Also, over the years mandates get added, but none get taken away. This bill is designed to take a look at them all and analyze what’s redundant or meaningless or even contradictory.”

The letter from the School Committee is reprinted below.

An open letter to the members of the Massachusetts House Committee on Ways and Means:

On July 23, 2014, the Lincoln School Committee voted to join MASS [the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents], MASC [the Massachusetts Association of School Committees] and MASBO [the Massachusetts Association of School Business Officials] in voicing its strong support for Bill H.3722. H.3722 is a bill establishing an education mandate task force designed to examine and make sense of the extraordinary number of mandates school districts are required to adhere to each year. In addition to passing the bill, the School Committee urges the appointment of active school employees (district and building administrators and classroom teachers) to such a task force.

As a committee, we fully appreciate the excellent intentions of many of the mandates, and support those that focus on ensuring all students are in high-quality learning environments. However, there are well over 100 mandated regulations and administrative reporting requirements that currently overwhelm school staff, divert necessary resources, and distract attention from our schools’ primary mission: preparing students to succeed in a rapidly changing, highly competitive global economy. This work is difficult to manage for all districts, and even more onerous for small districts, such as ours, that operate with a small team of administrators and support personnel.

On top of the current requirements, right now there are more than 20 education-related bills before the House Ways and Means Committee. All but one of them, H.3722, advocate imposing additional regulations. Unless there is a task force to holistically examine education regulations, districts will be placed in the unfortunate position of treating these regulations as mere compliance exercises, negating any positive impact they were intended to have.

As outlined in the bill, H.3722 proposes establishing an eleven-member task force that, over the course of a year, would inventory all existing regulations and then recommend measures to streamline, consolidate, or eliminate specific mandates and/or reporting requirements that are outdated, duplicative, or inconsistent with current laws, regulations and practices.

We would deeply appreciate your efforts to champion H.3722 and bring it to a vote. Thank you for your continued support of all the students and educators of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Sincerely,

The Lincoln School Committee:

Jennifer Glass, chair
Tom Sander, vice chair
Preditta Cedeno, METCO representative
Tim Christenfeld, member
Al Schmertzler, member
Jena Salon, member

Studies on community center, school renovations are underway

blueprintsBy Alice Waugh

Two design firms are now working in parallel on potential town construction projects—a community center and Lincoln School renovations—and both will be discussed at the State of the Town meeting on November 15.

After interviewing four candidate firms earlier this month, the new School Building Advisory Committee (SBAC) selected Dore & Whittier Architects to develop repair and renovation options for the Lincoln School. The firm’s work will build on previous studies commissioned by the town, as well as the work of the first SBAC to identify individual repair and renovation projects and get updated specific cost estimates for each. Voters approved spending up to $250,000 for the study (see the Lincoln Squirrel, April 3, 2014).

Meanwhile, following the recommendation of the Community Center Study Committee (CCSC), the Board of Selectmen has hired Abacus Architects and Planners to do a detailed study of several possible sites for a community center and offer estimates on the scope and cost for each. After being appointed by the Board of Selectmen in June, the CCSC received proposals from seven architectural firms and interviewed five.

Abacus will look at several sites identified in the 2012 report of the Community Center Feasibility Committee as well as any others that may come up. That report was a first step in identifying alternative sites for the Council on Aging, which has outgrown Bemis Hall, and the Parks and Recreation Department. While Park and Rec is happy with its location in the Hartwell pods, those buildings are due for renovation or replacement.

On the radar of both consultants will the Hartwell area, which could be repurposed as a community center and also serve as swing space for the Lincoln School to use during major renovations. The two firms are working independently, but if the town chooses to go ahead with both a school building project and a community center, the Hartwell site will certainly come into play somehow, “and we want to have an answer to how that’s going to work,” Fredriksen said.

Both committees will schedule public discussions before the State of the Town meeting. After a comprehensive $49 million school project failed to win enough support at a special Town Meeting in 2012, some residents said it was because of insufficient communication and public input beforehand.

“The primary reasons for choosing Dore & Whittier Architects were their emphasis on listening to the community—their desire to conduct separate meetings with stakeholder groups as well as their overall understanding of the importance of developing choices and providing accurate cost estimates,” the SBAC said in a statement distributed by co-chair Becky McFall, superintendent of schools. “The SBAC is striving to focus their efforts on process and community engagement, as opposed to the specifics of a particular option. Community input to the consultants will be vital and community members will be encouraged to contribute at several key points along the way.”

The CCSC will hold a town-wide charette in the fall, and while dollar figures will not be discussed, “we want see what those [community center] scenarios would look like and see what direction residents are inclined to go in,” Fredriksen said. “We’re taking it one step at a time.”

The CCSC meets every other week; its next meeting is Thursday, Aug. 7 at 8 a.m. in the Town Office Building. Agendas, minutes, documents and additional information are available on the CCSC’s web page. The SBAC will start its work with Dore and Whittier on Wednesday, Aug. 13 at 7 p.m. in the Hartwell Multipurpose Room.