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

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Kids rack up a Town Meeting victory

The eighth-graders who fashioned a warrant article to request new bikes racks were (left to right) Janie Petraglia Luke Belge, Zoe Belge, Anna Shorb, Cal Hamandi and (not pictured) Jacob Strock.

The eighth-graders who fashioned a warrant article to request new bikes racks were (left to right) Janie Petraglia, Luke Belge, Zoe Belge, Anna Shorb, Cal Hamandi and (not pictured) Jacob Strock.

By Alice Waugh

Today’s children will govern the Lincoln of tomorrow—and they had a chance to practice at Town Meeting on March 29.

Six Lincoln School eighth-graders—Luke and Zoe Belge, Cal Hamandi, Janie Petraglia, Anna Shorb and Jacob Strock—worked since last fall with Town Clerk Susan Brooks on writing a warrant article for Town Meeting. But rather than dealing with zoning by-laws or property tax rates, their effort eventually focused on something more important to kids: new bike racks.

They started with a presentation by Brooks on how town government works and then brainstormed some ideas for a warrant article they could bring up for a Town Meeting vote with a citizens’ petition. “They thought broadly at the beginning,” Brooks said with a laugh. “Some of the ideas were pretty far out.”

One of the old bike racks outside Hartwell Pod C.

One of the old bike racks outside Hartwell Pod C.

Eventually the kids hit upon the idea of a citizen’s petition seeking money for new bike racks. They did an informal poll of classmates and found that quote a few of them would ride their bikes to school if there was a better rack for locking their bikes. The decades-old models now at the schools were designed to lock only the front wheel, which doesn’t cut it with today’s fancier bikes with quick-release wheels.

The process, as is usually the case with getting things done in government, required talking to lots of people and doing research. They talked to Lincoln School facilities director Michael Haynes about where on the school campus the new racks might be installed. They went online and found a $125 bike rack online that will lock five bikes (how many they’ll eventually get will depend on the maximum dollar amount that will be requested, which hasn’t been finalized yet). And they gathered signatures. A citizen’s petition for a warrant article requires 10 valid signatures, but the bike-rack group collected 60 to 70.

And then there were the meetings. The students presented their idea to  the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen (“they were really enthusiastic about it,” said Luke Belge) and finally the Finance Committee. The last session was “a more serious formal meeting, said Luke’s sister Zoe, who chaired the student group. “They had a lot of questions.” Finally, they had to make their case to voters before Town Meeting, so they divvied up the tasks of writing articles for the school newsletter, the Lincoln Review and the Lincoln Journal, and creating and rehearsing a PowerPoint presentation for the big day.

After patiently waiting for their warrant article to come up, the students took turns detailing the need for new racks. Shorb explained how the old bike racks are too small, especially on Wednesdays, when some of the older students bike from school to the Whistle Stop after school. Shorb and Petraglia explained how they aren’t really secure. And Hamandi assured any voters wary of hidden costs that there would be no sales tax for the tax-exempt school and no spending required for installation, since school custodial staff would do that as part of their regular duties.

Residents passed the measure unanimously and also gave the students a round of applause along with appreciative town officials.

“This really takes it to a new level to go through this process,” said Selectman Peter Braun.

Letter to the editor: Thanks from Planning Board

letterTo the Editor:

The Planning Board thanks the town for approving three important zoning amendments on this year’s Town Meeting warrant:

  • Article 32 relaxes the limits on building height in the Lincoln Station area. The new limits are 36’ and 2 ½ stories, identical to the existing limits on residential construction in the R1 residential district. The increase should facilitate attractive, viable development in the Lincoln Station area.
  • Article 35 adopts a new requirement for site plan review when building permits are requested for projects that will generate more than 50 vehicle trips per day. This provision will close a significant gap in our bylaw that has allowed nonresidential projects to locate in residential neighborhoods without adequate review and control.
  • Article 36 remedies an incorrectly drafted provision in the zoning bylaw dating back to 2003. The provision has allowed, without site plan review, new construction on lots that had preexisting structures, in situations where the new construction was not attached to any of the preexisting structures. This loophole is now closed.

We will continue to monitor the operation of our zoning bylaw, with your guidance, to ensure that it protects and enhances our beautiful town.

Sincerely,

Bryce Wolf, Lincoln Planning Board chair
52 Birchwood 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. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published. Letters may be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor.

Braun beats Cannistraro in surprisingly close Selectman’s race

ballotIn unofficial results from the March 31 town election, incumbent Selectman Peter Braun defeated challenger Vincent Cannistraro by a vote of 487-382, or 56 to 46 percent. Braun’s margin of victory was about the same in both precincts. Precinct 1, which includes the southern and western portion of Lincoln, went to Braun by 56 to 44 percent, while Precinct 2 (the northeastern part of town) voted for Braun 55 to 45 percent.

Candidate Precinct 1 Precinct 2 Total votes
Peter Braun 320 167 487
Vincent Cannistraro 242 130 372
Blanks 7 9 16

In the only other contested race, Patricia Mostue of Lincoln and Elena Kleifges of Sudbury retained their seats on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School District Committee by winning the highest totals tallied from the unofficial results from Lincoln and Sudbury:

Candidate Lincoln votes Sudbury votes Total votes
Patricia Mostue 796 1,415 2,211
Elena Kleifges 236 1,842 2,087
Sofya L. Gruman-Reznik 62 1,121 1,183
Blanks/write-ins 656 1,918 2,574

The two ballot questions in Lincoln were overwhelmingly approved. By a vote of 729 to 83, residents approved granting one-day alcohol licenses to nonprofits for special events, subject to Board of Selectmen approval in each case. By a vote of 731 to 86, voters OK’d a beer and wine license for the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum. Although alcohol has been served at the deCordova in the past, the museum had been required to hire licensed outside vendors to do so.

Candidates comment

Vincent Cannistraro

Cannistraro said he was “absolutely thrilled” at the closeness of the vote. “I think a lot of people were really surprised. I don’t think anybody thought I would get more than 30 percent of the vote” with no endorsements from town officials. “I think it spoke a lot about how the town is trying to cope with this concept of change over time.”

“I’m pleased that voters reelected me and that I’ll have the opportunity to continue to serve the town for another three years in a volunteer capacity and give back to my community,” Braun said.

“I valued the many conversations I had with people across all segments of our community,” Braun continued. “I learned a lot, and I’m eager to continue to learn from as many people as I possibly can, including having the opportunity to speak to people who did not vote for me so I can continue to have as comprehensive understanding of residents’ issues as I can.”

Peter Braun

Asked if he was surprised at his relatively narrow margin of victory, Braun said he was. “It appears to have been the case that there was an organized effort by more than just the candidate to convince people to vote for my opponent,” he said.

Shortly before the election, Cannistraro wrote and dictated a “robocall” that was phoned to what he said was somewhere between 500 and 1,000 homes in Lincoln. In his call, which he supplied to the Lincoln Squirrel on Wednesday (read transcript here), he asked residents to vote in the election and outlined his experience in the construction industry. “I wanted people to always see or hear me directly and not take it from my friend or my acquaintance,” he said.

Using call-em-all.com, customers can record their message and have it robocalled to a list of phone numbers they upload for a about nine cents per number. Cannistraro said he aimed his robocall at phone numbers for residents who he guessed had lived in Lincoln for 10 to 20 years and/or were 45 to 60 years old. He did not include every Lincoln  number to keep the cost down, adding that he spent $70 or $80 of his own money. The tactic is comparable to the one by an unknown person who put pro-Braun flyers under the doors of residents at The Commons, he added.

To anyone who might have thought robocalling was not “proper politics,” Cannistraro said, “That really depends on your perspective. I don’t think it’s appropriate for people you appoint to come out and endorse you,” he added, referring to a letter to the editor of the Lincoln Squirrel in which Conservation Commission co-chair Peter Von Mertens (who was appointed by the Board of Selectmen) expressed support for Braun before the election.

“It was a campaign of contrasts, to a certain degree—older vs. younger, insider vs. outsider experienced vs. a new perspective,” Cannistraro said. “That’s what interested me about the campaign. It wasn’t a personal thing about Peter… I think he ran a great campaign and it’s obvious that he loves Lincoln, and I respect him for that completely.” Cannistraro thanked various people including Braun  in a letter posted on Lincoln Blogs the Future, a blog by resident Neil Feinberg, who was until recently a columnist for the Lincoln Journal.

“I really was a political nobody, and I think the result made a statement,” said Cannistraro, who has never held public office in Lincoln but said he would be interested in serving on a town board or commission in the future. “I’d feel compelled to serve for the people who supported me if I have the time to do a good job. It’s definitely a possibility,” he said.Asked which area of town government would interest him, he said, “I think my strengths are probably in the finance/CapComm [Capital Planning Committee] area… I’m really tuned into the fact that the town has a lot of potentially big-ticket items out there that they’re grappling with.” He added that he might also be interested in serving on the new School Building Advisory Committee that will be formed to work with consultants on identifying specific school repair/renovation project items and costs, “but maybe they want a fresh face of their own,” said Cannistraro, who served on the first SBAC.

Lincoln event updates

calendar4Jet Aviation meeting on Wednesday

The Conservation Commission expects to vote on the Jet Aviation expansion plans at Hanscom Civil Airport at its meeting on Wednesday, April 2 at 7:45 p.m. in the Donaldson Room at the Lincoln Town Offices. This is a continuation of the hearing and discussion on February 19 and March 12.

Clark, Barrett to participate in candidate forums

The statewide candidate forums have added participants since they were announced (Lincoln Squirrel, March 29). U.S. Congresswoman Katherine Clark will attend and offer opening remarks at the lieutenant governor candidate forum this Saturday, April 5 at 1:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. At the attorney general and state treasurer Forum on May 10, state Sen. Michael Barrett will attend and offer opening remarks.

Birches School benefit event

The  Birches School invites everyone to a party at Pierce House on Friday, April 11 at 6:30 p.m. to  benefit a newly established scholarship fund. The event will feature food, wine, music, entertainment, and both a live and silent auction. You can bid on over 50 items such as children’s summer camps, vacation homes on Cape Cod and in France, a whale watch, dinners out, and beautiful artwork. Tickets are $30 per person and can be purchased on the Birches website using PayPal.  The auction catalogue can also be viewed online.

Dems announce two more candidate forums for statewide offices

donkeyThe Lincoln Democratic Town Committee (DTC) will host a forum with candidates for lieutenant governor on April 5 in Bemis Hall and a forum for attorney general and state treasurer on May 10. All five lieutenant governor candidates have indicated they will attend: Stephen Kerrigan, Mike Lake, Jonathan Edwards, Leland Cheung, and James Arena-DeRosa.

[Read more…] about Dems announce two more candidate forums for statewide offices

Letter to the editor on school building needs

letterTo the editor:

Before us at Town Meeting will be a warrant article to approve funds to study costs associated with fixing our town’s school buildings. The school building’s needs have been professionally studied for 12 years, yet it’s said at meetings that people may not believe that the needs are real. On paper the school building’s needs may seem distant, debatable, and unrelated to learning. As a parent, however, I consistently see how the building’s needs are affecting children and how they’re related to learning, health and safety.

Our daughter’s classroom has been a stagnant 76 to 78 degrees this winter. She’s been telling us that it’s too hot, that it makes her feel sick and dizzy and that she can’t think. Maintenance sounds like an easy fix, but this classroom is stuck in a “difficult to fix” zone of the outdated Univent heating system. The teacher has had to open the windows and door this winter to provide intermittent relief. In December parents were notified that a Univent motor burned out and filled a second grade classroom with smoke, causing the school to be evacuated. While there was no fire, a situation like this speaks to the importance of having a fire suppression system in the schools, yet we have none.

In the spring, fans will again be brought into classrooms to compensate for the building’s decreased ventilation rates and lack of dehumidification. Opening the windows may sound like an easy fix to increase air flow, but what happens to the children with asthma and allergies that are exacerbated by outdoor pollen, and what happens to the attention and learning of the children who are distracted by the noise from ongoing recess? Sometimes it’s not possible to open the windows.

When this is your child’s everyday learning environment, it becomes clear quickly that the building is making the act of learning more difficult than it needs to be. Support of this warrant article will help further identify costs so we can move beyond studying the problems and get to fixing the problems. The town’s school buildings are telling us a story and it’s my hope that we will both listen and respond with urgency, ensuring the health and safety of children and the delivery of education in this town for generations to come.

Sincerely,

Betsey Yeats
35 Round Hill Road

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. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published. Letters may be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor.

Letter to the editor: Mattes clarifies remarks on Hanscom

letter

To the editor:

In the March 23 Lincoln Squirrel report on the Lincoln candidates’ forum held on March 15 (see video of entire forum here), a quote was attributed to me. Unfortunately, the quote was limited to a statement that implied the opposite of the thrust of the question I was asking.

The quote in the Squirrel was accurate as far as it went: “Mattes, who was a key local official in the 2005 BRAC (base realignment and closure) process, said that as a result of negotiations at that time, Lincoln would be essentially indemnified from any changes that would have impact on us regarding housing.”

That mitigation—an agreement to offset the cost of 730+ new households in Lincoln—was relevant only for the potential outcomes of 2005 and no longer applies.

I went on to express concern that in the recent climate, where there would be no BRAC, there is the potential to physically separate the housing on the base from the office buildings and business operations. The base, as an economic engine for the region, would be saved while the housing and schools could be off-loaded from military responsibility and become the responsibility of Lincoln. Every Democratic gubernatorial candidate, including the attorney general and the state treasurer, affirmed this concern at a recent Lincoln forum. All urged Lincoln to prepare for this potential

After stating the above, I asked, “Have we negotiated and received any such mitigation now, before offering unqualified support?”

The danger of not receiving pledges for mitigation before lending support is that we may have given away all leverage and we may not be insulated from the financial impacts of adding 730+ households to our town.

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes

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. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published. Letters may be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor.

Letter to the editor: Support Minuteman agreement

letterTo the editor:

This Saturday at Town Meeting, there will be some discussion about a Revised Regional Agreement for the Minuteman Regional High School. Minuteman really needs a new school, but before this can happen, they need the Revised Regional Agreement to be passed by all communities in the district involved.

I can assure you that Dr. Edward Bouquillon, superintendent of Minuteman, has spent an incredible amount of time (his own time) and an incredible amount of meetings to come up with the best outcome for this school and the best agreement possible. I trust his work 100 percent. This school provides incredible education and is extremely valuable for our communities. Please do not let down the other communities and the school’s opportunity to be improved.

Even though this should be supported through state and federal funds, it is not going to happen tomorrow, and maybe it is never going to happen. We can’t take this as an excuse to turn our heads away. I strongly feel that it is our responsibility and our commitment to help this school at a time they need it most, meaning now. Lincoln is an “in-district” town for Minuteman High school; it can’t just take advantage of it when needed and then not help when the school needs financial support. Lincoln is one of the richest towns in the district, and I would feel very ashamed as a Lincolnite if this Revised Regional Agreement did not pass because of Lincoln.

The Lincoln Public Schools and Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School each had their turns to rebuild and improve; now it is Minuteman Regional High School’s overdue turn. Let’s give them our support. It is a good and honorable use of your tax money.

Sincerely,

Tania Dessain
62 Conant 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. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published. Letters may be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor.

Letter to the editor on Minuteman revised agreement

letter

To the editor:

Minuteman High School, which provides career and technical education to Lincoln students, has proposed a revised regional agreement as a warrant article for the March 29 town meeting at the Brooks Auditorium. For this new regional agreement to come into effect, it must be approved by a majority at the town meetings of every member town. It is important that stakeholders such as yourselves be aware and informed about the new Agreement so that you and your community can make informed decisions about it. To that end, informational material about the new agreement can be found here along with a seven-minute video explaining the agreement.

Minuteman is a vital resource to the community. Providing a rigorous and relevant curriculum that prepares students for both college and careers is only the first part of our role in Lincoln. We provide education for post-graduate students who seek additional training in order to achieve career readiness. We offer community education programs that enrich the lives of the young and old with new learning opportunities. Our students are involved in community projects across our district. Our restaurant and other service-oriented shops welcome visitors for excellent and affordable service.

In order to continue offering this excellent education and these other services, Minuteman must adapt. One way that we are attempting to achieve this change is by amending the current regional agreement, which will allow the district to move on from a regional agreement that no longer serves the best interests of our students. In brief, the revised agreement makes the following changes:

  • Annual assessments based on a four-year rolling average.
  • Capital cost allocation formula incorporates ability to pay along with a four-year rolling average of enrollment.
  • Minuteman School Committee voting will be weighted, with 50 percent of a member’s vote based on a four-year rolling average.
  • Minuteman School Committee can negotiate a transition period with potential new member communities.
  • Members may withdraw unless disapproved by a majority of remaining member town meetings.
  • Contributions to capital costs by non-members are applied to reduce capital assessments to members.
  • Authorization for new debt must first be pursued through the unanimous approval of member town meetings before proceeding to a district-wide election.
  • Amendments to the regional agreement may be initiated by a 3/4 vote of the School Committee.

These changes are the result of years of work by the administration of Minuteman High School, the Minuteman School Committee, subcommittees and task forces made up of local stakeholders, and local government representatives. The revised agreement reflects the input of every member community and represents a hard-earned compromise between these communities.

The article will be heard at Lincoln Town Meeting, which begins at 9:30 a.m. on March 29 at the Brooks Auditorium. Please take some time to review the linked materials or watch the video and express your opinion at town meeting this Saturday.

Sincerely,

Edward Bouquillon, Minuteman High School Superintendent-Director
10 Mill St., Lincoln

Brendan Dutch, Minuteman High School Communications Coordinator
Plymouth, Mass.

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. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published. Letters may be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor.