government

There will be a special state election on Tuesday, June 25 to choose a U.S. Senator to replace Secretary of State John Kerry. Polls will be open in the Smith gym from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Here’s what the ballot will look like:

The town offices will now be closed to the public from Wednesday, June 26 through noon on Monday, July 1 to accommodate the move from the temporary space in the Hartwell pods back to the renovated Town Office Building at 16 Lincoln Road. Offices will reopen to the public at the Lincoln Road location at noon on Monday, July 1.

The building’s dedication ceremony schedule has not changed — it will be Saturday, June 22 at 11 a.m.

Summer hours in July and August for the town offices will be Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed Fridays).

The renovated Town Office Building will be dedicated in a ceremony on Saturday, June 22 at 11 a.m., and officials are asking residents to carpool, bike or walk to this much-anticipated event, as parking is limited.

Town offices will be closed to the public from Friday, June 21 through Wednesday, June 26 to accommodate the move from the Hartwell pods back to the renovated Town Office Building at 16 Lincoln Road. Offices will reopen to the public at that location on Thursday, June 27 The Town Clerk’s office will remain open to the public at the Ballfield Road location through the end of June.

The renovated Town Office Building will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house on Saturday, June 22 at 11 a.m.

Over the past 17 months, the historical 16,000-square-foot building at 16 Lincoln Road has been gutted down to the framing (see the Lincoln Squirrel, December 6, 2012) while town staff have operated out of the Hartwell pods. The renovated building will feature two new stairwells and an elevator as well as energy-efficient wiring, heating and cooling, and lighting design to meet LEED silver certification. The basement level has been designed as office space so there will be three full floors of office and meeting space for staff and residents.

Design work was done by Donham & Sweeney Architects and the builder is Colantonio Construction.

By Alice Waugh

The president of the company in charge of tree removal for the Route 2 project said on May 31 that no trees were removed unnecessarily and that his workers cut down only those they were asked to remove.

Lincoln residents near the highway construction site, especially in the Brooks Road vicinity, have complained about what they say is excessive tree removal among other issues related to the work, and the Board of Selectman has named a Route 2 Oversight Committee to gather more information (see related story).

[Read more…] about Company says no trees were removed unnecessarily

By Alice Waugh

Lincoln has formed a new Route 2 Oversight Committee to coordinate the town’s actions in response to problems arising from the Route 2 construction project.

Residents who live near the construction areas have complained repeatedly to the Board of Selectmen and Lincoln police about issues including alleged traffic violations by construction equipment, disruptive night work and the visual impact of tree-cutting near the highway. At the May 23 selectmen’s meeting, a coalition called the Brooks Road Abutters Group (BRAG) presented selectmen last week with a memo containing photos and a demand that BRAG and the town be “compensated for the unnecessary removal of these trees with additional replacement trees over and above those shown on the contract drawings, with species, size and location determined by the abutters.”

[Read more…] about Town forms Route 2 oversight panel in response to complaints

By Alice Waugh

The death of Sean Collier, an MIT police officer who was killed by the alleged Boston Marathon bombers, hit home at the Lincoln Police Department, where he had worked intermittently as a special-duty officer for two years. Now the Lincoln Police Association is creating a permanent memorial to Collier in the lobby of the town’s Public Safety Building.

Lincoln police were also heavily involved in the effort to apprehend the suspects in Watertown on April 18, and the Board of Selectmen thanked eight of the officers in person at the board’s May 6 meeting.

[Read more…] about Lincoln police memorialize Sean Collier

The Lincoln School Committee is responsible for appointing a member of the Lincoln Public Library Board of Trustees and is currently seeking applications from those interested in filling this three-year commitment. The committee seeks candidates who are users of the library and committed to further strengthening the connection between the library and the Lincoln Public Schools.

The library board meets monthly, with additional subcommittee and/or liaison meetings including technology, budget, buildings and grounds, capital planning, DeCordova, Friends of the Library, various ad hoc task forces that work on the Library’s strategic plan, the annual reports needed for the Finance Committee and Town Meeting, and occasional event planning. The trustees also oversee and sponsor events that require a member to attend.

If interested, please submit a letter of interest to Jennifer Glass at schoolcomm@lincnet.org.  Submissions are due by May 30.