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

letters to the editor

Recap of background stories for Town Meeting

In preparation for the March 25 Town Meeting, the Lincoln Squirrel is publishing an updated and expanded expanded recap of news stories and letters to the editor on some of the issues to be voted on. The full warrant list can be found here.

Wang property acquisition (article 11)

News stories:

Letters to the editor:

Accessory apartments (articles 12-14)

News stories:

Letters to the editor:

School project (articles 33 and 34)

News stories:

Letter to the editor:

Community center feasibility study (article 35)

News stories:

Letter to the editor:

Landfill solar initiative (article 36)

News stories:

Letter to the editor:

Agricultural bylaw amendment (article 38)

News story:

Water bottle/plastic bag ban (articles 41 and 42)

News stories:

Letters to the editor:

Letter to the editor: Solomon asks for your vote

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To the editor:

Hello. I, Stan(ley J.) Solomon, am a candidate for the three-year Bemis Trustee opening. My wife is Susan Solomon. We have lived at The Commons for approaching six years. Before that, we lived in Lexington for 50 years. I spent my spare time with BSA Troop 119. Susan was a Town Meeting member and on the Conservation Commission and Tree Committee and was president of the Lexington League of Women Voters. Both of us were Garden Club members. I grew vegetables!

We were serious hikers and less serious cross-country skiers. I added downhill skiing and white-water paddling. We have hiked Lincoln trails for some 40 years; I inherited the leadership of Professor Dirk Struik’s Appalachian Mountain Club walk behind Walden in the (now) conservation land when he aged. I was born in eastern Ohio (Youngstown) and Susan grew up in South Brookline. I came to Boston for MIT while Susan went to Simmons. I am a physicist and worked in industry on semiconductor process development. My name is associated with ion implantation and also solar cell development. Susan worked in factory automation. Her name is not associated with the famous Lucy episode and she is not MIT’s Professor Susan Solomon.

I am again a candidate for Bemis Trustee. I was invited to run last year and discovered that I was running against a Lincoln fixture. Former Lincoln residents here at The Commons said I did quite well finishing second.

The Bemis Trustees operate the Bemis Free Lecture Series, a legacy created in 1892 by native Lincolnite George Bemis to bring enlightenment via lecturers to town residents. Its funds were supplemented by another Lincolnite, John Todd, in 1982. Past speakers included Robert Frost, Betty Friedan, Issac Asimov, Margaret Mead and a host of notable others.

The trustee’s function is to select one or more desirable, affordable and available individuals or groups to perform in Lincoln. (It has been explained that the job also includes physical management of that appearance.) What I believe I can add, if elected, is potential speaker names from the technical world.

The ability to harmoniously work within a group would seem to be a prime requisite for this position. I think I can answer the call there.

Inasmuch as the town manages the trust’s funds and speakers are paid from these funds, I can promise that if elected, my actions will not increase your taxes. As I am approaching 86, I can also promise that I will not be rattling around Lincoln politics 15 years from now. Please consider voting for me.

Sincerely,

Stan Solomon
1 Harvest Circle #231

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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: Glass has excellent experience and attributes

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To the editor:

I’ve had the distinct pleasure of working closely with Jennifer on the Lincoln School Committee for four years, and for three of those years as vice chair when Jennifer was chair (she has served for nine years on Lincoln School Committee but we only overlapped for four of those years).

She embodies all the attributes I would look for in great selectperson: extremely hard-working, fair, honest, tactful, transparent, asks tough questions, listens well, is collaborative, humble and great to work with, thinks deeply, and is strategic, analytic and persistent. A focus on student learning and engagement has been Jennifer’s lodestar. She cares deeply about Lincoln and its future. She was patient (far more so than I was) when the town narrowly failed to approve a school building project funded heavily by the Massachusetts School Building Authority.

Jennifer has persisted in the intervening years building broader support for a town-funded renovation or rebuild since MSBA funding has never rematerialized and explored how a school building project might be coordinated with a new community center to achieve some building cost savings. She has led contract negotiations with teachers, custodial and secretarial staff.  She has helped oversee two school building projects at Hanscom, and has worked with Hanscom base leadership and state legislative leaders to craft long-term financial solutions around Hanscom. She has worked well with BOS, the Lincoln Finance Committee and the Capital Planning Committee throughout her time on School Committee and formed valuable ties with her Sudbury and Wayland counterparts to find opportunities for cost sharing, joint trainings and experience sharing.

We are extremely lucky that Jennifer is willing to lend all her many talents to the role of Selectmen. She will serve the town very well.

Please join me in enthusiastically voting for her on March 27; I cannot recommend her highly enough.

Sincerely,

Tom Sander
100 Lincoln 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 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 for Jennifer Glass

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To the editor:

Please support Jennifer Glass for selectwoman. As a member of the School Committee, I have worked with Jennifer during all her time on the committee. As much as I will miss her willingness to listen, her vision for the schools and the children, her patience and her leadership skills, I believe her service on the Board of Selectmen will be of great value to the town as it considers the restitution of two of the town’s major departments.

With your help, I look forward to her election and service as a Selectwoman.

Sincerely,

Alvin Schmertzler
142 Chestnut Circle

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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: Town Meeting challenge is finding balance

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To the editor:

This coming Saturday, at town Meeting, we face a serious challenge: maintaining balance. Our community has retained its small-town character, rather than simply becoming another bedroom suburb, by careful planning and discussion and debate with an eye on maintaining balance. Almost 25 percent of our populations are school age children and almost 30 percent of our population is over 60. We raise our children here and then we stay. For the most part, we age in our homes while sometimes moving within Lincoln.

This is not the case in many of the communities around us. We need to think about that as we open discussion at Town Meeting about some very real wants and needs. We also need to keep in mind that about 35 percent of our population makes under $100,000 a year. We are more economically diverse than some might realize. With a sensitivity to that economic diversity, we must continue to invest in our community. And our upcoming Town Meeting will begin a number of critical discussions of how best to proceed. Finding balance that will be the challenge for all of us in, for our leadership, and for our community. This was a theme at an open space plan discussion and bears consideration for all that lies ahead.

We have many exciting opportunities for investment that will enhance our town. We may be investing in a much-needed playing field, plans for a consolidated home for our Park & Rec and Council on Aging programming, and of course our schools. The community campus—the schools and the community center—are at the beginning stages of planning. The potential addition of a playing field at the Wang property is a fully developed proposal. These are immediate needs that require our attention and funds. In addition, ideas for investing in our South Lincoln business district, a potential relocation of our DPW, roadway and bike path projects, more open space, and large land acquisitions all may require our attention and tax dollars in the future.

Finding a way to balance so that we can continue to invest and preserve our small-town character will be a challenge not just to town leadership, but also to all. It will require active engagement—volunteering on committees, attending meetings, providing comments and critiques early in planning processes, and above all, open communication and coordination between all aspects of work. Town Meeting is the starting point. In the future, it will also provide critical decision points in the process determining final projects and in finding and maintaining balance.

Town Meeting matters. Your participation matters this Saturday, March 25. Be there.

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 lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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: background on accessory apartment warrant articles

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To the editor:

Lincoln is renowned for its creative and resourceful strategies for developing affordable housing while working diligently to maintain its small-town character. Lincoln has a long history of addressing the systemic roots of economic and social inequity, as seen in the diversity of its housing stock and its inventory of affordable housing. Unlike most Massachusetts cities and towns, Lincoln has provided affordable housing entirely through its own local initiatives: by adopting zoning incentives, granting special permits, and investing local revenues and Community Preservation Act funds.

Lincoln has achieved the state’s 10 percent affordable housing goal without ever having to issue a Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit. This is an amazing achievement since most towns only achieve 10 percent when mandated to. A Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit enables developers to bypass most local permit approval processes and local zoning bylaws without Town Meeting approval, leaving the town and neighbors’ minimal recourse and control over the density or design of the project.

While Lincoln’s track record is impressive, by 2020 Lincoln’s affordable housing inventory projection, based on current data, might decrease below 10 percent, leaving Lincoln vulnerable to 40B development. Diversity remains important to Lincoln, as evidenced by the town’s vision statement; but today, residents also recognize that creating affordable housing will help to protect the town from large, unwanted Chapter 40B developments. To meet these challenges, Lincoln will need to remain innovative and proactive in its housing policies and initiatives.

About 15 years ago, one of Lincoln’s innovative strategies was to develop an affordable accessory apartment bylaw. The bylaw was successful, as some homeowners took advantage of the zoning incentives to create affordable units. However, these units did not count toward Lincoln’s affordable housing inventory because they did not meet Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) regulations. A few years ago, DHCD issued new guidelines, making it easier for homeowners to comply with DHCD regulations and permit affordable accessory apartments to be included in a town’s affordable housing inventory.

For the past two years, the Housing Commission’s primary focus has been working toward the development of an Affordable Accessory Apartment Program to capture accessory apartments for the subsidized housing inventory. Warrant Article 12 creates the foundation for the Affordable Accessory Apartment Program by revising the current bylaw to conform to DHCD regulations.

While incorporating DHCD regulations into the current bylaw, it was necessary to re-organize the bylaw to distinguish between requirements and procedures, and to improve the overall organization and clarity of language. The only substantive changes were made to the affordable accessory apartment section of the bylaw, not to accessory apartments or multiple accessory apartments.

Warrant Article 12 is a new “tool” to help Lincoln create affordable units to maintain Lincoln’s affordable housing stock at 10 percent while the Affordable Housing Coalition looks for new opportunities to create affordable housing.

Warrant Article 13 will provide an opportunity for homeowners participating in the Affordable Accessory Apartment Program to receive a tax exemption on the portion of the building (not land) that is used for affordable housing. Warrant Article 13 is contingent upon Warrant Article 12 passing.

Click here for more information on affordable accessory apartments and Lincoln’s Affordable Housing Program.

Sincerely,

The Lincoln Housing Commission (Allen Vander Meulen, chair; Diana Chirita, Peter Georgiou, Mary Sheldon, and Sharon Antia)

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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: water bottle ban would hurt businesses

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To the editor:

I am writing in opposition to Article 41 of the March 25 Town Meeting Warrant, the proposed ban on the sale of water in non-reusable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles of one liter or less.

I have lived in Lincoln for more than 35 years. My family owns the two new restaurants in town, Trail’s End Café and Lincoln Kitchen. In Concord, we own another restaurant, Trail’s End Café, as well as Concord Convenience, a gas station/convenience store.

Concord’s ban on selling bottled water in such plastic containers of 1 liter or less has affected us negatively in a number of ways, while doing nothing to decrease the consumption of bottled water. Those who formerly bought bottled water from us in Concord include, among others, bikers, landscapers, snow plowers, tradesmen, town of Concord employees, those hosting workshops and meetings, families not wanting their children to drink carbonated and sugared beverages, and people who take medication in the course of the day. People have not stopped buying bottled water, but have gone elsewhere to get it. In addition to water, our customers once bought snacks, breakfast and lunch, gas, and convenience store products. These sales have declined. I expect that businesses in Lincoln, including ours, will suffer a similar decline in sales. This is particularly worrisome in a town that values a vibrant business district, but has a small potential customer base.

It is naïve to expect that customers will continue to do the rest of their shopping in a town that forbids a product they find essential. It is also naïve to expect that those wanting water will search out and use a public drinking fountain. In fact, I find such fountains to be unsanitary and would never allow my children to use them. Carrying around a plastic water bottle and refilling it from a public fountain or public bathroom also holds little appeal.

It is a mistake to demonize bottled water, a clean, healthy, and convenient product. The problem is a larger one, the disposal of recyclable materials into the overall waste stream. And this problem is solvable, without a water ban.

Our family is very mindful of environmental protection and carries our concerns into our business practices. We use biodegradable packaging; publicize, participate, and volunteer in recycling events; and, in Concord, have several recycling dumpsters. While I admire the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Environmental Club for its activism, I believe that its energy can be used more productively  in encouraging recycling and making sure that recycling containers are available wherever people congregate, eat, and drink healthy beverages, such as water.

Sincerely,

Carol White
38 Bedford 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 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: 8th-graders ask for Town Meeting support

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To the editor:

Make way! Here comes the renowned eighth-grade Warrant Article Group! What, you ask? The Warrant Article Group is a group of eighth-graders who had a dream—a dream to learn more about local government. Led by the town clerk and the town moderator, we have been able to fulfill this dream. Now we have to get to Town Meeting.

This year we are aiming to add a set of benches to the school athletic fields. The need had come to our attention when our dear friend Maya informed us that in the Codman field, due to lack of space, people are often forced to put important belongings on the often muddy ground. In addition, currently we only have one set of benches and they are on the Brooks field.  Just recently we added more playing area at the Codman field, which means a higher demand for benches. The 15-foot weatherproof and portable benches we propose have shelves on top to provide extra space for belongings.

The Warrant Article Group has gained support from the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, the Recreation Committee, and the Finance Committee. And we are hoping for support from you. See you at Town Meeting on March 25.

Sincerely,

Achla Gandhi (8th-grader, Lincoln School)
21 Juniper Ridge 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 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: proposed bag/bottle ban is ‘an infringement of consumer rights’

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(Editor’s note: The warrant articles in question would not ban all types of plastic bags and water bottles—see this February 28 Lincoln Squirrel story.)

To the editor:

There are two articles on the Town Meeting warrant that are of concern to Donelan’s Supermarkets. Article 41 and 42 propose to ban the use of plastic bags and bottled water in the town of Lincoln. Donelan’s shares the concerns of the proponents, the Lincoln Sudbury Environmental Club, regarding waste and its impact on our environment. However, these two articles will affect our business and your shopping trip to Donelan’s. All consumers should have the right to make their own decisions on safe and legal products for themselves and their family. To impose such a ban is an infringement of consumer rights.

Donelan’s spends a lot of time, energy, and resources on recycling. We keep shrinkwrap and corrugated cardboard out of the waste stream by having it compressed and bundled in our stores for recycling. We have an organic recycling program in our stores when perishable food cannot be donated to a local food bank or a local farmer. This program keeps food waste from entering the waste stream and in turn is made into useful compost. Our locations use new energy efficient equipment and lighting, and our Lincoln store was built with many recycled materials.

We also collect and recycle plastic bags, even from our competitors, and plastic wrapping material. Our Lincoln store manager reports that our collection bins are widely used and we are constantly having to empty them. Additionally, we encourage our customers to purchase reusable shopping bags, and we sell them at just about our cost. Donelan’s Supermarkets is a member of the Massachusetts Food Association. The Mass. Food Association and Donelan’s support a statewide recycling program that would include all elements of the waste stream, not just a narrow segment.

Currently, there is proposed state legislation banning plastic bags (editor’s note: see also this May 2016 Boston Globe article). The Mass. Food Association is working with the proponents on legislation that will address the issue statewide. Town-by-town bans create an un level playing field and creates confusion.

The proposed bottled water ban is of concern to Donelan’s and our industry. We understand that plastic bags and water bottles are the most vilified components of the waste stream. However, shouldn’t a solution encompass all items in the waste stream? Bottled water is a safe and legal product. In the case of a local emergency or catastrophe, it is vital.

Lincoln is a small community with a small local business component. The proposed ban on bottled water will hurt small local businesses like Donelan’s, local food shops, pizza shops, and convenience stores. In the case of Donelan’s, we need to be a full-service supermarket in Lincoln in order to compete and survive. Customers who purchase bottled water will not buy their groceries from Donelan’s and then go out of town for their bottled water. They will simply take their entire grocery shopping out of town, along with other potentially local business.

These two issues are more complex than the proponents may imagine and have long-lasting consequences. Individual selectman and town officials have expressed serious reservations, and we agree that more needs to be done before these bans are passed. The issues raised are bigger than us. These issues are state wide, nationwide, and global.

We hope that the dialogue on these important issues in our industry continues. The Mass. Food Association and Donelan’s Supermarkets are committed to working toward a comprehensive state wide recycling program that addresses all waste.

Sincerely,

Jack and Joe Donelan
256 Great Road, Suite 15, Littleton MA 01460

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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 yes on community center feasibility study

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To the editor:

The warrant for the  Annual Town Meeting on March 25 includes an article to approve $150,000 to fund “a feasibility study and preliminary design development plans for a community center to be located within the Hartwell Complex of the Ballfield Road school campus.” If funding for a school project feasibility study is approved, the board of the Lincoln Council on Aging and the Parks and Recreation Committee recommend approval of the community center article at both Annual Town Meeting and the town election to be held on Monday, March 27. The benefits to all residents of Lincoln in funding feasibility studies for both the school and community center projects are many, and include:

  • Funding feasibility studies for both projects assures that planning will be done jointly, and therefore will take into account the needs of both projects most efficiently.
  • Beginning the process for a community center project now will save the town money in the long run. Multiple committees have determined that both the Council on Aging and Parks and Recreation need significantly improved facilities and construction costs will only increase over time.
  • The community center will provide all residents with attractive space for programs and activities they already enjoy as well as new ones, with enough parking that is a reasonable distance, and that is fully accessible. This includes:
    • Adults and children who participate in Parks and Recreation programs
    • Seniors who attend COA programs and use COA social services
    • Members of community organizations who will hold meetings and programs in the community center
    • Residents of all ages who need confidential health and social services
    • All members of the community who would like to participate in fun and community-building activities like community suppers and townwide fairs, and
    • Anyone who would like a place to gather to socialize with others in a relaxed, welcoming place.
  • A community center in the Ballfield Road area, along with the schools and athletic fields, would enhance Lincoln’s sense of community by providing one place for formal and informal opportunities for residents from many generations and a diversity of interests to come together to get to know one another and feel a part of a vibrant and welcoming town.

The reasons for supporting a community center are as many and as individual as each town resident. What would you like a community center to do for you?

Sincerely,

Lincoln Council on Aging Board
Lincoln Parks and Recreation Committee

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters 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.