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

My Turn

My Turn: Sarah Cannon Holden runs for another term

By Sarah Cannon Holden

I wish to announce my bid for re-election as Lincoln’s Town Moderator. I have served in this role since 2010 and look forward to a fifth three-year term.

In my role, I have presided over Town Meetings covering a variety of issues with the goal of encouraging and managing an open and respectful debate among the town’s voters. I know that this goal remains steadfast in my mind even if we may veer off course now and then. I enjoy the challenges that pop up quite unexpectedly and which require on-the-spot rulings. I welcome moments of candor and humor as well as the caring and serious deliberations between town boards and voters. It is my responsibility to appoint members to the Finance and Capital Planning Committees, the Personnel Board, and the Scholarship Fund Committee.

My professional training as a mediator/arbitrator often comes in handy, and over the years I have learned many of the finer details of the legislative process. Our democratic process is a brilliant idea which requires a level of trust, respect, and participation to be effective. In Lincoln I have witnessed the finest expression of democracy among our citizens. It has been my privilege and fortuitous opportunity to serve as Lincoln’s Town Moderator for 12 years. Last fall I was elected to serve a three-year term on the governing board of the Massachusetts Moderators Association.

I always welcome newcomers to town and to Town Meeting. They can bring new suggestions and perspectives — and I am ever hopeful that they will step forth to serve on a board or committee. I look forward to seeing you at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 25 and I ask for your vote on Monday, March 27, 2023.

Sarah Cannon Holden
Weston Road

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: School Committee member Adam Hogue seeks reelection

By Adam Hogue

I write to you today to announce that I am seeking re-election for another term on the Lincoln School Committee. It has been a pleasure to serve this great town for the last five years in this capacity and I hope to continue my work on the School Committee for another term.

The last few years have been challenging for our kids and for our town; however, the School Committee has navigated these challenges with a focus on what is best for our kids. I am proud to say that I fought to keep our schools open for full in-person learning when almost every neighboring district shifted to hybrid or remote learning only. I have been, and continue to be, an advocate for a data-focused approach to our academic standards to ensure that our children have the skills and knowledge for tomorrow. I have focused on budgets that reflect our values while also being prudent with our tax dollars.

Over the last few years, I have had conversations with many of you in town about our schools and I continue to be open, transparent, and accessible. I respectfully ask for your support and vote on March 27th.

Adam M. Hogue
978-828-6184

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Tara Mitchell stepping down from School Committee

By Tara Mitchell

After serving on the LPS School Committee for the past six years, I have made the decision not seek a third term. It has been an honor to serve and I am grateful for all I have learned about public school administration and the needs of students and teachers, and I continue to be impressed with the dedication of the school’s faculty, staff, and administration. During my tenure on the School Committee, we have set aspirational strategic goals, funded professional development to work towards more collaborative teaching practices, deeper learning, and AIDE [access, inclusion, diversity, and equity], constructed new learning spaces at Hanscom and Lincoln, updated policies, and navigated a global pandemic.

I believe the district has laid a strong foundation for future success and it is ready to start the next chapter. Newly elected committee members will have the opportunity to welcome a new superintendent, determine the next steps in becoming an antiracist district, and work to ensure the vision for our state-of-the-art schools comes to fruition as faculty strive to provide engaging learning experiences for all.

As with all town boards, each person contributes so much of themselves and their expertise and it is the variety of perspectives that brings a balance to the committee and fosters healthy growth and decision making. I encourage those interested in the future of our schools to get involved in some way. We have an amazing town and a strong school system, and it is up to us to keep it thriving. While it can be a lot of work, you will learn so much about our schools, grow relationships with dedicated people, and have an opportunity to shape the future of education in our town. I am proud of the work that has been done and am excited for what is to come.

Tara Mitchell
67 Sandy Pond Rd.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Praise for “quality of civic life”

By Steve Kropper

I’ve lived in Lincoln for three years, and after “recovering” from ten years as committee chair, member and elected Town Meeting member in Lexington, I was ready to tackle the exigencies of public service in
Lincoln. After 30 years as a proprietor at Cambridge’s Mt. Auburn Cemetery, serving on Lincoln’s Cemetery Commission seemed like a good entry position for me. Of course the power, visibility, and fat pension were the real draw to that position 🙂 I called incumbent Cemetery Commissioner Manley Boyce to ask about his plans. He described his desire to be reelected and to lay groundwork for cemetery expansion.  Seeing this competent incumbent intended to continue serving, I decided not to run.

I report this only because I see and respect the quality of civic life in Lincoln, and in observing discourse in the town, I got a sense of how well we behave with each other.

Steve Kropper
60 Weston Rd.
kropper@skunkworksfund.com

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Rob Stringer running for re-election to Parks & Rec

By Rob Stringer

It is with great enthusiasm that I’m announcing my plans to re-run for a seat on the Parks and Recreation Committee for a three year term in March.

Over the past three years I’ve been able to meet and get to know many Lincoln residents through the Parks and Recreation Committee. During my tenure we hired a new director, Jessica Downing, and worked through how to manage programming and events with the onset and continuation of the pandemic. I’m pleased to report our enrollment numbers today are back to pre-pandemic levels. The town ice rink has been a particular joy to work on and see the community enjoy (as of today, the rink is full and on its way to freezing, assuming the weather stays cold enough!).

For those I’ve not yet met, my family and I moved to Lincoln six years ago and love it here. Our two boys (11th grader at L-S and an 8th grader at the Lincoln School) have played baseball, soccer, and basketball through the various leagues in town and continue to make good friends and good memories. My wife Tris and I play in the adult co-ed softball league and have loved getting to know a wider network of adults here in town. Many mornings you can find us walking or jogging the roads or trails throughout Lincoln with our dog, Gaia. You may also have seen some of my art in the Lincoln Art Show put on by the Parks and Recreation Department every fall.

Alongside Parks and Recreation, I am an at-large member and co-chair of IDEA (the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Anti-Racism Committee). I feel there are synergies to being on both committees to ensure that Lincoln is a welcoming, fun and engaging place for everyone. As an avid supporter of our school district’s participation in the METCO program and a member of the METCO Coordinating Committee, I love how our Parks and Recreation programming helps bring the entire Lincoln School community together through our wonderful Summer Camp offerings and other after-school programs.

As past co-chair of the Lincoln Parent Teacher Organization (LPTO) I’ve been able to better get to know the Lincoln Schools and some of the needs of parents with school-aged children. It’s my goal to use that experience to help the Parks and Recreation Department continue to provide programming that serves this community well. Lastly, I volunteer regularly with the Council on Aging and Human Services’ Friday lunch program, and have greatly enjoyed meeting and getting to know those who both serve and attend.

I have deeply enjoyed working as part of the Parks and Recreation Committee to date and hope to continue the work we’ve been doing to provide the greater Lincoln community with activities and programs that enable us to learn, grow and laugh together.  I hope you will please consider voting for me on March 27th for the Parks and Recreation Committee.

Rob Stringer
Todd Pond Road
617-359-9831
urbanvineyard@gmail.com

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Bodnar is running for Select Board

By Kim Bodnar

It is with much enthusiasm that I announce my candidacy for the Select Board for a three-year term beginning in March.

Reflecting on the past five and a half years as vice chair of the School Building Committee (SBC), I cherish the time I’ve spent building relationships with my fellow committee members and residents in our community. The many conversations I’ve had in our community spaces or just walking the trails together have shaped my understanding of Lincoln’s history and culture, as well as concerns for its future and the challenges ahead. This process has made me a better listener, collaborator and communicator. And it’s the same dedication and commitment to inclusiveness, transparency and thoughtful leadership that have characterized my work on the SBC that I hope to bring to every aspect of my role on the Select Board.

My family moved to Lincoln over a decade ago. It’s when my daughters were enrolled at preschool at Lincoln Nursery School and kindergarten at the Lincoln School that we first walked the trails behind the deCordova and fell in love with Lincoln’s natural beauty. It’s also when I began to appreciate the town’s commitment to its long-held traditions and core values, and I recognized the need to contribute to that history of stewardship. I chose volunteer opportunities that blended my skills of thoughtful questioning, data analysis and unwavering effort with a strong sense of teamwork. Over the years, those roles have included Lincoln School’s Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) chair, board member for the Friends of the Lincoln Library, lead organizer of a community-wide kickball tournament, and contributor to the citizen’s petition that recently renamed the Board of Selectmen as the Select Board. 

As vice chair of the SBC, I have spent a great deal of time in front of our town’s many boards and committees. These meetings have given me a tremendous respect for the exceptional level of volunteerism as well as a first-hand view into how our town is run and managed by our talented town staff. And as an SBC Outreach subcommittee member, I did everything I could to ensure that residents felt engaged with the decision-making process and informed of progress every step of the way. Our 200+ blog and LincolnTalk posts, videos, the SBC website, multiple mailings and handouts are a testament to the level of transparency we tried to achieve. The skills and expertise gained through a business career in supply chain management, process engineering, and market development have, without a doubt, been an asset throughout my many volunteer roles.

Looking ahead, I am eager to share my experiences and knowledge as a crucial phase of the community center building project begins. It is a humbling process that requires tireless effort but also a tremendous opportunity to listen and learn from a great cross-section of our residents.

The town of Lincoln is also at an interesting crossroads with respect to the recent housing choice legislation for MBTA communities and the need for expanded housing options. It is a conversation that requires full community engagement as we reflect on what we value and decide on what zoning changes we will support. We are also at an inflection point when discussing next steps for the revitalization of Lincoln Station, transportation policy, and the work of the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Committee, the Climate Action Plan, and diversity and equity initiatives, to name a few. Because these initiatives touch every part of our lives, they require broad based discussions from residents including those who serve on our many town boards and committees. I look forward to contributing to these efforts and building consensus for the long term benefit of Lincoln.

Also, in the coming weeks (just when it’s getting really cold again!), you will see me at the transfer station and in front of Donelan’s to meet and hear from you. In addition to those two locations, I’ll look for additional opportunities to meet in person and discuss what’s on your mind. More to come…

Finally, as I announce my candidacy, I would like to express my thanks to Jonathan Dwyer for his many years of service to the community, including his six years on the Select Board, and I respectfully ask for your support at the town election on Monday, March 27th.

Sincerely,

Kim Bodnar
11 Fox Run Road

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Dwyer won’t seek reelection to Select Board

By Jonathan Dwyer

I write to announce that I will not be seeking reelection to the Select Board before my term expires in March.

After serving on the board for the past six years, twice as chair, I am ready to step back and make space for others to participate in town leadership. The experience was wonderful, and my “J-Board” colleagues James Craig, Jennifer Glass, and Jim Hutchinson were a joy to work with and learn from.

Getting to know staff, the regulatory complexities and services they uphold, and their responsiveness to ever-changing town needs was a privilege. In particular, I enjoyed working on North Lincoln issues such as the Route 2A repaving project that kept me in regular contact with residents, MassDOT, Minute Man National Historical Park, Minuteman Regional Vocational Technical High School, and adjacent towns’ Select Board members through the Hanscom Area Towns Committee.

The Capital Planning Committee, community center committees, Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee (BPAC) and Roadway and Traffic Committee (RTC) have all provided additional opportunities for me to work with talented staff and volunteers to plan, advise, fund, decide, and implement many town infrastructure projects. The collaboration among BPAC and RTC is exceptional, in my opinion. Whether we were discussing changes to an intersection, edge lanes for pedestrian and cyclist safety, curb materials and reveals, a new roadside path at Codman Farm, or the trail-path network and Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan, it would be difficult to tell who was on which committee without roll-call voting.

Moreover, our town’s resident-government partnership, built on trust and common values, is remarkable, and is a key element of Lincoln’s character. Today’s issues are multifaceted and lack easy answers, but the town continues to be in a good state to address them.

I thank all of you for voting me onto this board twice, and thank my wife and daughters for giving me time to serve you. If you haven’t had an opportunity to volunteer on a town board or committee, go for it. It’s important, and a terrific experience.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Dwyer
Beaver Pond Road

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Moving forward with plans for a community center

By June Matthews

Things have been strangely quiet on the community center front — perhaps everyone is exhausted after the November 30marathon town meeting and the preceding torrent of posts on Lincoln Talk. Now that the CCBC has the authority to spend $325,000 to study the previous two proposals for a gold-plated Community Center at Hartwell, along with a direction to explore lower-cost options, including placement of some services and facilities at other locations, I request that the Committee pay serious attention to the last point.

It is clear that the after-school programs of the P&RD should most sensibly be located at the schools, as that’s where the kids are. But I assert that it makes little if any sense to locate the activities of the COA&HS there. There has been much discussion of the virtues of a multigenerational community center. But I have my doubts as to the extent that intergenerational mixing would occur at such a center, given the present structure of the P&RD and COA&HS programs.

As others have pointed out, there are already opportunities in town for social contact among families and people of all ages — think First Day and Winter Carnival, for example, plus programs at our library and at Codman. I would like to request that the CCBC use some of their time and energy, and perhaps funds, to “think outside the box.” What do Lincoln seniors (I am one) really need, want, and value?

My vision is of a community center conveniently located at Lincoln Station — walking distance from the Ryan Estate as well as from other high-density residential areas which cater to mixed ages and mixed incomes: Lincoln Woods, the Ridge Court apartments, the Greenridge and Todd Pond condominiums. Not everyone will walk, of course, but those who are there with their cars will have convenient access to other essential services, e.g., Donelan’s and the post office, plus two restaurants, two dry cleaning establishments, a bank, Something Special, etc. Not to mention the train station, for those wishing to venture farther afield.

A new building on the site of the commuter lot has been proposed, as commuting has dwindled with many people still working remotely. One would have to ascertain whether adequate parking would remain. Others have proposed utilizing vacant space in existing buildings, on both sides of Lincoln Road. There has been much talk about “revitalizing” the town center, with zoning changes possibly attracting new businesses. Given the experience in other towns, this might or might not happen.

Alternatively, I can envisage a community center as a magnet to draw more people to the true center of our town. One objection has been that would essentially be a senior center rather than a true community center. I contend that it doesn’t have to be: P&RD activities which don’t involve the school’s athletic facilities could take place there. (And maybe a senior center is not such a bad idea after all?)

It was pointed out at the Special Town Meeting that attendees at the previous meeting overwhelmingly voted with their “dots” for the Hartwell site. However, there have been many changes since then in technology, the economy, work, shopping, socializing, and health. Let’s not bury our heads in the sands of the past.

June Matthews lives on Greenridge Lane.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Community center is an investment in the town just like the school

By Lis Herbert

I am hoping that you already have plans to attend Town Meeting this Wednesday night at 7 p.m. to vote YES to advance a decade of work to build a Community Center for Lincoln. If you don’t, I hope I can convince you to come.

Four years ago, many of us poured a lot of energy into ensuring that a new school would finally be built in Lincoln. If you attended those forums and meetings, and read the discussions online, you will likely remember that a significant number of older Lincolnites agreed to support the school building project in exchange — in some cases quite explicitly — for future support for the community center when it became clear that both would not be approved and built at the same time.

They said, basically, we will invest in the future of education in Lincoln, in a building that we may never step foot in, apart from Town Meeting, if you promise to make a smaller investment in an intergenerational community center that you will surely, at some point in your lifetime, and hopefully with some frequency, enjoy.

Communities that invest in public infrastructure, especially people-focused infrastructure, are stronger, more resilient, happier places to live. And there is no better example of the power of collective investment, energy and ideas than what has taken shape on the school campus. If you haven’t been to see it, I would encourage you to at least walk the perimeter during a school day, and see how transformative it is, how happy the kids and their teachers are, and how proud we should all be that this is where the children of Lincoln get to learn, and that we have invested in this, together.

There are, to be sure, organizations in town that bring people together at different times of the year for specific events — and yet these are, if we are being honest, few and far between. They’re not casual, easy things to pull off, they aren’t spontaneous, you can’t always simply stop by, on a whim.

This is an important vote, for a comparatively small amount of money, that will allow the work of the committee to move forward. This is not a vote to borrow $25 million, or a vote to approve a tax increase. This is a vote to advance the process, for $325,000.

Years of inaction on the school taught us that if we vote to kick the can down the road, even for a couple of years, we should take that $325,000, and probably a lot more, and just light it on fire. I don’t think there is anything we can be more sure of, with respect to the numbers. Voting no also means waiting a long time before we have something concrete to vote on again, and a decade of work and community outreach will evaporate. The Council on Aging will be stuck at Bemis Hall, the Hartwell pods will continue to deteriorate, and we will be back at square one.

I have faith in the committee: they are taxpayers who have paid for and invested in the school themselves, and who want the best for the town. They know, as well as you and I do, that if their proposal is unpalatable it will be voted down. Please let’s give them a chance.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

My Turn: Lincoln Station or nothing at all

By John Carr

The proposed community center at Hartwell is an attempt to move even more school expenses outside of the school budget. The so-called “community center” is largely a Parks and Recreation facility with the stated goal of serving schools. It mixes facilities explicitly meant for the school with facilities that, underused, can be annexed by the school. The voters put a cap on school costs in 2018 and the town should respect us by respecting it.

If we’re talking about a “community” center, why are we putting it where there is no community around it? If the (former) Council on Aging wants space for the aging, why put it where no aging people live? We might as well rent some office space just over the town line in Waltham. Once you have to get in the car anyway it’s not much more effort to go to another town.

One site considered by the 2015 community center report is not in the middle of nowhere: the commuter rail parking lot. The report tried to steer voters away from this location by bundling an underground parking garage to make it more expensive.

Everything changed in 2020. Commuter rail as a transport mode died of Covid. The town-owned parking lot is nearly empty. We can put a building on half of it and nobody will be inconvenienced. We don’t need to replace any lost parking spaces, much less build an expensive underground facility.

As well as now being the cheapest of the six options studied, the Lincoln Station site also has the advantage of being

  • Near shops, so people can combine shopping or dining with community center activities
  • Near Codman farm
  • Near aging people that the Council on Aging is meant to serve

As a more ambitious project we could include affordable apartments to help meet our housing goals. This part could be paid for by CPA funds.

If the town votes for further study, it should limit the options to Lincoln Station and put a hard cap on the cost estimate. And if the cheerleaders for a school annex argue that Lincoln Station is not an option because Saturn is retrograde or some such, then the town should just say “no” to the whole white elephant.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnites. Submissions must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Items will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.