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

My Turn

My Turn: The Food Project needs your help

By Peter von Mertens

The Food Project, which farms 31 acres of Lincoln conservation land, is hard-pressed during this Covid crisis to carry out their mission. Normally teams of volunteers from corporations, law firms, banks, schools, and other nonprofits would be planting and weeding the carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, and other crops. During the summer months, teams of high school youth would carry on that work as well as picking, washing, sorting, and helping distribute over 250,000 pounds of fresh, organic produce to inner-city hunger relief organizations and farmers’ markets. 

Not so this year. The 110 youth — some from cities and some from suburbs — cannot come together due to Covid, and the entire farm work has fallen on a core crew of eight farmers and some of the Food Project office staff. 

The Food Project is a powerful anti-racism program as it brings together youth from different racial and ethnic as well as socioeconomic backgrounds, and the youth and staff spend time discussing their biases, experiences and ways to understand and resolve conflicts. Of all the years to miss this kind of learning!

The Food Project has been hard hit financially this year. They were fortunate to have received a Payroll Protection Grant to help them keep key staff employed, but the future is very uncertain. Please consider making a donation at thefoodproject.org. It’s local. It provides high-quality produce to residents of Dorchester, Roxbury, and other areas in greater Boston. And it’s important to keep alive and well through this crisis.

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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 Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.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 district race, equity, and inclusion work

By Becky McFall

Dear Lincoln community,

Following George Floyd’s murder, you received messages from Lincoln METCO Director Marika Hamilton, me, and recently a statement from the School Committee expressing a commitment to focusing on race, inclusion, equity, and diversity in all aspects of our schools. The School Committee and administration have received messages from many of you expressing your strong commitment to this work as well, and a request for an action plan to move forward together as a district. Planning efforts are underway to ensure that we are prepared to engage in our own learning as well as work with and support students as they return to school in September.

One of our eight working groups to plan for the opening of school is the Race, Equity, and Inclusion Working Group. We also have a Social Emotional Learning Working Group. These two groups are focused on what we need to have in place for the beginning of the school year to support students and faculty. We know how important diversity and inclusion are to student success and we are eager to continue growing in this area together.

Plans are being developed for professional development for all employees for the coming school year. There are several conversations taking place that include faculty members and administrators. As plans solidify, our goal is to communicate with you as soon as possible. Our first priority is to be prepared for the opening of school and our next priority is to develop plans for our areas of focus for the school year that will absolutely focus on race, equity, and inclusion. Please know that it will be a multi-faceted and multi-year endeavor. I look forward to sharing more details with you in the coming weeks.

McFall is Superintendent of Schools in Lincoln.

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Thanks from the Front Steps Project

By Corey Nimmer

This is a bit delayed, but I just wanted to reach out with an update and huge thank-you regarding the Front Steps Project fundraiser that we wrapped up in early June.

Between May 10 and June 5, households in Lincoln participated by posing for a five-minute photo shoot outside their homes and received digital copies in exchange for a donation to the St. Vincent de Paul Society, which operates the town’s food pantry and provides financial support to those in need. In the end, 89 households participated over 12 shooting days, and together we raised well over $7,000!

If you want to read a little more about the story behind this and see the gallery of photos, you can do so by clicking here.

I would like to thank Kristen Collins and Cara Soulia for starting the Front Steps Project in Needham back in March and for their guidance along the way. I’d also like to thank Ursula Nowak, Tomasina Lucchese, and Sarah Bishop for their help with organizing, spreading the word, and processing donations. Most of all, thank-you to all the incredible people who participated in this project. You are what makes Lincoln great and your generosity will help ensure that everyone who calls it home can stay here safely and happily.

Keep an eye out for some of the photos on my car in the 4th of July parade!

Corey Nimmer

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Girl Scouts are a big help to food pantry

By Tomasina Lucchese

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVdP) Food Pantry of Lincoln and Weston would like to thank the Lincoln Girl Scouts for organizing a very successful July Fourth-themed drive!

Rising seventh-grader Ariana Shokrollahi and her mother Elaine Papoulias organized a service project and invited Girl Scouts of all ages to join them in supplying fun treats for the families of the food pantry. And what better thing for the Girl Scouts to generously give than cookies? They gifted cookies in Fourth of July-themed bags, decorated with American flags and other patriotic treats, to more than 90 families. And as a result, there were many smiles of appreciation as the families were warmly welcomed into summer.

Rising seventh-grader Ariana Shokrollahi and her mother Elaine Papoulias get ready to deliver bags of cookies.

The generosity and support of groups like the Girl Scouts enables SVdP to do our work. Twice a month, we serve a wonderful array of healthy foods to 275 members at the SVdP Food Pantry of Lincoln and Weston. There’s a growing need for food in our community these days, and because of increased demand statewide, we cannot rely on the Greater Boston Food Bank to the extent we could in the past. SVdP also offers emergency financial assistance throughout the year to many neighbors in crisis. SVdP truly appreciates everyone’s support — we wouldn’t be able to do our work without it. 

If you or somebody you know is in need of food or emergency financial help, please reach out at 781-899-2611 ext. 4 or svdplincolnweston@gmail.com. This is a challenging time for many and although it can be difficult to ask for help, we are here to support. All communication remains completely confidential.

With much gratitude,

Tomasina Lucchese
Vice President of SVdP of Lincoln and Weston

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Pulling together for Town Meeting and beyond

Editor’s note: These are the opening and closing remarks delivered at the June 13 Town Meeting by Town Moderator Sarah Cannon Holden.

By Sarah Canon Holden

I want to welcome everyone here today. If you are new to Town Meeting, I can assure that we are all new to Town Meeting in this place, at this time, in this abbreviated format, and in late spring. At one level this is an experiment for all of us. But, as usual, we are here to deliberate, reflect, ask questions, and vote.

As we ease into the meeting I ask that we pause to remember our fellow citizens who have died since we last met. Many volunteered on boards and committees. They were our neighbors and friends. Let us pause for a moment of silence in their memory.

As your Town Moderator, I want to share some brief thoughts with you during this time of crisis and social unrest in our country, but before I do, I want to speak directly to our police officers here in Lincoln. Most assuredly this has been a most difficult and stressful time for each of you. You are professionals caught up in a tidal wave of anger against law enforcement. But the protests are not against you; they are against those who would abuse the dignity and authority of their badge to engage in abusive and at times criminal behavior. Under the leadership of Chief Kevin Kennedy you maintain the dignity of your badge and exercise properly the authority it bestows upon you. We are grateful for your service.

And so just like our Lincoln police officers, we have come face to face with racism in this country in a way that no one can ignore. We have seen racism in its most cruel and blatant expression. We must have the difficult and long overdue conversations, uncover facts and history, and we must demand systemic changes. We must speak out for justice and equality. We must engage in the critical thinking required. We must reflect on the words of the 13th Amendment — please go home and read it — and acknowledge its escape clause for those not ready for the end of slavery. We must look at our prison system, our schools, our housing, our courts, our pay scales, our assumptions — here and beyond. And the “we” here is everyone — black, white, brown, everyone — everyone together. You are thinking about all of this. We all are. So, please let us pause again for a moment of silence for George Floyd, whose brutal murder may have finally forced the conversations which will result in the changes we must seek.

 *     *     *

Before we leave this place to go back to our worlds — in whatever form that may be — I would like to say a few closing words. We have shown that even under unusual circumstances we can pull ourselves together. That is because we have capable leadership in this town which was prepared. They kept abreast of the state restrictions and protocols. They met the required deadlines. They deliberated and they did all they could to get information out to the town via Zoom and the U.S. Postal Service. And all of you showed up. Thank you. We all value our right to vote as well as the unique New England institution of Town Meeting. There may be procedures from this year that we will continue as we go forward. I am sure there will be plenty of introspection and review.

As we leave here now, I ask that we listen again to our town’s vision statement as mentioned by Jennifer. It says that we will “foster economic, racial/ethnic, and age diversity among [our] citizenry through… educational, housing and other public policy.” This is the town’s vision, agreed to by the voters. Let it be our collective 2020 vision to take the necessary steps to breathe new life and vigor into this goal.

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Group of residents endorses Rundell for Planning Board

Dear friends and neighbors,

We have followed with interest the unfolding of this year’s election for Planning Board and appreciate the issues of the South Lincoln neighborhood, of which many of us are a part, and also the town as a whole. Seeking experienced, balanced, and professional representation on the Planning Board, we endorse Rick Rundell for the role and invite you to join us in supporting his candidacy with your vote.

Rick’s statements in the community forum, the views he has shared on LincolnTalk and in the Lincoln Squirrel, his record on the board since 2013, and his global industry engagement all speak to his thoughtfulness, willingness to consider opposing points of view, and balancing individual and neighborhood advocacy with the interests of Lincoln as a whole. This is exactly what we expect from our elected officials. The professionalization which he has contributed to the board’s operation during his tenure also reflects exactly what we all should expect from our town boards.

We agree with Rick that today, more than ever before, it is important for our town to be led by creative, active, and engaged citizens bringing a broad and experienced perspective to our local challenges and opportunities. If you value the engagement of our citizens and community in public process; objective, respectful and fair treatment of all stakeholders; and the appropriate role of town government in our lives and property, please join us in voting for Rick Rundell for Planning Board.

Signed, your neighbors and citizens of Lincoln:

Joan and John Kimball
Dan and Janet Boynton
Mark Goetemann
Rob DeNormandie
Peter von Mertens
Jona Donaldson
Patricia O’Hagan, Alex Chatfield, Lucy Chatfield
Ken and Pam Hurd
Rachel Mason
Joe and Dana Robbat
Patrick and Judith Lawler
Peter and Susan Sugar
Sandra and Josh Grindlay
Sam Newell
John B. and Ellen S. Newell
Jane Cooper
Barbara Slayter
Katherine Mierzwa
Mary Jo Veling
Kathy Nicholson
Alexander and Helgard Houtzeel
Steve Johnson
Christina Rago Brown
Sarah Andrysiak
Dea Angiolillo
Peter and Faye Speert 
Mary Jo Haggerty
Martin Pierce

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Re-elect Rick Rundell and Lynn DeLisi to Planning Board

By Ken Hurd

Although Buzz Constable’s email on LincolnTalk may strike many as a little harsh, he has captured the frustration of many people, including my own at times. My own experience is unique, having served on the Planning Board from 2002 until 2012, and then after my term had ended, having sat across the table as an applicant in front of the Planning Board from 2014 through 2016 as I helped the First Parish Church secure permitting for the Stearns Room addition.

In my opinion, what Ken Bassett and Mary Helen Lorenz describe in their recent letter to the Lincoln Squirrel is accurate. Both projects were significant improvements to their previous iterations despite the objections of a relatively small number of vocal opponents.

To this end, I believe good planning requires vision as well as sensitivity to those affected by change. I also think Allen Vander Meulen in his letter to the Lincoln Squirrel highlighted the key issue at stake; namely “how to resolve the conundrum of approval for large-scale projects in the Lincoln Station area.”

With this in mind, it is my strong opinion that re-electing Rick Rundell and Lynn DeLisi will be in the best overall interests of the town. I would much prefer to have people in public office who are willing to guide and address with an open mind the inevitable changes that Lincoln will continue to face. 

If you haven’t voted yet, I urge you to join me in voting for Rick Rundell and Lynn DeLisi as the best candidates for the job.

Ken Hurd
21 Lexington Rd., Lincoln

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: A time for civil discourse

By Bob Domnitz

In their recent letter to The Squirrel, Ken Bassett and Mary Lorenz have mischaracterized my role in two cases that came before the Planning Board during my previous tenure.

Below, I will provide details that refute their claims. But if you read nothing else, please know this: a Planning Board member must be responsive, fair, and consistent, even when the issues stir emotions. It is regrettable that Ken and Mary’s message does more to divide than unite at a time when we need to build bridges toward a stronger future in Lincoln.

With respect to the mall’s redevelopment 15 years ago, Ken and Mary may be confusing the roles that the ZBA and the Planning Board played in that process. Here is what happened. The ZBA was approached by the Rural Land Foundation (owner of the mall) for relief from the town’s restrictive parking requirement. The ZBA declined to grant that relief. The Planning Board believed that this was an important project for the town and we all wanted the project to go forward. To achieve that goal, I helped draft the South Lincoln Overlay District zoning that enabled the mall redevelopment. The new zoning and the redevelopment proposal were unanimously supported by the Planning Board and overwhelmingly approved by Town Meeting.

With respect to the expansion of the First Parish Church, readers should be aware that all three candidates in this Planning Board election were members of the Planning Board at the time that project was before the board. Our discussions were collegial, and we converged on an approval for the project in a single evening of discussion after a public hearing that extended over several sessions.

The key issue in the First Parish project was the setback to a side lot line that had been created when the Flint family gave land to the church. The church wanted to build to within 7 feet of that lot line. Because of the unusual circumstances that created the lot line, the board was able to find a way to allow a 10-foot setback without creating a worrisome precedent that could be used by other nonprofit institutions elsewhere in town. However, we could not find a rational basis for granting the smaller setback of 7 feet that was desired by the church. The church appealed the Planning Board’s decision to the ZBA and they were granted the additional 3 feet that they needed for their project to proceed as designed.

I believe both the Planning Board and ZBA did a good job fulfilling their roles in this process. The Planning Board deals with zoning that must be applied consistently throughout the Town, and that’s why the Planning Board had to consider the precedential effect of its decision. But zoning can be a blunt instrument, and the ZBA exists to weigh the issues in exceptional cases such as this one.

The entire First Parish experience was extremely emotional for the town. There was tremendous pressure on the members of the board from all sides. It was an unforgettably difficult time for all of us. The fabric of the town was wounded, and it remains wounded to this day. This is clear from Ken and Mary’s attack against me. It is unfortunate that Ken and Mary’s misunderstandings and mischaracterizations only revisit old wounds and do not help us come together to heal.

Bob Domnitz
2 Mill St., Lincoln

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: Who can best craft a workable plan for South Lincoln?

By Allen Vander Meulen

I admire the experience and track record of all three candidates for the two open Planning Board seats. If electing competent, thoughtful candidates to the Planning Board is the only concern, all have proven themselves worthy.

One major point of contention, and really what (in my mind) should be the single largest differentiating factor between the three, is the issue of how to resolve the conundrum of approval for large-scale projects in the Lincoln Station area — or anywhere in town, for that matter.

The problem is that the mechanism by which the will of the town is made known on such issues — through a Town Meeting vote — is unworkable: the perception potential investors and developers have is that the substantial investment they must make to draft and gain all the necessary approvals before ground is broken on a major project is at great risk by what they perceive as a roll of the dice at a Town Meeting vote. Recent history (in the form of Lincoln’s vote at the 2012 Special Town Meeting to defeat the proposed school project) proves this is a valid concern. No developer has approached the town with a proposal for a major project in the Lincoln Station area for at least 15 years, and that will not change as long as the current mechanism for approval of such projects remains in place, unchanged.

Now, I want to emphasize: I’m talking principle (town and Town Meeting control over the approval process) vs. mechanism (a single final vote at Town Meeting) vs. perception (of potential investors and developers). All three candidates agree the principle will not change. But for potential developers to perceive Lincoln as a viable candidate for such development, the mechanism must change.

Therefore, what sort of changes to our current process must we make to preserve the principle of the town having control over approval of a project while at the same time assuring potential developers that if they adhere to “the rules,” then their significant investment in getting a project approved in Lincoln will not be at risk due to a whim or last-minute controversy? I am not saying we should eliminate the Town Meeting vote or its central role in the process. What I am saying is that how we accomplish this must be rethought.

The SLPIC Lincoln Station zoning proposal was a start at the creation of such a mechanism. However, lack of transparency, an oversized committee, and some major missteps in communication doomed it. It is clear that the Planning Board, which will always be at the heart of this entire discussion, has learned some important lessons from the furor that arose when the proposal was first published and is retooling their approach in light of the lessons learned.

I am very interested to see if any of the three candidates can provide a vision for a path towards a solution that will address this challenge, and if they will be a positive force within the Planning Board as the task of crafting such a solution proceeds.

Based on what I’ve heard and read from Rick Rundell, he understands this challenge quite well and has the vision, political finesse, and skills needed to craft a workable solution (if anyone can). I have not yet heard or seen evidence that either of the other candidates have either a workable proposal in mind to resolve this, or the vision necessary to create one. So, which candidate (if any) I will vote for as my second choice in the coming election is still an open question.

Allen Vander Meulen
Beaver Pond Road, Lincoln

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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: 48 residents endorse Domnitz and DeLisi for Planning Board

Dear friends and neighbors,

Monday’s vote for Planning Board is significant, and we the undersigned, 48 of your Lincoln neighbors, offer the following perspective.

Over the past year, we became aware of a sweeping and profound zoning change taking shape in the Planning Board’s advisory committee (SLPIC). The proposal was designed to smooth the way for developers to move large-scale development projects directly through the Planning Board. We are but a few of the over 200 families who live within what would have been the new “South Lincoln Village Zone,” joined here by impacted neighbors and other allied residents. Our neighborhood is currently a mix of single-family and multi-family homes, condos, and apartments that are both owned and rented, and it’s about five times as dense as the rest of town.

We challenged the proposed zoning bylaw because it permitted four-story buildings with 20 units per acre, built right to their lot lines. The new zone would have covered roughly 30 acres and paved the way for hundreds of new condos and/or apartments to our small, congested neighborhood without requiring project approval by Town Meeting. For example, they modeled a net potential gain of 271 units over only four of the 27 properties within the new zone.

Through organizing, collaborating, raising our voices, and attending many Planning Board and SLPIC meetings, we gained some insight into the three candidates for Planning Board. We invite you to join us in voting for Bob Domnitz and Lynn DeLisi. Lynn is the only current member of the Planning Board who voiced her opposition to this ill-conceived and harmful proposal. Being the lone voice over many months was no doubt tiring and isolating, but Lynn has persisted in elevating our concerns over the impact on our diverse neighborhood.

Bob Domnitz seeks to keep ultimate approval authority for these kinds of major development projects — i.e. a housing development twice as dense as Oriole Landing — with the town, not the Planning Board. He has seen many consequential development projects succeed by working with town boards and then earning town support. He has served on the Planning Board before, and we hope you will join us in bringing his experience and his fresh perspective to the important decisions facing the Planning Board in the coming years.

The Planning Board is reframing SLPIC and revising the zoning proposal. We hope that they will continue to respect the concerns of those members of our community most impacted by major zoning changes in South Lincoln. We all hope for thriving local businesses, community space, optimized commuter rail use, and decreased carbon emissions. Let’s task our Planning Board with also preserving the affordable housing options we currently have and maintaining the appropriately scaled development we treasure.

Signed, your South Lincoln Neighbors who live within the “South Lincoln Village Zone”:

John Dorr
Bayhas Kana and Sara Postlethwait
Yaman Kana
Kim Leigh-Manuell
Mark Levinson
Jason and Jessica Packineau
Veena Ramani and Adam Stark
Mary Rosenfeld
Sarah Schuller
Michael Welch

Signed, families living in close proximity to the proposed “South Lincoln Village Zone”:

Mark Ahern
Diana Bercel
Liz Burton
Vanessa Cartwright
James and Bonnie Echmalian
Denise and Eric Gieseke
Iris Hoxha
Katrin Kriz
Ada Lee and John Po
Isabel Lee
June Matthews
Thomas Moran
Catherine Moritz
Constance and Richard Ohlsten
Lisa Parker
William Schiano
Melissa Shea
Lisa Slater

Signed, Lincoln residents who join with our South Lincoln neighbors on this issue:

Jamie Banks
Pauline Curtiss
Christopher Dale
Erica Gonella and Shakil Aslam
Jane Herlacher
Maria O’Brien Hylton
Liz Lieblich
Julie Lynch
Caroline and Mark Nordstrom
Barbara Peskin
Jeannine Taylor

”My Turn” is a forum for Lincoln residents to offer their 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.