My Turn

My Turn: Thanks for election participation and help

April 6, 2021

By Valerie Fox, Town Clerk

We would like, as always, to thank the many individuals who participated in last Monday’s annual town election, starting first with the 13 individuals who put themselves forward as candidates for public office and the 457 of their fellow citizens who voted.

Voting by mail is certainly successful, as 320 ballots were cast that way. It was a very slow day at the polls, with 137 people voting in person throughout the 12.5-hour day.

We extend our appreciation also to the Department of Public Works, the police officers assigned to the polling place, the Smith School custodial staff and administration, and the following inspectors who checked in, sanitized, and assisted at the polls: Sarah Bishop, Julie Brogan, Gus Browne, Elaine Carroll, Sarah Chester, Tim Christenfeld, Roger Creel, Myra Ferguson, Denis Fox, Chris Hamilton, Jessica Leigh Hester, Kirsten Hopson, Leslie Hunter, Steve Johnson, Rosemary Kerrebrock, Jackie Lenth, Connie Lewis, Eileen McCrory, Andrew Pang, Jonathan Rapaport, Barbara Sampson, Kathleen Sullivan, and Robin Wilkerson. A very special thank-you to Jennie Christenfeld, who assisted at 6:15 a.m. prior to heading into school, returned to cover the office at 11 a.m. after school, and assisted with closing down the election at the end of the day. We are very lucky to have such a phenomenal crew.

”My Turn” is a forum for readers 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 Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.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: Next steps on Massachusetts’s new climate law

April 5, 2021

By State Sen. Mike Barrett

Bill signing for the Act Creating a Next-Generation Roadmap for Massachusetts Climate Policy took place in the library of the State House, otherwise empty due to the pandemic.

“I have heard words used to describe this piece of legislation — words such as sweeping, landmark, far-reaching, ambitious, bold and nation-leading,” said Senate President Karen Spilka. “I believe it is all of these things.”
Well put. We’re the first state to keep attention riveted on climate by setting emissions limits every five years instead of every ten. The first state to mandate emissions sublimits on the most important sources of greenhouse gases — transportation, buildings, and electric power. The first state to overhaul the charter of its electric power and natural gas regulator to include, alongside price and system reliability, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

At the signing, the atmosphere was cordial. Still, peculiar. Why schedule this important ritual — putting the official touch on the most important climate legislation in Massachusetts in over a decade — on a Friday at 2:30? Why issue no invitations to the advocacy organizations, despite the pivotal roles they played? And why did Gov. Baker spend so much time saluting the valuable yet modest energy bills of years past, and so little time celebrating the law he had just signed?

I sense a problem, and I’m uneasy. I hope the governor is not toying with the idea of disregarding legislative intent by means of a pinched reading of the bill. That would not do. Most people could not give a hoot about keeping a scorecard on the legislature and the executive — who’s winning and who’s losing — but they do care about people in power following the law.

The administration needs to get with the program quickly. Next-Gen sets a number of deadlines:

On July 1, Gov. Baker will have three new vacancies to fill — green building experts, all — on a reconstituted Board of Building Regulation and Standards, a low-profile entity with enormous sway over energy use in new construction.
By July 15, 2021, the administration must set a first-ever greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal for Mass Save, the popular home energy efficiency program.
No later than July 1, 2022, the administration must adopt emissions limits and sublimits for the year 2025, together with a “comprehensive, clear and specific” plan for operating within them.
By 21 months from now, the administration must develop and promulgate a new “municipal opt-in specialized stretch energy code” that includes “net zero building performance standards” and a definition of “net zero building.”

This last one promises an ongoing battle. It’s no secret the governor vetoed an earlier version of the climate bill on the prodding of builders and developers. Taking note of the increasing urgency of global warming, we responded to the pushback by doubling down on “net zero” in the version of the bill that became law.

My constituents have been instrumental in seeing to it that Massachusetts passed the most ambitious climate bill in the country, which is cause for celebration. Now we need to make sure it gets implemented well.

“My Turn” is a forum for readers 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: Many thanks for the Easter baskets

April 1, 2021

(Editor’s note: see related story about the finances of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston.)

By Tomasina Lucchese

The members of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston (SVdP) are deeply grateful for St. Anne’s in-the-Fields of Lincoln’s brilliant Easter basket project. Led by St. Anne’s parishioner and Weston resident Christy O’Brien, they provided charming homemade Easter baskets for SVdP Food Pantry clients. Adorned with beautifully colored chocolate eggs, marshmallow chicks, stuffed bunny toys, bubbles, games and more, all of our families received quite a hoppy-happy treat!

The idea of donating Easter baskets came to O’Brien while she was buying candy for her own children’s baskets. She acknowledged just how quickly the cost of these items adds up and felt compelled to contact SVdP. She asked, “If I were able to pull together a group of volunteers from church to create and donate baskets, is this something your families would enjoy?” Our answer was, “Certainly!”

Christy O’Brien and daughter Grace Colsman, parishioners from St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Church, prepare beautiful Easter baskets and bags of Easter treats for SVdP Food Pantry families.

Wasting no time, O’Brien launched the initiative enlisting dozens of basket-making volunteers from many of our surrounding towns. The parishioners of St. Anne’s in-the-Fields not only created and donated enough Easter baskets for all the SVdP clients’ homes with children, but they made up bags of candy for each of the remaining households “just so everyone could enjoy an Easter treat,” she said. These beautiful baskets were as diverse as the people who created them.

Because it was the first time Easter baskets were distributed to SVdP clients, everyone was very surprised! Thank you to St. Anne’s in-the-Fields for putting your faith into action this Easter season and spreading so much joy, hope, and love, especially during these trying times. To echo what one of our pantry clients said in response to the Easter basket she was given, “It never fails to amaze me just how generous and thoughtful this community is!”

Lucchese is Vice President of the Society of St. Vincent de Paul of Lincoln and Weston.

	October 2015	October 2019	October 2020

Households served at the food pantry	19	63	92
Clients served at the food pantry	37	141	226
Bags of food given out	62	150	300
Total expenses (food pantry plus emergency financial help)	$22,714	$50,925	$84,484
Donations/grants received	$18,498	$61,157	$77,099

My Turn: Opt in for 100% renewable electricity in new Lincoln program

March 29, 2021

By Ed Kern

I’ve been seeing lots of web ads lately for Clearview Energy touting “Save money on energy, we provide cheaper 100% green electricity.” As with much on the web, this is both true and misleading. Clearview’s product has two components: (1) actual electricity purchased from generators in New England and Canada and (2) Renewable Energy Credits (RECs), most likely bought from wind farms in west Texas where wind speeds are higher and open lands are abundant.

There is no way that Clearview can import electric power from Texas wind energy projects to Lincoln. Texas has 86 GW of generation capacity, but under 1 GW of transmission capacity for exporting power to states immediately to its east. The RECs sold by Clearview are not associated with New England generators providing “cheaper 100% green electricity.” This “cheap” green electricity is being generated and consumed in Texas and you are being asked to help pay for it.

The key to assuring your electricity is truly renewable is to buy RECs minted in your regional power pool. Massachusetts is in the New England Power Pool. Texas has its own — recently infamous — pool serving only Texas. Most power generated within a pool is consumed in the same pool, and that’s certainly the case in Texas.

In Massachusetts we are incrementally ratcheting up the percentage of green electricity all suppliers are required to provide (currently 18%). In Texas, a rather low goal was set 20 years ago and was exceeded threefold in about a third of the time allowed. Texas is not increasing its green requirements, so there is no Texas market for their excess RECs, which are now selling for under $0.002 per kWh; and being offered to you for about the price of a New England REC, now about $0.04 per kWh — higher priced because we are driving demand for RECs via the Commonwealth’s renewable requirement of 18% (and growing).

Lincoln’s Green Energy Choice (LGEC) program is buying these higher-priced RECs and is driving construction of renewable energy plants in New England — not buying Texas RECs cheap and selling them high to naive though well-meaning “green” consumers. These concepts can be confusing, and marketers are targeting communities transitioning to cleaner power such as Lincoln to sow confusion and make a fast buck with their “cheaper 100% green” claims.

Please don’t be fooled. Lincoln’s program is a good one and offers an affordable path to a greener future — and the best way to realize this goal is to “opt up” to the Lincoln 100% Green option. This month, Eversource Basic customers in Lincoln who did not opt out, as well as those who were already using a third-party supplier (about two-thirds of households in total) were automatically switched to the Lincoln Standard Green option, which provides an additional 27% renewable electricity from New England over and above the minimum amount required by state law, for a total of 45% clean, renewable electricity from New England. But we can do better by signing up for the Lincoln 100% Green option, which provides 100% clean, renewable electricity from New England.

The signups for Lincoln 100% Green have been going slower than I would’ve expected in Lincoln, — only about 5% of the town. My hope is that some residents may not yet have taken the time to learn and reflect on the proposition and its relatively modest marginal cost.

The Lincoln Green Energy Committee has set a goal of having 25% households “opt up” to the Lincoln 100% Green option in time for Town Meeting on May 15. It’s ambitious but attainable; the cost is modest but not “cheap.” Please consider “opting up” to 100%. You can easily do this by going to www.masspowerchoice.com/lincoln/enroll or calling 844-651-8919. (If you’re a customer of a third-party electricity supplier, you need to contact the supplier to terminate the relationship before signing up for the Lincoln Green Energy Choice program.)

Kern is a member of the Lincoln Green Energy Committee but is not speaking for the LGEC in this piece. He can be reached at edwardkern@gmail.com.

My Turn: Work continues on creating a more just and equitable society

March 23, 2021

By Tara Mitchell
Lincoln School Committee chair

As we mark the anniversary of moving to remote learning one year ago this month, it is difficult to process all that we have been through as a school district, as a community, and as a country. We can all be grateful and proud of the ingenuity, perseverance, and dedication that the Lincoln School District administration, faculty, staff, and students have shown this past year.

While there certainly are bright spots on the horizon with more vaccines coming, violent events continue to shed light on the hate and injustice that exists in our country, the most recent of which was the killings in Atlanta and the mass shooting in Boulder. We stand in solidarity with the Asian American and Pacific Island communities and acknowledge the fear, anger, and anxiety that these crimes of hate produce.

The Lincoln School Committee has made a commitment to honor and respect human differences and to work toward being an anti-racist district. Hate has no place in school, in our community, or in our country and we will continue to support the work being done in the school district that we hope will lead to a more just and equitable society.

My Turn: Glass asks for votes as she runs for reelection

March 23, 2021

By Jennifer Glass

I write to announce my candidacy for re-election to the Board of Selectmen for a three-year term, and I ask for the support of Lincoln’s residents and voters.

When I first ran in 2017, I made a commitment to pursue holistic planning and decision-making given the breadth of topics that fall under the purview of the board. That commitment continues energize me in assisting us to achieve our collective goals and is what motivates me to seek election to serve the town for another term.

Town residents and our town government working together have begun and accomplished many important objectives during the past four years:

We approved the Lincoln School revitalization project, and construction is well underway
The development of Oriole Landing allowed the town to continue its commitment to more affordable housing options
We launched the Lincoln Green Energy Choice program, which meaningfully reduces our collective carbon footprint
We entered into an agreement with the deCordova Museum and the Trustees of Reservations to ensure a vital future for the arts in Lincoln
We started community discussions about racism and racial equity following the brutal murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor
The global pandemic forced us to entirely rethink how we run our town government and care for our residents.

Much of this work is ongoing. Last fall the board hosted a series of roundtables that brought together community members, our police chief, town boards, and community groups and institutions to talk about inclusion, diversity, equity, and anti-racism. This laid the groundwork for the IDEA Initiative, a new committee that we will appoint in April and that is expected to examine how the town can specifically and intentionally address equity and justice.

The work of the South Lincoln Planning & Advisory Committee (SLPAC) forms another major focus of the town. The Planning Board has been studying potential zoning changes in the area around the train station for a number of years, and SLPAC is continuing that examination with an eye toward making recommendations to the town in 2022. The town is now considering the potential changes in the context of the Massachusetts Housing Choice Act that the legislature passed in January that has specific provisions for towns with an MBTA station.

The legislature also recently passed a landmark act to combat climate change, which will have profound implications for us as individuals and a community for many decades to come. We will engage with town residents to assist us all in meeting our commitments under the act.

Now that the school project is nearly halfway completed, it is time for the town to restart the conversation about a community center that would house both the Parks & Recreation Department and the Council on Aging (or “the Council on Aging and Human Services” if we approve the name change at Town Meeting!). In doing so, we will continue discussions about the town’s provision of social services and about town finances and property taxes.

All of these issues are interrelated, and we must consider them together if we are to shape the future of the town in innovative and positive ways. Most fortunately, we have a skilled and knowledgeable professional team and dedicated volunteers on our town boards and committees to engage in this effort. With your vote of support, I look forward to continuing to contribute to the work of this team. Again, I ask for your vote at the town election on Monday, March 29.

Respectfully,

Jennifer Glass
11 Stonehedge Road

My Turn: “Big Night” for amphibians is nigh

March 9, 2021

By Michele Grzenda, Conservation Director

Even though it’s still winter, warmer days and increased daylight is upon us. With that brings my favorite event: Big Night!

Big Night is often used to describe the annual ritual of certain frogs and salamanders when they migrate from their upland overwintering habitat towards their spring breeding ground. During Big Night, you have a chance of seeing spotted salamanders, wood frogs, spring peepers, and other amphibians heading towards a vernal pool (generally a small pond or wetland which dries up in the summer months and does not support fish populations).

When will Big Night occur? It’s always hard to predict but it generally happens on the first few rainy nights in March and early April when the night temperature is above 40 degrees. Most years, Lincoln does not have one “big night” but rather lots of smaller movements (though “many little nights” doesn’t sound as exciting as “Big Night”). Even though the snow lingers in Lincoln, towns just south of here are already hearing frogs and seeing some salamander migration. With temperatures warming and wet weather on its way, we are only days away from the excitement.

Big Night is bittersweet for many naturalists. It’s fun to see the amphibians on the move, but in a landscape bisected by a network of roads, it often means that these small creatures risk their own lives crossing onto pavement each year. The best we can hope for is that Big Night happens late at night, when most cars are off the roads.

What you can do

Consider visiting a roadway on a rainy night looking for migrating salamanders. The Conservation Department has placed signage at three major salamander crossings — Conant Road, Lexington Road, and Silver Hill Road — warning motorists to drive carefully on rainy nights. There are some common-sense precautions you should take:

Find a spot to park well before you reach the wetland crossing.
Wear reflective vests or clothing if possible.
Have multiple flashlights and be very careful looking where you walk – you don’t want to step on a frog or salamander!
Keep young children next to you and show them how to look with a flashlight before walking.
Assume vehicles do not see you and stay off the road when they approach.
Wear warm, weather resistant clothing and shoes.
Wash your hands afterwards if you handle the amphibians.

Drivers: be alert for frogs and salamanders on rainy nights this spring! This salamander may look huge in this picture, but they are small and camouflaged as they slowly cross the many roads throughout Lincoln this spring. (Photo by Michele Grzenda)

Amphibians do not like to be handled, so in most cases simply observe them. If vehicle headlights are in the distance and there is a frog or salamander in the road, please move it off the road in the direction it was heading. If possible, moisten hands in a puddle before handling the animal to minimize disturbance to their skin. You’re likely to see (yellow) spotted salamanders (which can be nine inches long), wood frogs, spring peepers, and American toads. And there’s always a possibility of a rarer sighting, such as a blue-spotted salamander.

Once you experience first-hand the activity on these special nights, you’ll certainly understand the concern we have for these small creatures. On all rainy nights in spring and summer, there is considerable animal activity on the roadways, so please keep that in mind as you’re out on any roadway. Be safe but try to give them a chance at survival.

To learn more about amphibians, vernal pools, and Big Night, check out www.Vernalpool.org.

My Turn: Route 2A plans should have Lincoln residents’ input

March 9, 2021

By Jane Bradley Herlacher

(Editor’s note: This piece is in response to the March 7 Lincoln Squirrel article headlined “Repaving and more are planned for Route 2A.”)

As a homeowner living behind the Minute Man National Historical Park (MMNHP) ranger station for 35 years, I want to understand the MassDOT Route 2A Corridor Study Concepts. The study area is from the west side of I-95 in Lexington, along North Great Road and Bypass Road in Lincoln to Crosby’s Corner in Concord. For the past two and a half years, it has been disappointing that area residents were not identified as “stakeholders” and were not invited to the four stakeholder meetings. The only public link about the study is in the December 2020 issue of the Northside News. This lack of participation has never been the way Lincoln has been involved in projects of such importance.

At the October 2020 meeting, MassDOT announced that they were at the 25% design submittal stage and included the following concepts:

Traffic calming — Rotaries are proposed for Old Mass Avenue in Lexington and Hanscom Drive with slip lanes for bikes and pedestrians. Placemaking opportunities may enhance the road’s historic character, although nothing specific was shown or described.

Island treatments — Islands are suggested for the other roads even though they are designated scenic roadways exiting from rural residential areas which are separated by large reserved lands. Pedestrian/bike signs, not hardscape islands, are needed at just four proposed crosswalk locations (Brooks Road, Bedford Lane, Mill Street and Minuteman High School’s secondary driveway). No stop signs, only islands, were proposed for eastbound and westbound traffic on North Great Road at Bedford Road. The stop signs would more safely let pedestrians and bicyclists cross from the area’s only sidewalk, which is under the jurisdiction of MMNHP, not the Town of Lincoln.

Road widening — Since North Great Road is part of the Battle Road Scenic Byway and is an All-American Road (Massachusetts’s first and only federal designation as of February 2021), widening the corridor is inappropriate for this scenic road.

The repaving project must enhance the historic character of the MMNHP and the Battle Road Scenic Byway. Let’s consider:

redesigning the intersections at Massachusetts Avenue and Forbes Road (Lexington)
creating a rotary at Bypass Road (Lincoln) and Lexington Road (Concord)
replacing 11 metal guardrails with wood ones
eliminating the proposed sidewalk opposite Mill Street
incorporating green space at exits of Mill Street and Bedford Road instead of painting the asphalt
lowering the speed limit on North Great Road, not installing speed feedback signs
removing the Route 2A designation from North Great Road and Bypass Road

Apparently the project is delayed because a presentation of the 25% design stage at a public meeting is now planned for Fall 2021 (not Fall 2020). At that time, will MassDoT seriously consider suggestions from Lincoln citizens? Lincoln has seen the benefit from full citizen participation in the outcome of the recent Route 2 project. Now we all ask for an open and transparent process for this project, too.

My Turn: Cowap asks for your vote for L-S School Committee

March 3, 2021

By Heather Cowap

I am excited to announce my candidacy for the Lincoln Sudbury Regional School Committee. I hope to replace Carole Kasper (who is stepping down) as one of the Lincoln representatives on this committee.

I have been on all sides of this table. I’m currently a curriculum consultant working with an international STEM company, but I have both taught, and raised kids, in two different regional school districts. I spent 15 years as a high school science teacher in Groton-Dunstable and raised two daughters through the Acton Boxborough schools before the K-12 regionalization.

I have a deep commitment to community service, and like many of you have served as a volunteer. When my kids were younger, I volunteered with the Boxborough Library, both the elementary and regional school PTAs, and as a coach for community basketball and lacrosse. I also served as a board member of A-B Girls Youth Lacrosse.

I am a passionate about public education, and my desire to participate in the L-S Regional School Committee is driven by my desire to give back to public education. I loved my years in the classroom that provided me with extensive experience in the complex needs of high schools. I have also participated in multiple NEASC site visits, exposing me to many of the shared challenges public schools are expected to meet and the creative ways many schools are addressing these challenges. As a parent I am aware of the need for respectful ongoing communication between schools and community. I plan to establish regular opportunities for the community by hosting zoom gatherings throughout the year.

I look forward to supporting many of the ongoing initiatives of the regional school committee, in particular the transition programs for Lincoln students entering the high school developed by Carole Kasper in collaboration with the Lincoln Public Schools. The school committee’s ongoing work on equity, in ensuring that all student needs are being met, and supporting the success of every L-S student are further areas of interest for me.

I will be hosting drop-in Zoom coffee chats for members of the community to come meet with me (see below for dates, times and Zoom links). I look forward to having the opportunity to listen and learn about parents’ and students’ experiences with the high school, both wins and challenges, as well as hearing your hopes for the school district as we move ahead.

Wednesday, March 10 at10 a.m. — Zoom link (Meeting ID: 856 2643 0759, Passcode: 759563)
Wednesday, March 17 at10 a.m. — Zoom link (Meeting ID: 840 8037 2413, Passcode: 558395)
Wednesday, March 24 at10 a.m. — Zoom link (Meeting ID: 868 1721 0216, Passcode: 767171)

My Turn: Support Heather Cowap for L-S School Committee

March 1, 2021

By Carole Kasper

Many thanks for the opportunity to serve on the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional School Committee since my election in 2018. I am writing to express gratitude for this role, while also letting you know that I have decided not to seek re-election during this 2021 election cycle. I would like to introduce an exciting candidate for the L-S School Committee seat that I will be vacating later this spring.

Her name is Heather Cowap, settled in Lincoln following a move from Boxborough in recent years. Her now-adult children attended Boxborough public schools K-8 before attending Acton-Boxborough Regional High School. Along the way, she developed a deep understanding of the “smaller town sharing a regional high school with a larger town” dynamic — she also spent 15 years as a teacher in the Science Department of Groton-Dunstable Regional High School.

During her career, Heather she has also served on multiple accreditation committees on behalf of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). Now retired, she says she is seeking a large volunteer role, one in which she can continue to apply her skills as an education professional while also contributing significantly to her local community. I strongly support Heather’s candidacy, and I invite you to join in this support.

For me, it has been an honor to serve and work diligently for L-S students and families. I supported the work of the Racial Climate Task Force, while also serving on both School Start Time Subcommittees, the Safety Review Subcommittee, the L-S Safety Council, the OPEB Trust Committee, the Strategic Planning Subcommittee, and the Strategic Planning Steering Committee. I had the opportunity to shepherd the L-S annual budget each of the past three years, serving as L-S liaison to Lincoln’s Select Board, Finance Committee, and Capital Planning Committee.

I enjoyed collaborating with administrators at both L-S and the Lincoln Public Schools to innovate a middle-school-to-high-school transition-planning process for Lincoln students and families who are heading into their L-S years. The “Life at L-S” 8th-to-9th-grade program is now in its fifth year, consistently garnering positive and appreciative feedback. The “Intro to L-S” program, an information session and tour opportunity for Lincoln middle school families wanting to see and learn about L-S offerings early on in their family high school planning process, is also well established and will continue in future years.

Thank you for the community trust you placed in me as a member of the L-S School Committee for these past three years. Please join me now in electing Heather Cowap to the L-S School Committee on town Election Day — Monday, March 29th!