If the DPW is sweeping up all the road sand, that means that any more snow this season is not physically possible, right? (Photo / Alice Waugh)
news
Town meeting approves funding for school project planning
(Editor’s note: The Lincoln Squirrel was on vacation during the last week in March but will post stories in the coming days about the March 23 Town Meeting.)
By Alice Waugh
Residents approved spending $17,700 from the town’s stabilization fund for architectural and engineering work in hopes of submitting a second school building project feasibility study to the state—though not after several residents argued that the town should pursue its own path toward a modernized school building.
[Read more…] about Town meeting approves funding for school project planning
Dates set for dropping off household hazardous waste
Do you have household chemicals or environmental poisons you need to get rid of? While the Lincoln transfer station does not accept hazardous waste, Lincoln residents may drop off materials on one of eight days this year at the Minuteman Hazardous Products Facility at 60 Hartwell Ave. in Lexington—but they must first pre-register and to fill out a form with the Lincoln Board of Health in person or by calling 781-259-2613.
Lincoln items will be accepted in Lexington from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the following dates (almost all on Saturdays): [Read more…] about Dates set for dropping off household hazardous waste
Greening Lincoln surveys residents, offers info on toilet/washer rebates
Greening Lincoln invites residents to take a survey that will help the group learn what measures people in town now use to save energy and protect the environment and what additional sustainability information and services they’d like to see. Click here to take the online survey.
Greening Lincoln also offers information about Water Department rebates for residents who buy water-saving toilets and washing machines, as well as other topics including solar panels and household energy assessments. The program, which started in January, offers rebates of $75 for WaterSense-labeled toilets and $200 for WaterSense washers. According to the Greening Lincoln website, which also has details on the terms of the rebates, WaterSense toilets use about 4.8 gallons per person per day vs. 18.2 gallons for old-style toilets, while WaterSense washers use 15.4 gallons per person per day vs. 7.7 gallons per day.
Residents can see the terms and conditions for the rebates on the Greening Lincoln website. To obtain a rebate form, call the Water Department 781-259-8997.
Route 2 project finally underway
The south side of Route 2 near Old Cambridge Turnpike looking towards Concord. (Photo / Alice Waugh)
Workers have demolished several houses along Route 2 in Lincoln and removed trees and brush as work on the state project to make the area around Crosby’s Corner—for which planning began in 1994—has finally begun.
The state Department of Transportation (MassDOT) awarded the project in June 2012 to D.W. White Construction, Inc. of Acushnet. This town web page offers contact information, weekly construction updates, and a public information presentation from October 2012 that includes photos of the work area and a history of the project.
Schools offer data snapshots in first annual report
For the first time, school officials have published an annual report with information on demographics, spending, MCAS scores, educational programs and more, as well as data comparing Lincoln schools to others in the area on various measures.
The report is available on the Lincoln Schools website in two forms: a series of slides with charts and graphs, and a three-page executive summary. The report by the School Committee and Lincoln Public Schools administration is the result of an initiative by the Finance Committee to provide the town with information about the operations and performance of town agencies.
[Read more…] about Schools offer data snapshots in first annual report
Warrant piece: Water fluoridation
Editor’s note: This is one of several Lincoln Squirrel articles about an agenda item (a “warrant piece,” with apologies to Leo Tolstoy) to be considered at the March 23 Town Meeting.
By Alice Waugh
Should Lincoln’s public water supply continue to be fluoridated? Residents will have a chance to say yay or nay at the March 23 Town Meeting, thanks to a citizen’s petition by a group opposed to the water additive.
The Town Meeting is coming! The Town Meeting is coming!
By Alice Waugh
Lincoln residents will gather on March 23 to vote on 41 warrant articles on matters ranging from the town budget for fiscal 2014 to citizens’ petitions on leaf blowers and water fluoridation.
The town’s total budget request for fiscal 2014 is $33.09 million, an increase of 4.6 percent over this year. If all elements of the budget are approved, the median property tax bill would rise from $11,340 in fiscal 2013 to $11,815 in the next fiscal year—an average increase of $475, or 4.2 percent.
[Read more…] about The Town Meeting is coming! The Town Meeting is coming!
Council on Aging events rescheduled
Because of the recent snowstorm, the Council on Aging has rescheduled several events:
- A March 8 informational session about the Town Meeting warrant article on fluoridation has been rescheduled for March 15 at 11:30 a.m.
- The Open Studio artist’s coffee originally slated for March 7 will now be held on April 18 at 2:15 p.m.
- “The Art of the Piano” film will be held on a date in May to be determined.
The Groves wants to add skilled nursing, memory care
An aerial view of The Groves showing the current facility (red outline) and the amended proposal for Phase II (blue outline) — click to enlarge.
By Alice Waugh
The Groves in Lincoln has asked the town for permission to build assisted living, memory care and skilled-nursing units in an effort to attract more residents to its age 62+ independent living facility just south of Route 2.
In 2007, the Planning Board and Town Meeting approved a plan for construction in two phases. The completed Phase 1 includes 100 congregate units, 30 rental units and 38 cottages. Originally, The Groves planned to build 28 more cottages after the first set was fully occupied.
However, nearly three years after opening, only 57 percent of those units are occupied, and “the community is struggling financially,” according to a February 5 letter to the Lincoln Planning Board. That letter was sent by John E. Dragat, senior vice president of development for Benchmark Senior Living, which was commissioned to “assess the project’s shortcomings,” and Toby B. Shea, chief financial officer of Masonic Health System of Massachusetts, co-owner of The Groves along with New England Deaconess Association–Abundant Life Communities, Inc., of Concord. The Wellesley-based Benchmark is the largest operator and developer of senior housing in Massachusetts.
A market study “confirmed [the] belief that the primary impediment to the success of the community is its lack of continuum of care,” the letter says. The 90 new units, if approved, would remedy this shortfall by providing assistance with activities of daily living, meals and social activities, as well as long-term and rehab care.
“The overall campus will operate as one integrated community, with many of the residents in Phase II emanating from the existing independent units, allowing the existing Groves residents the ability to age in place in a single continuing-care retirement community,” the letter says.
Residents will be asked to approve them amended plan by voting on Article 34 (page 73 of the warrant) at Town Meeting on March 23.