The March 13 article headlined “Town Meeting procedures and precautions outlined” incorrectly stated that this will be the first time Annual Town Meeting “in person.” It should have said “indoors.” The article has been corrected.
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Town Meeting procedures and precautions outlined
For the first time in three years, Lincoln’s Annual Town Meeting will take place indoors. It will start at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, March 26 in the newly renovated Brooks Auditorium. Here are some details about what to expect.
Parking — Parking will be available in the Brooks and Hartwell lots, the modular classroom temporary parking lot, and various roadside spots along Ballfield Road. Spaces closest to the entrance will be reserved for handicap and mobility impaired parking. Public safety staff will be on hand to assist.
Masks — The mask mandate has been lifted, community members are encouraged to wear masks and leave two seats between parties from different households. Officials also encourage residents to test themselves before and after the meeting; the town has free kits available to anyone who would like one.
Seating — Residents are welcome to sit in the gym as well as the auditorium. Those in the gym will be able to view, listen and vote from the gym, but they will not be able to make comments. To comment, they will need to come to a microphone location in the auditorium.
Making comments and asking questions — There will be standing microphones for people to queue up in the auditorium, as well as handheld microphones that can be passed to those unable to get to a standing microphone. If people would prefer to write their comment down, officials will accommodate that.
Watching remotely — Officials are hoping to have a live feed of the meeting through cable TV and the town website (www.lincolntown.org). They are awaiting new hardware, so if it doesn’t arrive in time, they will stream the meeting on Zoom. In either case, the necessary information will be posted on the Annual Town Meeting webpage.
Those watching from home may not vote or speak. They’re encouraged to submit any questions to the relevant board in advance of the meeting, either at a public meeting or over email.
Food and beverages — The Girl Scouts will provide coffee and breakfast treats that can be consumed in the hallways, gym, or new movement room. Given the new carpeting and fabric seating, only water will be allowed in the auditorium. Lunch will not be provided.
“We want the meeting to run as efficiently as possible in the interest of public health and the time residents are being asked to commit,” said Assistant Town Manager Dan Pereira. “The pandemic forced us to rethink our practices and we’ve developed some strategies (presentations in advance, greater use of the consent calendar, remote viewing) that have led to a better meeting overall. Our goal is to be done by midday, but that will be at the discretion of the moderator.”
Several presentations can be viewed ahead of time on the Annual Town Meeting webpage.
Masks no longer required indoors in Lincoln as of March 14
Masks will no longer be required indoors in Lincoln as of Monday, March 14, and the Lincoln Public Schools will move to a “less masking” policy on the same day.
Wearing masks in the schools and on buses will be optional with the following exceptions. Mask wearing is required/necessary:
- In nurses’ offices and healthcare settings, per the state Department of Public Health
- For all individuals in days 6-10 following a positive Covid-19 test result, indoors
- When directed by a school nurse for health and safety reasons
Mask wearing is strongly recommended for unvaccinated individuals and those with health risks. Everyone is welcome to wear masks at any time, “and a culture of support and acceptance for those continuing to wear masks is the expectation,” according to a March 11 statement form the School Committee.
The schools will continue to monitor Covid-19 cases on a daily basis. “As necessary, we will make decisions about reinstating mask requirements on a classroom, grade, school, or district level in order to minimize or stop potential spread of the virus. Decisions may include a short-term, temporary mask requirement or a longer-term requirement depending upon the circumstances of the positive case rates and distribution of the cases,” the statement said.
After a spike due to the omicron variant in February, the case rate everywhere has dropped substantially. Last week, for the first time since pool testing began at the schools, there were no positive cases.
The Board of Health rescinded the town-wide indoor mask mandate, though they and the DPH recommended that residents with weakened immune systems or at increased risk of severe Covid-19 because of age or medical conditions (or who have a household member at increased risk) continue to wear a mask when indoors other than in their home, even if they’re vaccinated. Private establishments may continue to require masks upon entry.
The board also noted that there are free Covid-19 treatments available that can prevent hospitalizations and reduce the risk of becoming very ill for those who test positive for the virus and have symptoms, or for those at increased risk of severe disease. Treatments now include Paxlovid, an oral antiviral agent that physicians can prescribe. Prevention now includes Evusheld preventive antibody injections for immunocompromised persons.
Public forum on town budget set for March 15
As the March 26 Annual Town Meeting draws near, the Finance Committee will host a virtual Town Budget Q&A on Tuesday, March 15 at 7:30 p.m. (see below for Zoom link). The proposed budget for fiscal 2023 is 3.0% higher than last year’s. A summary can be found on page 8 of the Financial Section and Warrant, with a detailed breakdown beginning on page 57.
All residents have the right to speak at Town Meetings, and FinCom members will respond to comments and questions at that time. However, to keep the Town Meeting as short and focused as possible, the committee hopes to address comments and questions in this virtual Q&A session before the in-person meeting.
The FinCom presented the budget at a public hearing on February 15; click here to watch a recording of that meeting. The budget presentation starts around 30:00. Viewers have the option of using YouTube’s accelerated playback feature to review material quickly.
Since the warrant was printed, the Finance Committee has deliberated and is recommending an amended budget that adds $200,000 to the cash capital items, and lowers the stabilization fund contribution by the same amount (formerly $1,323,438, now $1,123,438). The $200,000 was requested by the School Building Committee for lighting control systems at the renovated school and is recommended by the Capital Committee. The amount is expected to be fully offset by future proceeds from the sale of the modular classrooms.
The March 15 Zoom Q&A session will not include the full budget presentation. See the video presentation above and/or review the financial report before the Q&A session. However, the Q&A session will be recorded and posted.
Click here to join the March 15 Q&A on Zoom (meeting ID: 849 2072 7318; password: fincom). Town Meeting will take place on Saturday, March 26 at 9:30 a.m. in the newly renovated Brooks Auditorium. All materials, including recorded presentations and slides relating to other warrant articles, are available on the 2022 Annual Town Meeting web page.
Further information on Town Meeting procedures and warrant articles will be published next week in the Lincoln Squirrel.
My Turn: Vote for Hogue for Select Board
Dear Lincoln,
I am writing today in support of Adam Hogue’s efforts to be elected to Lincoln’s Select Board. I met Adam and his family last summer and had the opportunity to do a few a jobs for them. Through conversations and other interactions, I have found Adam to be very respectful, fair-minded, and very dedicated to Lincoln. As he has stated in his March 9 letter, he has a passion for serving.
I am very confident that should he be elected to the Select Board, he will carryout his functions with the judiciousness and integrity required.
Kind regards,
Donald Fonseca
1 Mary’s Way
“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.
Correction
In the March 8 article headlined “Codman Farm plans to improve driveway, install forecourt,” the names of Pete Lowy (in one place) and Carol Carmody were misspelled. The original story has been corrected.
News acorns
L-S School Committee candidate plans meet-and-greet in Lincoln
Maura Carty
L-S School Committee candidate Maura Carty invites residents to meet with her on Saturday, March 12 from 10–11 a.m. at the Twisted Tree in Lincoln to hear why she’s running, ask questions, and share what’s important to you. (Two seats are open in the March 28 election; Carty is hoping to beat out one of the incumbents, Cara Endyke Dorman or Kevin Matthews, who are running for reelection. All three are Sudbury residents.) Carty will also be at Sudbury Coffee Works on Wednesday, March 16 from 10–11 a.m. and a virtual gathering on Tuesday, March 22 from 7–8 p.m. Her website is www.mauracarty4ls.com.
Big Night(s) for amphibians is coming
“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 (generally a small pond or wetland that dries up in the summer months). The exact date(s) are unknown but usually happen on the first few rainy nights in March and early April when the night temperature is above 40 degrees. However, they are often endangered by cars when crossing roads. If you plan to watch for them, park well off the road, wear a reflective vest, and use a flashlight. 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 (moisten hands if possible in a puddle before handling to minimize disturbance to their skin). Feel free to email the Conservation Department at conservation@lincolntown.org to share what you see. To learn more about amphibians, vernal pools, and Big Night, see www.vernalpool.org.
See “Days of Heaven” in person
The Lincoln Library Film Society will screen the 1978 Oscar-winning film “Days of Heaven” on Thursday, March 17 at 6 p.m. in the library’s Tarbell Room. Starring Richard Gere, Brooke Adams and Sam Shepard; directed by Terrance Malik. Descriptive content provided by Syndetics.
FoMA event looks at aluminum house
Friends of Modern Architecture–Lincoln will present “Stewardship and Sustainability: Lincoln’s 1957 Alcoa Aluminum House” at its annual award ceremony via Zoom on Sunday, March 27 from 4–5:30 p.m. (click here to register). The group will honor the owners of Lincoln’s 1957 Alcoa Care-Free Aluminum House for their stewardship of this unique house, one of only two dozen built in the United States. There will be a presentation about the house and its restoration, followed by a short Q&A session with the owners.
Kindergarten registration now open
The Lincoln School is starting the fall 2022 kindergarten enrollment and registration process. If your child is eligible or know of a family who has an eligible child, please see this Lincoln Public Schools webpage for information and an Intent to Enroll form. Children who are Lincoln residents and will be five years old by October 1, 2022 are eligible to enroll. The Lincoln Public Schools also enroll town and school employees’ children with approval of the School Committee and Boston-resident students through the METCO program.
Town completes second round of bonding for school project
The town has sold bonds worth $8,489,000 in the second portion of borrowing to fund the school project. The sale generated a 2.6% interest rate with annual debt service at roughly $440,000, according to Lincoln Finance Director Colleen Wilkins.
Prior to the sale, the town’s AAA credit rating was affirmed by Standard & Poor, which helped keep interest rates low. “As part of their report, S&P cited strong credit rating factors for the town, including Lincoln’s very strong economy, very strong management with strong financial policies and practices, and the town’s thoughtful practice of building financial reserves,” Wilkins said.
The tax impact on the median tax bill is $215 and will be reflected in real estate tax bills issued in fall 2022.
In the first round of borrowing in early 2019, the town sold bonds worth $80 million at an interest rate of 3.379%. At that time, the Finance Committee was basing property tax impact estimates for the project on an expected interest rate of 4–5%, resulting an estimated tax hike of 18–20%, but officials revised that down to 14–16%.
The combined bond sales plus $4.4 million from the town’s debt stabilization fund and $1 million from free cash in 2019 are funding the $92.9 million project , which is scheduled for completion this summer. For fiscal year 2023, the Finance Committee projects in the Annual Town Meeting warrant that debt service for the school project will be $4.29 million, or 9.6% of the $44.52 million town budget.
Police log for Feb. 23–March 3, 2022
February 23
Lincoln Road (3:49 p.m.) — Walk-in to the station couldn’t gain access to their nearby office. Fire Department went down to assist and the building manager arrived to handle the matter.
Lincoln Police Department (4:30 p.m.) — Party turned in a found credit card. Attempts were made to contact the owner.
Millstone Lane (5:59 p.m.) — Party called to report that they lost their license in Minuteman National Park on a trail in case it gets turned in.
Wells Road (8:08 p.m.) — Caller reported smelling a strange odor coming from an apartment. Officers went down but nothing was found.
February 24
Hanscom Vandenberg Gate (5:40 a.m.) — Hanscom Security Forces called regarding a person trying to enter the base with an active warrant. Officers arrested Isabelo Guzman-Rodriguez, 47, of Milford on a warrant out of the Lawrence District Court for a violating a restraining order. He was later brought to the Concord District Court
Trapelo Road (7:12 p.m.) — Resident called to report a person on Trapelo Road who was lost and needed assistance in getting to Concord. An officer responded and drove them to Concord.
February 25
Concord Road (6:24 a.m. ) — One-car crash rollover near Baker Farm. Officers and FD responded. No injuries, one vehicle was towed. Report taken.
Minebrook Road (4:05 p.m.) — Caller reported cars parked on the side of the road blocking the plows. An officer responded and found that there were no violations.
Baker Bridge Road (6:13 p.m.) — A vehicle slid into a town plow truck. No injuries; one vehicle was towed from the scene.
February 26
Nothing of note.
February 27
Smith Hill Road (5:03 p.m. and 9:19 p.m.) — Officer attempting to serve paperwork. Party was not home.
Wells Road (7:14 p.m.) — Caller requested a well-being check on a party. Officers responded and were unable to locate the party but were able to contact a relative. Everything was fine.
February 28
Nothing of note.
March 1
Smith Hill Road (9:20 a.m.) — Officer delivered paperwork to the party.
Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge (4:00 p.m.) — Detective Ian Spencer assisted Harvard University Police with a forensic sketch regarding an investigation.
March 2
Wells Road (12:54 p.m.) — Caller reported an odor of natural gas. Fire Department responded; and vented the apartment (the stove was left on).
March 3
Minuteman Technical High School (8:19 p.m.) — School staff found a small packet containing an unknown substance on the school grounds. An officer responded and retrieved the item, which appeared to be an unknown drug. The item was returned to the station to be destroyed.
Conant Road (12:22 p.m.) — Fire Department assisted at a residence with a broken water pipe.
Todd Pond Road (6:14 p.m.) — Caller was having a problem with their fireplace. Fire Department assisted the party. No carbon monoxide readings inside the home.
Virginia Road (6:30 p.m.) — Caller reported an ongoing issue with the fire alarm system. Fire Department responded and found a problem with a smoke detector that was causing the issue.
New book offers an inside look at Lincoln METCO sales
The Lincoln METCO Coordinating Committee has published a new book about the hundreds of donations of furniture, antiques, and artwork they sold to help fund activities for students year in and year out.
Downsize for Diversity: How We Raised $122,000 with a Pickup Truck and a Little Help from Our Friends tells the story of how an unexpected donation of 60 porcelain dolls led to the idea of selling them and other donated items to pay for METCO summer camp scholarships. The seed was a fundraising brainstorming session involving the book’s co-authors, MCC fundraising chair Joanna Schmergel and Lincoln METCO Director and AIDE Coordinator Marika Hamilton. (Full disclosure: Lincoln Squirrel Editor Alice Waugh designed and edited Downsize for Diversity but will not earn money from sales of the book; all proceeds benefit the Lincoln MCC.)
“As we pivoted from porcelain dolls to American Girl Dolls to estate sale items, we started to slowly realize the huge opportunity with people who were downsizing for different reasons at different phases of life,” Schmergel said. “We realized we could keep going and get to our goal of $100,000, which would be enough to start a policy-governed investment fund to generate school-year operations funds.”
Over the course of four years, dozens of volunteers learned how to transport, fix up, price, and list items for sale (see photo gallery below). The MCC eventually surpassed their fundraising goal by racking up more than $122,000 in the end. But they haven’t stopped collecting and selling donations; the focus has shifted to artworks only, and the operation is now called “Downsize for Diversity ART” (Anti-Racist Together) and has already raised another $10,000.
The book is packed with photos, tips, and humorous anecdotes about the surprising variety of things that passed from the hands of donors to volunteers to new owners. Those items ran the gamut from American Girl dolls to Southeast Asian furniture, clocks, oil paintings, a computer server cabinet, a canoe, christening gowns — and even a century-old proctoscope complete with case and instructions.
Every item has a history, some of which is included in the book. “People want to give their valuable items to a good cause, but they also want to tell the stories that go along with them,” she said. “We then pass those stories on to the buyers who purchase their treasures and want to hear those stories.”
“We learned that there is passionate support in the greater Boston area for anti-racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Schmergel said. “Almost every single donor and many buyers had a story to tell about how the METCO program touched them as a host parent, close friend to a METCO-enrolled student, coach, or teacher.”
“I have been amazed at the generosity of so many people all over. During times where we were dealing with a dual pandemic, folks were still showing love but wanting to donate dolls, furniture, art, and much more,” Hamilton said, who also had high praise for her co-author.
“It’s been most rewarding to see Joanna’s passion with Downsize for Diversity. She’s been full throttle since I met her, and our connection and ideas have been magical from the time I met her. Her battery pack never runs low and even if it does, she still has the energy of 100 people. She is one of the most selfless people I know and has unconditionally worked to pull in volunteers and open the doors to her home to keep D for D growing. The benefit has been that students are able to have access to opportunities that they might not otherwise have been afforded.”
For anyone who’s looking to raise money for their local METCO program or any nonprofit, “my advice would be to read our book and let it trigger your own ideas. You can take pieces and fragments from the book and use them to go after the low-hanging fruit,” she said.
Hamilton’s advice? “Your ‘why’ must be very clear because when times feel tough, that’s what will continue to drive your work. I’d also say think big, but it’s OK to start small, even if you start with a goal to raise $1,000. It’s not the dollar amount when you start, but the blueprint and plan you use. And if you’re in need of a plan, purchase our book so you don’t have to grow a second brain! Sharing is caring,” she said with a laugh.
Look inside Downsize for Diversity and buy now from BookBaby.com to maximize MCC’s royalties, or order on Amazon.com or Barnes & Noble.com. All income from sales of the book will go to the Lincoln MCC.
