Here’s a guide to stories published in the Lincoln Squirrel about some of the topics to be voted at at Town Meeting on Saturday, March 24. See the town website for a one-page summary of warrant articles and the full warrant.
The town election is Monday, March 26 from 7:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the Smith gym. Click here for more town information about voting. Scroll down for more information and to see the ballot.
Articles 8, 9, and 10 — Capital Planning Committee and Community Preservation Act appropriations
Article 26 — Reports from the School Building Committee and the Community Center Preliminary Planning and Design Committee
- Community center planners mull input including a Smith site (February 19, 2018)
- 77% in survey prefer a mostly new school building (February 8, 2018)
- Community center schemes posted; workshops on Tuesday (January 29, 2018)
- Workshops focus on three main school project options (January 26, 2018)
- Officials at multi-board meeting mull campus project questions (January 10, 2018)
- Architects ask for reactions to school and community center possibilities (Nov. 5, 2017)
Articles 28 and 29 — Historic District bylaw amendment: Modernist homes and corresponding creation of a new Brown’s Wood Historic District
Article 30 — Bylaw amendment to create zoning overlay district and a preliminary development and use plan for the Mary’s Way development
- Planning Board, Selectmen endorse Oriole Landing (March 21, 2018)
- Neighbors protest Oriole Landing plans (March 12, 2018)
- Details on Oriole Landing released; hearing on March 6 (February 8,2018)
Articles 32, 33, and 34 — Proposed bans on retail use of plastic bags and retail sale of individual plastic water bottles (citizens’ petitions)
- Selectmen split on water bottle ban but reject legal-fee petition (March 4, 2018)
- Dueling water bottle bans at Town Meeting (February 12, 2018)
Article 35 — Resolution in support of tighter regulation of gas leaks (citizens’ petition)
- Letter to the editor: vote yes on gas leaks resolution (March 19, 2018)
Town election
In the March 26 town election, the contest for two open seats on the Lincoln-Sudbury District School Committee has drawn the most attention. Lincoln resident Nancy Marshall is stepping down from the panel and fellow Lincolnite Carole Kasper is running for her seat. Meanwhile, Sudbury resident Gerald Quirk was up for reelection but unexpectedly withdrew from the race after the candidates’ filing deadline, so three other Sudbury residents—Cara Doran, Siobhan Hullinger, and Ellen Joachim—are running as write-in candidates.
Kasper and her supporters are urging residents to write in Joachim, but both Joachim and Hullinger have been the subject of numerous letters to the editor to the Lincoln Squirrel. All seats on the committee are at large, meaning neither town is apportioned a certain number.
There are also contested races for the Cemetery Commission and the Parks and Recreation Commission. Cemetery Commission candidates are Susan Harding and Carol DiGianni, who is featured in a short video on the town website. Also in the video is a statement from Kasper starting at the 2:25 mark, and a video by Parks and Recreation Commission candidate Rey Romero and his daughter at the 5:25 mark. Romero is running against Sarah Chester and Adam Hogue for the single seat.
There is also a question on the ballot:
Question 1. Shall the Town of Lincoln be allowed to assess an additional $600,000 in real estate and personal property taxes for the purpose of purchasing a new Fire Department engine, including all costs incidental and related thereto, for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2018?
| Board or Committee | Openings/terms | Candidates |
|---|---|---|
| Board of Assessors | One for three years | Edward Morgan* |
| Board of Health | One for three years | Patricia Miller* |
| Board of Selectmen | One for three years | Jennifer Glass* |
| Cemetery Commission | One for three years | Susan S. Harding,* Carol DiGianni |
| Commissioners of Trust Funds | One for three years | — |
| DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park Trustees | One for four years | Jonathan Rapaport |
| Housing Commission | One for three years, one for two years, one for one year | Evan Gorman,* Bijoy Misra,* Keith Gilber |
| Lincoln-Sudbury Regional District School Committee | Two for three years** | Carol Marie Kasper |
| Parks and Recreation Committee | One for three years | Adam Hogue, Rey Romero, Sarah Chester |
| Planning Board | One for three years | Gerald Taylor* |
| School Committee | Two for three years | Peter Borden,* Alvin L. Schmertzler* |
| Trustees of Bemis | One for three years | Mimi Borden |
| Water Commission | One for three years | Robert B. Antia* |
* incumbent
** Carole Kasper of Lincoln is running for one of two seats. Three Sudbury residents—Cara Doran, Siobhan Hullinger, and Ellen Joachim—are running as write-in candidates for a second open seat.