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

Letter to the editor: Town Meeting challenge is finding balance

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To the editor:

This coming Saturday, at town Meeting, we face a serious challenge: maintaining balance. Our community has retained its small-town character, rather than simply becoming another bedroom suburb, by careful planning and discussion and debate with an eye on maintaining balance. Almost 25 percent of our populations are school age children and almost 30 percent of our population is over 60. We raise our children here and then we stay. For the most part, we age in our homes while sometimes moving within Lincoln.

This is not the case in many of the communities around us. We need to think about that as we open discussion at Town Meeting about some very real wants and needs. We also need to keep in mind that about 35 percent of our population makes under $100,000 a year. We are more economically diverse than some might realize. With a sensitivity to that economic diversity, we must continue to invest in our community. And our upcoming Town Meeting will begin a number of critical discussions of how best to proceed. Finding balance that will be the challenge for all of us in, for our leadership, and for our community. This was a theme at an open space plan discussion and bears consideration for all that lies ahead.

We have many exciting opportunities for investment that will enhance our town. We may be investing in a much-needed playing field, plans for a consolidated home for our Park & Rec and Council on Aging programming, and of course our schools. The community campus—the schools and the community center—are at the beginning stages of planning. The potential addition of a playing field at the Wang property is a fully developed proposal. These are immediate needs that require our attention and funds. In addition, ideas for investing in our South Lincoln business district, a potential relocation of our DPW, roadway and bike path projects, more open space, and large land acquisitions all may require our attention and tax dollars in the future.

Finding a way to balance so that we can continue to invest and preserve our small-town character will be a challenge not just to town leadership, but also to all. It will require active engagement—volunteering on committees, attending meetings, providing comments and critiques early in planning processes, and above all, open communication and coordination between all aspects of work. Town Meeting is the starting point. In the future, it will also provide critical decision points in the process determining final projects and in finding and maintaining balance.

Town Meeting matters. Your participation matters this Saturday, March 25. Be there.

Sincerely,

Sara Mattes
71 Conant Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: Vander Meulen ‘won my vote’

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To the editor:

I am writing today as the election for town selectman draws near. Myself and a few of my neighbors had the pleasure to meet Allen Vander Meulen regarding his candidacy. One thing I was struck by was his ability to truly listen to our questions and concerns. As Allen described his inclusive agenda for his position, if elected, it really honored all citizens in Lincoln. Allen offered a genuine kindness; he is approachable and has the ability to balance the boundary between the big picture and all of us whom are part of that picture. He won my vote along with many of my neighbors.

Sincerely,

Tara Rachel Jones
83 Wells Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

News acorns

Historical Society hosts talk

The Lincoln Historical Society will host a talk, book-signing and reception, with Donald L. Hafner, captain of the Lincoln Minute Men and author of William Smith, Captain: Life and Death of a Soldier of the American Revolution on Sunday, April 2 at 3 p.m. in the Lincoln Public Library.

Holy Week and Easter schedule at St. Anne’s
  • Sunday, April 9 — Palm Sunday services at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.
  • Thursday, April 13 — commemoration of the Last Supper with a Maundy Thursday service at 7 p.m. The service includes foot-washing and Holy Eucharist.
  • Friday, April 14 — two Good Friday services: one at noon with the Passion gospel and venerating the cross, and a family service at 4 p.m.
  • Saturday, April 15 — celebration of Holy Saturday with the Great Vigil of Easter beginning at 7 p.m. We kindle the new fire and light a new Paschal candle, and then read bible stories by candlelight. The service ends with the first Eucharist of Easter.
  • Sunday, April 16 —Holy Eucharist with special music and flowers at both 8:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. (On April 16, there is not a Still Your Soul service.)

All are welcome at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church, located at 147 Concord Road.

Jennifer Glass, candidate for selectman in Monday’s election, braved the cold on Wednesday to meet residents including Rick Mandelkorn at the transfer station (right) and hand out flyers.

Letter to the editor: background on accessory apartment warrant articles

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To the editor:

Lincoln is renowned for its creative and resourceful strategies for developing affordable housing while working diligently to maintain its small-town character. Lincoln has a long history of addressing the systemic roots of economic and social inequity, as seen in the diversity of its housing stock and its inventory of affordable housing. Unlike most Massachusetts cities and towns, Lincoln has provided affordable housing entirely through its own local initiatives: by adopting zoning incentives, granting special permits, and investing local revenues and Community Preservation Act funds.

Lincoln has achieved the state’s 10 percent affordable housing goal without ever having to issue a Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit. This is an amazing achievement since most towns only achieve 10 percent when mandated to. A Chapter 40B Comprehensive Permit enables developers to bypass most local permit approval processes and local zoning bylaws without Town Meeting approval, leaving the town and neighbors’ minimal recourse and control over the density or design of the project.

While Lincoln’s track record is impressive, by 2020 Lincoln’s affordable housing inventory projection, based on current data, might decrease below 10 percent, leaving Lincoln vulnerable to 40B development. Diversity remains important to Lincoln, as evidenced by the town’s vision statement; but today, residents also recognize that creating affordable housing will help to protect the town from large, unwanted Chapter 40B developments. To meet these challenges, Lincoln will need to remain innovative and proactive in its housing policies and initiatives.

About 15 years ago, one of Lincoln’s innovative strategies was to develop an affordable accessory apartment bylaw. The bylaw was successful, as some homeowners took advantage of the zoning incentives to create affordable units. However, these units did not count toward Lincoln’s affordable housing inventory because they did not meet Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) regulations. A few years ago, DHCD issued new guidelines, making it easier for homeowners to comply with DHCD regulations and permit affordable accessory apartments to be included in a town’s affordable housing inventory.

For the past two years, the Housing Commission’s primary focus has been working toward the development of an Affordable Accessory Apartment Program to capture accessory apartments for the subsidized housing inventory. Warrant Article 12 creates the foundation for the Affordable Accessory Apartment Program by revising the current bylaw to conform to DHCD regulations.

While incorporating DHCD regulations into the current bylaw, it was necessary to re-organize the bylaw to distinguish between requirements and procedures, and to improve the overall organization and clarity of language. The only substantive changes were made to the affordable accessory apartment section of the bylaw, not to accessory apartments or multiple accessory apartments.

Warrant Article 12 is a new “tool” to help Lincoln create affordable units to maintain Lincoln’s affordable housing stock at 10 percent while the Affordable Housing Coalition looks for new opportunities to create affordable housing.

Warrant Article 13 will provide an opportunity for homeowners participating in the Affordable Accessory Apartment Program to receive a tax exemption on the portion of the building (not land) that is used for affordable housing. Warrant Article 13 is contingent upon Warrant Article 12 passing.

Click here for more information on affordable accessory apartments and Lincoln’s Affordable Housing Program.

Sincerely,

The Lincoln Housing Commission (Allen Vander Meulen, chair; Diana Chirita, Peter Georgiou, Mary Sheldon, and Sharon Antia)

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: water bottle ban would hurt businesses

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To the editor:

I am writing in opposition to Article 41 of the March 25 Town Meeting Warrant, the proposed ban on the sale of water in non-reusable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles of one liter or less.

I have lived in Lincoln for more than 35 years. My family owns the two new restaurants in town, Trail’s End Café and Lincoln Kitchen. In Concord, we own another restaurant, Trail’s End Café, as well as Concord Convenience, a gas station/convenience store.

Concord’s ban on selling bottled water in such plastic containers of 1 liter or less has affected us negatively in a number of ways, while doing nothing to decrease the consumption of bottled water. Those who formerly bought bottled water from us in Concord include, among others, bikers, landscapers, snow plowers, tradesmen, town of Concord employees, those hosting workshops and meetings, families not wanting their children to drink carbonated and sugared beverages, and people who take medication in the course of the day. People have not stopped buying bottled water, but have gone elsewhere to get it. In addition to water, our customers once bought snacks, breakfast and lunch, gas, and convenience store products. These sales have declined. I expect that businesses in Lincoln, including ours, will suffer a similar decline in sales. This is particularly worrisome in a town that values a vibrant business district, but has a small potential customer base.

It is naïve to expect that customers will continue to do the rest of their shopping in a town that forbids a product they find essential. It is also naïve to expect that those wanting water will search out and use a public drinking fountain. In fact, I find such fountains to be unsanitary and would never allow my children to use them. Carrying around a plastic water bottle and refilling it from a public fountain or public bathroom also holds little appeal.

It is a mistake to demonize bottled water, a clean, healthy, and convenient product. The problem is a larger one, the disposal of recyclable materials into the overall waste stream. And this problem is solvable, without a water ban.

Our family is very mindful of environmental protection and carries our concerns into our business practices. We use biodegradable packaging; publicize, participate, and volunteer in recycling events; and, in Concord, have several recycling dumpsters. While I admire the Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School Environmental Club for its activism, I believe that its energy can be used more productively  in encouraging recycling and making sure that recycling containers are available wherever people congregate, eat, and drink healthy beverages, such as water.

Sincerely,

Carol White
38 Bedford Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Letter to the editor: 8th-graders ask for Town Meeting support

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To the editor:

Make way! Here comes the renowned eighth-grade Warrant Article Group! What, you ask? The Warrant Article Group is a group of eighth-graders who had a dream—a dream to learn more about local government. Led by the town clerk and the town moderator, we have been able to fulfill this dream. Now we have to get to Town Meeting.

This year we are aiming to add a set of benches to the school athletic fields. The need had come to our attention when our dear friend Maya informed us that in the Codman field, due to lack of space, people are often forced to put important belongings on the often muddy ground. In addition, currently we only have one set of benches and they are on the Brooks field.  Just recently we added more playing area at the Codman field, which means a higher demand for benches. The 15-foot weatherproof and portable benches we propose have shelves on top to provide extra space for belongings.

The Warrant Article Group has gained support from the School Committee, the Board of Selectmen, the Recreation Committee, and the Finance Committee. And we are hoping for support from you. See you at Town Meeting on March 25.

Sincerely,

Achla Gandhi (8th-grader, Lincoln School)
21 Juniper Ridge Rd.

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.

Correction

In a March 21 article about an upcoming public hearing on the cell tower at 295 Cambridge Turnpike, the location was misidentified as being behind Tracey’s Service Station. The tower is actually on property further east owned by Farrington Memorial between Page and Old County Roads. The article has been updated to reflect this correction.

Drumlin Farm prepares to build new Environmental Learning Center

A map of Drumlin Farm showing the education building (circled in red) and the Farm Life Center (circled in green). Click to enlarge.

As part of an ongoing series of upgrades, Drumlin Farm recently got permission to demolish its education building in preparation for erecting a new one.

The new Environmental Learning Center will be the hub for all of Drumlin Farm’s environmental education programming, including the summer camp. The current education building—which was built as an open screened shelter in the 1960s and later expanded, enclosed, and heated—“is in desperate need of replacement to reflect the volume and quality of programs we offer,”said Drumlin Farm Sanctuary Director Renata Pomponi.

Drumlin employs about 15 year-round educators and conducts about 40,000 educational programs (some off-site). Upcoming programs at the farm include Woolapalooza on March 25 and April vacation week activities for kids.

At 3,700 square feet, the Environmental Learning Center, which is being funded as part of Drumlin’s capital campaign, will be almost three times the size of the existing structure. It will be in the same location but turned 90 degrees, and solar panels will supply all of its energy.

In approving the old education building’s demolition in February, the Historical Commission reviewed the plans for the replacement and deemed it “sympathetic to the site, low, and not intrusive,” according to meeting minutes.

Several years ago, Drumlin replaced its Farm Life Center, where most programs that involve cooking take place. That building was recently awarded LEED Gold certification for green design and energy efficiency. Heating, cooling and lighting are powered by a solar array on the nearby sheep and goat barn, and some of the lumber used in construction was milled from trees harvested at Drumlin.

The farm’s New England Wildlife Explorations exhibit opened in November, replacing the old Drumlin Underground exhibit. As before, the facility houses rabbits, insects and other small wild animals, including the popular fox (who has more space than before), and the entire facility is handicapped-accessible. Additionally, the “green barn” was recently renovated to add two classrooms and a root cellar for storing produce year-round to enable Drumlin to expand its winter CSA.

Drumlin Farm hopes to renovate its wildlife care facility and will also continue to enhance its physical and programmatic resources to give people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds an opportunity to connect meaningfully to nature.

News acorns

Woolapalooza at Drumlin Farm

Celebrate the coming of spring at Drumlin Farm’s Woolapalooza annual festival featuring fiber, food, and fun on Saturday, March 25 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Highlights will include:

  • Sheep-shearing demonstrations
  • Live sheep herding with border collies
  • Sheep-to-sweater interpretive trail: Learn how wool becomes yarn, and make a craft to take home.
  • A hearty lunch made from Drumlin Farm’s own meat and potatoes (additional purchase necessary)
  • Local artisans demonstrating and selling handmade products

The event will run rain, shine, or light snow. No advance ticket purchase; walk-ins only. Mass Audubon members: $14. Nonmembers: $16. Children Under age 2: Free. Due to recent snowfall, parking at Drumlin Farm will be limited. We recommend arriving closer to 10 a.m. to secure a spot, but cannot guarantee that parking will be available throughout the day.

Chinese folk art performance

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School will host a Chinese Folk Art Workshop performance on Saturday, April 1 at 4 p.m. at the Kirshner Auditorium. The non-profit organization, which aims to promote interaction with and understanding of Chinese culture in the community, performs a variety of traditional Chinese folk arts such as dragon dance, lion dance, Taiwanese drums, Chinese yoyo and folk dance (click here for a video preview of the show). There will also be Chinese and other Asian crafts for kids outside the theater starting at 2 p.m., as well as food and drink available for sale. Tickets are $10. for adults and $8. for students. Questions? Email vivsicle@gmail.com or danielle_weisse@lsrhs.net. Proceeds will benefit the L-S Memorial School in Cambodia.

First Parish hosts open-house service

The First Parish in Lincoln will hold an “open house” worship service on Sunday, April 2 at 10 a.m. in the Parish House Auditorium (14 Bedford Rd.). If you’ve wanted to visit First Parish in Lincoln, this is the perfect day to do it. There will be members at the door to greet visitors and help them find seats. During the service, guests’ children are also invited to join our religious education programs (or the nursery, if toddler or preschool-aged). Following worship, children can plant a bulb out on the playground (or in the small downstairs classroom if it rains).

‘Europa, Europa’ to be screened

The Lincoln Library Film Society will show Europa, Europa on Thursday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. The movie (rated R, in German with English subtitles) directed by Agnieszka Holland is based on the true story of a Jewish teenager who survived World War II by passing as a Nazi Youth member. Movie style refreshments served.

Candidate for Selectman Allen Vander Meulen (second from left) gave out free coffee and talked to commuters at the Lincoln train station on Tuesday morning. See his campaign blog for more information.

Letter to the editor: proposed bag/bottle ban is ‘an infringement of consumer rights’

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(Editor’s note: The warrant articles in question would not ban all types of plastic bags and water bottles—see this February 28 Lincoln Squirrel story.)

To the editor:

There are two articles on the Town Meeting warrant that are of concern to Donelan’s Supermarkets. Article 41 and 42 propose to ban the use of plastic bags and bottled water in the town of Lincoln. Donelan’s shares the concerns of the proponents, the Lincoln Sudbury Environmental Club, regarding waste and its impact on our environment. However, these two articles will affect our business and your shopping trip to Donelan’s. All consumers should have the right to make their own decisions on safe and legal products for themselves and their family. To impose such a ban is an infringement of consumer rights.

Donelan’s spends a lot of time, energy, and resources on recycling. We keep shrinkwrap and corrugated cardboard out of the waste stream by having it compressed and bundled in our stores for recycling. We have an organic recycling program in our stores when perishable food cannot be donated to a local food bank or a local farmer. This program keeps food waste from entering the waste stream and in turn is made into useful compost. Our locations use new energy efficient equipment and lighting, and our Lincoln store was built with many recycled materials.

We also collect and recycle plastic bags, even from our competitors, and plastic wrapping material. Our Lincoln store manager reports that our collection bins are widely used and we are constantly having to empty them. Additionally, we encourage our customers to purchase reusable shopping bags, and we sell them at just about our cost. Donelan’s Supermarkets is a member of the Massachusetts Food Association. The Mass. Food Association and Donelan’s support a statewide recycling program that would include all elements of the waste stream, not just a narrow segment.

Currently, there is proposed state legislation banning plastic bags (editor’s note: see also this May 2016 Boston Globe article). The Mass. Food Association is working with the proponents on legislation that will address the issue statewide. Town-by-town bans create an un level playing field and creates confusion.

The proposed bottled water ban is of concern to Donelan’s and our industry. We understand that plastic bags and water bottles are the most vilified components of the waste stream. However, shouldn’t a solution encompass all items in the waste stream? Bottled water is a safe and legal product. In the case of a local emergency or catastrophe, it is vital.

Lincoln is a small community with a small local business component. The proposed ban on bottled water will hurt small local businesses like Donelan’s, local food shops, pizza shops, and convenience stores. In the case of Donelan’s, we need to be a full-service supermarket in Lincoln in order to compete and survive. Customers who purchase bottled water will not buy their groceries from Donelan’s and then go out of town for their bottled water. They will simply take their entire grocery shopping out of town, along with other potentially local business.

These two issues are more complex than the proponents may imagine and have long-lasting consequences. Individual selectman and town officials have expressed serious reservations, and we agree that more needs to be done before these bans are passed. The issues raised are bigger than us. These issues are state wide, nationwide, and global.

We hope that the dialogue on these important issues in our industry continues. The Mass. Food Association and Donelan’s Supermarkets are committed to working toward a comprehensive state wide recycling program that addresses all waste.

Sincerely,

Jack and Joe Donelan
256 Great Road, Suite 15, Littleton MA 01460

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to lincolnsquirrelnews@gmail.com. Letters will be edited for punctuation, spelling, style, etc., and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Letters containing personal attacks, errors of fact or other inappropriate material will not be published.