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

Two with Lincoln connections featured in new Thoreau film

“Henry David Thoreau,” a new three-part, three-hour film with two Lincoln-connected scholars among those involved, will air on Monday and Tuesday, March 30 (episodes 1 and 2) and March 31 at 9:00pm on PBS.

The film, directed by Erik Ewers and Christopher Loren Ewers and executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley, examines Thoreau’s life and work in the context of antebellum New England and the larger United States, as well as through the universal themes he focused on in his writings: an individual’s relationship to the state, how to live an authentic life, our connection to nature, and the impact of race on American life. Set against the political and social tensions of the mid-19th century, the film traces Thoreau’s journey from his early days in Concord, Massachusetts to his deep engagement with the moral crises of his time, including industrialization, slavery, war, and environmental degradation. Click here to see the trailer.

Larry Buell

Larry Buell of Lincoln, author of Henry David Thoreau: Thinking Disobediently, has been on the documentary’s advisory board from the start. “I was interviewed for possible footage in 2023 (most of which will end on the cutting room floor, I think), and also impaneled to critique the interim/rough version a year or so ago,” he told the Lincoln Squirrel. “I have very much enjoyed my modest but eye-opening role in contributing to the film’s evolution. I’ve participated in other documentaries in the past, but none so ambitious as this.”

Buell is the Powell M. Cabot Professor of American Literature Emeritus at Harvard University and has written and lectured worldwide on transcendentalism, American studies, and the environmental humanities.

Elise Lemire

Also featured in “Henry David Thoreau” is Elise Lemire, who grew up in Lincoln and whose mother still lives here. She was asked by the filmmakers to shoot an interview in Orchard House (Louisa May Alcott’s Concord home) as an expert on Thoreau’s writings about Concord’s slavery and post-slavery history.

Lemire is a professor of literature at SUNYs Purchase College. Her books include Black Walden: Slavery and Its Aftermath in Concord, Massachusetts. Last year, the Thoreau Society awarded her its Walter Harding Distinguished Achievement Award for her work on Thoreau.  

Other scholars, writers, and environmentalists featured in the film are Pico Ayer, Douglas Brinkley, Lois Brown, Kristen Case, Laura Dassow Walls, Clay Jenkinson, Robin Kimmerer, J. Drew Lanham, Bill McKibben, Michael Pollan, Rebecca Solnit, and more. The film is narrated by George Clooney and voices are provided by Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Tate Donovan (William Ellery Channing), Jeff Goldblum (Henry David Thoreau), and Meryl Streep (Lidian Emerson, Margaret Fuller, Mary Merrick Brooks, and Maria Thoreau).

The Thoreau Society in Concord is hosting several free public events with leading Thoreau scholars featured in the new documentary. The experts who helped shape the film will reflect on the themes introduced in each episode, discuss the historical context surrounding Henry David Thoreau, and share additional insights from the making of the documentary.

Legal notice: Historic District Commission (20 Lewis, 46 Bedford)

LEGAL NOTICE — HISTORIC DISTRICT COMMISSION

The Historic District Commission will hold a virtual online public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, to consider the following applications. Anyone wishing to be heard on these matters should be present at the designated time and place.

  • Charlene Jackson/DeAnna Bisson, 20 Lewis St., M/P 162-38-0, for re-roofing of the structure known as The Pickle Factory. 
  • John and Bettina Dee, 46 Bedford Rd., M/P 134-6-0, for removal of a greenhouse and constructing a four-season living area.

Anyone wishing to be heard on these matters should be present at the designated time and place.

Note that legal notices often must be posted twice by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.

Legal notice: ZBA (three properties)

LEGAL NOTICE — ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

The Zoning Board of the Appeals of the Town of Lincoln will hold a virtual online public hearing Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 7:00 P.M to hear and to act on the following petitions under the Zoning Bylaws:

New:

  • Nora Iluri, 7 Todd Pond Rd., M/P 162-20-0, for a variance to build a carport over existing paved spot.
  • Gabriel Almodovar and Stela Striligas, 25 Bypass Rd., M/P 110-8-0, for renewal of a special permit for an accessory apartment. 
  • Jane O’Rourke, 29 Lincoln Rd., M/P 143-4-0, for a special permit to construct a shed. 

Note that legal notices often must be posted twice by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.

Updates on several projects

Water main replacement

Bids for phase 2 of the Lincoln Road water main replacement project were opened earlier this month and the contract was awarded to N. Granese & Sons, Inc, with a low bid of $4.26 million. “After accounting for engineering costs and a 5% contingency, we project a remaining balance of approximately $237,000” in the project budget, DPW Superintendent Rick Nolli said.

Bedford Road drainage

Bedford Road between Five Corners and the well at the top of the hill will be closed at times for work to replace underground storm drains beginning on April 13 and finishing in June. During excavation for the phase 1 of the water main project, the town found that portions of the Bedford Road drainage system had deteriorated beyond repair. The $681,000 project (paid with state Chapter 90 funds) will replace the main drain line, side connections (laterals), catch basins, and manholes. See www.lincolnbigdig.com for updates.

A drawing of the Codman store project plans from October 2025. Click image to enlarge.

Codman Community Farms store

On March 24, the Select Board gave final approval for the project to expand and move the store at Codman Community Farms first detailed in October 2025. The $1.57 million project is being funded through a state grant and funds raised during the farm’s 50th anniversary as well as operating funds. Work is slated to begin soon and finish in November, when the large barn now housing the store will reopen for public events.

Ballfield Road

The Transportation Coalition has come up with preliminary designs for improvements To Ballfield Road for pedestrians and bicyclists as well as repaving that will start after the community center construction is complete next November. In the meantime, the group is recommending a three-week pilot closure of the “slip lane” used by drivers entering from the northeast to see if it improves safety. Working with bus drivers and the School Committee, police will monitor the area and document findings during the closure from April 27 to May 15. The project may be the topic at the March 2027 Annual Town Meeting, with work beginning that summer if all goes well.

Landfill solar

While almost all of the site work is done, the “on” switch has yet to be flipped for the landfill solar array as the town waits for Eversource to complete the interconnection from Route 2A to Mill Street. Officials now hope the array will be online by early May. 

Town Meeting 2026 preview

Here is some information and links to previous Lincoln Squirrel stories about some of the warrant articles that will be voted on at the Annual Town Meeting on Saturday, March 28. See the town web page above for the article list, warrant, and motions.

Town Meeting Study Committee (Article 3)

The TMSC will report on its recommendations for making Annual Town Meeting more efficient and transparent.

Community center update (Article 4)

Town budget and other allocations (Article 5 and others)

Lincoln-Sudbury Regional Agreement update (Article 33)

A vote to approve updates to the agreement (last updated in 1988) submitted by an inter-town group that bring the language into alignment with current state law and how the district operates today.

Dark Skies zoning bylaw amendment (Article 35)

The proposal would update Section 13 of the zoning bylaw to place more controls on the types and usage of outdoor lighting on new and substantially renovated buildings.

Request to ban on anticoagulant rodenticides (Article 26)

Planning Board votes 3–1 to endorse Dark Skies proposal

The Planning Board endorsed the proposed Dark Skies zoning amendment by a 3–1 vote on March 24, with board member Gary Taylor casting the only “nay” vote.

The proposal would tighten controls on exterior lighting for new construction and substantially renovated buildings while not affecting current structures… mostly. While all existing lighting is grandfathered, meaning residents with noncomplying lights would not be forced to replace them, one section of the amendment language (section 13.5.2a) stipulates that “installation or replacement of exterior luminaires” (fixtures) must comply with the new bylaw.

This means that while a lightbulb of an existing fixture may be replaced with a new bulb of the same type (as long as it’s not brighter or bluer than before), any new fixture on an existing home must comply with the new rules on shielding, brightness, color temperature, “light trespass” (excessive light shining onto a neighbor’s property) and hours of operation (lights must be turned off at 10:00pm in most cases, or activate only with motion detectors). 

This was the sticking point for Taylor “I’ve got serious concerns about this,” he said. “Anyone who replaces a light fixture anywhere in town [and having] to make it Dark Skies compliant raises all sorts of issues.”

Taylor also raise the issue of enforcement. “The building inspector doesn’t even work evenings so how is he going to be able to observe” an alleged violation?” he said. “That leaves it to someone ratting on their neighbor.” 

If a homeowner replaces an outside lightbulb, “you’re not even going to know it’s the wrong one unless you go over and unscrew it,” board member Susan Hall Mygatt said, adding that encouraging compliance is more a matter of “neighbors talking to neighbors” than town officials.

Dark Skies Subcommittee Co-chair Sherry Haydock noted that there’s already a process in place: residents can submit a Request for Enforcement form, but “realistically, how many people are going to rat on their neighbor if you replace a light on your doorstep?”

The Dark Skies proposal (click image to enlarge).

The aim is more to educate homeowners while concentrating enforcement efforts with the biggest offenders in terms of night lighting — large public and private buildings such as The Commons in Lincoln and the Department of Public Works, Haydock said. New multifamily housing is now permitted in some parts of town, “and if apartments come in, if we don’t pass this bylaw, they can leave their lights on all night long. As there’s more construction in town, we don’t want to see that.”

Resident Margaret Olson also objected to the proposal on two grounds. Rather than changing the zoning bylaw, the board should instead codify the rules into the site plan review process.

Secondly, sh said, “I don’t like the idea of having two classes of citizens — building vs. behavior. If 10:00 is important, it should apply to everyone… it does not feel right to me and does not feel like what Lincoln should be.”

Olson, the former chair of the Planning Board, lost her seat on the board in last year’s town election but is set to regain it next week because she is running unopposed for the seat of Craig Nicholson, who is not running for reelection.

Earlier this year, the subcommittee considered proposing a change to the town’s general bylaw rather than the zoning bylaw so the rules could be applied to existing buildings as well as new construction. But the Planning and Select Boards discouraged them from that approach, and Haydock admitted that there probably wasn’t enough voter support for such a move right now.

Approving the amendment would be “an opportunity to implement technology that makes the 10:00 [turn-off time] easy to achieve” with motion detectors and timers that won’t require future homeowners to actively turn off the lights each night,” board member Craig Nicholson said. “I don’t see it as a huge behavioral change.”

Over the course of the year, brand-new fixtures are not often installed in town, and Haydock reminded the board that existing noncompliant lightbulbs can be replaced with the same type. “This may apply to three buildings a year; this is not something that’s going to affect a lot of people,” she said.

Mygatt also disagreed with Olson’s site plan review idea since people who have already built their homes probably aren’t even aware of its stipulations. A bylaw change and the resulting efforts to spread the word means people “will be educated in a way they never will be by site plan review.”

At its March 23 meeting, the Select Board decided not to vote on whether to endorse the measure until the Planning Board acted the following night, though they scheduled a quick meeting right before the start of Town Meeting on Saturday to do so. The amendment has been endorsed by the Conservation Commission, Agricultural Commission, Historical Commission, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, and Save Lincoln Wildlife.

Planning Board member Rob Ahlert as well as Mygatt and Nichlson voted to endorse the measure. Chair Lynn DeLisi was not at the meeting.

Officials defend actions relating to the Hanscom misallocation issue

At two recent meetings, town officials sought to offer more detail about the Hanscom misallocation and pushed back against the idea that there had been actual mistakes by anyone.
 
In 2024, an outside consultant found that — under terms of the contract between Lincoln and the Department of Defense Educational Activities (DoDEA) then in effect — not enough money was allocated to the town from that contract for some expenses. The issue was raised by resident David Cuetos and eventually resulted in a review of the contract and a report by the Collins Center, which found that “some expenses, typically paid by the town on behalf of the Hanscom contract, were being funded by outdated methodologies,” School Committee Chair Matina Madrick said at the group’s March 19 meeting.
 
Since then, a revised allocation approach was adopted and about $560,000 has been returned to the town’s general fund for Hanscom pension liabilities in FY 2024 and FY2025, but resident David Cuetos and others have been trying to get the town to recover a further $1.5 million they say it is owed from the Hanscom reserve fund.
 
Cuetos et al maintain that the town should also get reimbursed for misallocations for several earlier years, but the Collins Center report did not address that specifically.

“The amount paid for these years is the difference between what was already paid and the amount if the new methodology had been applied to these contract years. These are the only past years for which actuarial determined contributions are available,” Madrick said.
 
The report — which was issued about a year before the current contact with DoDEA was signed — updated the methodologies for determining pension payments and indirect cost payments to the town. It made numerous recommendations for improving town and Lincoln Public Schools policies and procedures as well as financial and accounting operations concerning Hanscom. The report also recommended seeking special legislation to establish the Hanscom contract as an “enterprise account operation.”
 
Some have expressed unfounded fears that town funds have gone directly to Hanscom when they shouldn’t have, but Madrick vigorously disputed that notion.
 
“At no time has the Lincoln School Committee taken money from the town general fund to pay for Hanscom expenses. The School Committee does not have the authority to move money from the town’s general fund,” she said. “The Hanscom reserve is entirely made up of DoDEA funds from the contract. There is no Lincoln tax levy that goes into the Hanscom reserve.”

As a result of the new methodologies, the annual payment for pension benefits has gone from roughly $200,000 to over $400,000 per year, and the indirect costs (the administrative costs the town incurs to run benefits and other administrative costs for the contract) have gone from $71,000 to close to $200,000, she said.

Madrick added that the Hanscom reserve “should be used primarily to protect the town from increased expenses at Hanscom due to a loss or change in the contract.” In that case, Lincoln would probably be solely responsible for educating the children who live on the base, and the increased expenses would include unemployment benefits for laid-off workers as well as pension and retiree benefits in addition to operating expenses for the Hanscom School.
 
“Additionally, the School Committee was cautious to commit too much money out of the reserve because of the new financial structure of the new DoDEA contract” that began on July 1, 2025, whose “revenue structure differs from the previous contract significantly.”
 
However, Cuetos said at the School Committee meeting that “several of the explanations offered for refusing [additional] reimbursement are not supported by the record” and said that Hanscom has been running an annual budget deficit for several years. He also argued that the School Committee does not have control of those funds by right (a notion that has been refuted by town counsel and others). He and others added that the town should “take a much more active role” in overseeing Hanscom funds.
 
The Select Board agreed at their March 23 meeting with the sentiment that other town officials should have some oversight over Hanscom finances. Board member Jennifer Glass went even further in advocating for consistency across other town departments.
 
“I agree a hundred percent,” board member Jim Hutchinson said. “If we do this for the School Committee, it better be the same for the Water Department, the library, or any other department that does any kind of budgeting or allocation of shared costs.” 
 
But Hutchinson also said he was “troubled” about the tone of some residents when discussing the issue. 
 
“I disagree with using the words ‘error’ and ‘mistake.’ I feel like that’s when you type in a wrong number to an Excel spreadsheet. I don’t think a stale or inaccurate estimate is an error or mistake. You make estimates all over the place when you make budgets every year,” he said. “I respectfully ask residents to think about the language they use when they talk about this topic.”
 
Nonetheless, there are still “significant misunderstandings and misstatements,” said resident Sarah Postlethwait. “I know it may look bad for the town to have a misallocation pointed out, but don’t try to put lipstick on a pig.” 

When Cuetos first raised the issue in 2022, he was “dismissed and denied,” she added. “Frankly, residents are being generous in describing it merely as a mistake.”
 
“I personally am sorry it took us so long to figure out what to do about that,” Hutchinson said earlier in the meeting.

My Turn: Payne explains proposed approach for FinCom appointments

By Andy Payne

I’m currently a candidate for Town Moderator. Should I be elected, this would be my approach to Finance Committee appointments. Town Hall is open for early voting now and the election is March 30, 2026.

The moderator’s role

Under Lincoln’s bylaws, the Town Moderator appoints members of the Finance Committee. Terms are three years, expiring at the close of Town Meeting, with new appointments made within 30 days. With seven seats on the committee, one to three seats come up in any given year.

This responsibility is one of the reasons the moderator is an elected position: residents choose the person they trust to make these appointments, and that accountability runs through the ballot box. In 2025, Town Meeting considered and rejected (80–345) a citizen’s petition to change this process. The current system reflects the town’s deliberate choice.

How I approach appointments

My process for filling expiring seats:

  • Talk with the outgoing moderator (in transition years) about committee context and history
  • Talk with the Finance Committee chair about the committee’s current needs, workload, and any skill or representation gaps
  • Talk with the holders of expiring seats to understand their interest in continuing to serve
  • Welcome outreach from any resident interested in serving, at any time throughout the year

Beyond individual qualities, I also think about the committee’s overall balance. When I served on FinCom, we advised the moderator on the value of diversity across several dimensions: gender, age, geographic location within town, parents with children in the schools, and the mix of quantitative and policy-oriented perspectives. No single appointment can cover all of that, but it’s worth keeping in mind as seats turn over.

This is my current approach, and I’m open to feedback on how to improve it.

Residents interested in the Finance Committee are welcome to contact me directly or sign up for a conversation through my open Zoom hours.

What the committee needs

The Finance Committee is Lincoln’s independent advisory body on budget and financial policy, reporting directly to Town Meeting. That role requires members who can work collaboratively across boards and committees, do careful analytical work, and understand that FinCom’s job is to advise Town Meeting on behalf of all residents, not to advance a personal agenda or substitute for the authority of elected boards like the Select Board or School Committees.

Also, municipal finance has a learning curve. New members typically need a full budget cycle before they’re fully effective, and the best committee members bring curiosity and patience alongside whatever expertise they arrive with.

The committee’s credibility depends on getting the numbers right. That means doing the homework, understanding the source data, and, critically, being willing to update analyses when presented with better information. Fincom’s recommendations carry weight at Town Meeting because residents trust that the committee has done careful, honest work and left the political decisions to residents.

Equally important is the ability to communicate complex financial information clearly. Town Meeting is the decision-making body, and residents deserve explanations they can follow. The best FinCom members can translate budget analyses and fiscal trade-offs into plain language that helps voters make informed decisions.

A note on volunteering

Lincoln is a town of about 8,000 people (with about 5,700 off-base), and like most small towns, we depend on volunteers willing to give their time to public service. Town staff is small, which makes volunteer committee work even more essential. In my experience, we do not have a surplus of residents lining up for committee seats.

I am grateful to everyone who serves, and I want the appointment process to encourage volunteerism.

Contact

If you’re interested in serving on the Finance Committee, or if you’d like to share your thoughts on what the committee needs, I’d welcome the conversation. You can reach me at andy+moderator@payne.org or sign up for a Zoom slot:

https://calendar.app.google/msFkWZDFA5PcW9rRA

“My Turn” is a forum for readers to offer their letters to the editor or views on any subject of interest to other Lincolnians. 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.

Legal notice: ZBA (61 Oxbow)

LEGAL NOTICE — ZONING BOARD OF APPEALS

The Zoning Board of the Appeals of the Town of Lincoln will hold a virtual online public hearing Thursday, April 2, 2026, at 7:00 P.M. to hear and to act on the following petitions under the Zoning Bylaws:

New:

  • Floriain Allroggen/Amanda Millis, 61 Oxbow Rd., M/P 174-11-0 for a variance to build a garage with studio above.

Note that legal notices often must be posted twice by law. For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.

Legal notice: Order of Notice (BSL/BN Commons Licensee Inc.)

Editor’s note: This is one of three repeated legal notices required by law. BSL/BN is the prior holder of the on-premises liquor license at The Commons in Lincoln. The dissolution will have no impact on the current liquor license holder at The Commons, nor any impact on The Commons.

ORDER OF NOTICE

WHEREAS a civil action has been commenced by BSL/BN Commons Licensee Inc. (“BSL/BN”), seeking a petition for dissolution, pursuant to G.L. c. 180, §11. Any person who has a claim against BSL/BN may present themselves to the Middlesex Superior Court, 200 Tradecenter Dr. Woburn, MA on April 21, 2026 in Courtroom 720 at 2:00 p.m. and address the Court.

We COMMAND YOU if you intend to make any defense, that on April 21or within such further time as the law allows you, to cause your written pleading to be filed in the office of the Clerk of Court named above, in said Commonwealth, and further that you defend against said action according to law if you intend any defense, and that you do and receive what the Court shall order and adjudge herein. If you do not, said action may be adjudged and orders entered in your absence.

It is ORDERED that notice of this action be given by publishing, once a week for three successive weeks, the last publication to be at least 20 days before said return date, in the Lincoln Squirrel.

For previous legal notices and details on how to submit a legal notice to the Lincoln Squirrel, click here.