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

Lincoln’s tax bills are third-highest in state but slow growing

A graphic in a March 24 Boston Globe article about property taxes reveals that Lincoln has the third-highest average property tax bill in Massachusetts. The only municipalities with higher average bills (for cities and towns where data was available) were Weston and Sherborn. The top 10 were as follows:

Weston $18,059
Sherborn $14,720
Lincoln $14,367
Dover $13,715
Wellesley $13,326
Carlisle $13,127
Concord $12,890
Lexington $12,191
Wayland $12,049
Sudbury $11,598
Cohasset $11,114

 

On the other hand, the pace at which Lincoln’s tax bills have been increasing since 1999 is the lowest among eight area towns, according to data presented by the Finance Commission at Town Meeting last month. Lincoln’s average bill has gone up by 4.5 percent during that time, while Lexington’s has gone up the fastest at 6.3 percent:

tax-compare

Growth in average property tax bills in Lincoln compared to other area towns since 1999 (click to enlarge).

Taxes in fiscal 2016

In fiscal 2016, Lincoln’s average tax bill is expected to rise by 3.9 percent (it won’t become official until the town sets the tax rate in July). Most of that increase is due to the appropriations at Town Meeting of $750,000 for a school project feasibility study and $75,000 for a school campus master plan. Without those two items, the average tax bill would have gone up by only 0.8 percent.

Since 2011, the average Lincoln tax bill has risen by an average of 4.26 percent:

Fiscal year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Total
2011-2015
Change in average
tax bill in Lincoln		 6.08% 7.48% -0.51% 3.68% 4.54% 4.26%
Change in average
home value in Lincoln		 -1.64% -3.47% -3.32% 2.45% 6.75% 0.16%

 

 

 

 

 

 

News acorns – 4/14/15

acornTonight: talk on Revolutionary battlefield

“Discovering Parker’s Revenge Battlefield: April 19, 1775″ is the topic of a talk on Tuesday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. The speaker will be Dr. Meg Watters of PBS’s “Time Team America” and principal investigator for the ongoing Parker’s Revenge Project at Minute Man National Historical Park. She’ll discuss efforts to better understand the Battle Road engagement between the retreating British regulars and the militia and Minute Men of Lexington, Lincoln and surrounding towns on April 19, 1775. The site is on the border of Lincoln and Lexington within the national park.

Dr. Watters received her B.A. in classics from Trinity College, an M.A. in GIS and remote sensing in archaeology from Boston University, and a Ph.D. in new methods for archaeo-geophysical data visualization at the University of Birmingham, where she helped build the IBM Visual and Spatial Technology Centre, where she provided geophysical survey expertise.

The talk is one of several observances of the start of the Revolutionary War. For more information, click on one of the event titles on the Lincoln Minute Men website and battleroad.org.

HATS to meet with MBTA official

On Thursday, April 23, the Hanscom Area Towns Committee (HATS) will host Paul Regan, Executive Director of the MBTA Advisory Board. The meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. at the Town Office Building.

Regan plans to discuss a broad range of topics related to the current state and future of the MBTA, including general matters raised by the recent winter’s challenges and the recently-issued report of the Governor’s special commission, as well as specific matters of concern to the four HATS communities. Also on the agenda for April 23 are updates on the Route 2 project and a status report from the MassPort/Hanscom Field Community Advisory Committee.

The public is welcome to attend all HATS meetings, which may also be viewed live on Lincoln public access media via lincolntv.pegstream.com, Verizon channel 33, or Comcast channel 8, or beginning several days after the meeting at lincolntv.pegcentral.com or on the local cable channels.

HATS is an alliance among the Selectmen and other officials of the towns of Lincoln, Concord, Lexington and Bedford that focuses on Hanscom Air Force Base, Hanscom Air Field, transportation and other regional matters. HATS recently had discussions with MassPort CEO Tom Glynn regarding MassPort’s strategic plans, various business and government experts helping manage Rt. 128 and related traffic concerns, the Air Force Base’s local commander, and senior representatives of the Governor’s Military Assets Task Force. For more information about HATS and access to agendas, minutes and videos, please visit www.hanscomareatownscommittee.com.

Film on wilderness preservation

Also on Thursday, April 23, join the Walden Woods Project for a special screening of a new film by Fulcrum Publishing, “Wilderness in America: From Conquest to Conservation.”  The 55-minute film chronicles the evolution of wilderness preservation in America over four centuries that ultimately led to the protection of 110 million acres.

The film will be shown at the Walden Woods Project’s Thoreau Institute at 44 Baker Farm Rd. in Lincoln. Free admission. To reserve seats, call (781) 259-4707 or email wwproject@walden.org. A wine and cheese reception, sponsored by the Cheese Shop in Concord will be held at 7 p.m. followed at 7:30 p.m. with remarks by  Robert C. Baron, Fulcrum’s founder and president, and the film screening.

The Walden Woods Project is a nonprofit organization that preserves the land, literature and legacy of Henry David Thoreau to foster an ethic of environmental stewardship and social responsibility. Click here for other outdoor springtime activities coming up in Lincoln.

COA trip to Mt. Auburn Cemetery

See some of the fascinating and beautiful places and monuments in this amazing historical and nature site on Friday, May 22 with the Council on Aging. After the tour of the cemetery, the group will go to Belmont Center for lunch at Asai. Each person will pay for their own lunch and cash is recommended. The trip is limited to 30 people. The Doherty’s bus will be at Lincoln Mall at 9 a.m. and arrive back in Lincoln around 2 p.m. For more information, contact Donna Rizzo at donna@ecacbed.com or Claire Mount at mounts781@gmail.com.

Chief talks about police operations, crime prevention

Police-Cap(Editor’s note: This is Antia’s report on a March 25 “Fireside Chat” with Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Kennedy sponsored by the Council on Aging.)

By Sharon Antia

One of the pressing questions we had was in relation to the police log that appears in most every issue of the Lincoln Journal. There is one entry that finds its way into the log quite frequently that none of us understood, and that is “the box.” [Read more…] about Chief talks about police operations, crime prevention

News acorns – 4/13/15

acornFarm and third-graders make syrup for charity

Matlock Farm is selling maple syrup they made with the help of Lincoln School third-graders and donating the proceeds to charity.

After the children collected sap from trees at the school and did a math/science project on the amount they got. Then Nancy Bergen and Ephraim Flint of Matlock Farm added sap from other trees in town and boiled it in their evaporator. The third-graders chose UNICEF as the charity to receive the proceeds from the sale of syrup. Anyone interested in purchasing some should come to Matlock Farm at 27 Lexington Rd. or call ahead to see if they’re at home (781-259-8402). Quart jars of syrup are $25 and there are a few pint jars that sell for $12.50.

This is the second year of the maple syrup collaboration. Organizers hope to beat last year’s tally of $550 that was donated to Partners in Health.

Lincoln Minute Men events coming up

The Lincoln Minute Men (LMM) invite residents to the following activities in the days before and after Patriots Day. For more information, click on one of the event titles on the Lincoln Minute Men website and battleroad.org. For photos of past events, visit the LMM Facebook page.

Tuesday, April 14

  • 7:30 p.m. — Talk on “Finding Parker’s Revenge Battlefield” (Bemis Hall)

Saturday, April 18

  • 9:30 a.m. to noon — Lincoln Minute Men interpret the home of William Smith and his wife Catherine (Route 2A across from Bedford Road intersection)
  • 2 p.m. — Parker’s Revenge Battle (behind Visitors Center, 250 N. Great Road, Lincoln)
  • 4 p.m. — Battle of Tower Park (1200 Massachusetts Ave., Lexington). The Lincoln Minute Men inhabit the 1775 home of their first captain. Later, hundreds of British and Colonial soldiers recreate the running battle along the deadly stretch of road on the border of Lincoln and Lexington. Then, both sides regroup to battle at Tower Park in Lexington.

Sunday, April 19

  • 2-3:30 p.m. — Lincoln Salute: Festival of 18th-century fife and drum music (Pierce Park)
  • 7 p.m. — Alarm and muster (lawn opposite the First Parish Church, 3 Bedford Rd., Lincoln). An ancient Revolutionary War veteran reminisces about those fateful early hours of April 19, 1775. Capt. William Smith rides down the hill to alarm the citizens of Lincoln. Bells ring, drums roll and the LMM fall in on the steps of the church to receive their marching orders to defend Concord. Then march with the LMM to Pierce House for a firing demonstration.

Monday, April 20

  • 6:45 a.m. — Dawn tribute and march to the Concord parade (start outside Bemis Hall). The LMM salute the Patriots buried in the Old Meeting House Cemetery as they emerge from the mists of the burial ground for roll call. Fifers play a lament and the muskets fire a volley. Then join the LMM on their three-mile walk to Concord amid colonial music and musket fire for the parade that begins at 9 a.m. All ages welcome.

Sunday, April 26

  • 2:30 p.m. — Old Burial Ground tribute (starts at Pierce House). –March with the LMM and the regulars from Pierce House to the Old Burial Ground on Lexington Road to honor the Patriot dead and five British soldiers killed in Lincoln along the Battle Road. Hear Mary Hartwell tell her story of their burial. Ceremonies include music and musket salutes by both sides. A reception follows at Pierce House at 4 p.m. courtesy of the Lincoln Historical Society.

Hanscom crash due to pilot error, report says

A Gulfstream IV jet. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

A Gulfstream IV jet. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

The fatal plane crash at Hanscom Field last May happened because the pilots didn’t release the gust lock, a mechanism designed to prevent wind damage to the plane when on the ground and freeezes the plane’s rudder and elevators in place, according to an April 8 Boston Globe article.

A National Transportation Safety Board investigation revealed that the Gulfstream IV private jet was on its takeoff run from but could not get airborne because of the locked controls and the pilots weren’t aware of the problem until it was too late, according to the Globe. The plane careened off the end of the runway, hit a lighting rig and antenna, and burst into flames, killing all seven people aboard, including Philadelphia Inquirer owner Lewis Katz, who was flying home from a party at the home of Concord resident Doris Kearns Goodwin.

Forty-six years earlier, there was another fatal plane crash at Hanscom. On May 22, 1968, a C-54 military transport plane crashed just off Route 2A in Lincoln, killing one and injuring three.

News acorns – 4/9/15

Film series about “odd jobs”

Job, profession, vocation, career—what we do or did to “earn our living” is who we were or are or will become. Does it then follow that the “oddest” jobs just might attract the oddest people, who might then provide the most peculiar and engaging stories, true or fictitious? Find out in the “Odd Jobs” film series presented this month by the Lincoln Library Film Society:

  • Tuesday, April 14 at 7 p.m. — Kitchen Stories (Salmer fra kjøkkenet), 2003. In Norwegian and Swedish with English subtitles. 95 minutes.
  • Tuesday, April 21 at 7 p.m  — Watchtower (Gözetleme kulesi), 2012. In Turkish with English subtitles. 96 minutes.
  • Tuesday, April 28 at 7 p.m — Pickpocket, 1959. In French with English subtitles. 75 minutes.
Marimekko's Unikko fabric by Maija Isola.

Marimekko’s Unikko fabric by Maija Isola.

Talk on Design Research store on April 26

Put on your new or vintage Marimekko dress and dig out your beloved Sarpaneva casserole pot and bring them to “Remembering Design Research,” a modern design program in Lincoln on Sunday, April 26 at 3 p.m. in Bemis Hall.Former Design Research (D/R) co-owner Jane Thompson’s slide show will describe the heydays of the pioneering modern design store in Harvard Square (1953-1979), and textile historian Susan Ward will illustrate the history of the Finnish Marimekko fabric and fashion company, whose brightly colored fabrics and dresses were one of D/R’s mainstays. There’ll also be groovy ’60s music, a Marimekko fashion show, a show-and-tell, book signing, silent auction, raffle prizes and fabulous Finnish treats. Tickets are $27. More information is available on the Friends of Modern Architecture/Lincoln’s website.

Registration open for Minuteman postgrad, community programs

Minuteman Technical Institute (MTI), part of part of Minuteman High School, is now accepting applications for September 2015 admission into nine different postgraduate programs: advanced automotive technology, building construction technology, cosmetology, culinary arts/baking, dental assisting, early education and care, electrical wiring, hospitality management and plumbing. Minuteman Community Education also offers April vacation and summer programs for children up to grade 12 as well as continuing education for adults.

Adults may apply to an MTI program to hone their skills in a technical area, retrain for new employment or learn new skills. MTI offers interest-free payment plans for all of its programs, and students who live in one of Minuteman’s 16 district towns receive a 50 percent tuition discount. Open houses with more information about postgraduate programs and the application process will be held on May 12 and June 9 at 6 p.m. at the school (758 Marrett Rd., Lexington). For more information and to apply, go to www.MinutemanTI.org or call 781-861-7151.

Spring Fling features a capella group, puppets

Celebrate the end of a long winter at the Lincoln Public Library’s Spring Fling on Saturday, May 2 from 1–4 p.m. At 1 p.m., Tufts University’s co-ed a cappella group the Amalgamates will perform. The group has released 13 CDs and has performed at venues including Fenway Park and the National Portrait Gallery in London. At 3 p.m., the Toe Jam Puppet Band will be on hand to perform interactive songs, stories and& puppets, including a barn dance and a car wash song where kids get sprayed. Refreshments will be served throughout the afternoon.

Silver to be auctioned to Lincoln residents on Sunday

Florence Hollingsworth

Florence Hollingsworth

Silver pieces designed and wrought by Florence Hollingsworth as well as silverware and jewelry owned by her will be auctioned at the Parish House of the First Parish in Lincoln (14 Bedford Road) on Sunday, April 12 beginning at 3 p.m.

Per the instructions of Hollingworth’s will, the silver auction is open only to residents of Lincoln, Mass., residents and to her former students. [Read more…] about Silver to be auctioned to Lincoln residents on Sunday

Letter to the editor: “unwanted” things tend toward North Lincoln

letter

To the editor:

I totally agree with Eleanor Fitzgerald’s thoughts about the meager representation of North Lincoln on some of our boards. I don’t have “skin in the game” since I live in South Lincoln, but I have noticed over 40-plus years that the unwanted things tend to land in North Lincoln, which is already burdened by Hanscom and all the traffic it creates. Some kind of proportional representation might be a solution, if not on the Board of Selectmen (assuming we are satisfied with only three selectmen), then definitely on larger boards such as Planning, Zoning, etc.

Sincerely,

Diana Abrashkin
South Great Road

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, 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: Marshall thanks voters

letter

To the editor:

I wish to express my sincere gratitude to the voters in Lincoln and Sudbury who supported my reelection to the Lincoln-Sudbury School Committee for a third term.

Thank you in particular to those who hosted and kept an eye on my campaign signs in their yard through the weeks of melting snow and wind, to those who wrote thoughtful and gracious letters to each town’s papers on my behalf, and to the brave souls who held signs for me at the polls, who weathered late March snow and wind and kept their humor.

We have a lot of work to continue, a great administration that deserves our attention and support, and students who are able to avail themselves of an incredibly rich educational and personal growth opportunity at Lincoln-Sudbury. Growing the relationships between our towns and our town officials has been a hallmark of our work over the past three years. Continuing that growth is critical. I look forward to facilitating increased opportunities for our towns to better know our excellent high school and each other. I am excited to continue my work with colleagues on the Committee whom I deeply respect and enjoy.

Nancy Marshall
Beaver Pond Road

Letters to the editor must be signed with the writer’s name and street address and sent via email to news@lincolnsquirrel.com. Letters must be about a Lincoln-specific topic, 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.