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

Dozens at forum urge a go-slower approach to HCA compliance

More than 200 people turned out (virtually) to ask questions, urge a go-slow approach and ask for more options at a public forum on the most recent proposals for complying with the Housing Choice Act.

A new group called the Lincoln Residents for Housing Alternatives (LRHA) formed to propose other options that would comply with the state law but concentrate fewer housing units in the mall/train station area. Their website asks for a “full spectrum of options, not just a small subset chosen by a few” and presents 18 alternatives that they say will satisfy the state’s complex requirements.

The group has also asked the Housing Choice Act Working Group to decouple the mall property from all of the proposals. Several attendees at the online forum also asked to have a “none of the above” option on the nonbinding ballot at the December 2 Special Town meeting where a ranked-choice “sense of the town” vote aims to settle on a single option that will be formally voted on at the Annual Town Meeting in March.

Among the LRHA’s 55 members are residents who have posted numerous emails to LincolnTalk to ask questions and voiced objections. On November 7, HCAWG posted a document with detailed answers to dozens of questions it’s received from residents. 

Town sentiment among those who’ve participated in public meetings has seesawed over time. Residents favored a plan that would concentrate allowed multifamily housing in South Lincoln, which is reflected in Option C that the town recently submitted to the state for a compliance check. In recent weeks, LRHA members have urged HCAWG to locate more of the required 635 housing units in North Lincoln and demanded that it offer some of the group’s alternative options on December 2.

A summary of the four options to be considered on December 2 (click image to enlarge).

Resisting pressure

But HCAWG has thus far stood firm in mandating a choice among just four options — Option C and three more (D1, D2, and D3) that were formulated after the second wave of public input and presented on October 24. “As a working group, we’ve decided to stick with the range of proposals that we have right now,” Select Board member Jennifer Glass at the November 8 forum (slide deck here). On November 21, “we will have a discussion as to what the final details are.”

The HCA issue is a discussion item but is not on the actual warrant on December 2 “under current planning,” Glass said. The Special Town Meeting is intended to focus on votes around the community center and expansion of The Commons at Lincoln. “We thought originally we would make a decision [on an HCA option] based on the State of the Town meeting, but we heard from the community that it was important to think about some additional options.”

Another objection to the current proposals is that, although they require at least 10% of the multifamily units to be affordable, they do not meet the town’s higher mandated proportion. The state required towns seeking to require more than 10% do a feasibility study to see if a higher percentage was economically feasible for developers. The study showed that it was not, mainly due to the high interest rates and escalating construction costs — a situation not unique to Lincoln.

“There are lots of projects in Boston already permitted but not being built due to the economic climate. That’s a major problem with getting these multifamily projects off the ground,” said Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie, Director of Planning and Land Use.

Seeking a longer process

“Let’s slow it down, go at our pace, comply [with the HCA] but move very cautiously and do it in a deliberative and thoughtful manner that engages more people,” Sara Mattes said. “We’re fast-tracking for something that’s not due until December 2024,” when commuter rail towns like Lincoln must have new multifamily zoning in place.

“How we act will have a significant impact, both positive and negative, on the quality of life in Lincoln,” said Susan Hall Mygatt, who echoed others in asking for a “none of the above” option on December 2. “We’re trying to meet an aggressive timetable that’s well in advance of the timetable demanded by the state… we have the time to figure this out.”

“Going slow is not code for ‘not in my back yard’,” said Katherine McVety.

Others said that having rezoning the mall, having the Rural Land Foundation partner with a developer such as Civico to redevelop it, and then eventually leasing or selling it ceded too much control. “The mall does warrant redevelopment, but the way it’s been bundled with the HCA is not the way we should go about it,” said William Broughton.

Michele Barnes, chair of the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust/RLF Board of Trustees, argued that the RLF was aiming to continue fulfilling its preservation mission and has been propping up the mall for some time. “We’ve taken on debt and put our own endowment into the mall to keep the mall as vibrant as we can. Everything we’ve done at the mall and seek to do is for the ends of the town because our mission is to serve the town and to preserve Lincoln’s rural character,” she said. 

David Hobson asked what would happen if the town missed the December 2024 deadline — “it might be worth taking that penalty if we retain control,” he said. But Vaughn-Mackenzie explained that the town would go to the back of the line or lose eligibility for MassWorks grants, which will be vital for rebuilding the water mains between Bedford Road and Route 117 — a project estimated to cost $2.75 million per mile.

“My preference is to have at least most of the housing potentially buildable,” as opposed to including The North Lincoln parcels in the multifamily district, said Ken Hurd. The Lincoln North property already contains a large office building. As for Battle Road Farm, even if rezoning allowed more multifamily housing there, nothing would actually be built because every condo owner would have to agree, as the common property is also owned by them. “That’s almost like saying we don’t want to supply housing,” he said. “I don’t think we need more choices if we’re going to stay somewhat in the spirit of the law.”

“The state intends this as a very long-range plan — they understand that some options may be more interesting to developers than others,” Glass said.

Police log for Oct. 29 – Nov. 7, 2023

October 29

Old Weston Road, Wayland (2:09 a.m.) — Officers from the Lincoln Police Department assisted the Wayland Police and Fire Departments with a search for a missing female. The party was located approximately three hours later in the town of Weston.

Old Sudbury Road (10:23 a.m.) — Police were called to locate a missing person. The party was located approximately 20 minutes later.

Lincoln Police Department (11:25 a.m.) — An individual who had lost their wallet inquired if one had been turned in to the Police Department. Nothing had been turned in yet.

Oriole Landing (12:22 p.m.) — A concerned individual called to request a well-being check. Police and fire units responded. The party was fine.

Lowell Road, Concord (4:25 p.m.) — An officer responded to the town of Concord for mutual aid to help locate a missing person. The request was cancelled shortly afterwards when the missing party was located.

Tower Road (4:19 p.m.) — Police conducted a well-being check. The party was fine.

October 30

Tower Road (2:48 p.m.) — An Amazon truck got stuck after attempting to make a turn. A tow was called to winch the vehicle out.

October 31

Ent Road, Hanscom AFB (1:11 p.m.) — Police went to Hanscom Air Force Base for a mutual aid response.

Davison Drive (1:21 p.m.) — A person called to report that a landscape company had parked on Davison Drive while working at a residence on Page Road. An officer spoke to the landscapers.

Old Sudbury Road (3:00 p.m.) — An individual called to report a young black and tan dog was near the roadway unattended. Animal Control was notified.

Old County Road (5:19 p.m.) — An officer responded to speak with a pedestrian regarding an encounter they had with an operator of a vehicle.

Sandy Pond Road (5:38 p.m.) — An individual called to report a person fishing in Flint’s Pond. When an officer arrived, they were unable to locate anyone fishing.

Cambridge Turnpike westbound (7:35 p.m.) — A caller reported a strong odor of natural gas in the area. National Grid was notified and dispatching a representative to the area.

Paul Revere Lot, North Great Road (9:26 p.m.) — A deceased deer was reported in the middle of the road. National Park rangers were able to move the carcass. MassDOT was notified.

November 1

Cambridge Turnpike westbound (5:39 a.m.) — A motorist called to report striking road debris that disabled their vehicle. Massachusetts State Police were notified.

Ridge Road (1:03 p.m.) — An individual called requesting to speak to an officer regarding an ongoing issue.

North Great Road (5:53 p.m.) — A motorist reported an injured deer on the side of the road. An officer checked the area but was unable to locate the animal.

Cambridge Turnpike westbound (10:30 p.m.) — An officer came upon a disabled motor vehicle. A motorist was in the process of finishing changing a tire and were on their way moments later.

Tower Road (11:07 p.m.) — A caller reported hearing screeching tires. An officer checked the area but was unable to locate the vehicle causing the noise.

November 2

Minuteman Technical High School (3:43 p.m.) — A 911 call was received for a vehicle that had driven off the roadway. The incident occurred in the town of Lexington.

Partridge Lane (6:39 p.m.) — An individual called to speak with an officer regarding an ongoing issue.

November 3

Minuteman Technical High School (10:23 a.m.) — Police were called to the school for an incident. An investigation is ongoing.

Garland Road (7:14 p.m.) — An individual called to report a missing person. The missing party was located a short time later.

November 4

Blackburnian Road (11:37 a.m.) — An individual called to speak with an officer regarding a suspicious incident. A short time later, the incident was resolved.

November 5

Laurel Drive (2:05 p.m.) — A caller reported a deceased deer in a stream. An officer responded.

South Great Road (2:07 p.m.) — A caller reported their car window was shattered and an item had been removed. An investigation is ongoing.

November 6

Huckleberry Hill (9:13 a.m.) — A resident spoke with an officer regarding a parking complaint.

Cambridge Turnpike eastbound (11:34 a.m.) — Lincoln Police assisted Massachusetts State Police with an Uber driver who had requested assistance.

Canoe landing parking lot (12:29 p.m.) — An officer spoke to two individuals at the canoe landing before they were on their way.

Tower Road (1:25 p.m.) — An individual called to request assistance with an ongoing matter.

Cambridge Turnpike westbound (5:02 p.m.) — Massachusetts State Police responded to a two-vehicle crash at the intersection.

November 7

Cerulean Way (11:08 a.m.) — The Fire Department responded to a call about a smoking electrical box.

Trapelo Road (4:48 p.m.) — A motorist struck a deer, which ran off into the woods. The operator was uninjured and the vehicle was towed from the scene.

Veteran recalls military service and how it shaped his life

Editor’s note: This article was written and submitted by Montagne Powers, whose clients include The Commons in Lincoln.

Dan Chamberlin during his Navy career.

Dan Chamberlin and his wife — affectionately known as Salli — live at The Commons in Lincoln. Their path to their current home bucolic home, however, extends around the world.

Dan was 22 years old and had recently graduated from Denison University when he decided to enlist in the Navy. He entered Officer Candidate School in Newport, R.I., in June 1952. “After graduating, I had a little bit of leave time and I went home and saw my college sweetheart [Salli] and then got shipped over to Japan, where I was stationed happily with my best friend from Officer Candidate School,” he said. “We were stationed in a cryptography unit that served the commander of the Naval Forces of the Far East, so we were a very large radio station with a cryptography or code adjunct to it.”

As a cryptographer, Dan handled sensitive communications. “I was dealing with those Navy messages which were coded, and I was responsible for encoding anything the admiral wanted to send out, and for decoding anything that came in for his attention,” Dan recalled. One notable moment during Dan’s naval career happened when “I was on duty overnight on the 23rd of June in 1954, and that was the precise moment of the signing of the armistice in Panmunjom, which effectively ended the shooting in the Korean War. That message came in and I decoded it.”

Dan arrived in Japan as a bachelor but his fiancee joined him in August 1953 and they were married soon after her arrival. He had a house built for the two of them to live in a nearby Japanese town because he didn’t have the required priority points to secure married housing on the naval base. “I commuted to work on the train and she stayed home, and that lasted until October of 1954, at which point I received orders to a ship,” he recalled.

Salli returned home to the States, newly pregnant, as Dan boarded the flagship for the U.S. Sixth Fleet in the Mediterranean. “She delivered our firstborn and I was meanwhile floating around the Mediterranean with the admiral on board and hitting all the best liberty ports,” he said.

Dan had been accepted to Harvard Business School but wasn’t able to delay enrollment until the end of his military service. However, he asked the Navy for early separation, which was granted. Once he landed, Dan and Salli met in Massachusetts at an apartment neither had seen, with a child he had not yet met. 

Dan and Salli Chamberlin today.

Salli and Dan have been married for 70 years and are enjoying life at their home at The Commons. Dan’s service has inspired patriotism and call to duty in his own family — his granddaughter is currently a captain in the Marines. 

Reflecting on the value that serving in the military added to his life, Dan said, “I was a small-town boy and Salli and I went to a small college and I think the lesson I learned was independence. We both had loving parents who gave us everything we wanted. That first night, I was trying to fall asleep in a barracks surrounded by a barbed wire fence with a Marine guard with a .45 automatic and for the first time in 21 years, I couldn’t go where I wanted to go when I wanted to go. I was just like ‘son of a gun, this is what it’s like being out on your own, and you can do this,’ and I was able to apply that in other severe changes of environment, like going to graduate school or going into a strange city for my first job or having a child. With any major change in life, I know I can do this.”

Correction

In the November 8 “News Acorns,” the headline for the upcoming Pernambuco Chamber Ensemble concert gave the wrong location. It will take place in St. Anne’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. Also, the LSB Players’ production of “Curtains”runs through Saturday, Nov. 18, not Sunday. The post and calendar listings have been updated.

News acorns

Film on the “Holy Land problem”

The Lincoln-based GRALTA Foundation will host two showings of “The Law and the Prophets,” a documentary with commentary by an A-list of diverse and respected authorities on Holy Land history and conditions as they existed until just a few weeks ago. Boston College sociology professor Eve Spangler will lead a post-film discussion. Screenings will take place on Sunday, Nov. 12 at 1:30 p.m. and Thursday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Depending on audience size, it will either be in the first-floor map room or in the second-floor meeting hall. Please let us know if you plan to attend and on which day. Click here for more information.

LSB players present “Curtains”

Tickets are now on sale for the LSB Players’ production of “Curtains,” an energetic and irreverent play within a play set backstage at Boston’s Colonial Theatre, where the leading lady of the current musical suddenly falls dead. You can count on uproarious laughs, spectacular dance numbers, and unexpected twists and turns. Performed in the Kirshner Auditorium at L-S on Wednesday to Saturday, Nov. 15-18 at 7:30 p.m. Directed and choreographed by Carly Evans, music directed by Michael Bunting, and conducted by Tom Grandprey. Click here to purchase tickets (you will receive an email from ShowTix4U.com confirming your online purchase).

Chamber music concert at St. Anne’s

The Lexington-based Pernambuco Chamber Ensemble will perform “Falling into Place” on Saturday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Anne’s in-the-Fields Episcopal Church. The program includes Gabriel Fauré’s Piano Quartet #1 in C minor, Mozart’s Sonata #26 in B-flat major (K378) for violin and piano, and a premiere performance of Bach’s Cello Suite #1 in G major arranged by the ensemble’s cellist for viola and cello duo. Performers are Shirie Leng (violin) of Newton and Lexington musicians Jessica Baum (viola), Judith Glixon (cello), and Daniel Goodman (piano). Admission is free but a suggested contribution of $20 at the door is requested, a portion of which will be donated to IPCI-USA (International Pernambuco Conservation Initiative-USA) through the International Alliance of Violin and Bow Makers for Endangered Species.

Thanksgiving drive for food pantry

The St. Vincent de Paul food pantry in Lincoln is sponsoring a drive to help those for whom a Thanksgiving dinner with all the fixings is not possible. Organizers have already secured a turkey, vegetables, and a pie for each one of our families. A $25 gift card to Donelan’s will allow clients to buy something that will make their celebration special. You can buy your gift cards directly at Donelan’s and leave them at the customer service desk, donate here (write “gift cards” in the notes section), or mail a check to SVdP, PO Box 324, Lincoln MA 01773 (write “gift cards” on the memo line). The drive ends on Wednesday, Nov. 15.

Gentile to hold office hours on Nov. 20

State Rep. Carmine Gentile (D-Sudbury), whose district includes part of Lincoln, will hold virtual office hours for constituents on Monday, Nov. 20 in virtual meetings via from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Any constituent who wishes to speak with him can sign up for a 20-minute time slot by emailing his legislative aide Ravi Simon at ravi.simon@mahouse.gov. Constituents signing up for a meeting must provide their full name, address, phone number, email, and their discussion topic so Rep. Gentile can prepare.

TEDx Walden Pond is the talk of the town

TEDx WaldenPond speakers were (back row, left to right) Trish Kendall, Wendy Murphy, Rick Chavez, Rebecca Heiss, Eric McNulty, Jared Cox, Graham Lutz, Corinne Hancock Scott. Front row: Charley Blandy, Lauren Chaby, Seth Ettenberg, Tim Washer. Nick Morgan is lying on the rug. (Missing: Raj Sharma, Martin Moore, Gerami Groover-Flores)

A Lincoln couple recently hosted the town’s first TedX event, TedX Walden Pond, which showcased 15 speakers as well as two artistic performances.

Co-organizer Nick Morgan said he’s been a longtime fan of TED Talks, where “ideas are front and center, new voices can be heard, and the opportunity to debate interesting topics was there.” TEDx (the “x” indicates independently organized) is an offshoot program that enables local communities to host TED-like events. They’re usually named after the host town, but “TEDx Lincoln” was already taken by Lincoln, Neb.

Anyone can host a TEDx event in their hometown as long as they get approved and licensed by TedX, so Morgan and his wife Jessica Cooper started the application process a year ago and got the green light in August for the November 1 event held at the First Parish stone church. Morgan is a public speaking coach with Public Words Inc. and Cooper is a voice teacher. 

He and Cooper put out the word to their networks for potential speakers. Since the TedX brand is quite prestigious, “you immediately get overwhelmed with people who want to give talks — selecting the most promising is tough,” Morgan said. His theme was “Ripples of Thought,” which was “deliberately ambiguous,” he said. 

“The audience particularly liked Gerami Groover-Flores’ talk about the origins of the Hamilton-Garrett Center for Music & Arts in the music of the Black church in America, Trish Kendall‘s deeply moving talk on success, and SNL veteran Tim Washer‘s funny closing talk, ‘Follow the Fear,’ on self-acceptance,” Morgan said. The other speakers were:

  • Charley Blandy, expert on negotiation and corporate social responsibility and a professional singer, on our response to climate change
  • Dr. Jared Cox on shame
  • Dr. Lauren Chaby, director of scientific strategies at ALZpath, on new developments in Alzheimer’s research
  • Rick Chavez, partner at Oliver Wyman, on lessons he learned from 25 years in the technology business
  • Dr. Seth Ettenberg, chief scientific officer at BlueRock Therapeutics, on regenerative medicine
  • Dr. Rebecca Heiss on how men struggle to find their roles in modern society
  • Graham Lutz on the importance of allowing ourselves to embrace mistakes
  • Eric McNulty on the importance of working together as a community on difficult issues such as climate change
  • Martin G. Moore, producer of the “No Bullsh!t Leadership” podcast, on handling conflict
  • Wendy Murphy, adjunct professor of sexual violence law at the New England School of Law, on how women are denied equal protection under the law
  • Storyteller and educator Graham Lutz on the importance of allowing ourselves to embrace mistakes
  • “Chaos coach” Corinne Hancock Scott
  • Raj Sharma, head of The Sharma Group and a director of the Boston Foundation, on choosing wealth management as a career

Urbanity Dance performers Zoe Carey, Clare Naughton, and Josephine Schneider. Photo by Deborah J. Karson (@DeborahJKarsonPhotography on Instagram)

A highlight of the evening was “Ripples: gathered,” a performance choreographed specially for “Ripples of Thought” by Urbanity Dance, whose mission it is to bring contemporary dance to the Boston landscape. Classical guitarist Aaron Larget-Caplan also performed “moving still,” an original composition, resulting in “a potpourri of people and topics, which is what TEDx wants,” Cooper said.

TED Talks are limited to 18 minutes and TEDx to just 10 minutes — a departure from when Morgan started coaching public speakers when “a 90-minute lecture was not unusual,” he said. TED Talks were “a bellwether of the times” to encourage a variety of shorter speeches in one session. 

TedX Walden Pond should be available for viewing on YouTube by the end of the year once the event company has finished editing, Morgan said.

My Turn: Please donate to help fund a new L-S student group

By Vama Gandhi

My name is Vama Gandhi and I am a sophomore at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. A few months ago, my friend Farhan Khan and I came across an organization called Health Occupations Students of America, better known as HOSA. HOSA has an array of competitive events ranging from leadership to the health sciences which aim to equip future health professionals with the skills necessary for success.

We want to bring a chapter of HOSA to L-S to allow us an opportunity to delve into medicine and kindle a similar passion in our peers. The installation of this club would not only benefit current students but also generations to come. However, we need your help to make this happen.

HOSA charges each of its members two fees: a membership and conference fee, which are $30 and $45, respectively. However, some members cannot pay the collective $75 and require financial aid. The community’s contributions will help cover these costs and ensure that financial status is not a barrier to anyone from participating in the club.

To make this possible, we must raise roughly $1,500 in one month (the deadline is November 15). We are asking for the help of the Lincoln Community to achieve this goal. The members of our club are willing to provide services to any of the residents of our local community in order to earn the money needed. This could mean doing yard work, babysitting, or helping out in any other way. Our GoFundMe site is here: gofund.me/c6511e68.

Help us empower a generation of future healthcare leaders.

Vama Gandhi (vamagandhi25@gmail.com) is a Lincoln resident and Farhan Khan (khafa776@gmail.com) is from Sudbury.

“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.

My Turn: New website offers appealing options for compliance with the Housing Choice Act

By Lynne Smith

The Housing Choice Act (HCA) asks Massachusetts communities with public transit in the greater Boston area to rezone parts of their town to allow “by right” development of multifamily housing if they want to remain eligible for three state grant programs. “By right” means that the developer of the property would not have to go to Town Meeting to permit the development. The HCA Working Group (HCAWG) is currently developing rezoning options for Lincoln.

Using the models provided by the state for HCA compliance and building on the work of the HCAWG, a group calling themselves Lincoln Residents for Housing Alternatives has developed a range of new options that have real merit. They have included these options in an informative website that describes Lincoln’s particular parcels and suggests how rezoning might be accomplished without disturbing the character of the town.

The website offers a clear explanation of the compliance rules and the complex models used to develop the options. These simplified explanations in laymen’s terms helped me understand how we might rezone for maximum benefit to the town. The maps make clear how we can maintain our local and rural character by dispersing development as we have always done. In fact, 40% of Lincoln’s housing is already in multifamily developments scattered throughout the town. Over the last 60 years, this approach, requiring Town Meeting approval, has provided many units of housing requiring 15-25% affordability without increasing traffic or sacrificing conservation land.

The charts and spreadsheets in the website also make clear how we can:

  • Avoid allocating a greater number of developable units than required for compliance. We must rezone for a minimum but care must be taken not to accidentally permit a maximum.
  • Develop a greater percentage of affordable units by not making the RLF/Lincoln Station proposal “by right,” as HCA only allows us to require 10% affordable.
  • Preserve wildlife corridors and minimize traffic by carefully situating the rezoned areas in parcels that are already developed.

The website also explains the HCA compliance issues in easy-to-understand language and provides links to the relevant Massachusetts law. It describes the process Lincoln has followed to get to this point and spells out the future timelines. It also raises questions that the HCA Working Group may need further study to answer.

At the State of the Town meeting on September 30, the Working Group gave a polished and convincing description of Option C that concentrated all development near Lincoln Station. Since then, I have thought more about the impact of hundreds of new units at this small, busy area. Many others have raised critical questions about this option and the HCAWG has responded by adding three new options (D1, D2, and D3).

This new effort by the Lincoln Residents for Alternative Housing further expands the options available to meet compliance. Discussion and debate are at the heart of the “Lincoln Way” and we benefit by the skills and dedication of volunteers.

I urge everyone in Lincoln to study this new website, review the HCAWG information, and register here to attend one of the HCA meetings offered on November 8 at 8 a.m. in person or 7 p.m. virtually.

“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.

News acorns

Talk on opposition to private jets

Lincoln resident Alex Chatfield of Stop Private Jet Expansion at Hanscom or Anywhere will speak at an open meeting of the Lincoln Democratic Town Committee on Saturday, Nov. 4 at 10 a.m. in Bemis Hall (coffee and sign-in start at 9:45 a.m.). HE will share the latest information on the proposal to build more private jet hangars at Hanscom Field, the implications for Climate Change, progress to date and next steps. There will be ample time for questions and answers and a short video of the October 2 State House rally.

Event looks at racial equity in maternal health

The First Parish in Lincoln’s Racial Justice Advocates invite residents to “Food for Thought” on Wednesday, Nov. 8. They will serve a simple supper at 5:30 p.m. in the parish house followed by a presentation and discussion on “­Challenges and Hopes for Racial Equity in Maternal Health Care: What’s Happening in Boston.” The speaker will be Mariane McPherson, co-chair of the Neighborhood Birth Center board and is a Senior Director at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Roxbury. Reservations appreciated for dinner and required for childcare. Suggested donation: $10. Click here to RSVP.

Local organizations get grants

The Sudbury Foundation has awarded 31 Racial Equity and Inclusion Grants of up to $5,000 apiece (total:$149,600) to a number of organizations including Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School/Family Engagement Initiative and the Lincoln-based Massachusetts Audubon Society and The Food Project. Over the past four years, the foundation has made 107 grants totaling over $440,000 to local nonprofits.

Educational pavilion planned for Codman Community Farms

An architect’s drawing of the side view of the pavilion.

Codman Community Farms plans to build an open-air educational pavilion as a precursor to a future project to install a fire suppression system in the main barn.

The three-season pavilion will serve as an educational space for workshops, classes, demonstrations, and small gatherings. The farm, which recently created a new staff position to grow its educational and community outreach, has hosted dozens of schools and corporate groups, and volunteers. Some of those events have included demonstrations to teach farming techniques to Boston-based nonprofit farming organizations and others.

“Teaching agriculture may start with a class discussion or a demonstration before heading to the fields. Thus, agriculture work takes place in the fields and in the classroom,” the farm board wrote in a narrative describing the project.

A map showing the location of the educational pavilion (click image to enlarge).

The one-story, 20-by-40-foot educational pavilion will go on the site of the maple sugar shack, which will be relocated to another location on the farm. It won’t house animals or equipment but it will have a commercial-grade pizza oven for events using Codman ingredients. “It could be used after a canning class when participants could pick their own tomatoes, peppers and onions, and create a pizza of their own making,” according to the narrative. A deck on the north side will offer views of grazing livestock as well as additional gathering space.

“I think it’s a great addition and supports a very important function of Codman,” Planning Board member Ephraim Flint said when the board approved the project on October 24. The plan has also gotten the OK from the Conservation Commission, Historical Commission, and Select Board and just needs a building permit to start construction. CCF is funding the project in full.

Over the years, CCF has hosted gatherings in the main barn, but this can’t continue — the town building inspector and fire chief have told them they can’t have any more activities in that space without a fire suppression system, CCF farmer Pete Lowy told the Select Board on October 30. The farm has a preliminary design for the system, which involves building a small heated room in addition to sprinkler plumbing and could cost anywhere from $250,000 to $500,000, he said.

CCF will ask voters at Town Meeting in March to help pay for the fire suppression system, though who will pay how much is yet to be determined; Select Board members noted that Community Preservation Act funds helped pay for the farm’s recent driveway project at the farm, but the sprinkler system is a code-mandated improvement in a public building, so there’s an argument for the town contributing a portion of the cost.