By Elizabeth Wilson

The majority of The Commons residents are NOT for the expansion. It’s very interesting that only committee members who work directly with the administrators, and who do not accurately represent the residents, are posting propaganda about the proposed expansion to The Commons.

The Commons is not going bankrupt. The money they take in from the expensive buy-ins and monthly assessments for each apartment and free-standing home can sustain the operations of The Commons. However, the new owners need to make money for themselves and to cover the debt they have incurred when buying the property and ultimately the debt they will take on in order to build the overly huge and expensive expansion proposal.

Why do people want to live at The Commons? Because Lincoln is a town that loves the principals of quiet open space. The people living at The Commons chose not to live in the Brookhaven “city” in Lexington/Waltham or the older, larger Bedford Carelton-Willard, or the large apartment-like Newbury Court in Concord or the ultra-modern new Waterstone in Lexington. People choose to live at The Commons because it is like their own home and neighborhood used to be. It feels like home. As it is.

I am a family member of a resident at The Commons. I am trying to give voice to the actual feelings of the body of residents at The Commons who are afraid, who feel helpless and are not heard, and who do not want the proposed expansion. The small group of committee members should not control the information given to the public and Lincoln residents. The committees do not represent the actual feelings of The Commons resident majority.

“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 Submissions containing personal attacks, errors of fact, or other inappropriate material will not be published.

By David Levington

I’m 94 years old, and I’ve lived at The Commons for eight years. I certainly don’t look forward to two or three years of noise and disruption of life here, but I am voting in favor of the proposed expansion, and so are all eighteen residents on the two committees that have been most involved in developing the plan. Why? It’s the finances. We have one asset (The Commons) worth maybe $100 million, and liabilities of $180 million (see this financial statement). We owe $90 million in municipal bonds that pay 6-7% and another $90 million to our residents in refundable deposits.

We’re in this position because, when the prior owners decided to sell, as part of the change of ownership all the cash available was withdrawn and, using The Commons as collateral, $100 million in municipal bonds were sold (as an aside, municipal bonds that pay 6-7% are commonly referred to as “junk bonds.”

Those of us with long memories remember that we’ve been through bankruptcy; we don’t want to go through that again. The projections prepared for us show that if financial conditions continue as they are, the Commons can get through the next few years, but only on a level basis. No major improvements. But we have no financial cushion to get us through a disruption, like a pandemic. The Commons survived the pandemic, when we could admit no new residents, because we were financially healthy. That hadn’t been the case in 2013, when The Groves couldn’t survive a dip in the housing market. And that wouldn’t be the case here if we experienced a recession, a drop in the housing market, another pandemic, or any event which stopped us from admitting new residents. Not only does income go down, but we are obligated to refund the deposits of residents who die or leave for any reason.

The expansion plan will affect us all, some much more than others. There will be noise, construction traffic, heavy equipment. We will lose attractive green spaces. Despite all this, the members of the Resident Council, who are our liaison to management, all vote in favor of the proposed plan. They have been involved in every step of the plan’s development and have kept the residents aware of each step taken. A Steering Committee was formed, with six residents and staff to advise and consider each iteration. (I am a member of the Steering Committee.) We are also unanimous in support. We urge you to vote in favor of the expansion plan; I believe it is in the best interests of the residents of The Commons and the town of Lincoln.

“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.

By Joanne and George Carlisle

At the recent meeting of Lincoln’s Planning Board, we thought the presentations by The Commons, where we’ve lived for five years, were excellent. But we were surprised and horrified by the negativity, even mean-spiritedness, of many residents’ comments. We are great supporters of the emerging proposal for expansion, and we want to be sure that readers of the Lincoln Squirrel know that a recent survey showed that a significant majority of our residents understand and support the current proposal.

After the January 2023 initial proposal by our new nonprofit ownership, we have been given continuing surveys and individual, small, and large group meetings to learn of the need, advantages, and many considerations discussed by our Resident Council and Steering Committee and ownership/management. And we have given many of our own suggestions.

During our professional years before retirement, we learned the benefits of communal living in the many boarding schools we served. Kindness and trust and truth-telling — exactly the things we value most here at The Commons. We are especially pleased that The Commons offers such a rich mix of residents and staff — professionally, geographically, spiritually and in personal gifts and experiences.

Going forward, we are confident the expansion proposal which emerges will of course meet all of Lincoln’s town requirements while continuing, through the PILOT [payment in lieu of taxes] program, our significant contribution to the tax base and providing some additional affordable living apartments. It will also benefit considerably our financial strength, and our ability to stay competitive in the world of growing demand for continuing care retirement communities.

Thank you for this chance to share our support and enthusiasm for plans for expansion at The Commons!

“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.

By Marion Meenan

As a seven-year resident of The Commons in Lincoln who has been most fortunate to live in Lincoln for almost 50 years prior to making that move, I am writing to express my support of the recently proposed revised expansion plan for The Commons.

I believe that this proposal addresses the need to strengthen our financial stability and reduce our exposure to risk while also preserving to the maximum extent our open campus. The proposal also aligns perfectly with the town’s similar objective of strengthening its infrastructure — particularly that at the mall — by proposing additional units, both residential and commercial, while also maintaining and optimizing the town’s maximum open space.

With the PILOT (payments in lieu of taxes) agreements in place as part of the change of the ownership to nonprofit status, The Commons remains by far the largest taxpayer in town. Yes, we do utilize our fair share of resources — and we greatly appreciate the unfailingly prompt and proficient responses of our most dedicated fire and police — but we do in fact make substantial contributions to help support these critical resources town-wide.

The town of Lincoln also advocates strongly for a diverse community. The Commons has always met and will continue to meet the town goals for moderate income housing units. We are also proud at The Commons — and benefit greatly from — our astonishingly diverse and vibrant community. Among our 215 residents, we are fortunate to enjoy seniors from England, Wales, Ireland, South Korea, Germany, the Netherlands, India, China, and more — even Lexington and Bedford and Acton, and California and Texas! And we also encompasses a rich tapestry of active religious affiliates — with adherents of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism coming together and frequently sharing in one another’s sacred celebrations.

I would like to conclude by pointing out that in the recent telephone survey, a 69% majority of respondents agreed that they do understand and support the need for the expansion.

Under the capable leadership of Executive Director Reynaldo LeBlanc, significant time and effort have gone toward helping us to more fully understand the financial risks of our current position and the benefits that will accrue to all from a carefully thought out expansion.

I feel that implementation of the current proposal will enable our community to continue to thrive, both for ourselves and for forthcoming generations of Lincolnites.

“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.

By Caroline Jacobs

I was horrified and saddened by the negative tone of the questions and comments at the Planning/Select Board meeting on Tuesday, starting with the lengthy letter which was read by a family member of one or more residents.

I have lived at The Commons since 2010 and have been on the Resident Council for a total of ten years since then. During that time I have experienced firsthand the cooperative relationship between residents and management, and never more so than during the last nine months. Our Executive Director has held countless meetings with groups and individuals to explain the rationale behind the expansion proposal and all the financial implications. The Resident Council and Steering Committee have been very involved giving input, and various interest groups have also been consulted. The suggestion that “many others (residents) against the proposal were afraid to speak up due to fear of retribution from staff” is completely alien to the way The Commons functions.

I understand the need for the expansion, particularly as I have already lived through one bankruptcy and have no desire to face the risk of another.

“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.