The February 27 articled headlined “Energy-efficiency amendments among zoning proposal at Town Meeting” mischaracterized a proposed amendment to the zoning bylaw on cluster developments. If approved at Town Meeting, the bylaw would be revised to comply with the current statutory language of MGL c.40A, which does not allow a mandate to a specific entity. The proposed bylaw will mirror the current 40A language by having the land subject to a use restriction enforceable by the town or a nonprofit organization whose principal purpose is the conservation of open space (details here).- Two events listed in the February 27 edition of News Acorns — “Celebrating Celtic history, music, and literature” on March 10 and “The Softer Side of Celtic” on March 17 — included incorrect locations. Both events will take pace in Bemis Hall. The original post and calendar listings have been updated.
News acorns
“Getting to Zero — Upgrading Windows”
The second installment in the Getting to Zero series, “Upgrading Windows,” will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at noon. Lincoln resident Patrik Muzila, president of European Architectural Supply in Acton, will talk about the benefits of upgrading your home’s windows, tax incentives, and what options to look for. Click here to register for the Zoom link.
The series is presented by CFREE, a working group of Lincoln’s Green Energy Committee, to help residents affordably achieve energy-efficient, electrified, comfortable, and healthy homes. They will record the event and posting it to the GEC website for later viewing. Those who register for the lecture will also be sent a link to the video.
Celebrating Celtic history, music, and literature
The Lincoln Public Library will host a program celebrating Celtic history, music, and literature at an in-person event on Friday, March 10 at 1 p.m. in Bemis Hall. Jaimee Leigh will lead a journey through the history of the Celtic harp and share a few tunes and legends from the past. Actor, teacher and lecturer Stephen Collins will perform his one-man show on Irish writers of the 20th century. Made possible by the Council on Aging and Human Services and Friend of Lincoln Library.
Emma Green
“An America Divided”
A virtual program on “An America Divided” with New Yorker staff writer Emma Green will take place on Tuesday, March 13 from 7:30–9 p.m. Green will explore ways that Americans are divided — politically, religiously, economically, and even by community and family. What has caused these ruptures and what are some ways for us to come back together? Click here to register.
“The Softer Side of Celtic”
In “The Softer Side of Celtic” on Friday, March 17 from 1–2:30 p.m. in Bemis Hall, Jeff Snow will combine the music, stories, and history from Scotland, Ireland, and England into a program with singing, laughing, clapping and even a bit of foot stomping. Questions and input from the audience are encouraged and become part of the event. Made possible by the Council on Aging and Human Services and Friend of Lincoln Library.
Film: “Loving Highsmith”
The Lincoln Library Film Society will screen “Loving Highsmith” (2022) on Thursday, March 16 at 6 p.m. Eva Vitija directed this look at the life of celebrated American author Patricia Highsmith based on her diaries and notebooks and the intimate reflections of her lovers, friends and family. Most of Highsmith’s novels, including “Strangers on a Train” and “The Talented Mr. Ripley,” were adapted for the big screen.
Register kids for T-ball
Registration for T-Ball is now open to boys and girls in preK and kindergarten living or going to school in Lincoln. Sessions are on Saturdays from late April to mid-June, 10:15 to 11:45 at the Lincoln Schools. The emphasis is on having fun, making friends, practicing teamwork, and learning throwing, catching, and hitting a baseball. Coaching is provided by parent volunteers. Click here to register (scroll down for Lincoln). Questions? Email Travis Roland at travisroland89@yahoo.com or Chris Andrysiak at chris.andrysiak@gmail.com.
“What We Learn from Our Fathers about Being Parents and Partners”
The Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable and REACH Beyond Domestic Violence will present “Watching Dad: What We Learn from Our Fathers about Being Parents and Partners” on Monday, March 20 at 7 p.m. in the Community Meeting Room at the Goodnow Library (21 Concord Rd., Sudbury). David Adams, co-founder and co-director of abuser education program Emerge, will be the featured speaker.
The event is inspired by the White Ribbon Campaign, the world’s largest movement of men and boys working to end violence against women and girls, and promote gender equity, healthy relationships and a new vision of masculinity. The local men’s group has been meeting monthly since 2019. Click here to register. While the event is free of charge, donations are always appreciated. Click here to donate. For more information, email whiteribbon.dvrt@gmail.com.
Energy-efficiency amendments among zoning proposal at Town Meeting
Five zoning measures — including a more energy-efficient town building code and a rule that would require new buildings and major renovation projects to be fossil fuel free — will be up for votes at the Annual Town Meeting on March 25.
Article 30 will ask Lincoln to adopt the new Specialized Municipal Opt-in Code released by the Department of Energy Resources in September that includes building performance standards designed to help the state meet its goal of 50% greenhouse gas emissions reduction from the 1990 baseline levels by 2030. Adopting the code is optional for Lincoln, which otherwise will be governed by an updated version of the so-called “stretch code” that took effect here in January.
The stretch code requires new buildings to be more energy-efficient and includes incentives — but does not mandate — that they be all-electric. The Specialized Code would go further by increasing those incentives and allowing an effective date about six months sooner. In either case, fossil fuels could still be used if the structure meets even stricter energy efficiency requirements.
Article 31 would build on the Specialized Code but go further by generally removing the option to use fossil fuels. If approved, it would let Lincoln participate in the state’s Fossil Fuel Free Demonstration Program. As such, the town could require all new buildings and major renovations to be fossil fuel free for building permits issued starting January 1, 2024.
The term “fossil fuel free” means that the entire building or condominium unit does not utilize coal, oil, natural gas and similar natural and synthetic hydrocarbons for heating, cooking, gas fireplaces, and other indoor systems after construction is complete. However, backup electric generators and outdoor gas grills that use propane tanks would still be permitted.
- Background information on Articles 30 and 31
- Information sessions March 5 and March 7
Another measure aims to encourage more accessory apartments in Lincoln. Article 26 would allow accessory apartments by right within the principal dwelling unit. It would also streamline the permitting process for an accessory apartment in an accessory structure by no longer requiring the Planning Board to make a recommendation on each application to the Zoning Board of Appeals. The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposal on Tuesday, Feb. 28 at 7 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link (passcode: 062640).
Other zoning matters on the agenda at Town Meeting:
- The current zoning bylaw requires those proposing a cluster development to give the town and/or the Lincoln Land Conservation Trust interest in land as part of the approval process. An amendment up for a vote would revise the language to a second option: having the land subject to a use restriction enforceable by the town or a nonprofit organization whose principal purpose is the conservation of open space (details here).
- A change to bring the town’s zoning requirements in line with federal law by allowing modifications or additions of wireless equipment that qualify as “eligible facilities requests” (details here).
The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on those two proposals on Tuesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Click here for the Zoom link (passcode: 362874)
- Adding 58 Bedford Rd. to the town’s Historic District.
Clarification
In the February 22 story headlined “Artwork by Lincoln’s Selvage adorns new MBTA station,” the purpose of the “Speeding Green Line” artwork has bene corrected, and several other changes have been made to the story based on feedback by Nancy Selvage.
Owners postpone move to expand The Commons
In this map of The Commons campus, the additional units that had been proposed are shown in yellow.
Faced with resident objections and a tight timeline, New England Life Plan Communities, which owns The Commons in Lincoln, has postponed their push for an expansion proposal that was slated for a February 28 Planning Board public hearing.
Owner’s representative OnePoint Partners submitted a proposal to the Planning Board on February 6 that called for 32 new apartments in the existing Flint and Russell buildings and eight freestanding and attached cottages at various locations on the campus. This gave residents and others about three weeks to prepare for the public hearing, which would have preceded a vote at the March 25 Annual Town Meeting. Because The Commons resides in a zoning overlay district with specific conditions, a two-thirds majority approval would have been required at that time.
“We have engaged in several conversations with current Commons residents and it has become clear that more collaboration is required to address certain elements of the project. In order to ensure these critical stakeholders are given multiple opportunities to provide input, we need more time than the few weeks before the March Town Meeting allows,” said Larry Bradshaw, chairman of the board of New England Life Plan Communities, in a February 23 letter to the Planning Board.
David Levington, a Commons resident who has been active in organizing opposition to the proposal, said he was “pleased and relieved” by the postponement. “Everyone will have to work together in an open manner so that The Commons can grow in a manner that is healthy for all. The upset has been corrected and we’re moving forward — residents, management, ownership.”
He didn’t specify whether some aspects of the proposal were more objectionable than others but added, “Eventually a new plan will be developed… and I do look forward to a collaboration in which the residents have a voice.”
“Thanks to the efforts of the executive director of The Commons, Reynaldo LeBlanc, and the Resident Council, a number of formats were provided for residents to present their questions and concerns about the proposed expansion of The Commons to the new owners and their consultant and management teams,” said council president Judith Foster. “As a result of these meetings, the owners have withdrawn the proposed plan in order to allow more time to address the concerns of residents. We are looking forward to a productive partnership between residents and the ownership team.”
My Turn: Levinson seeks election to Planning Board
(Editor’s note: Levinson is one of three candidates running for two seats on the Planning Board along with Craig Nicholson and incumbent Lyn DeLisi. Incumbent Bob Domnitz filed papers to run for another term but recently withdrew his name and endorsed Levinson.)
By Mark Levinson
I am pleased to announce my candidacy for one of the two open seats on the Lincoln Planning Board.
I have lived near Lincoln Station for almost 25 years and have been active in issues affecting our neighborhood and the town. I have served as one of two neighborhood liaisons to the Planning Board and its South Lincoln Planning Advisory Committee (SLPAC). I have also been committed to environmental issues, and volunteered for many years for the Sudbury Valley Trustees, a very active and successful land conservation organization.
I think that town planning is a key factor in allowing Lincoln to navigate current and future challenges, while preserving the character of the town and our wonderful quality of life. I believe I share the goals of many Lincolnites for our neighborhood and our town: viability of local businesses, diversity, encouraging use of public transportation, and generally doing what we can to fight climate change while maintaining the rural character of our town.
I will represent the views and opinions of all Lincoln residents, not only those of my neighborhood. I will do my best to be open-minded, always considering the facts and likely outcomes of any course of action, knowing that actions to promote one goal may sometimes produce adverse consequences for others.
I ask for your support on election day, Monday, March 27. Thank you and best regards.
Mark Levinson
8 Ridge Road, 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.
My Turn: Thanks from Domestic Violence Roundtable
By the Domestic Violence Roundtable
This year, despite the continuing circumstances created by Covid, the Sudbury-Wayland-Lincoln Domestic Violence Roundtable held its annual Valentine collection at Sudbury Wine and Spirits. Although community members could not be invited to help fill the Valentine bags for families affected by abuse, members of the Roundtable gathered to fill the bags and delivered them to clients of REACH Beyond Domestic Violence, The Second Step, and Voices Against Violence. Due to the generosity of our local communities, the Roundtable was able to provide 50 gift bags to all the residents who ranged in age from 5 months to 71 years old.
Domestic Violence Roundtable members sort donations for Valentine’s Day bags.
The Roundtable would like to thank everyone who generously donated Valentine gifts and made this year’s collection a great success. We would like to offer special thanks to Joseph Saia of Sudbury Wine and Spirits for again hosting the collection basket, to the students at Sudbury Extended Day for decorating the gift bags, and to the staff and the families of Sudbury Extended Day for their wonderful donations. Thank you also to Kate Ryan for using her birthday celebration to collect donations in lieu of personal gifts. The Roundtable also appreciates the ongoing support of members of the League of Women Voters of Sudbury.
The pandemic has been especially difficult for families in abusive situations, and these Valentine’s Day bags brighten the lives of families living in domestic violence shelters and transitional housing and let them know that they are supported in their efforts to rebuild their lives free from abuse.
“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.
Artwork by Lincoln’s Selvage adorns new MBTA station
Commuters approach “Speeding Green Line” at the new Medford/Tufts MBTA station.
By Maureen Belt
While thousands of commuters impatiently waited years for the MBTA to extend its Green Line to the Tufts campus in Medford, Lincoln resident Nancy Selvage was at home shaping the art to characterize the new station.
Her contribution to GLX (the MBTA’s Green Line Extension project) took more than seven years from the day she was granted the commission. It finally saw the light of day (actually predawn) at 4:40 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2022, when the Medford/Tufts station opened to large crowds and great fanfare including a ribbon cutting. In a later interview with the Lincoln Squirrel, she pulled up a Twitter post of then-Gov. Charlie Baker, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and other dignitaries flashing big smiles while cutting a ribbon at the inauguration. One of Selvage’s newly installed pieces, “Speeding Green Line,” was a prominent backdrop.
“I’m not a Twitter follower myself,” she remarked. “Someone forwarded this to me.”
“Speeding Green Line” and the station’s wayfinder signs — platform indicators that give commuters information — are now part of Selvage’s public art work portfolio, which includes an installation at the Google building lobby in Cambridge and at the Canyon Rim in Arizona, among others. Selvage incorporates location, environment, and usage into all of her work.
In an earlier plaza design that was later scrapped due to budget cuts, the purpose of the GLX art was to camouflage unsightly ductwork and to compensate for the lack of landscaping. The current purpose is to simulate the visual effect of trees speeding past a moving train.
Nancy Selvage at her desk.
“Speeding Green Line” consists of two 22-foot-long, 120-pound backlit glass panels placed over the Medford/Tufts entrance. Selvage made complex blueprints and engineered a design to ensure the finished art would hold up to New England weather and the expected hustle and bustle of a long-overdue light-rail station. Aesthetically, she meticulously designed it to reflect light and, though static, give the appearance of motion as one passes by.
“The piece is activated by the view of movement,” said Selvage.
On the station platform, the artwork suggests a correspondence between commuters and honeybees in a sequence of four panels: setting forth (flying off), finding sustenance (foraging), returning to nourish a community (back home), and sharing news of the journey (waggle dance). The images were created digitally by collaging and warping photographic details of Selvage’s perforated metal sculptures.
She was unaware at the time that Tufts University was the first urban campus in Massachusetts to be certified in the Bee Campus USA program. Selvage is also a Tufts alumna — she holds an MFA in sculpture from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts/Tufts University as well as a BA in art history from Wellesley College. Gardens maintained by the Tufts Pollinator Initiative at four sites on campus contain native plants to feed a diversity of pollinators, according to a December 2022 article about Selvage’s work in TuftsNow.
“It’s about coming and going and finding your way,” she said, comparing her images of bees on their journey of finding nectar to “commuters finding sweetness in the city.” (Click here to see detailed proof images.)
Selvage’s creativity is only one of the ingredients that are essential to her multilayered work. She also needs plenty of patience, trust in others, the ability to work within budget constraints and, in the case of public art, a tolerance for multiple bureaucratic meetings.
As with any major project, challenges cropped up. When sketching ideas for “Speeding Green Line,” she wanted natural shades of green. She toyed with iPhone photos of local summer foliage, but the images became blurred when enlarged using Photoshop. She then hired a photographer with a high-resolution digital camera, so images of individual pine needles and oak leaves remained vivid.
Once digitally expanded across 22 feet, she captured the green abstract lines she sought. Intentionally, she added a thin colorless vertical stripe every few inches, necessary to give the effect of motion. Selvage then delivered her files to a fabrication company with expertise in printing and a kiln to fuse her images onto hurricane-proof glass. Despite that precaution, installers broke one of the panels during the installation. It had to be refabricated and installed a few weeks after the opening.
Selvage’s honeybees hover about curved blossoms, also of her creation, on the 4-foot by 18-foot wayfinder signs. The blossoms, which look like calla lilies, are actually warped and altered photographs of a variety of Selvage’s metal sculptures.
The same photographer was hired to take high-resolution photos of the pieces. Selvage Photoshopped the images into cartoonish flowers. She made the bees from details of other 3-D pieces, then worked to proportion each bee to a flower. One oversized bee performs a waggle dance, a rhythmic, geometric succession of rapid movements performed to announce they’ve found the cache.
“It took forever to do these bees,” Selvage said. “It just took forever.”
Once the honey bees were situated, the MBTA outsourced her work to a factory for printing the images on metal panels. Unhappy with the results, the agency shopped around for other niche companies. “The only thing I could say is that the yellows are too orange,” Selvage said. But the second time was the charm.
After factoring in supplies, payments to vendors and other expenses, Selvage barely broke even on her predetermined design fee. But she isn’t in it for the money. Interactive art is a passion she turned into a lifelong career. Other public installations by Selvage in the Boston area include “Hydro” in Lowell and “Water Wall” in Trolley Square in Cambridge, and she’s excited about a project to sculpt an interactive gathering place for children in Virginia.
“I’m totally comfortable in three dimensions,” Selvage said. “There’s nothing better than a big empty space. On the other hand, there’s nothing worse than a blank canvas.”
News acorns
Claudia Fox Tree
“On Belonging” speaker series kicks off
The “On Belonging in Outdoor Spaces” series returns with three upcoming events:
- Lincoln School teacher and social justice activist Claudia Fox Tree — Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
- Leah Penniman, co-founder of Soul Fire Farm and author of Black Earth Wisdom — Wednesday, March 8 at 7 p.m.
- José G. González, founder of Latino Outdoors and co-founder of the Outdoorist Oath — Wednesday, March 29 at 7 p.m.
The free speaker series, which launched in 2021, seeks to feature individuals whose work is advancing efforts to strengthen belonging and connection between communities of color and the outdoors. Click here for more information and to register. This year’s series is sponsored by the Ogden Codman Trust, Freedom’s Way, and the Lincoln Cultural Council. The host organizations are Farrington Nature Linc, Lincoln Land Conservation Trust, Mass Audubon, Walden Woods Project, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Food Project.
Saturday ranger walks scheduled
Join Lincoln Conservation Ranger Will Leona to visit different trails in Lincoln on the first Saturday of each month (March 4, April 1, and May 6) from 9:30–11 a.m. Walks are generally two miles long and are appropriate for all ages. Click here for registration, which is required to keep group size under 15 people and to ensure we can contact you in case of cancellation due to weather.
Lincoln student featured in Concord theater production
Huxley Jade
Lincoln youth Huxley Jade is in the cast of the Concord Youth Theatre’s (CYT) Mainstage Company production of the musical “Robin Hood.” Robin Hood, Maid Marian, Merry Men, and other timeless characters in this classic story find new life through the original script and score written by Rene Pfister and Jan Mankowsky. CYT’s Mainstage Company includes young performers ages 10-18 from several towns. Performances are Friday, March 3 and 10 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 4 and 11 at 4 p.m.; and Sunday, March 5 at 2:30 p.m. at the theater 53 Church St. in Concord. Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
L-S Parents Night for incoming freshmen on March 9
Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School’s Eighth-Grade Parent/Guardian Night, will be held at Lincoln-Sudbury on Thursday, March 9 from 7–8:30 p.m. This evening is for parents and guardians only. The evening begins in the L-S Auditorium with an overview of the ninth-grade curriculum and the scheduling process, followed by an opportunity to visit faculty members of the various departments to ask questions about course selection and curriculum.
Brush burning permits now available
To apply for a permit for outdoor brush burning, which is allowed until May 1, fill out this online form and mail a check for $5.00 to the Lincoln Fire Department, 169 Lincoln Rd., Lincoln MA 01773. Or if you prefer, send your name, address, phone number and email address along with a check for $5.00 to the fire department, or drop them in the red box in the lobby. All applicants are also required to call on the morning you plan to burn to ask permission and give the dispatcher your address.
Town library wins five-star rating
For 15 years, Library Journal has used statistics collected by the Institute of Museum and Library Services public library survey to score U.S. public libraries and award star ratings. The FY2020 scores and ratings were published in December 2022 and Lincoln Public Library received five stars, the highest rating, in its category. Libraries are put into peer groups based on their annual expenditures and Lincoln was one of 10 libraries nationwide to earn five stars in the $1 million to $4.9 million category. The survey looks at measures of service delivery including the number of checkouts (both physical and electronic), library visits, program attendance, website visits, Internet computer use, and public WiFi sessions.
Old Town Hall Exchange is back in business
Kate Dahmen shows off some of the wares on offer at the Old Town Hall Exchange.
The Covid-19 pandemic closed the Old Town Hall Exchange’s doors for almost two years — but the shop is back.
“I’ve always loved this place and wanted to see if I could help reopen it,” said Lincoln resident and artist Kate Dahmen. She reached out to Stacy Osur, who manages the building for the nonprofit Lincoln Old Town Hall Corporation, and reopened the store on an intermittent basis during the holiday season.
On the main floor, visitors can browse through the pre-pandemic stock of gifts, cards, toys, baby clothing, and books as well as new penny candy — a favorite of Lincoln kids for decades. The basement is fuller than ever with antiques (“a lot of stuff came in during the pandemic,” Dahmen said). The Exchange does consignment sales, returning 70% of the proceeds to crafters and antique owners while the remainder goes to building maintenance and shop operations.
“We’ll slowly bring in new stuff as space allows,” she said. “We’d love to bring in more unique things and create wall space for original art. This is a place where you can buy something you couldn’t find on Amazon or a major store, but we’ll always have cards and penny candy no matter what.”
The hours of operations are still not set in stone since Dahmen is in the process of finding volunteers to help for two hours a week apiece, so she advised calling ahead (781-259-9876). She hopes to be open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m.–4 p.m. and Saturday from noon–4 p.m. when staffing allows. Anyone interested in volunteering may email her at kate.dahmen@gmail.com. “It’s a really happy place to spend time and it’s a great way to meet people,” she said.
The Old Town Hall is now in its third location. It was built in 1848 close to the current location of Bemis Hall “for all Political, Temperance, Antislavery & Peace Meetings and Lecturers for Lyceum, and Singing Schools, for Picnics, Fairs and Sabbath School celebrations and for all Literary & Scientific Lecturers,” according to the building’s website. It was moved down the hill closer to the First Parish Church in 1884 and then to its current location in 1918. At various times it housed Lincoln’s first high school and the public library. Later tenants included a general store and gas station, a law office, and a small publisher.
Coldwell Banker occupied some of the upstairs office space until leaving in October 2022. The space is being renovated for new tenants, but Osur said she didn’t know what the space will be used for and when. “The whole thing is still up in the air,” she said.