I moved to Lincoln the year the school construction was added to my taxes. I am not looking forward to the same increase for another huge project. I would love to see less expensive options discussed and proposed-or is the $25 million already approved and waiting to be spent?
Carol Bickford > On Oct 25, 2022, at 6:00 PM, sally kindleberger <skindleber...@gmail.com> > wrote: > > > Many of us have been waiting and/or working on the development of a community > center for over 10 years. We supported the new school construction even > though we have no children in our schools! And we willingly paid higher taxes > for the betterment of the whole community. > Many of the surrounding towns have incredible community centers - much bigger > and fancier than what is proposed for Lincoln! > One must note that this building will be ear-marked for the entire town - the > COA and Human Services and the Recreation department will be > housed there and other groups in town will make good use of it. > I feel strongly that the town should support the construction of a community > center! And I hope that I will live to see it. >> On Tue, Oct 25, 2022 at 5:34 PM Seth Rosen <rosen...@gmail.com> wrote: >> I agree with you, Sara. I don’t think we should make that investment, and >> instead I feel we should revisit all of our needs, prioritize them based on >> urgency and impact, and then debate various alternatives that comport with >> current economic realities and resource constraints. >> >>>> On Oct 25, 2022, at 5:10 PM, Sara Mattes <samat...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>> Simple question-why would we approve the $325,000 to finalize designs if >>> we questioned the financial wisdom of the final investment of $25 million? >> >>> Regards, >>> Sara Mattes >>> ------ >>> Sara Mattes >>> >>> >>> >>> >>>> On Oct 25, 2022, at 2:17 PM, Seth Rosen <rosen...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> Friends and Neighbors - >>>> >>>> I've recently become more informed on this particular issue, and share a >>>> lot of the concerns articulated below. The below information was compiled >>>> by a group of very diligent and thoughtful neighbors whose opinions I >>>> respect. I volunteered to send it along to LincolnTalk. >>>> >>>> If you have feelings on this issue, and are concerned about a potential >>>> ~9% property tax increase to fund it, please make your voice heard on >>>> November 30th. >>>> >>>> The Background >>>> >>>> In May of 2022, a proposal was approved at Town Meeting to establish a >>>> Committee to explore the construction of a Community Center. The major >>>> goal for the Community Center is to house the Council on Aging, in other >>>> words, to operate as a senior center. At that time, the cost of this >>>> Community Center was estimated at $25MM. This cost would be paid from our >>>> property taxes. >>>> >>>> On November 14th the Committee will provide more details on the two >>>> designs presented in May and ask residents to approve $325,000 to hire an >>>> architect to finalize both designs and put them to a vote at the Special >>>> Town Meeting on November 30th. >>>> >>>> While we want to provide seniors with a facility that meets their needs, >>>> we believe the two very similar designs envisioned by the Committee are >>>> not the right path forward. The details are spelled out below, but >>>> basically: >>>> >>>> - They are too expensive, out of proportion to our needs and means. >>>> Your property taxes will go up thousands of dollars a year, forever, >>>> making our town even more unaffordable for many residents. >>>> >>>> - Town’s finances are already stretched after the completion of the >>>> school building and will be further compromised by unavoidable incremental >>>> expenses and capital investments. >>>> >>>> - There are better and cheaper ways to achieve the same goals. They >>>> should be investigated before moving ahead with a final design. >>>> >>>> What can you do? First, learn more about this. There is low awareness of >>>> this project and its consequences, but in our experience when folks are >>>> debriefed on the matter, most agree with our take. Read below for more >>>> detailed information about the costs and alternatives, and please do not >>>> hesitate to get in touch if you have questions (email >>>> lincolnccquesti...@gmail.com). Second, come to the Special Town Meeting in >>>> the Donaldson Auditorium on November 30th at 7:30pm, and vote against the >>>> proposal to spend another $325,000 to fund additional work on this design. >>>> >>>> The current proposal is disproportionate to our needs and would make our >>>> town even more unaffordable for young families and retired seniors. Our >>>> estimate is that the construction and manning of the Center would increase >>>> the average property tax bill by $1,700. We can both provide our seniors >>>> the services they need, and avoid financial hardship in our community. >>>> >>>> Its financial impact has been materially understated >>>> >>>> The preliminary financial impact presented at Town Meeting in May is not >>>> an accurate representation of the financial burden the Community Center >>>> will impose on our town: >>>> >>>> · The 3% interest rate discussed at the time would be over 4% today. >>>> This alone would increase the debt service cost by 20%. >>>> · The alternatives presented last year ranged between $23MM and >>>> $25.4MM. We can use $25MM to calculate the debt service. Using the updated >>>> interest rate, annual debt service would be ~$1.5MM. >>>> · We do not want to get bogged down on this debate, but we would >>>> just note that the inflation expectations used at the time are looking >>>> very optimistic. The cost estimate increased an average 10% every year >>>> between the initial estimate of 2018 and the update in 2021, but are only >>>> projected to grow 3.5% per year over the next four despite a much higher >>>> overall inflation background. >>>> · There was no estimation of the operating budget of this new >>>> facility. A good rule of thumb for a public building is to assume 2% >>>> annual maintenance ($500,000), on top of that we assume $100,000 in >>>> utilities expense, 0.5% insurance cost ($150,000), perhaps an additional >>>> $300,000 for 3-4 FTEs (janitors and personnel for new services provided) >>>> and another $50,000 in sundry expenses like new capital equipment and >>>> consumables. This would represent a cost increase of ~$1.1MM per year, >>>> growing at the rate of inflation. >>>> >>>> A $2.6MM annual expense would represent an increase of approximately 9% >>>> versus the FY22 tax levy, $1,700 in incremental property tax for the >>>> average property owner. This is simply unacceptable at a time in our town >>>> when we are discussing options of how to reduce the financial burden for >>>> seniors living on a fixed income. Lincoln families already pay the >>>> third-highest property tax bills in Massachusetts. >>>> https://www.mass.gov/info-details/fy2022-massachusetts-average-single-family-tax >>>> Property taxes in our town are already more onerous, defined as a >>>> percentage of our income, than our neighbors and peers’. >>>> https://dlsgateway.dor.state.ma.us/reports/rdPage.aspx?rdReport=AverageSingleTaxBill.SingleFamTaxBill_wRange >>>> >>>> Dire straits directly ahead >>>> >>>> The town faces a difficult next few years financially as the following >>>> incremental expenses, to be accomplished through increases in the tax >>>> levy, are likely to require overrides >>>> >>>> · Teacher salaries, which are by far the town’s greatest expense, >>>> have been frozen for the past two years and their contract is up for >>>> negotiation this fiscal year. >>>> · The last inflation read was 8.2%, including a 6.6% increase in >>>> core inflation. The town will have to make tough decisions regarding >>>> resource prioritization to keep fiscal balances in check and retain talent. >>>> · There are several other non-discretionary capital investments in >>>> the horizon, including a road maintenance plan and a new DPW facility, >>>> which would be jeopardized if we moved ahead with this project. >>>> · Last year we received a one-off $2MM from the American Rescue >>>> Plan. We should not expect this type of largesse in the future. >>>> >>>> As most of you know, the town has a very small commercial tax base and an >>>> insignificant amount of new single-family house construction to lighten >>>> the burden on existing property owners. The current economic consensus is >>>> that the U.S. economy is heading into a recession. It would be highly >>>> imprudent to increase our leverage and spending in this macroeconomic >>>> environment. >>>> >>>> We have great alternatives >>>> >>>> The town already has enough space to host senior activities, we just need >>>> to be more open-minded in our approach. We believe that converting Pierce >>>> House into the town’s COA headquarters would address all of the concerns >>>> associated with Bemis Hall as presented in the 2018 Planning report. To be >>>> precise, there would be plentiful parking, easy accessibility and enough >>>> rooms to both provide services that require confidentiality and conduct >>>> group activities. >>>> >>>> Pierce House is an idyllic location right at the center of town that needs >>>> to be maintained into perpetuity. This new mission would set it much >>>> closer to the Pierce family’s original gift intentions (community health) >>>> than its current use as a wedding facility. We suspect that many neighbors >>>> would be very happy with the accompanying noise reduction and we would >>>> avoid doubling down on the existing traffic congestion at the school’s >>>> campus. >>>> >>>> There is no shortage of currently underutilized public buildings in town >>>> which could compliment Pierce House to provide additional space for the >>>> COA and community groups. The Town Building is very large for a town our >>>> size (the same size as Weston with less than half the population) and >>>> Hartwell could definitely see heavier use with a more rational floorplan. >>>> We should also reconsider upgrading Bemis Hall. >>>> >>>> Other than housing COA activities, it is not entirely clear what benefits >>>> the Community Center would provide the town. By its own admission, the >>>> Parks and Recreation department is happy with the pod where they are >>>> currently located. There will almost certainly be a need to revamp the >>>> pods or find alternative accommodations at some point in the near future, >>>> but we should not let the tail wag the dog. >>>> >>>> A palatial structure out of proportion with our needs and our peers >>>> >>>> The current Community Center proposal is for a 23,500 sqft facility, which >>>> is out of proportion with the size of our town and our senior population: >>>> >>>> · Most neighboring towns, all of them more populous than us (pop. >>>> 4,771 excluding Hanscom), do not have a separate Community Center. Wayland >>>> (pop. 13,724), Bedford (14,155), Carlisle (5,181) and Harvard (6,844) fall >>>> in that list. >>>> · Concord, with almost four times our population, has a 18,000 sqft >>>> Community Center, which also houses its pre-school. >>>> · Sudbury, which has a population also almost four times ours, has a >>>> project to build a new facility. The space allocated to their senior >>>> center is 5,754 sqft. >>>> · Weston, is a wealthier town with more than twice the seniors (65+) >>>> and total population, has a slightly smaller (22,500 sqft), much more >>>> modest architecturally facility. >>>> · Even Newton, with a population 18 times ours, is projecting a >>>> cheaper Senior Center ($19.5MM). >>>> · The envisioned cost per square foot of our Center, which would >>>> surpass $1,000 per square foot, speaks to a lavish facility, more suited >>>> to an international conference center than a small town’s senior center. >>>> · Pierce House has a finished square footage of 5,306, perfect for >>>> our needs. >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>>> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >>>> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. >>>> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >>>> Change your subscription settings at >>>> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >>>> >>> >> -- >> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >> To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. >> Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. >> Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. >> Change your subscription settings at >> https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >> > -- > The LincolnTalk mailing list. > To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org. > Search the archives at http://lincoln.2330058.n4.nabble.com/. > Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. > Change your subscription settings at > https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln. >
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