I have no doubt the CCBC and Selectboard are well aware there is considerable concern over the costs of the Community Center project - more than enough to kill the project if costs are too high. And I know they do not want to waste time designing a facility that will never be built. I think we can and should trust them to be good stewards of the town’s available funds.
Also, given that this is the early stages of the project, it is far better - from a project management point of view - to not overly-constrain the process. We need to see what the costs of building the Community Center we want / need really are, and how various options will affect that cost. A similar approach was done for the school project, resulting in three options (at various price points) being presented to the town for a vote. I am certain the CCBC will pursue a similar strategy. So there is no need to set a “cap” at this time; and in my opinion doing so will compromise the end result in ways that no one will be happy with. - Allen Vander Meulen > On Nov 16, 2022, at 16:11, Sara Mattes <samat...@gmail.com> wrote: > > Rob, et al. > We could vote for the money, with a caveat-that the next step include a cap > on total costs. > Bob Mason has suggested a $15 million cap as that was the top end of the > projected costs when we last visited numbers, and was a number that many, at > the time were comfortable with. > > Without such caveat, there is no guarantee that the design iterations will > come anywhere close to that figure. > > I suspect, like most, am bound by a budget/limit on what I can expend on > construction, remodeling and/or renovations in my own home. > Perhaps we can do that, as a town too. > > Your offer to lead fundraising is laudable, but we would need to raise $10 > million in order to bring the price tag back to what had been seen has the > upper limit. > Would we old off voting on a bond until that goal was reached. > I am not sure how this could work. > > If we do not, we continue to challenge the budgets of many and create a > climate that limits opportunities for economic diversity in our community. > If we are committed to diversity, as we espouse to be, we must walk our talk, > have our actions match our words, and budget accordingly. > > I look forward to hearing more from others tonight. > > Regards, > Sara > > > ------ > Sara Mattes > > > > >> On Nov 16, 2022, at 3:50 PM, Rob <urbanviney...@comcast.net> wrote: >> >> From what I heard Jonathan Dwyer say last night, at this point there are NO >> budgets, and there are no final plans for the Community Center. The $325K is >> intended to hire an outside architect to work with the CCBC to review the >> options that were worked out from 2018, and to ALSO add/subtract features >> and consider learnings we’ve had over the last 3 years, and to consider new >> information (cost, etc…) to come up with a plan to present to the town again >> at the next town meeting. Ideally it would be something we could vote on to >> continue the process. >> >> A “no” vote for this money prevents Lincoln from having the benefit of an >> (outside) expert to come up with a new plan that fits with post-COVID >> learnings and today’s financial reality and stops the process in its tracks. >> >> I for one will vote to support the town’s request to spend this money on >> assessing the 2018 plans to see if they are a fit for 2023 and beyond. I >> will vote again if and when asked for more funds for further studies and/or >> moving forward with a Community Center once we have more information >> gathered by these outside experts and town staff and volunteers. >> >> I am also eager to volunteer to help raise private funds to defray any tax >> burden the community center might incur. >> >> Regards, >> >> Rob Stringer >> 15 Todd Pond >> >> Sent from my iPhone >> -- >> 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.
