Thank you for that clarification, Allen. While I haven’t yet concluded where I stand on the budget, or even location, of a Community Center, I think there’s another important consideration.
It can be difficult for our public employees to live near, much less within, this town. I’ve lived here for over thirty years, and I know that for decades we expected them to work in Town Offices with no elevators and ancient staircases, in school buildings with inadequate heating and plumbing, in the cramped offices of Bemis Hall, and with the weird bathroom facilities of the Hartwell pods. I want to show more respect for staff, administrative or otherwise. Volunteers count too. These people provide valuable services and are much of the reason I hope to remain a resident. If paying a bit more in property taxes to provide reasonable workspaces means that we can attract and retain such talent, I’ll go for it. Voting to delay this project, as happened with the school, could be an equally costly mistake. From: Lincoln <lincoln-boun...@lincolntalk.org> On Behalf Of Allen Vander Meulen Sent: Friday, September 15, 2023 10:29 AM To: Listserv Listserv <Lincoln@lincolntalk.org> Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] Last Night's Community Center Forum It should be noted that some of the projects in the Andy Wang posted - such as the replacement of water pipes (and other Water / Sewage system upgrade or repair projects), as well as road paving & improvement, are often partially or fully paid-for by grants from the State - or sometimes from CPC funds. They do not impact our property taxes. Bear in mind that such grants from the State will likely be at risk if we do not continue to move forward with the proposed Housing Choice Act-related zoning changes, which is a major topic on the agenda at the upcoming SOTT meeting. All these projects impact each other, which is why I am very glad I’m not on the Select Board! And is also why I very much appreciate the great job Lincoln’s Government and Administration have done, and continue to do: "threading the needle” to help the us successfully navigate all these competing and yet highly interconnected needs and challenges - not just those at the forefront today, but also preparing for those we will need to address in the future. - Allen Vander Meulen On Sep 15, 2023, at 09:42, Andy Wang <andyrw...@gmail.com <mailto:andyrw...@gmail.com> > wrote: I believe that was provided at the Nov 2022 Special Town meeting. [source <https://lincolncommunitycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/STM-30Nov2022-CCBC.pdf> ] <Screen Shot 2023-09-15 at 9.31.33 AM.png> Caveat that with the 'Possible' and 'Select' wiggle room words in the title. I've heard that replacing water pipes is an on-going process. If there is some large failure, that might hit all at once. I'm not sure if that comes out of town budget or the water department, reflected in the water rate. Either way, it comes back to the property owners one way or another. - Andy On Fri, Sep 15, 2023 at 9:18 AM melinda bruno-smith <melindabr...@hotmail.com <mailto:melindabr...@hotmail.com> > wrote: Thank you Peter. I agree that point #2 should be addressed at Town meeting. Melinda Bruno-Smith …….2) The town has yet to disclose other competing capital expenditures in the pipeline for the town's tax resources. I have heard rumors that we soon will need to replace the drinking water pipes along many parts of the town. I have heard other rumors on lincoln talk, that our repaving and roadside path/bicycle safety wishes may also require additional town borrowings….. Sent from my iPhone Melinda Bruno-Smith On Sep 15, 2023, at 8:50 AM, V Saleme <bmwkbi...@gmail.com <mailto:bmwkbi...@gmail.com> > wrote: 2) The town has yet to disclose other competing capital expenditures in the pipeline for the town's tax resources. I have heard rumors that we soon will need to replace the drinking water pipes along many parts of the town. I have heard other rumors on lincoln talk, that our repaving and roadside path/bicycle safety wishes may also require additional town borrowings. -- The LincolnTalk mailing list. To post, send mail to Lincoln@lincolntalk.org <mailto:Lincoln@lincolntalk.org> . 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 <mailto:Lincoln@lincolntalk.org> . 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. Browse the archives at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/private/lincoln/. Change your subscription settings at https://pairlist9.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/lincoln.
