Many towns (see Concord and Winchester) run excellent after-school programs within their school buildings using shared space. And those towns don’t even have the benefit of a recently built $98 million school, designed for 700 students but currently serving only about 550, like we do. We also have new information that is ominous: the CC project is already at a cost overrun and it hasn't even broken ground. Are we confident that this is the last time we are going to be asked for more money?
Concerns about setup logistics don’t justify a $27 million facility. Schools regularly host after-hours programs, and those challenges can be managed with planning, not new construction. And let’s not forget: the Community Center would also bring more traffic and drivers to the school campus right during peak times, introducing new safety concerns that haven’t been fully addressed. Thanks, Karla On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 10:55 AM Bob Kupperstein <[email protected]> wrote: > LEAP can function in the school building on a temporary basis, but no one > should think this is an optimal or even adequate solution. > > LEAP, in its own building, has dedicated space for educational, artistic, > recreational, tech and media activities. In the school building, they > would not 'own' any space - so anything they use on a daily basis would > have to be set up and stored away each day. This puts an unrealistic > burden on staff and creates logistical issues with the setup needing to > happen just as the school is emptying out and the clean-up/storage having > to happen during the pick-up hours, while the students have a range of > pickup times. The activities and programs that make LEAP such a great > after-school program would have to be scaled back. > > I can also imagine safety/security issues, with students in the school > building after most school staff have left, leaving large parts of the > building unmonitored. > > Thanks, > > -Bob > > On Mon, Jun 9, 2025 at 12:36 AM Karla Gravis <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> ... >> We’ve already set aside $6.75 million for the Community Center, and now >> we're being told we can afford to spend another $2.3 million from reserves, >> without any impact to town services. *That means if the project is voted >> down, a total of $9 million could safely be returned to taxpayers*. For >> the average household, that’s roughly $5,000 back, plus avoiding a $515 >> annual payment for the next 30 years. How is using surplus funds to deliver >> real tax relief *not* financially responsible? >> > > Leap can remain in our brand-new school building as it will be hosted >> there for the next two years anyway. >> >> Karla Gravis >> Weston Rd >> >> >> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message --------- >>> From: Sara Lupkas <[email protected]> >>> Date: Sun, Jun 8, 2025 at 10:53 PM >>> Subject: Re: [LincolnTalk] Vote No to the Community Center, save >>> yourself a tax payment! >>> To: Listserv Listserv <[email protected]> >>> >>> >>> David Cuetos wrote: "After adjusting for structurally inflated budget >>> lines, our true operating budget is likely closer to $46–47M—implying a >>> reserve target of around $7M. That leaves as much as $18M in excess >>> reserves available." >>> >>> What is meant by structurally inflated budget lines and how are you >>> calculating our "true operating budget"? Implying that citizens should >>> somehow equate not passing the Community Center Warrant article with the >>> town not needing to collect taxes in the fall seems a huge reach and not >>> very financially responsible for our town. And if our reserves are so >>> healthy, why is there even an argument against allocating an additional >>> amount to cover the Community Center shortfall? >>> >>> Let's also not forget that if the Community Center somehow fails now, we >>> would still need to renovate Bemis and the LEAP pods, so this wouldn't free >>> up *that much* in the town budget. This is reminiscent of the first school >>> building project getting voted down and then a more expensive project (with >>> no state matching funds) finally passing years later. >>> >>> >>> -- >>> *Sara Lupkas* >>> >>> -- >>> The LincolnTalk mailing list. >>> To post, send mail to [email protected]. >>> 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 [email protected]. >> 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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