Override passes handily;
Hurd wins planning board in close race;
Nyquist and Peery elected to school committee
Turnout was slow in the morning, attributed by many to the late-night finish to the Oscars broadcast, but things picked up later in the day as a total of 1,224 voters went to the polls. Here are the results in the key contested races:

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Town Meeting gets through half its agenda; to resume Tuesday night
Long-time Town Meeting attendees considered it one of the more boring meetings in recent memory, but Town Meeting attendees accomplished much as they moved slowly and methodically through the warrant. Town Meeting approved the $300,000 override budget, supported the town-sponsored tax relief warrant article and voted down Manny Maier's citizen petition, which would have offered a much more expanded tax relief plan.  Town Meeting also voted to approve the town's participation in the Community Preservation Act and to fund repairs to Bemis Hall. Tuesday evening's second session is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm.

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Planning Board votes to pass over S. Lincoln parking warrant article
It was shortly after midnight when members of the Planning Board, at the end of a long public hearing on the matter, voted to pass over Article 30.  That warrant article would have made substantial changes to the zoning bylaw regarding parking regulations for the South Lincoln Business District.  The public hearing had brought to light a number of issues regarding the proposed changes in the parking ratios and the committee felt there wasn't adequate time before Town Meeting to address them all.  The committee voted unanimously to make a brief report to Town Meeting when Article 30 comes up, but to recommend that the article be passed over for the time being. 

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Local police chiefs oppose parking plan for Hanscom air show
Police chiefs in the four towns surrounding the Hanscom Air Force Base have sent a letter to the base's Lieutenant Colonel, stating that they "could not support" the parking plans for the air show scheduled for June 1-2.  The chiefs' primary concern relates to "increased security at the show," which would eliminate on-base parking for the event.  That would mean that "up to 14,000 cars that normally park on airbase property will be displaced to adjacent communities."

Click on the images below to read the exchange of correspondence between the air base (l) and police chiefs (r)

                

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School committee approves full-day kindergarten; drops override request by $22,000
The school committee approved a full-day kindergarten program for next school year at its meeting on 3/6.  In doing so, it was able to eliminate the expense of the under-utilized mid-day kindergarten bus.  This resulted in a savings of $22,000, thus reducing the school committee's override request from roughly $260,000 to $238,000.

Click on the image below to review the math:

    


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CPA property tax surcharge request reduced to 1.5%;  80% of funds to be allocated for affordable housing
Town Meeting will decide next month whether Lincoln will participate in the Community Preservation Act.  If the CPA passes at Town Meeting and at the ballot, it would add a 1.75% surcharge on to property tax bills. The CPA committee estimates this will cause the average tax bill to rise by $117 per year.  Funds raised would then be matched by the state and could be used for historic renovation, land acquisition or moderate-income housing.
   
Originally, the plan was to use a significant portion of those funds to pay for the restoration of Bemis Hall.  However, the town's bond counsel advised this week that CPA funds can't be used for that purpose. So now, the CPA committee and the housing commission, with selectmen and finance committee support, have agreed to use the bulk of the CPA funds (70-80%) to buy market-rate condos at the Battle Road Farm development in North Lincoln. They would then be resold, at a loss of between $80-$150,000 per unit, as moderate income housing. 

According to housing commission and CPA committee member Gary Taylor, who is running unopposed for selectman, the asking price for such units ranges between "the low $330s and $390,000." Units must be priced below $256,000 to qualify as moderate-income housing.  The housing commission hopes to buy 2-3 units per year.

The reason behind this condominium-purchase initiative is the fear among some town officials that Lincoln could be open to hostile development if it doesn't demonstrate a concerted effort to reach the state-mandated goal of at least 10% affordable  housing.  Communities that fall short of achieving the 10% level could face exposure to large affordable housing projects, as provided for under the provisions of the state's anti-snob zoning law, also known as Chapter 40b of the commonwealth's general laws. 
 

Want to learn more about the Community Preservation Act? 
Which towns have approved it?  Which towns haven't? 
CLICK HERE to read the masstaxpayers.org CPA bulletin (requires Adobe Acrobat reader)

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Town's FY02 legal fees tracking close to last year's
Last year was a banner year for Lincoln's lawyers and this year might turn out to be just as good, if not better.  Lincoln spent $139,000 in FY01, 39% over the $100,000 legal budget for that year.  To date, the town has spent only $92,000 out of its $120,000 budget for this fiscal year, but there are still some substantial legal bills yet to come.

Click on the image below to view a list of the town's legal expenses: