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 <[email protected]> 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 <[email protected]> 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 >> [email protected]). 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 [email protected]. >> 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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