Thank you for sending that comparison.
I have a comment about Lincoln's population. At the Special Town meeting last year, the town's senior population was stated as 1,697 (see proof at the bottom of the email), quoted as 35% of an (ex-Hanscom) population of ~4,840. The source was the 2020 census ACS 2020, which is very credible. *All of a sudden, we are presented with a 28% (~500) higher senior count without a source, and a total population ~1,700 higher.* I checked all the other town's (senior) population counts and they match the ACS data. See Acton <https://censusreporter.org/profiles/06000US2501700380-acton-town-middlesex-county-ma/> for example, 21% of the 23,899 population is people 60+, which is 5,004, exactly the number quoted in the email above. Why did we change our source for Lincoln? Why are not using the same source for Lincoln we are using for all the other towns? What is the point of including all Hanscom residents in our population count now? Just in case anyone asks, Hanscom does not have seniors. Its inclusion does not explain the senior population jump. I understand there is an incentive to inflate our senior population to avoid the comparison with Harvard, which is spending less than $3M for 5,400 sq. ft. COA. Nevertheless, the CCBC should abstain from this sort of gamesmanship. [image: image.png] On Tue, Sep 19, 2023 at 7:20 PM Krystal Wood < [email protected]> wrote: > > *COMMUNITY CENTER BUILDING COMMITTEE:COMMUNITY COMPARISONS: OVERVIEW* > > September 2023 > > The Community Center Building Committee (CCBC) has evaluated similar > efforts by nearby communities, building or planning community and senior > centers. The CCBC has carried out research and evaluation, and visited a > number Community Centers in nearby towns, including Lexington, Belmont, > Weston, Bedford, Concord, Wayland, Needham, Winchester, and Harvard, with > tours and often discussion with the town’s COA and PRD directors. We have > also carried out research on town and community web sites and collected > documentation about programs, space sizes and designs, building costs, > sizes and dates of construction. > > Several local towns have built, or are building new Community Centers. > None of the towns has quite the same configurations as that which Lincoln > is planning (shared space for COA&HS and PRD administration and certain > activities). Some are solely COA&HS, or solely PRD/Rec. In some towns COA > and Rec share facilities (although some have Rec administration elsewhere), > some share facilities with other town services -- Youth and Family > Services, Fire Department, Health Departments or other Town Offices. > > This short summary is intended to provide useful information on the > various facility spaces, costs, and construction timeframes. The > information is drawn from town and facility web sites. Information may vary > by source. Towns terminology varies – for example most use Council on Aging > (COA). Lincoln uses COA&HS (& Human Services). Some towns have Recreation > Departments (Rec), some Parks and Recreation Departments (PRD). > > *Lincoln *(population 6,524, seniors 2,181) is planning to build a > Community Center to provide both the COA&HS and PRD with administrative and > certain activity spaces. Currently the COA&HS and the PRD have separate > facilities. The COA&HS is located at Bemis Hall. The PRD is located at > Hartwell Pod A on Ballfield Road. > > *Dover *(population 6,180, seniors 1,489) is rebuilding its Caryl > Community Center. The new design involves the demolition of the 1971 and > 1931 additions to the original 1910 Caryl School. The new building complex > will be ~ 18,400 sf and will focus on the creation of a new pavilion > addition to support congregate dining, small performances, presentations, > and theatrical rehearsals. The other addition will be the Recreation Room > which will be half the size of a regulation basketball court, but lined to > support pickleball, elementary school level basketball, and a regulation > half-court (for team practices or adult games). Town funds of $25.4 M were > approved in June 2023. Ground was broken in August 2023. > > *Harvard* (population 6,829, seniors 1,435) has a new 5,400 sf senior > Center, built in 2022/2023 by partial renovation of an acquired 1995 > existing medical building. The town PRD has administration in the town > offices, and activities in a number of locations. The cost of the Harvard > senior center was $2.86 M. > > *Stow *(population 7,210, seniors 2,164) renovated an existing 33,000 sf > building in 2016 to house a Fire Dept location, shared storage, and the > COA. Estimated space for the COA is 1/3 of the building (~11,000 sf), cost > details not found. Rec administration is in the town center, with > activities in many locations. > > *Weston* (population 11,806, seniors 3,045) built a freestanding 22,500 > sf Community Center in the style of a New England Barn in 2001. The > building contains activity rooms and administration space for both COA and > Rec, and the 2 ½ story Great Room (~3,200 sf) for large events, > performances, receptions, dinners etc. > > *Wayland* (population 14,325, seniors 4,323) is developing a an existing, > never-occupied, 10,500 sf, building shell as a Community Center, to house > COA admin and activities, and Rec activities. The Rec administration is > remaining at the Town Building. The finished building will be 12,900 sf, > and the interior construction and with parking/landscaping is expected to > cost $11 M. Funding was approved late June 2022. The construction documents > are expected to go out to bid in late 2023. > > *Bedford* (population 13,631, seniors 4,180) has an ~18,000 sf building > in the Town Center that houses the Health Department, Recreation > Department, Youth & Family Services, and the Council on Aging. The Rec dept > also has facilities in an extension building, with the Bedford Kids Club, > and has activities in many locations. > > *Concord* (population 18,424, seniors 4,975) has the Harvey Wheeler > Community Center in West Concord for the Council on Aging/Senior services. > It is in a repurposed, unused school building (2007) in West Concord, and > includes space for the COA admin and activities. The Rec dept has a number > of facilities including the Hunt Recreation Center (which includes Rec > admin) at Emerson Field, the Beede Swim and Fitness Center, and multiple > school playing fields and playgrounds, > > *Sudbury* (population 18,709, seniors 4,722) is currently > rebuilding/adding to the multipurpose complex at Fairbanks, which houses > school space, Rec admin and facilities (including gym and pool) and CoA > admin and activity space, and shared space. Size is about 42,575 sf and > town has approved funding of $27.5 M. > > *Acton *(population 23,829, seniors 5,004) has separate locations for COA > and Rec dept. > > *Wellesley *(population 29,266, seniors 6,739) built the 12,400 sf Tolles > Parsons senior center in 2017. Wellesley has also renovated its recreation > center. > > Detailed information about Dover > <https://lincolncommunitycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Dover-CC.pdf>, > Harvard > <https://lincolncommunitycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Harvard-Senior-Center.pdf> > and Wayland > <https://lincolncommunitycenter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Wayland-CC.pdf>can > be found by clicking the linked town names or the attached pdf files or > visiting the document section of our website > <https://lincolncommunitycenter.com/documents/>. > -- > 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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