This is not the first time I've heard lost state funding for the school mentioned as a reason to move quickly on the new building project. My understanding is there is no state funding at stake now.
I will vote to kick the can down the road. I don't want a white elephant. If the cost will double, triple, quadruple next year I don't want one next year either. Office space occupancy is trending down in the Boston suburbs. That means rents should be dropping. If our buildings collapse we can find a place to put our seniors that is better than an ice floe. I would support a modest building near the train station. I expect the choice before voters to be between very expensive and nothing at all. It's basic marketing. You offer a $50 million diamond-studded temple, a $40 million gold-plated temple, and a $30 million tent with no sides. People are drawn to the middle choice and think they saved $10 million. John Carr On Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 10:59 AM John Mendelson <[email protected]> wrote: > > You write as if everyone agrees the school has too much space. I, for one, > don't. > > In my view, if there are lessons to be learned from the school building > project, it is wise to examine the reasons why the town voted down the > project in 2012, thereby rejecting $20.9 million in state funding. Hubris, > perhaps well-intentioned but overly wrought disagreements about site and > design, concerns about cost? Likely, all of the above. > > To my ear, this dialogue sounds very similar, and I cannot help but believe > that if we kick this down the road, costs are only going to increase and the > impact of the project diminished. > > I trust the work the CCBC has done and will very likely support their > recommendation. > > John > > On Wed, Sep 27, 2023 at 7:22 AM Peter Buchthal <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> >> People of course are allowed to have their own opinions, but I don't believe >> this building project is about accepting our responsibility for taking care >> of our elders. As I have mentioned before, my father lived to 97 and was a >> big user of his local Council on Aging. You apparently believe that if one >> does not support the CCBC's decisions, you don't support our Council on >> Aging and its mission. This is far from the truth. >> >> Many on Lincoln Talk and others in town simply question the Council on >> Aging Hartwell generous building space requirements. Residents simply do >> not want to build a building that is bigger than our needs like we did with >> the school. There is also a healthy debate on whether it makes sense to >> build a COA/Community Center on the Hartwell Campus without sufficient >> parking and limited hours to protect the pre-school Magic Gardens and school >> age (5+) dropoff/Pickup from automobile running child parking lot mishaps. >> I am also not aware of any community center anywhere that intentionally >> colocates a senior center and daycare using a small shared parking lot. >> >> Many on Lincoln Talk and the town would hate to see the town build a huge >> building that is underutilized and repeats the lack of parking at Bemis Hall. >> >> As a small community with limited resources and the highest per capita debt >> in the commonwealth, we need to look at large projects with many eyes and >> many voices. It is a shame that up to now, the CCBC really hasn't listened >> to the public's concerns. >> >> In an effort to lower the cost and save between 3 and 4 million, I have >> previously asked why Leap can't be relocated into the school where it >> belongs. Almost all other school districts have extended day offerings >> within the school as the hours of a school and after school program dovetail >> perfectly. Maybe we should ask our new Superintendent if he could house >> Leap within the school? >> >> Does anyone know where Leap is going to run while the Hartwell Project is >> under construction? >> >> Peter Buchthal >> 71 Weston Rd >> >> On Tue, Sep 26, 2023 at 6:03 PM john gregg via Lincoln >> <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> I am so surprised that a community that encourages acceptance and tolerance >>> would further not doing the right thing like providing a place for kids, >>> adults and elders should be able to congregate. >>> >>> It is about space, about money, about having to be held accountable for >>> past neglect like providing a school for children. A place where the kids >>> would be provided safe care at LEAP for parents who work. A place where >>> adults could allow care for the ones who actually took care of them if they >>> move back home. >>> >>> This is the same discussion when deciding about a new school, a bunch of >>> intellectuals debating why things should not be provided to others like was >>> provided to them. >>> >>> Best Regards, >>> John Gregg >>> -- >>> 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. >> > -- > 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. 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