Leaf blower committee floats summer-use ban; Selectmen split on bylaw route

LINCOLN — September 22, 2014 — Lincoln Selectmen split as leaf blower committee floats a summer-use ban. Chair Jamie Banks and co-chair John Koenig presented a draft regulatory framework that would prohibit most summer use, set weekday hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and bar blowing onto neighboring property; member Jim Meadows said the panel rejected decibel limits because "no one is walking around with a decibel meter." Selectman Peter Braun urged a voluntary best-practices policy binding town entities first, while Chair Renel Fredrickson called a bylaw "a perfect thing to bring to town meeting." The board separately authorized renewing power-supply contracts through PowerOptions at a four-year natural-gas rate of 8.4 cents, down from roughly 9 cents; unanimously appointed Audrey Kalmus to a two-year Capital Planning Committee term after Vincent Cannistraro withdrew; and approved closing Codman Road for 20 minutes Oct. 19 for the Scarecrow Classic 5K. Town Administrator Tim Higgins reported a roughly $35,000 annual tax impact from the proposed Care Dimensions hospice on Winter Street, now in PILOT negotiations.