Lincoln Select Board approves $1.7 million ARPA spending plan covering 11 projects

LINCOLN — February 28, 2022 — Lincoln finalizes $2 million ARPA plan and drafts state pushback on Housing Choice Act zoning. The Select Board voted 3-0 on Feb. 28 to fund all 11 projects recommended by its ARPA Working Group — just under $1.7 million, with $1.3 million directed to water storage, well replacement and distribution repairs — and reserved $386,000 for ongoing public health response and a possible second application round. Town Administrator Tim Higgins said Treasury's January final rule left the working group "completely confident" all 11 projects were eligible. The board also authorized Chair Jonathan Dwyer to sign a letter to the state Department of Housing and Community Development contesting Lincoln's classification as a "bus service community" and the 750-unit minimum applied to 42 percent of MBTA communities, which Planning Director Paula Vaughn-MacKenzie said would represent a 30 percent increase in Lincoln's 2,359-unit housing stock. Higgins separately reported Standard & Poor's affirmed Lincoln's AAA bond rating for an $8.5 million school building tranche, and the board appointed Sherry Haydock to the Agricultural Commission.