Lincoln Select Board endorses naming-rights fundraising for community center

LINCOLN — January 8, 2024 — Lincoln Select Board endorses private naming-rights fundraising for proposed community center. The board voted 3-0 Monday to authorize resident Peter Von Mertens and a small group to solicit donations and offer naming rights for 16 to 20 spaces, targeting $2 million to $5 million on top of an existing $1 million challenge grant from the Friends of the Council on Aging. Town Administrator Tim Higgins disclosed exploratory talks with the Codman Trust, which previously helped fund the Codman Pool, but cautioned the March 23 bonding authorization cannot be "contingent on private funds." The board also unanimously promoted Officer Matthew Armada to sergeant and hired Samuel Cullinan as E911 dispatcher, opened the town meeting warrant (closing Jan. 22), and accepted a revised FY25 town operating budget of 4.9 percent — down from an initial 7.1 percent — with $90,000 for IT as the top preferred item. Resident Sarah Cannon Holden pressed unsuccessfully for clickers at the March meeting, calling delay "unconscionable."