Select Board approves National Grid Sandy Pond Road gas main project 2-1

LINCOLN — November 18, 2024 — Lincoln Select Board approves National Grid Sandy Pond Road gas main project over Glass dissent. The board voted 2-1 Monday to grant National Grid a location to abandon roughly 3,345 feet of 1930s-era coated steel main and transfer service to a parallel line, with member Jennifer Glass voting no. Glass pressed utility representative Mary on the absence of a town-wide plan, saying "it's kind of hard when we get these requests one at a time to understand what is the overall plan for Lincoln," and asked about coordination on geothermal microgrids. Acting chair Kim Bodnar and member Jim Hutchinson voted yes; Mary estimated three weeks of construction with no full road closures. The board also heard a Dark Sky Subcommittee briefing on draft bylaw changes — pushing color temperature from 3,000 K toward 2,700 K, requiring motion activation, and considering a five- to ten-year compliance window — and finalized the Dec. 7 State of the Town schedule, trimming Lincoln 250 and CCBC slots to free 10 minutes for breakout transitions.