Select Board finalizes motions for Saturday's special town meeting

LINCOLN -- November 27, 2023, Lincoln Select Board sets stage for five-option housing vote and three-concept community center vote Saturday. Meeting Nov. 27, Chair Jim Hutchinson and members Jennifer Glass and Kim Bodnar approved formal motions for all four warrant articles, agreed to deliver statements supporting both the Community Center Building Committee and the Housing Choice Act Working Group, and confirmed that paper-ballot rounds can end early if an option clears the required majority. Glass said the working group voted 7-4 with two abstentions on Nov. 21 to add resident-proposed Option E, which removes the mall-area Village Center sub-district and splits the Lewis Street district, pending a Tuesday compliance review by consultant Utile. "We're not going to bring something non-compliant to town meeting," Glass said. The board also authorized Hutchinson to sign a tax agreement with New England Life Plan Communities preserving The Commons' roughly $1 million annual payment, and unanimously appointed Joseph Miller to the Conservation Commission.