Lincoln resumes talks on town office lease

LINCOLN – Fortified with options presented by about 40 residents at a recent town meeting, the Town Council will decide next week whether to lease the town office on Main Street from the local Masonic lodge for 10 more years.

The lease continues the monthly rent increase, from $1,211 to $1,925, that the Town Council agreed to pay early last month.

The increase includes jumps in heating oil costs, from $0.70 to $2.35 a gallon, or 335 percent; insurance, from $1,647 to $2,781, or 69 percent; and taxes, from $2,352 to $3,328, or 41 percent, that the town has not had to pay over the last 10 years, the life of the town’s expired lease, a Masons representative said last month.

Town Manager Glenn Aho has contended that the town should consider other options because the building has some flaws, including lack of records space, mold problems, lack of space for growth, lack of parking or access for residents with disabilities – which leaves the town liable to lawsuit – and no bathrooms.

People who need bathrooms use a service station next door.

The town rents the first floor of the Masonic building on Main Street and gets vault and cellar space for free.

The Masons contend that the cost increase still leaves the town paying no more than half of what other Main Street tenants pay. The Masons are a charitable organization that does not seek to profit from its proposed 10-year lease with the town.

Held last Wednesday, the community meeting drew about 40 residents, who made the following recommendations:

. Conduct a feasibility study to measure costs of renovating the town office.

. Purchase and renovate the Mason’s building, although the Masons have not indicated that it’s for sale.

. Renew lease negotiations to get the town a better deal.

. Consider leasing or buying another building on Main Street.

Minutes of the meeting show that several people spoke out against building a new town office, apparently disliking the project’s cost, although there was considerable agreement that the council’s deliberations should be as open and transparent as possible.

The council meeting will be held Feb. 13.