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Thursday, July 2, 2009
Hingham Town Hall
5:30 P.M.
Members Present: Phil Edmundson, Gary Tondorf-Dick, John Riley, Bill Reardon, Sarah Dewey, Jim Watson, John Kelleher, Sally Weston, Gene Babin
Chairman Phil Edmundson called the meeting to order at 5:50 P.M.
The minutes from the April 15 and April 27, 2009 meetings were approved.
Disposition of Remaining 2009 Project Applications
1. Thaxter Park Boilers – The Housing Authority, Selectmen Rabuffo, and Representative Bradley have had preliminary discussions regarding replacement of the boilers.
2. Ft. Hill Veterans’ House – The Housing Authority met with representatives from Fr. Bill’s Place to discuss the proposal for the use of the house, and identify sources of state and private funding. Fr. Bill’s was supportive of the project, but John Yazinski (of Fr. Bill’s) recommended tearing the house down and building a new one on the same site.
CPC members recommended further conversations with the Housing Trust and commented that there should be a long term sponsor for this project.
26 Summer Street
Tom Hastings, current owner, put the property up for sale. A private buyer has signed a P&S. The closing is between August 15th and August 30th. The asking price is $1.9M, but Mr. Hastings may sell for $1.5-1.6M. Chairman Edmundson posed the question, “If the deal falls through, should CPC recommend that the Town buy the property”? Selectmen Riley suggested that if the purchase goes through, the Town should ask for the first right of refusal. Other comments included asking the new owner to place restrictions on the property, or exploring the possibility of buying a portion of the property from the new owner. The property, located next to the former Mobil Station, now contains a modest building and a marina. Mr. Hastings intended to construct a building to be used as a mixed-use office and commercial development; but the permits have expired. After asking for opinions on how to proceed, Chairman Edmundson said that the consensus is that we like the marina usage, and that we should approach the new owner and propose restrictions and easements through CPC. He suggested looking at the permit issued by the Planning Board, and asked John Kelleher and Bill Reardon to take the lead in talking with the new owner.
Chairman Edmundson adjourned the meeting at 6:05 P.M.
The date for the next meeting was not determined.
Respectfully submitted,
Andrea Young
Administrator