December 6, 2005
Regular Session 7:04 pm
Mr. MacIver, Mr. Edmundson, Ms. Tully
Voted - to accept the minutes of November 15, 2005.
Ms. Tully reported that the Traffic Committee had reviewed the intersection of Upper Gardner Street, Winfield Road and Farm Hills Lane. The Committee was unsure as to whether the intersection met the warrants for a four-way stop. The Board requested Coler & Colantonio conduct a study. This study indicated that because of the sight lines it did, in fact, meet the criteria for a four way stop. The matter will be referred back to the Traffic Committee with Coler & Colatonio's recommendation. It is expected that the Committee will re-evaluate the matter in light of the study.
Hingham Bay Club All Alcoholic Beverages License
Mr. MacIver noted that the restaurant reviewed the letter received from the Bay Club indicating that they intended to close for an indeterminate amount of time. Mr. Trendowicz explained that the building is being sold to Samuels Associates, the retail developer, who plans to develop the restaurant. After some of the testing there were issues with sale and closing will be in January or February. There will be a restaurant in close proximity to the former location but in a different place. There will also be a 12 - 18 months lag time before the building is built. The GSA building will come down at the end of January or early February. Mr. Edmundson noted that this situation is a little different from what the Board has dealt with in the past and it will necessary to get some education on the licensing laws. Mr. Edmundson also asked about unredeemed gift certificates and said the Board would be interested to know what the plan is for dealing with them. Mr. MacIver asked that SeaChain representatives come back to the Board to discuss the project in January.
The following budgets were heard:
Zoning Board of Appeals
Historical Commission
Historic Districts Commission
Planning Board
Conservation
Town Clerk
Elections
Treasurer/Collector
Bare Cove Park
GAR Hall
Green RFP Committee Report
Mr. Amster advised the Board that in four meetings the committee developed a philosophy regarding language that should be included but not required, in RFPs for future building projects. The awarding authority is the one to determine the degree of initiatives to be included in the project. These initiatives may be an early additional cost but over the use of the building it will pay off. Mr. MacIver commented that this is a good first step but the Town has to be careful about the implications from a cost standpoint. Mr. Amster explained that the awarding authority would use their judgment and those that are sustainable and renewable and have high performance measures would be included in the building. Mr. Edmundson noted that it is appropriate to think in these terms because a public building is going to be used for 40 or 50 years. Mr. Amster also recommended commissioning which is a trend for all public projects in the future to check on how buildings run. It is a detailed and rigorous look at the building and systems. Mr. MacIver said the essence of this is to create it as a policy and distribute it to awarding authorities.
Mr. MacIver noted there should be a look at the traffic for Beal Street, Route 3A, West Street, Fort Hill Street and New Bridge Street. There are some opportunities right now. Ms. Lacy noted that a lot of the baseline data has been collected. The Fort Hill Street traffic counts have been done for DPW. There are short-term mitigation measures that could be done right now and long-term measures that could be considered. If the goal on Beal Street is traffic calming, there are simple things that can be done. Mr. MacIver noted that there are design and aesthetic issues once we get an idea what are objectives. The intensification of use on the Turnabout parcel is at the widest part of the road, perhaps there should be a median to slow down the traffic yet improve the aesthetics. Ms. Lacy said it could be possible to trim the data collection portion of the study and add on interpretative proposals.
In reviewing the recent Greenbush submittal it was found that the quint or school buses would not fit around the median at the intersection of Fort Hill and South Streets.
Voted - to submit comments on Design Package #37 Fort Hill/South/West Street Grade Crossing to the MBTA
Voted - to sign a one-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 520 for the period July 1, 2003 through June 30, 2004.
Voted - to sign a three-year agreement with the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, Local 520 for the period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2007.
Voted - to appoint the following residents to the Hingham Beautification Commission:
Marjorie Elsden
Katherine Morrissey
Kathleen Q. Norman
Correspondence and Reports
Mr. MacIver noted recent letters about the arrival of Keith Jermyn back in town after a nine months in Iraq. Two police cars, a fire truck and ten carloads of veterans accompanied him. The HDIC reported that downtown business owners are looking at a Business Improvement District. Mr. Edmundson said that Christmas in the Square was a big success. Mr. MacIver said the Habitat welcoming ceremony went very well. He also remarked that there was great participation of the various faith communities in town. Congratulations to Temple Sha-'Aray Shalom on the 25th anniversary of the founding. Mr. MacIver attended Shabbat on Friday night as a part of the anniversary celebration.
Meeting adjourned 9:05 pm.
Betty Foley, Clerk