June 12, 2007
Regular Session 7:40 pm
Ms. Tully, Mr. Riley, Ms. Burns
Mr. Hersey presented the Board with pictures of a tree he said was in serious danger. Mr. Hersey also asked Ms. Tully to investigate who called the building inspector on his property.
Ms. Corey asked the Selectmen to have an insurance adjuster come and view the tree that had fallen down on her property.
Station Street Parking Lot Plan
Mr. Rabuffo reminded the Board that the Cecil Group had three major objectives for Station Street: to rebuild the parking and street, to fix infrastructure lighting, flood control etc. and to provide delineation of parking spaces. As the Town moved through the design phase, the project was revised based on comments from the businesses, DPW and downtown groups. The mix of businesses has changed and there needs to be more flexibility in the parking which still remains an issue.
Mr. Fernandes explained that the lighting in the parking lot has been expanded to include 36 streetscape lights; there is no loss of private parking in the plan; the drainage issues are being addressed; and the MBTA bus stop has been relocated to the area near Water Street with a separate pull off area. The existing lot contains 200 parking spaces; the new design calls for 267 and, with private parking spaces, the total is 315. The Beautification Committee has been working on a plan for trees and the green spaces. The sidewalks will connect the parking to the downtown area. Mr. Fernandes said the schedule calls for putting in the drainage and a binder coat. If at that time there is a problem there will be an opportunity to add additional drainage. These improvements will be funded through Chapter 90 funds and the Greenbush project. The project cost will be approximately $550,000 to complete the job as cost effectively as possible without compromising the quality. Mr. Fernandes said he would like to start sometime in August depending upon the demobilization of Cashman. The T was unable to make any long term commitments as where the bus would be going in light of the new train stations. The proposed design allows somewhere for the bus to pull off the roadway but does not let the bus route drive the design of the parking lot.
Voted - to approve the plans entitled Parking Facilities at Station Street and Water Street in Hingham by Daylor Consulting Group, Braintree, MA, dated June 6, 2007.
Wind Energy Discussion
Mr. Tzimorangas explained that the Light Plant is trying to be as open as possible to wind energy alternatives. Over the past year the Light Plant has looked for suitable sites in town. After looking at several locations the committee has focused on the landfill. There is a high spot on the 16th hole at the country club which might also be a possibility. The plan is to put up an anemometer to determine what kind of wind we could expect. The anemometer is accurate for approximately a mile or a mile and a half. The feasibility study and anemometer would be funded up to $30,000 by the Light Board. Mr. Tzimorangas said the feasibility study went out to bid and only one complete bid came back. That bid was from Lighthouse Electric. The advantage of purchasing an anemometer is that the Light Plant would own the equipment and just pay for the installation. Hopefully the anemometer will be up within the next couple of months at the landfill. The tower is about 154 feet tall which is above the height clearance so a variance will be needed. The wind speed and data will be available on line on the HMLP website. Mr. Tzimorangas noted that Hull's wind turbine is producing energy 27% of the time. The Light Plant has been working with the schools for about a year to put a solar panel on the high school and the information will be available in the science classes in the school and there will be monitoring to allow students to see when energy is being created, or not.
Ms. Burns spoke about the possibility of regionalizing efforts for wind turbines. Hull is talking about offshore wind turbines and whether they should be 3 megawatt of 5 megawatt. She suggested that Mr. Tzimorangas investigate whether regionalization is
something Hull is interested in. He noted that this offshore installation may be what makes Hull energy independent and it may be something else for them to become a net exporter of energy. Braintree is building a new power plant and seven municipal power plants, including Hingham, got in on it. This will give the Town another source and that will supply 20% of the town's power after 2010. Mr. Riley asked if it is to the Town's advantage to have the wind turbine at the landfill with the sub station there and, if so, is there room for more than one. Mr. Tzimorangas said that the cost of a turbine is a couple of million dollars. The cost of going down to find bedrock could be significant. The payoff is generally about eight to ten years. He also noted that the unit is good for about 20 years.
Ms. Tully asked Mr. Tzimorangas about street openings in the downtown. Mr. Tzimorangas said the issues are particularly difficult when there is a third party involved. He said the opening in front of Talbots will solve the problem. The plans noted that all the connections on South Street were connected across to the Community Center. No one can explain why this did not happen. The Light Plant has Harry Sylvester's list of streets to be resurfaced and will coordinate with that. There has been discussion about burying utilities from Settles Glass to the waterfront. If conduits were laid in Station Street now then the poles could be removed later - even five years from now.
Massport CAC Update
Mr. Boland said that in 2002 Hingham took part in a suit against Massport regarding the additional runway at Logan. Although the case was lost, the decision required a noise study of Boston Overflight Noise. A $3 million study came up with a way to divert flight paths. New technology allows for greater efficiency and accuracy in flights. Under Phase I the current number of aircraft over town (350-380) would be reduced by 50% and the aircraft will be higher. Cargo flights at the early morning hours will also be diverted out to sea. The Phase I recommendations are also positive to the surrounding towns. Marshfield and Hull are suggesting a delay in the execution of Phase I and that is not in Hingham's interest. Mr. Boland requested a letter saying that the Town supports execution of Phase I immediately. Delay of the execution of Phase I will mean that the Town will be putting up with noise longer than necessary. Mr. Boland noted that it is the view of the other members of the CAC that this was voted by a majority of the group and Marshfield and Hull are trying to position themselves more favorably. As recommended, Hull will see a reduction of 17% in overflights and Marshfield, 14%. The only community seeing an increase is Duxbury who will see an increase of 16 flights a day.
Bond Anticipation Notes
Voted - to approve the sale of $9,214,750 Town of Hingham General Obligation Bond Anticipation Notes (Municipal Purpose Loan of 2007) dated June 19, 2007 consisting of $6,514,750 (the "Series A Notes"), maturing on December 19, 2007 and $2,700,000 (the "Series B Notes"), maturing on June 19, 2008 as sold by the Treasurer in a competitive offering on June 6, 2007, and
(a) $6,514,750, the Series A Notes, were awarded to Eastern Bank on the basis of their coupon bid of 4% plus a premium of $8,632.04 for notes bearing a net interest rate of 3.7% per annum,
(b) $2,700,000, the Series B Notes, were awarded to Sovereign Bank on the basis of their coupon bid of 4% plus a premium of $7,911.00 for notes bearing a net interest rate of 3.7% per annum.
The amounts and purposes of the Notes are as follows:
Series Principal Description Project
A 1,495,000 Renewal Sewer Construction WRSD2,
A 1,585,000 Renewal Country Club Irrigation
A 3,434,750 New Fire Station
B 1,700,000 New Schools
B 1,000,000 Grant PWED Grant/Shipyard Drive
Public Works Economic Development
Voted - to sign the Quitclaim Deed for a parcel of land shown as "Parcel A" on a plan of land entitled, "Plan of Land No. 223 and 211 South Street in Hingham , MA 02043 by Cavanaro Consulting, 687 Main Street, P.O. Box 5175, Norwell, Massachusetts 02061, dated May 18, 2007.
Voted - to sign the Quitclaim Deed for a parcel of land shown as "Parcel B" on a plan of land entitled, "Plan of Land No. 223 and 211 South Street in Hingham , MA 02043 by Cavanaro Consulting, 687 Main Street, P.O. Box 5175, Norwell, Massachusetts 02061, dated May 18, 2007.
Voted - to accept the minutes of May 1 and May 29, 2007.
Affordable Housing Trust
Ms. Burns reported that she had attended a Housing Partnership meeting and had a discussion about the number of trustees for the affordable housing trust, special skill sets or qualities and recruitment of potential trustees and the relationship between the Housing Partnership and the Housing Trust going forward. The general consensus was that there should be only one housing committee in Town because there is only a certain pool of candidates and overlapping tasks can be confusing. The notion is to fold the Partnership into the Trust. That responsibility for reviewing 40Bs has to go over to the trust. Town Counsel concluded there was no reason that these committees could not be folded together. The Housing Partnership is in mid-flight on the development of Hidden Cove. That responsibility could be assigned to the trust as long as there is some continuity. There are three people on the Housing Partnership with two years remaining in their terms and three have one year remaining. Ms. Burns suggested that those six people could be appointed to the trust and, if the Board decided to appoint the maximum of 9 members, that would leave three additional openings, one of which must be filled by a selectman.
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Mr. Riley commented that with too many members things could get gridlocked. Ms. Tully said that the plan to reappoint the current six members is the most seamless way to move from the Housing Partnership to the Affordable Housing Trust. She did note that, in general, she agreed that the more could make it more difficult to reach consensus. Ms. Tully remarked that she would have concerns that a new committee is being created with no new members. Ms. Burns noted that this particular group has a long history of effective management. It was also suggested that the Affordable Housing Trust might start with nine members and let it reduce to seven. The Board agreed to continue the matter at the next meeting.
Codes of Conduct
Ms. Tully said the purpose of the Codes was to create a short and clear code as to how the Board of Selectmen will conduct business and how appointees are expected to conduct business. Each new appointee will get a copy of the code and it will also be framed on the wall in the Selectmen's Office.
Voted - to adopt the Code of Conduct for the Board of Selectmen and Boards and Committees appointed by the Selectmen.
Voted - to grant Request for Counsel as submitted by the School Department.
Voted - to appoint the following members of the Bare Cove Park Committee for terms expiring in 2010:
Patti Coyle
Barbara Nicosia
Chuck Harvey
Voted - to appoint the following Deputy Building Commissioners for a one year term:
Robert Egan
Mark Grylis
Michael Simpson
Richard Wakem
Voted - to appoint the following Plumbing Inspectors for a one year term:
Brian McPherson
Francis Yetman
Voted - to appoint George Rittershaus, Jr. Deputy Plumbing Inspector for a one year term.
Voted - to appoint Jane Santosuosso Deputy Zoning Enforcement Officer
Voted - to appoint Scott MacMillan a Trustee of GAR Hall for a term expiring in 2010,
Voted - to appoint the following members of the Historical Commission for a term expiring in 2010:
Noel Ripley, Jr.
Arlyn Vogelmann
Voted - to appoint the following members of the Harbor Development Committee for a term expiring in 2010:
Chris Daly
Matt Goulet
Nicholas Amdur
Voted - to appoint the following members of the Scholarship Fund Committee for terms expiring in 2010:
Roger Nastou
Thomas Hagstrom
Kurt Weisenbeck
Matt Welch
Voted - to appoint Michael Pevarnik a member of the Traffic Committee for a term expiring in 2010.
Voted - to appoint the following special police officer for a one year term:
Michael Bradley
Kenneth Corson
Gerald DiCecca
Russell Erikson
Jonathan Gordon
Ronald Lincoln
Joseph Mayer
Michael Murray
Aaron Smith
John Souther
Thomas Steen
Joan Sullivan
James Wells
Brian Willard
Selectmen's Reports
Ms. Burns mentioned that she had received an email about the 375th birthday of Hingham that is just a few years away. She asked the other members of the Board to think about a forming a committee to make plans for the event. Mr. Riley attended the Fire Department breakfast on Sunday - it was a very nice ceremony and well attended. Ms. Tully reported that that she had attended the luncheon for those citizens of the Town who are 90 or over. She presented the Boston Cane to Ellen Paulsen who is 104 years old. The Selectmen's Golf Tournament will be held on June 18 and the following day there will be an emergency management tabletop exercise held at the Town Hall.
Meeting adjourned 9:55 pm.
Betty Foley, clerk