 Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
The Climate Action Planning Committee provided an update recently to the Select Board on its Climate Action Plan, outlining potential actions at next spring's Annual Town Meeting. The CAPC is focusing on six areas -- natural resources, energy, buildings, community, waste, and transportation, with detailed recommendations included within each category. The goal is for Hingham Municipal Lighting Plant to lead on energy decarbonization as it relates to renewable energy, system upgrades, and reliability and resiliency. Potential items that may be raised at Town Meeting 2023 include potential funding for initiatives identified in the final Climate Action Plan, establishing a citizens group to implement the plan, and establishing limits on new natural gas hook-ups and on new oil heat boilers to encourage electric heat pump transition, among others. The report explains that the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 "is a treasure trove to assist Hingham in meeting its Net Zero goals, offering lucrative incentives." The draft plan will be reviewed at a public meeting in January 2023. Continued involvement by the public is key to the plan's success.
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By Carol Britton Meyer
To avoid confusion, Assistant Town Administrator for Finance Michelle Monsegur recently provided clarification on the local questions related to the proposed new public safety facility and Foster School that will appear on the Nov. 8 state election ballot. Voters will also consider four statewide ballot questions. The local questions will appear on the back of the ballot, and unlike with the statewide ballot questions, the town is required to follow state-prescribed language and is not allowed to place information beside or beneath the questions about what a "yes" and what a "no" vote means. Select Board member Liz Klein explained that the dollar amounts are not allowed to be included in the questions either. As a way of starting to get the word out about these details, Monsegur explained that for both questions, a "yes" vote supports the town borrowing funds and raising taxes to construct the proposed new building, while a "no" vote does not support authorizing the town to borrow funds or raise taxes for that purpose. The town will share more information in the weeks leading up to the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting, where voters will decide whether to support the proposals -- and also leading up to the Nov. 8 election.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham citizens wishing to vote in the Nov. 8 state election have a number of different options: vote by mail, vote early in person, absentee vote, or vote in-person on election day. In-person early voting is available at Town Hall from Oct. 22 through Nov. 4. As an option to early voting, all registered voters qualify to vote by mail. All Hingham voters who have not already chosen to receive a vote by mail ballot for the Nov. 8 state election have been sent a vote-by mail application from the Secretary of State’s office. The Town Clerk’s office will process the applications and mail the requested ballots to voters. "Early by-mail voting makes it easier to exercise your fundamental right as an American," Falvey said. "We're asking Hingham citizens to minimize the costs associated with early by-mail voting by returning the ballots they requested!" Falvey noted that more than 1,200 residents asked for and received early mail-in ballots for the September Primary but did not return them. In-person voting for the state election will take place Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Check the Town Clerk link on the Town of Hingham website for full details and voting locations. By Carol Britton Meyer
Hingham voters can cast their ballots at Town Hall for the Nov. 8 state election through the early voting process if they wish to do so rather than vote in-person on Election Day or another option. On June 22, 2022, a Massachusetts election reform law titled “The VOTES Act” was signed into law. Among other things, the VOTES Act makes several of the temporary changes from the 2020 pandemic permanent including Vote by Mail and In-Person Early Voting. Town Clerk Carol Falvey recently announced in-person early voting hours at Hingham Town Hall starting Oct. 22 and continuing through Nov. 4. Check the Town Clerk link on the Town of Hingham website for dates and times for early voting opportunities. Call the Town Clerk’s Office with any questions: (781) 741-1410 or email TownClerk@hingham-ma.gov. Visit www.RegisterToVoteMA.com for voter registration information and the elections link on the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts website for further information about early voting, absentee voting, the Nov. 8 election, candidates, and the statewide ballot questions. By Carol Britton Meyer
Voters will make two important decisions at the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting and at next year's Annual Town Meeting related to a potential $139.6 million debt exclusion to pay for a proposed new Foster School and public safety facility and an anticipated Fiscal 2024 $4.9 million operating override, respectively. A debt exclusion is a temporary funding measure, while an override becomes part of the permanent tax base. The decision of whether to fully fund the two projects through a debt exclusion rests with voters at this Fall's STM and the outcome of a Nov. 8 ballot vote. A tax impact calculator will be available at a later date, which will provide taxpayers with information about how the passage of these two warrant articles would affect their tax bills. "We realize that [approval of these two projects] would represent a significant tax increase, with many approaches to help mitigate the impacts," Town Administrator Tom Mayo said recently. These include potential property tax exemption and relief opportunities for qualifying residents. The next steps include finalizing the permitting for the Foster School and public safety facility projects; continued efforts to cut costs; Select Board and AdCom warrant article votes, and an October "media blitz" to educate residents about the two proposed projects and related information. By Carol Britton Meyer
Following the recent reporting of two coyote-related incidents in neighboring Cohasset involving attacks on dogs and a dog owner, Hingham Animal Control Officer Leslie Badger reached out to the community to share information in a continuing effort to educate Hingham residents. "We have received the normal amount of calls about coyote sightings that we get every year in Hingham," Badger said, "but I am not aware of any actual coyote attacks this summer on humans or pets that were reported officially to us at Animal Control/Hingham Police Department. That said, "I cannot stress enough to always be aware of your surroundings -- in your yard and out on trails -- and to supervise small children and pets," Badger advised. The ACO webpage on the town website includes a video of a panel of wildlife experts having an in-depth conversation about coyotes, a link to report sightings considered serious concerns, and other information. MassWildlife also offers tips for keeping coyotes away from your house. Residents are asked not to call 911 or the police station business line to report seeing a coyote unless there is an emergency or immediate threat to humans. The Hingham Police Department and the ACO log all sightings reported in a central location to address any threats appropriately. By Carol Britton Meyer
The Planning Board recently began its review of the proposal to build a new Foster Elementary School, contingent on voter approval at the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting and subsequently at the ballot box Nov. 8. The proposal calls for a three-story, 126,385-square-foot building with related improvements at 55 Downer Ave. The existing building is roughly 72,000 square feet. About seven of the 40 acres that comprise the site are developable. The proposal focuses on taking advantage of the natural surroundings. Features include a basketball court, softball field, a wilderness classroom with a raised boardwalk perched over the wetlands, 134 shade trees to create a canopy, tennis courts, an accessible path through the play spaces, additional parking, electric vehicle charging stations, a community garden, and a therapeutic learning center and language-based classroom for special education programs. The groundbreaking is expected to occur in the Spring of 2023, with the new building occupied in Sept. 2024 and fully completed by Spring 2025 if all goes as planned. "Overall, a lot of progress has been made on these plans," Planning Board Chair Judith Sneath said. "We will get into more detail at our next meeting," which is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 7 p.m.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
In addition to in-person voting for the state primary on Tuesday, Sept. 6, from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., in-person early voting is also an option under the recently passed VOTES Act, as is voting by mail-in ballot. For in-person voting on Sept. 6, Precincts 1-4 will vote at Hingham High School, 17 Union St.; Precincts 5-7 at Hingham Middle School, 1103 Main St.; and Precinct 7A at Willard Square, Linden Ponds, 201 Linden Ponds Way. Early voting will be held at Hingham Town Hall, 210 Central St., in the Central Meeting Room located on the second floor on Aug. 27, 29-31, and Sept. 1 and 2. For further information about in-person voting, in-person early voting, voting by mail, absentee voting, and election precincts, visit the hingham-ma.gov website. The deadline to apply for a mail-in state primary ballot is Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. The deadline to apply for a mail-in state election ballot is Nov. 1 at 5 p.m. Citizens are encouraged to call the Town Clerk’s Office with any questions at (781) 741-1410 or email TownClerk@hingham-ma.gov.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
The much-anticipated, newly-completed boat ramp at Hingham Harbor features a wooden pier, a gangway, and a floating wooden dock to help boaters safely launch their boats and then return them to their trailers at the end of their boating outing. The ramp is open to the public at no charge. The new ramp offers boaters without moorings in the harbor an opportunity to also enjoy being out on the ocean. "A lot of people have been using the ramp since it opened, and they are very excited and pleased about it," Harbormaster Ken Corson said recently. The approximately $2 million project was funded by the Mass. Dept. of Fish and Game Office of Fishing and Boating Access.  Click here to watch Hingham's Weekly Update By Carol Britton Meyer
A communication/outreach plan is in place to ensure that voters are fully informed prior to the Nov. 1 Special Town Meeting. This effort includes public information sessions, tour dates, details about project costs and associated tax impacts, and the permitting status for the proposed new Foster Elementary School and new public safety facility. There are two separate articles for the two projects and a third related to creating a stabilization fund to help lessen the burden on taxpayers. Two local debt exclusion questions will appear on the Nov. 8 state election ballot regarding the proposed Foster School and public safety facility projects. A debt exclusion is a temporary funding measure that excludes certain debt from counting against the Proposition 2-1/2 limit on year-to-year property tax levy increases. In order to secure the requested funding for both projects, two-thirds of the voters at Town Meeting would have to vote favorably on both warrant articles, while the ballot questions would each have to pass by a majority vote. |
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