By Carol Britton Meyer

Monday’s Hull Redevelopment Authority meeting centered, for the most part, on modifications to the setup of the authority’s parking lots for the 2026 summer season.

The Hull REDevelopment authority this week decided to limit parking on its property to the north and south ends of the land — lots A and C shown above — and use the middle section (lot b) for events.

While well-attended, there was no overflow crowd as there was the last time the HRA held an in-person meeting in the Louis C. Costa Meeting Room at town hall.

After considering eliminating parking altogether on the HRA property – which includes up to 900 parking spaces between Water Street and Phipps Street – the board voted unanimously upon the recommendation of Chair Bartley Kelly to issue two separate requests for proposals for the Water and Phipps Street lots – a total of 350 spaces – leaving the main lot open for events. These smaller lots represent about 40% of the total available parking on the redevelopment authority property.

“Eighty percent of the time, these two lots provide adequate parking,” Kelly said.

A subcommittee consisting of Kelly and Dan Kiernan will work with HRA technical operations manager Mark Hamin on the RFP details. Kelly also recommended that no family members of HRA members be allowed to bid on either lot to avoid potential conflicts. In the past, Kelly has had to recuse himself from discussions of the parking contract with the current vendor, Dunn Rite Parking, because of those relationships.

Member Adrienne Paquin pointed out that eliminating or greatly reducing the number of available parking spaces next season would help prepare residents and beachgoers for the time when a redevelopment plan is in place and those spaces might no longer be available. The HRA is currently working sporadically on take three of the draft Urban Renewal Plan but intends to refocus its efforts on the document in the new year.

Paquin also noted that “shrinking the [HRA] parking area” would hopefully “force the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the town” to come up with a parking solution. “It’s a terrible idea for visitors to drive into Hull on busy days,” she says.

Economic development committee Chair Susan Vermilya mentioned the “self-managed Hingham Shipyard parking lot” and wondered if the Phipps Street lot could incorporate a similar system.

She also suggested directing visitors to the DCR lot off George Washington Boulevard, which is the last to fill up, but planning board member Cindy Borges pointed out that there is currently no easy access from that location to the beach due to the Paragon development construction.

Vermilya also suggested the use of some kind of shuttle from the shipyard to the George Washington Boulevard lot to help alleviate bottlenecks.

A replay of the meeting will be available on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.

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