**ON THE TOWN.** More than 300 people attended the opening session of Hull’s annual town meeting on Monday night; subsequent sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday were not as well-attended. [SKIP TULL PHOTO]

By Carol Britton Meyer

All but two of the annual town meeting warrant articles addressed during the first session May 5 passed with flying colors. According to tradition, the order of the main articles to be addressed was determined by lottery.

An electronic voting system malfunction caused Town Moderator George Boylen to call for voice votes until the issue was fixed a little later in the meeting.

In all, only 17 of the 42 articles were completed, with the well-attended meeting adjourning at 10:42 p.m. after nearly fours of discussion – to be continued the following evening. There were more than 300 voters in attendance for at least part of the session.

At the start, advisory board member David Clinton offered a resolution in honor of former longtime advisory board member John “Jay” Polito, who passed away in May 2024 after giving of his time and talents to many town positions and Hull organizations.

Boylen then expressed appreciation for the late Dr. John A. Silva, better known as “Doc Silva,” who also served the town in many capacities for many years before his recent passing, including as town moderator, and a member of both the select board and school committee.

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State Rep. Joan Meschino, a Hull resident, said the town “is lucky to have such talented, seasoned professionals, including the town manager.” She also thanked the advisory board, “which looks out for the town and scrutinizes everything.”

Looking around the room at the 300+ voters, she said, “This is democracy.”

Town Manager Jennifer Constable presented the town's FY26 budget during MONDay NIGHT’s meeting.

Town Manager Jennifer Constable reminded those in attendance that town-sponsored warrant articles “are the culmination of a year’s-worth of work” by town staff.

She also thanked the high school students who handed out Dignity Pledge cards to voters before they entered the meeting room. This initiative was adopted by the select board to promote “dignity over contempt,” Constable noted.

Among the articles approved by voters appropriated funds for projects recommended by the Community Preservation Committee under Article 13:

• $530,000 for the redevelopment of Friend Park/Jones Park at Kingsley Road and Touraine Avenue. Resident David Irwin said this park is one of the most underutilized ones in town and that he would rather see the proposed funding go toward affordable housing “on this beautiful piece of land – with zoning relief.”

Another resident, on the other hand, was in favor of the project, because it would “give kids in the area a place to play.”

• $137,500 to restore the Hull Lifesaving Museum Boathouse at Pemberton;

• $25,000 for a needs assessment of the town’s historic properties;

• $111,000 for painting and exterior lighting at the Hull Lifesaving Museum;

• $125,000 for roof replacement at the Paragon Carousel;

• $35,000 for exterior painting of the historic St. Nicholas United Methodist Church in Hull Village; and

• $100,000 for the preservation of historic town documents.

Voters also approved the proposed $52.6-million FY26 municipal budget that includes a part-time assistant library director who will also serve as children’s librarian, and an increase in staff hours to help meet the growing need for services; two additional full-time fire department positions and the creation of four lieutenant positions; and the hiring of a desk clerk for the police department. This year’s school department budget totals $18.4 million.

• A citizens’ petition submitted by Lisa French and others to rezone as public open space several town-owned properties currently located in single-family zoning districts did not pass after she made a motion to remove the private conservation trust parcels wording from the original article.

An amendment offered by Building Commissioner Bartley Kelly to further study this issue was approved, but it ultimately failed to gain voter support.

Replays of all the town meeting sessions will be available on demand at Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.

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