By Carol Britton Meyer

The Hull Redevelopment Authority property is the top choice to build a combined police and fire station, two HRA members told their fellow board members Monday night.

During member updates to the board, Chair Bartley Kelly reported that he and member Dan Kernan met with Town Manager Jennifer Constable and Assistant Town Manager Stacy Callahan in mid-January and Constable informed them that consultants for the proposed public safety facility had narrowed consideration of potential sites. She said that what is known as Lot B – or the larger, center section of the HRA property – is at the top of the consultant’s short list of sites. Neither Constable nor Callahan participated in the Zoom meeting. The Times reached out to Constable but did not hear back prior to our Wednesday deadline.

“They wanted us to be in the know,” Kelly said. “The HRA would have to be on board, with approval of design funding through town meeting.”

The surprise announcement came during a two-and-a-half-hour Zoom meeting during which the authority also heard updates on a plan for a townwide survey about future uses of the property and the request-for-proposals process for an operator for the parking lots next summer.

Regarding the public safety building, Kernan said community meetings will be held prior to the spring town meeting.

“We have a vacant lot, and this is [likely] the most affordable location in town,” he said. “The HRA property is clearly an easy solution … It’s obvious why it would be on their list.”

It’s not clear how much of Lot B – the largest on the 13-acre property – would be needed for a combined fire and police station.

‘It’s all part of working through the process’

Member Joan Senatore asked, “How would that work?” to which Kelly responded, “The town would be looking to negotiate with the HRA in some form or other. It’s all part of working through the process.” No decisions have been made.

In response, Kelly said that “town meeting and [voters at the] ballot box will have to be on board, and the HRA is part of this.”

Kernan said he was glad that this information was brought to the board’s attention.

“They did the right thing by calling us in about what might happen,” he said. “There was no sales pitch; they were just informing us. It’s up to us to decide.”

This “will take its course, and the HRA will have to react for or against it after understanding what it means and everything about it, including the cost,” Kernan further stated. “I’m grateful [this news] was brought to [our attention] early.”

In other business

• HRA Technical Operations Manager Mark Hamin went over the request for proposals for next summer’s parking lot operator. Lots A and C will be leased, while the middle lot B will be available for events and vendors and short-term parking for their use, but not for public parking as it has been in the past. There was a general consensus at Kelly’s suggestion to keep the process as simple as possible.

After Hamin makes the modifications from the discussion, the board will further talk about and take a vote on the RFPs, including any further changes.

Following a lengthy conversation, the board reached a consensus that the RFP for lot A should go to the highest bidder, with electronic payment required by people using the lot as it has been for the past two years.

The RFP for lot C would also require electronic payment as well as evaluation criteria that includes – but does not require – supporting local businesses in the area by providing a discount to parking lot users who provide validation that they have spent at least a certain amount at a local restaurant or other business, with a maximum stay of four hours.

Kelly suggested that local businesses respond to the RFP for lot C and that Hamin reach out to inform them of this opportunity.

“Let’s agree to do the best we can and see what the bids are,” board member Charles Richardson said. “In a perfect world, it would be nice to have [one or more businesses] around the Breadbasket Bakery and the hotel put in a bid.”

This means that “the HRA could score in a way possible for a bidder who is not the highest to [win] the lease” based on the criteria, Hamin said. Parking will still be free in lot C for residents with a sticker on a first-come, first-served basis.

In the meantime, the subcommittee consisting of Kelly and Kernan will work with Hamin on the RFP details.

“With two RFPs, we could get exactly what we want – A as a revenue-based lot and C, community-based, without over-complicating the process, and if someone wants to, [he or she] could bid on both,” board member Adrienne Paquin said.

• The HRA also discussed next steps to the townwide survey regarding best uses for the property, sharing their goals with Stephanie Gonthier of Market Street Research – the company hired to conduct it.

She shared a “high-level” view of various methods that could be used for the survey process, with more detailed discussion to come.

Services will include working with HRA members on the design of the survey questions and format, survey response optimization features, analysis of response data, and submission of survey reports, subject to HRA approval.

A subcommittee consisting of Paquin and Richardson met with Gonthier, along with Hamin, on Zoom recently to talk about the process and for the two HRA members to share their goals.

“I feel that we have a good game plan in place and that things are moving in a great fashion,” Richardson said.

In sharing her goals with the board, Paquin said, “I was elected by the citizens, and therefore I want to know what they think. I would like to see an incredible response, and hope [respondents] expect that we are [listening] to them.”

Hamin noted that previous surveys regarding the HRA property were shared with Gonthier “to see the trends over time, not to reinvent the wheel, and to recognize some of the limitations of previous surveys.”

There was general agreement to frame the survey questions in a way in which those participating understand exactly what they are responding to, rather than answering them in isolation – and to avoid terminology such as the word “development” that could cause misunderstanding and create polarization.

Kelly emphasized that the target audience for the survey is Hull residents, and said it’s important to widely share the survey and to ensure that citizens only respond once.

Next steps include Gonthier and other members of Market Street Research crafting questions based on the board’s goals with subcommittee input and then bringing the draft survey before the full HRA board.

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

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