FOR THE SECOND TIME IN TWO YEARS, VOTERS APPROVED A CITIZENS’ PETITION THAT WOULD CHANGE THE MANAGEMENT STRUCTURE OF The Hull Municipal Lighting Plant by removing the town manager as the light plant manager. The vote this year was overwhelming, 236-82.

By Carol Britton Meyer

During a four-hour marathon second session of town meeting Tuesday night, six of the total 44 warrant articles were addressed – including an affirmation of last year’s vote to change the management structure of the light plant, approval of funds to pave Manomet and Samoset Avenues, and $400K to for study and design of a new police and fire headquarters.

Tuesday’s action was on top of the 11-article consent agenda and three other warrant articles that were voted upon during the first session on Monday. About 300 citizens participated.

This left 22 – or half of the total number of warrant articles – still to be addressed on Wednesday night and possibly beyond.

The electronic voting system was up and running after malfunctioning during the first session.

Click below for full coverage town meeting from The Hull Times:

Night One — Night Two — Night Three — Night Four

During session two, voters approved:

⦁ Article 40, the citizens’ petition submitted by Leslie Taylor calling for the removal of the town manager from the operation of the Municipal Light Plant and restoring the light board’s statutory authority;

⦁ Article 41, a citizens’ petition sponsored by Jacob Vaillancourt that provides assistance to those submitting citizen’s petitions through town counsel to ensure they are in correct legal form before presenting them at town meeting through a citizen’s petition submitted by Jake Vaillancourt;

⦁ Spending $1.3 million to repave Manomet and Samoset avenues as a temporary solution to their deteriorating condition while the town seeks eventual potential Transportation Improvement Program funding from the state for a potential much more comprehensive project;

⦁ Allocating $400,000 toward the costs associated with continuing feasibility studies and conducting preliminary design for a new public safety building; and

⦁ Authorizing the allocation of $750,000 toward various seawall infrastructure repairs and projects. “We have $374 million in identified coastal infrastructure needs,” Town Manager Jennifer Constable said. “This funding will help address issues as they arise and prepare us for larger projects.”

The article calling for removing the town manager from her light plant role is similar in intent to last year’s town meeting-approved article 37 – which is currently in a study committee on Beacon Hill. This year’s Article 40 requested special legislation to amend the town charter to remove the town manager from the operation of the municipal light plant.

The question was called after nearly a 1-1/2-hour discussion, with the article passing on a 236 to 82 vote.

Vaillancourt, who submitted last year’s Article 37 as a citizen’s petition, called for reconsideration of the article, which was seconded and failed on a 90-214 vote. Even though there was no doubt cast on the vote, it’s customary for an article supporter to call for reconsideration because articles cannot be brought up again later in the evening when there are fewer voters – which could result in a different outcome.

Before the vote, citizens were told that the majority of the advisory board recommended that this issue be referred to study.

However, advisory board member Chad Wolfe – representing the minority of the advisory board – explained that taking another year to study the issue further wouldn’t result in a different vote. He also noted that last year’s similar Article 37 is still in study.

“This is one of the most important issues in decades in this town,” he said.

Vaillancourt urged voters to approve the article “to finish the job” that was begun with Article 37, which was ruled “unactionable” by town counsel because it was not properly worded.

Light commissioner Chair Thomas Burns said as part of his remarks, “We don’t have a dedicated light plant manager” and that the town manager doesn’t have “the technical expertise” to run the plant.

Light board Vice Chair Patrick Cannon proposed a substitute motion to send the article to a government study committee “for a full and thorough review,” but after further discussion, it failed to pass on a 69 to 245 vote.

Patricia Lambert, who said that she is a constitutional lawyer, said one of the reasons she moved to Hull when she retired was because “the town operates as a direct democracy, which is an extremely attractive feature.”

She said she strongly opposed sending Article 40 “out to study. Last May the people spoke. The vote was electronic and clear. The people were voting for change because there was something they were aware of that they did not like, and we were voting for that change to be implemented.”

Having the issue studied “when this has been [the subject] of one or another study group since 2011, I would say only this [about the substitute motion]: Democracy delayed is democracy denied.”

It was then back to discussion of the main motion to remove the town manager from the light plant manager role, which passed easily.

Before the vote, resident Polly Rowe spoke against Article 40, stating that “by law, the light board’s role is limited to advising on policy and setting rates.” She added that “for well over a year, three light board members have focused on seeking control of the light plant and consumed an enormous amount of time and town staff resources, turning the light board meetings into combative spectacles. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it.”

Her remarks were met with some booing from the audience, at which time Town Moderator George Boylen called for respect during article discussions.

Light commissioner Stephanie Landry urged “slowing down” and called for conducting “a careful, critical evaluation before moving forward.”

Light commissioner Dan Ciccariello said voting in favor of Article 40 “is a matter of restoring accountability.”

Constable said she believes a study “is a good idea. I don’t see any harm in that. I want to remind this body [that a yes vote] would turn the light plant leadership over to a major sitting board,” making reference to what she termed “the insurmountable amount of misinformation” that has been shared.

Advisory board member David Clinton, speaking as a citizen, said the board was “just getting ready to send its own amended motion to go to a study as well. We honestly saw huge amounts of miscommunication going back and forth between the [light board and the select board].

“My being on the advisory board informs my individual opinion about the miscommunication that has been going on for more than a year, and I’m saddened by that fact,” he said.

Resident Lisa French’s citizens petition to appropriate an annual budget for the town boards, committees, and commissions to pay for office supplies and hire expert advisors failed to pass, with some citizens speaking in support of Article 36.

“This would be a drop in the bucket to support volunteer boards and committees, and some wouldn’t even use it,” Susan Vermilya said.

Constable expressed concern that if the petition passed, allocating funds – potentially as much as $85,000 – in this way “would take money away from other departmental needs. The services mentioned in the petition are readily available already,” she said.

An amended motion by resident Rhoda Kanet reducing the amount per board from $1,500 to $1,000 annually for supplies and administrative support services, among other changes, failed to win approval.

Public safety building discussion

A video featuring Fire Chief Chris Russo and other staff included remarks about the high cancer rate for Hull firefighters due to the present condition of the fire station during the public safety building article discussion.

Hull Village resident Randy Gould urged voter support for the article.

“It’s our duty as citizens to take care of our employees,” he said. “This is a no-brainer.”

A site has not yet been selected for the new public safety building. A community engagement process will provide opportunities for citizens to share their thoughts, concerns, and support, and to ask questions about the project.

Public safety building committee member Donna Pursel urged citizens to allow the committee “some grace and patience as we begin to understand the magnitude of this project and the best location for it.”

She urged residents to attend committee meetings and share their thoughts.

“When we have information to share, the public engagement will begin,” she said in response to concerns from some citizens about this part of the process.

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

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