On fourth night of town meeting, voters OK additional funds for town hall move, support access at James Avenue beach
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MOTION EMOTION: Faced with an uncooperative electronic voting system, Hull residents were forced to go back to the ‘old way’ of casting their votes on motions, amended motions, and substitute motions – voice votes and holding up cards to be counted manually by tellers. Some were more enthusiastic than others in making their feelings known about particular articles. [Skip Tull photos]
By Carol Britton Meyer
Emotions ran high throughout the four-hour discussion of the remaining dozen warrant articles during the fourth session of the 2026 town meeting on Thursday, May 7, with town moderator George Boylen and citizens urging one another to be respectful. There were 44 articles in all.
On Thursday, voters approved the appropriation of an additional $4 million to pay for the relocation of town hall to the former Memorial School, put limits on traffic changes in the Nantasket Beach Overlay District, and reaffirmed a 2017 vote to pursue privately-owned land in order to ensure access to the beach at James Avenue in Hull Village.
About 400 citizens attended the first session, with attendance tapering off to the low 200s by the fourth night.
Click below for full coverage town meeting from The Hull Times:
At the beginning of Thursday’s session, Boylen remarked, “Hopefully this will be the last night of town meeting [for 2026],” which proved to be true.
The usual protocol of not beginning discussion on a warrant article at or after 10:30 p.m. unless the moderator believes it will wrap up by 11 p.m. was waived at the request of advisory board Chair Jason Frady in the hopes that the remaining articles could be addressed that night.
The electronic voting system malfunctioned again, causing Boylen to call for voice votes at first, followed by voters holding up “yes” and “no” cards if the result was not clear, which proved time-consuming.
These warrant articles were approved Thursday night:
⦁ Article 15: $800,000 was transferred from free cash ($100,000 each) to funds for Stabilization,
Capital Stabilization, Other Post-Employment Benefits, Police & Fire Injury Leave Indemnity, Worker’s Compensation, Employment Liability Reserve, Unemployment Compensation, and the
Grant Matching Fund.
⦁ Article 17: Authorized the town to accept an easement from the Paragon developer for a portion of the ArtWalk, allowing access to the public to occasionally view art installations and to create overall public access from beach to bay. The ArtWalk is built mostly on land owned by the Horizons condominium association and crosses land owned by the Procopio Companies at the George Washington Boulevard end of the walk.
⦁ Article 19: Transferred $6,658,900, received in a legal settlement between Allied World Insurance Company and the Town of Hull over work on the Crescent Beach Seawall, to the general fund to pay the costs of designing and constructing repairs to the seawall.
⦁ Article 20: Approved $545,000 to purchase and equip an ambulance.
⦁ Article 26: The capital request for town hall closure and relocation, involving a lengthy and sometimes heated discussion with many questions asked, was approved 147-56, meeting the required 2/3 vote. Following a lengthy discussion, voters approved an additional $4 million to complete the relocation of town hall offices to Memorial School on top of the up to $3.6 million approved at the 2024 town meeting. The targeted move-in date is spring 2027. The town is expected to use the space for municipal services for 30 years under the current memorandum of understanding with the school committee, with space available for community use.
Select board Chair Irwin Nesoff said the current working conditions at town hall “are substandard. There’s no storage, and it’s not a place where professional business should be carried on or the townspeople come to,” he said, noting that the cost would be significantly higher if repairs were to be made to the current building or a new facility built rather than relocating to Memorial School.
“We owe this to our town employees,” resident Polly Rowe said. “Let’s think long-term.”
Abby Klieman, a member of the planning board, said she wanted a better understanding of “the numbers” before voting on the article.
“We’re being asked to approve significant amounts of money without a thorough understanding of what they represent,” she said. “There are no architectural renderings, just floor plans.”
A substitute motion to refer the article for further study, with a report at the next town meeting, made by Jacob Vaillaancourt, failed. A motion to reconsider the motion by Bartley Kelly failed to pass, ensuring that the vote couldn’t be revisited.
Before the vote on the substitute motion, a citizen spoke against further study, saying that “this project will be a lot more expensive next year,” which was greeted with applause.
“If you go with the amended motion, you are essentially killing the project,” Nesoff said of the proposal for study.
Resident Danielle Dolan opposed the substitute motion.
“There’s a lot of mistrust between residents and town officials that’s evident at this town meeting from a perceived lack of transparency and clarity – and attitudes projected on both sides,” she said, noting that “a significant amount of work has been done on this project.”
A resident speaking in favor of the substitute motion said it would “not be killing the project to reassess what is needed – offering the townspeople an accounting of everything that’s expected to be done. . . . [The intent is to] ensure that everything is done to its best, not only for employees and other users of the building but also for the townspeople who would be paying for the project.”
Kelly, the town’s building commissioner, opposed the substitute motion.
“The building is in deplorable shape, and we can’t keep kicking the can down the road,” he said. “We’ve all got to work together. Tempers are flaring, me included, but at the end of the day, we’re all here to do what’s right for the town. We’ve got to lighten up because we’re all in this together. Start paddling!”
Resident Patricia Lambert said the high standard of behavior expected from citizens participating in town meeting should also be applied “to you, Mr. Moderator, and to other town officials,” noting that “sarcasm and bullying” are disrespectful.
Town Manager Jennifer Constable said more detailed information about the project will be posted on the town’s website.
⦁ Article 29: Authorized the town to request special legislation allowing integrated contracting for the operation, maintenance, and improvements of Hull’s sewer system.
⦁ Article 31: Amended the zoning bylaw for non-conforming uses, eliminating the by-right option to extend the height of a single- or two-family house up to 35 feet within the existing footprint when the setback is at least five feet from the property line and the house is at least 15 feet from the abutting primary structure.
⦁ Article 32: Amended the Flexible Plan Development zoning bylaw to include a reduction in the maximum height, density, and intensity of land use, changes to permitted uses, application, and permitting procedures, and updated development guidelines related to property of 10 acres or more.
⦁ Article 34: Amended the Nantasket Beach Overlay District to revise the definition of open space and design standards related to the scaling, spacing, and massing of buildings and to incorporate new shadow control standards.
⦁ Article 38: A citizens’ petition sponsored by Linda Hetue limited permanent traffic direction changes in the Nantasket Beach Overlay District, requiring town meeting approval for any permanent traffic direction changes in that area.
⦁ Article 44: A citizens’ petition sponsored by Kathleen Wolf passed on a vote of 191 to 11 following a lengthy discussion, meeting the two-thirds vote requirement, authorizes the select board to acquire either an easement in or purchase outright a privately-owned parcel of land on James Avenue that has traditionally been used by the public for beach access. In 2017, town meeting voted in favor of a similar proposal, but no action was taken.
According to the advisory board commentary in the warrant, the parcel at the end of James Avenue has been a contentious point for the town and residents for a decade: “The owner of the parcel has blocked public access to the beach from the wharf at James Avenue for several years. The town previously brought forward an article that was moved “no action” as the town was negotiating with the owner. The town has attempted to prevent the owner from installing poles and fencing blocking access to this historically popular location for launching small boats, swimming, swimming lessons, and general enjoyment. Currently, the public cannot safely access this public beach from James Avenue due to one owner’s efforts.” In supporting public access to public lands, the advisory board voted unanimously to support the article, with one abstention.
Wolf made a presentation on the floor of town meeting, including photographs, noting that the intent of the warrant article is “to protect the public access that has been available for years to this townwide resource. … This would simply allow people to continue to take four or five steps onto [the property owner’s] land to access the beach. The select board and abutters should work together in a timely manner [to resolve the issue].”
An abutter said he has enjoyed this beach a lot, “and it’s on my deed that I own part of [it]. I hope the town comes to me to sign the rights to allow that beach to be public. I know the other neighbors, except for one, want to do this, too.”
James Avenue resident Jim Kilfoyle spoke in favor of the article.
“It strikes me that this should be supported for public safety reasons,” he said. “The wires that have been put up across the beach interfere with the delivery of essential services to 3 James Avenue and constitute a genuine hazard. [Letter carriers] have to scramble over the rocks to deliver mail.”
While the parcel involved is small, passage of this article “would give our community a beach to enjoy,” Susan Vermilya said. “[Potentially] providing an easement for this small amount of land doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but the benefit outweighs any negatives.”
⦁ In addition, Article 37, a citizens’ petition submitted by Paul Goes, was not discussed nor voted upon because there was no motion submitted by the proponent, according to Boylen. It sought to replace the stairs to beach on Western Avenue in Hull Village that were destroyed in a storm in 2022. Select board chair Irwin Nesoff noted earlier that the actual ownership of the steps is uncertain and is being researched. The board discussed the issue in executive session recently.
A replay of the entire town meeting is available on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.
A replay of the entire town meeting is available on Hull Community Television’s website, www.hulltv.net.
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