A good sport: Wishing the ‘Sermonator’ well as he puts himself ‘out to pastor’

Regular readers of Alan McCall’s “In the Sport-light” column know that this week’s is his last, as he is retiring from sportswriting after 40-plus years.

Putting down the pen after so long – he started writing about baseball for his hometown weekly as a teenager and never looked back – is bittersweet, both for him and for all of us, as we will miss his contributions in these pages. It’s rare for a community to have someone as talented and dedicated as Alan writing about its local athletes on a consistent basis. Hull kids are indeed lucky!

But as much as we will lament his absence, his retirement is prompted by the fulfillment of a longtime goal, as he pursues a vocation in the ministry. Or, as he termed it, he is giving up a passion to pursue a calling.

Alan is studying to obtain his pastor’s license so that he may lead a congregation on the South Shore – or, as he says, putting himself out to pastor. His Times readers already are familiar with some of his theological thoughts, which “The Sermonator” contributed during weeks when there was a break in the sports world.

In addition to writing his column, Alan has been a coach for several local youth programs and a commentator for Hull Community TV, so his contributions will be missed far beyond the pages of the Times.

We know that our readers join us in wishing Alan well as he embarks on an entirely new playing field!

If you have local sports news to share, please send items to sports@hulltimes.com by Tuesday at 8 p.m. Thanks!

Town meeting voters will consider reversing ban on retail marijuana sales

By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

A citizen’s petition headed to town meeting will ask voters to amend the zoning bylaw and overturn a five-year old ban on retail marijuana sales in Hull.

The proposal would allow Alternative Compassion Services (ACS), the town’s existing medical marijuana dispensary, to add adult-use retail sales. Adding retail sales will require a special permit issued by the planning board and a license granted by the select board.

Meghan Sylvester, owner of Hullistic Health and Wellness at 175 George Washington Blvd., filed the petition to allow ACS, which has been operating in town for the required one-year minimum, to obtain the right for adult-use retail sales.

Sylvester, a business neighbor to ACS, says she “has gotten to know the owner and witness the value of the quality product they provide to our community at large. The major reason I brought forth this petition is I would like to see ACS thrive and continue to serve patients in a health-based way that is beneficial. … There is also the tax revenue that will be lost without having these recreational sales.”

“We are a small, locally run company and support other local businesses and charities. Our adult-use license will automatically bring 3% of the 20% state tax into town,” ACS Outreach Coordinator Ellen Kasper said in a recent email to The Times. “Hull was a ‘yes’ town in the statewide cannabis legalization in 2016. We feel this reflects a positive sentiment towards regulated cannabis and hope that the ban will be successfully overturned at town meeting in May.”

Anne Murray of Summit Avenue reminded the planning board and packed room of attendees that in 2018 there was a “large outcry in town against recreational marijuana.” She continued to “speak against the article,” but made sure it was clear to the group she is very much for medical marijuana, but not retail sales.

Voters narrowly rejected retail marijuana when two ballot questions were approved at special election in March 2018.  The first question, to amend the town’s general bylaws and ban the sale, cultivation and testing of recreational marijuana, passed by a 1,010 to 856 vote. The second question, to amend zoning bylaws prohibiting marijuana retail shops, was approved 1,027 to 833.

“I don’t want to see it expand into recreational. The town has enough issues and I only think it will bring more issues,” Murray said. “When the zoning went through, it went through with people in abutting areas not knowing what was planned for that. I don’t live near there; my concern is for people I know over there who were, quite frankly, blindsided by it.”

Planning board Chair Harry Hibbard interjected: “I have to address that. Anyone who was blindsided by that was not paying attention. We held plenty of hearings, there was an extensive education process around it. … As to bringing in problems, I have been saying this for years now, and I will continue to say it. It is not going to bring in the bad element; it is going to bring in the financial guys from Cohasset and the lawyers from Hingham.”

ACS President and CEO Steve Werther was unable to attend the planning board meeting on March 22.

“I don’t see it as disruptive. Cannabis has been legal for years. It is going on and no one has noticed,” he said in a phone interview. “We have been in business in Bridgewater for five years and have tremendous experience. … The positive reasons outweigh any negative side effects. Also, look at the rest of the state. There have not been any problems.”

Janice Bissex of Glen Street in Melrose drove an hour and a half to attend the planning board meeting, where she stood for a couple of hours until her message was heard. She explained that she spent most of her life being opposed to medical marijuana.

“Frankly I grew up in the ‘just say no’ generation,” she said.

It wasn’t until her 85-year-old father was in severe pain and had a very poor reaction to opioids that Bissex began to research medical marijuana, learning it has been used “medicinally for like 1,000 years and only been illegal for 80 years.” Now, after leaving her business of 15 years, she is a licensed holistic cannabis practitioner, helping people with “pain, anxiety, insomnia, autoimmune diseases and all the things that find relief using medical cannabis.”

As the owner of Jannabis Wellness product, Bissex wanted to show her support for ACS.

“I have visited dozens of dispensaries around the country and Massachusetts, and I have to say your little dispensary here in Hull is probably the best,” she said. “Melrose receives $1.6 million in tax revenue from their one dispensary. So economically it is a good idea, but more than that, it is a service that is being provided that is really top quality.”

Patrick Finn of Telegraph Avenue asked the board to “recommend favorable action on this article…For anyone that has any bias against cannabis, I would say take that out of the equation and look at it as a simple town of Hull business wanting to expand and survive.”

“This is a citizen’s petition, and it goes to town meeting regardless of what we [the planning board] think, the select board thinks, or the advisory board thinks,” Hibbard said.

Werther said ACS will hold outreach events for residents to ask questions.

“We want to make as many people comfortable as possible,” he said. “If you don’t agree with us, that is OK. We respect people have different opinions and are happy to talk about it.”

The business has established an FAQ page at www.acscompassion.com, and Werther said he would respond privately to questions emailed to info@acscompassion.com.

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Select Board declines to support non-binding HRA ballot question, calling it ‘premature’

By Carol Britton Meyer

In response to a request from the Hull Redevelopment Authority that the select board hold off on placing a non-binding question on the May 15 election ballot about the use of the HRA property, the board agreed to do so this week, calling any such ballot question “premature.”

HARRIETT BOSY IS A MEMBER OF THE GROUP OPPOSING THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HRA SITE.

In addition to a letter from HRA Chair Bartley Kelly requesting a delay while the board works on the Urban Renewal Plan, an attorney for the HRA sent a “comment letter” to the planning board to ask that it also withhold its support for a separate proposal to rezone the land to public open space. [See related story.]

Hull Village resident Harriet Bosy appeared before the select board recently to explain her request to add a question to the ballot that would ask voters if they prefer open space and recreation or residential and commercial development for the HRA property.

Because there wasn’t enough time for her to gather the required signatures before the deadline for submitting a citizen’s petition, the alternative was for the select board to decide. Following a lengthy discussion at that meeting, the board took Bosy’s request under advisement and revisited it again this week.

The draft URP is currently being presented at public meetings hosted by the HRA to hear what the community would like to see on the various portions of the property.

Once the draft version is finished, it will be presented to the select board “for their consideration and approval, amendment, or denial even,” Town Manager Philip Lemnios said.

He cited a lack of context if such a question were to be placed on the ballot at this time and that the HRA “would have grounds to appeal the outcome to the Department of Housing and Community Development and other state agencies” involved with the URP process.

The select board concurred with Lemnios’s recommendation that the best course of action would be “to allow the HRA to complete their process and present the URP to the board to analyze and to get input from citizens, and part of that process could be a recommendation to move forward with a referendum question.”

Select Board member Irwin Nesoff said while he thinks now is not the right time, he “certainly would support this type of referendum question after the HRA proposes the plan to get a sense of the temperature of the community when there is an actual proposal for them to respond to.”

Lemnios said that part of the rationale behind waiting relates to the “very contentious period between the HRA and the select board shortly after the HRA was formed [decades ago], with lawsuits back and forth. It was a tumultuous time in the history of the town.”

He also noted that the HRA is a separately elected body and that the select board has no direct authority over the HRA.

“If the HRA believes the select board acts in an arbitrary manner that is not well-reasoned, it’s a pretty good bet that they will take an appropriate legal response to that,” Lemnios said. “It’s a question of timing.”

In the early 1980s, HRA members successfully sued the town and select board members; the court found in favor of the redevelopment authority members.

After supporting the ballot question when the select board first considered it, member Domenico Sestito said that after a period of reflection, he feels now is not a good time.

“Placing a question on the ballot at this time would be of no service to the town, because we don’t know what we would be voting on,” Chair Donna Pursel said. “We’ve waited this long; let’s wait a little while longer. It wouldn’t be good to rush into this.”

At the same time, she said, “I applaud the attention and passion and involvement citizens are giving to this issue.”

Nesoff asked if Bosy, who attended the Zoom meeting, could have an opportunity to speak, but Pursel declined, since the board had already decided not to support moving the referendum question forward.

“We’re not accepting public comments tonight,” she said.

Resident Anne Murray said she was concerned about the board not allowing public comments at some meetings.

“I think the board needs to rethink this policy,” she said.

Sestito requested that a review of the select board’s rules and regulations be placed on the next meeting agenda “for a discussion about how to govern ourselves. I do have strong feelings about public input.”

In other business, the board entered into executive session after the meeting to discuss strategy relative to litigation concerning a breach or possible breach of contract/agreement, license violations and other actions.

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Open space rezoning plan would limit development on most HRA property

By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

A proposal to restrict development by changing the zoning of a large section of the Hull Redevelopment Authority’s property to open space will be on the May 1 town meeting warrant.

A citizen’s petition warrant article proposed by Susan Vermilya of E Street was discussed at last week’s standing-room-only meeting of the planning board. If approved, the zoning would be changed to public open space; however, the HRA has filed a preliminary subdivision plan that freezes the current zoning, which allows for housing and mixed-use development, for eight years.

The validity of the HRA’s filing of a preliminary subdivision prior to town meeting was questioned by Vermilya.

“Changes like this are going to the town meeting to see what the town wants. So, filing a subdivision before it goes to the town you are potentially going against what the town might want,” she said. “People might say ‘no, we want it developed’ but you are not allowing that natural progression with the town.”

“I can use that same argument,” HRA Chair Bartley Kelly countered. “We are currently in the process of a draft Urban Renewal Plan and getting public input. While in this process, a zoning bylaw was placed on town meeting to short circuit a potential development on a potential piece of property in the town. We did what I consider my fiduciary responsibility to the town of Hull and the Hull Redevelopment Authority to protect the zoning, protect the land, so we can get through this process and come up with a final plan. … The opponents have tried to torpedo it.”

Planning Board Chair Harry Hibbard affirmed that “regardless of what happens at town meeting … because of the subdivision it will have no effect on the land.”

“I hear a lot from the townspeople this is not a good choice of uses for this space. I would like the townspeople’s voices to be heard,” Vermilya said. “I want people to understand what ‘open space’ means; it doesn’t mean leave it an empty parking lot, it means we can do other things with the space that don’t involve building buildings.”

Director of Community Development and Planning Chris DiIorio recalled the vision for the HRA site was never that it would become all open space, saying it was “looked at as being a mixed-use area with a large component of open space involved with that.”

Also, the HRA’s attorney challenged the plan. In a letter to the planning board dated March 21, 2023, which Hibbard read into the record, attorney Paula M. Devereaux said the HRA has serious concerns that adoption of this zoning change would “constitute reverse spot zoning,” which occurs when “certain land is treated more onerously than other land in the same area for zoning purposes …Zoning changes which have no better purpose than to torpedo specific development on a specific parcel are considered arbitrary and unreasonable. The petition singles out a portion of the HRA property to frustrate development that is contrary to prior public planning processes. For these reasons, the HRA urges the planning board to not recommend the petition for passage at the annual town meeting.”

Town Counsel James Lampke said “spot zoning in and of itself is not illegal…the challenge is whether there was a rational basis to single out that particular land.”

Vermilya has made it clear during her ongoing participation in HRA meetings that she believes “economic development does not equal buildings … The petition does not mean the people are against economic opportunities for the HRA land. It does mean we want to be smart about how we use the land. We want to do what makes sense and, also honor the people who lost their homes … [I would] love to see the town come up with a monument or attraction in their honor.”

As the HRA is not obligated by law to build housing on the land, supporters of Vermilya’s petition say they want to try something other than pouring cement to fulfill the HRA’s mission of “creating a sense of place in our community, provide tax revenue, allow for open space recreation, provide jobs, improve our business environment, create event venues, and allow for public parking for Nantasket Beach.”

Due to major developments already completed and developments currently proposed in other areas of Hull, Vermilya would like to amend the current zoning for the HRA by designating HRA parcels 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 on the authority’s site plans as a “Public Open Space District,” leaving parcels 5, 7, 8, 9, and 2A as the zoning they are today.

Planning board member Steve White pointed out in the petition “the parcels earmarked for development are closest to residential areas, and the residents abutting the development have concerns about it.”

Kelly explained a portion of Parcel 5 is leased to the Nantasket Beach Resort for parking, so would not be usable. He also said that under this petition, the lots being left for development by the HRA are “abutting right up to the ACEC (Area of Critical Environmental Concern) area, buffer zone, conservation area. I don’t think the lots being left to develop are the ideal lots to develop there.”

“There is no harm in supporting the petition,” said Liz Kay of Hampton Circle. “[It is] not going to change the status of the request the HRA has made, but it will gather data that the HRA is bound to do, which is get collective information from the townspeople.”

Maggie Merrill, also of Hampton Circle and new to Hull, told Kelly that the petition “is opening the door to more and different types of input perhaps you have not considered.”

 “A citizen’s petition is exciting because many people are engaged and involved,” said HRA member Dennis Zaia. “This is real engagement. Part of our job is to prove to the state we have engaged the community in whatever it ends up being. We are going to win on that.”

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Voters face crowded field as 10 candidates seek three Select Board seats

Thirty people are running for office in the May 15 election, making this year’s campaign season one of the most active in recent memory.

Ten candidates returned their nomination papers to the town clerk’s office with the required number of signatures by Monday; the board of registrars is now in the process of certifying them. Those seeking one of the two three-year terms on the select board are incumbent Donna Pursel, Jason McCann, Moraiba J. Reyes, David Gibbons, Kathleen Barclay, Jerry Taverna, and Philip Bellone. Current member Domenico Sestito is not seeking re-election.

The two-year term on the board, created by the resignation of Jennifer Constable, has three candidates running: Steven M. Greenberg, James M. Ianiri, and Brian McCarthy.

A total of 19 positions will be on the May 15 ballot.

On the Hull Redevelopment Authority, Patrick Finn and Daniel Kernan are running for the five-year term now held by Henry Dunn, who resigned this week because he is planning to bid on the authority’s parking lot contract. Edwin Parsons and Adrienne Paquin are running for the three-year seat now held by Max Walder, who is not seeking to retain his position.

School Committee Chair Stephanie Peters is not running; her colleague, Ernest Minelli IV, faces Colby Mahoney and Fay Ferency for one of the two available three-year seats. The other contested race is on the board of library trustees, as Emily R. Garr and Sasha Green are competing for one two-year term. Celia G. Nolan and Duncan Stone are unopposed for the two three-year terms on the board, as is J. Curtis Miller, who is seeking the one-year term as a library trustee.

Also unopposed are planning board incumbent Harry Hibbard and Nancy Boyce (five-year terms), as well as Jim Pitrolo (two-year term); Jim Richman, for a five-year term on the Hull Housing Authority; assessors Pamela Sinton-Coffman and Mario Peter Grieco (three-year terms), and the three-year terms of light commissioners Patrick Cannon and Jake Vaillancourt.

-- Christopher Haraden

Finn pledges to ‘produce results’ if elected to HRA

Patrick Finn respectfully requests your vote for the Hull Redevelopment Authority. I am a civil servant and senior construction engineer specializing in roads and bridges, public works infrastructure construction projects, as well as an elected union board member.

As a graduate of Hull High (1981) and RWU (1992), with degrees in Architecture and Construction Management and qualifications which include Building Code Official and Construction Supervisor licenses, I have put my education and experience to work for the citizens of Hull (for free).

I have faithfully served my beloved community of Hull-Nantasket Beach since 1999 on the board of appeals, the school building committee, the zoning bylaw committee, and the board of assessors. As a Hull Village resident, I have advocated and volunteered for the cause of maintenance, restoration, and historic preservation of Fort Revere-Fort Independence and helped organize Bastille Day events.

If elected to the HRA, I intend to work hard to produce results that will benefit our community, with all due respect to former HRA Chairman Charles E. Gould’s letter to the editor from the Feb. 16 edition of The Hull Times, which said: “Some attendees want no development in the area…They seem to care less about the sacrifices, work, and effort that went into the program and the promises given to the original property owners that the area would be redeveloped.”

In regard to ideas for the potential uses of 13 acres of HRA property, an “all of the above” approach, with at least 80% for passive recreational public open space and event space and resident and beach parking, is my initial intent, while the HRA is still in the early stages of the draft conceptual Urban Renewal Plan process. I agree with the affordable housing set asides for Hull residents and employees that have been approved for inclusion into any potential residential development.

I also agree with the goal of the HRA to create “a sense of place in our community through development that provides tax revenues, open space recreation, job growth, improved business environment, event venues, and parking for Nantasket Beach within an effective and efficient traffic pattern for Hull citizens and visitors.”

Recognizing that the 60-year history of the HRA has been contentious and ultimately unproductive, I urge my fellow citizen activists to please try not to overreact to the current public forums and information presented by the HRA’s consultants. The draft conceptual Urban Renewal Plan is simply intended to get select board approval to forward to the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development for final approval, with the intention of obtaining the MassWorks roadway grants necessary to fund the Town of Hull’s two-way roads plan (previously approved by the select board, as traffic commissioners, and town meeting voters).

Only after the completion of the construction of the redesigned roadways will the proposed parcels actually exist that can be potentially developed. FYI: This is not a proposed development in the permitting process. This is a planning process.

During this planning process, I intend to consider all ideas presented, and I intend to present many ideas for changes. In particular, changes should be considered to the HRA Option 2 draft Urban Renewal Plans and Hull’s two-way roads plans to be in alignment with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation’s Nantasket Beach Master Plan, which would allow for the proposed widened boardwalk along the seawall with benches and shade structures, as well as the raised two-way bicycle lanes.

Ianiri announces candidacy for two-year term on Select Board

Local attorney Jim Ianiri has secured a spot on the ballot for select board and seeks to serve the remaining two years left of the term of Jennifer Constable, who recently announced her resignation. Jim has been a member of the Community Preservation Committee since its inception in 2017 and co-chaired the committee in 2018-19. He has lived in Hull since 2015 with his wife, Rebecca Sacks, and previously lived in Norwell, where he also served for

three years on both Norwell’s Community Preservation Committee and its planning board.

Jim and Rebecca first fell in love with Hull in the early 1990s when they lived on Alden Street for three years upon graduating from law school and getting married. Their careers took them away from Hull, but they always dreamed of returning. That dream came true in 2015, shortly after a winter no one would soon forget, when Rebecca found a home on Allerton Hill.
It did not take long before Jim sought an at-large seat on Hull’s newly formed CPC. Jim would be one of a very select few, and perhaps the only one in the state, who has served on two Community Preservation Committees from inception in two different towns. Right out of the gate, the Hull CPC engaged in a year-long effort to get a proposal approved at town meeting to provide $100,000 toward the first phase of restoring the Fort Revere water tower for public access. Because the property is town-owned, the CPC had to secure permission from the town manager and select board, which set up an epic power struggle, since at the time restoring the tower was not a priority to the town but was, Jim and his fellow CPC members knew, in fact the very reason many Hull residents voted to pass the Community Preservation Act. Of course, after much negotiating and Jim’s leadership, a carefully-crafted article for funding of the water tower project passed in 2019.
When Jim learned that Jen Constable was stepping down and three seats were going to become available this year on the select board, he knew it was the right time to throw his hat in the ring, especially at this critical juncture in Hull’s history.
“The truth is, I am not one to sit on the sidelines. Getting involved in community leadership is in my DNA,” he said “And I can see that at this very moment there is a need for fresh leadership bringing new ideas and open minds to the table. From the HRA issue, climate resiliency, the clear need for affordable housing and to help our seniors, the need for continued economic development in town but also the need to protect our limited open space, the issue of what to do with town resources and town-owned buildings like our schools and town hall – you name it – there are many critical issues facing this town my wife and I have come to love. I believe that, my calm, thoughtful and analytical approach to decision-making, unencumbered by ideology and ego will add great value to the select board.”
Jim has been a practicing attorney for 30 years, concentrating in family law, including divorce and high-conflict custody disputes, child welfare and protection, and anything having to do with the Department of Children and Families. He has also served as a criminal defense attorney and real estate lawyer for 15 years. Jim believes his legal and advocacy skills, as well as his eagerness to serve and ability to work well with others, make him a good fit for the select board.
Jim’s other interests include music (he is an avid guitar player and singer), hiking and mountaineering (he has climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Rainier, and Mt. Hood, to name just a few mountains, and trekked to Everest Base Camp; he is also an avid hiker in New Hampshire’s famed White Mountains), and enjoys spending time walking around Hull with Rebecca and their new puppy, Ruby Tuesday.

Saying her ‘work isn’t done,’ Pursel running for second term

My name is Donna Pursel and I am running for a second term on the Hull Select Board. When I ran three years ago, our whole town, and indeed the entire world, was adjusting to a “new normal.” We all had to learn new ways of working, new ways of socializing, and new ways of living. Now, three years later, it is time to look ahead to what is facing Hull now: hiring a new town manager, addressing the ongoing housing crisis, maintaining our coastal infrastructure , charting a common course for the future of the HRA property, strengthening our public transportation, and continuing to build relationships with DCR and all of our state and regional partners.

My first term on the select board has been an honor, a privilege, and at times a full course of lessons on municipal government and serving my community. I have prided myself on being the type of leader and representative who can listen to all sides of an argument and fairly weigh the options when presented. Too often, too many issues in town are presented as either/or, when we should be thinking of them as both/and. Many times there are no solutions, only compromises. With so many important issues facing our community, I am excited and ready to continue to serve.

The decision to run for re-election was easy; my work isn’t done. Over the years, this town has spent tens of thousands of dollars on various studies and surveys. This money is well invested only if we use data gathered and begin to implement the plans laid out for our community.

Before addressing the myriad of issues facing this town, we need a unified vision. A priority for my second term would be to set a deadline for completion of the Pemberton Economic Development Plan, and seek funding to create a townwide master plan. This master plan will be the road map in shaping the peninsula’s future. While we work toward this townwide plan, we need to continue the implementation of the plans we already have adopted, such as the Unified Work Plan. The data and guidance from this plan have already brought us Business Improvement District and better/consistent communication with DCR.

We recently saw the results from the UMass Gerontology survey, which confirmed what many of us knew: Hull is an aging community. I have been an advocate for the senior community in town and will continue to represent this community as we face real challenges like providing adequate services like transit, housing, and a senior center of which the entire community can be proud.

Across the country, there is a housing crisis. We need to support all types of housing everywhere. This includes options for seniors who are looking to downsize and age in place, houses for families who are looking to move here to raise their children, and for others looking to live and work in town. Establishing a housing trust with CPA funds, and taxes collected from room tax or other businesses, would be a start. However, addressing our housing challenges needs to be strategically thought out, taking into consideration climate change and coastal resilience, along with the responsibility we have to our unique coastal environment we call home. We are called to be stewards of our precious dunes and beautiful Nantasket Beach. We must keep this in mind when we are considering new developments in town.

Access to public transit is essential. I have been working with the MBTA in support of better transit to our community, which I have done by fostering a relationship with the Metropolitan Planning Organization. I continue to advocate for a more transparent MBTA bus route to town, including MBTA branded buses, marked stops, and discounts for senior and disabled riders, along with more coordination with the ferry and commuter rail to better sync schedules and increase ease of use.

I use the ferry whenever I need to go into work downtown and understand how important having this regular service to our town is to commuters in town, but to tourists who will soon be visiting our beaches as the summer approaches! Supporting transit supports our entire town. We need to invest in the infrastructure of the pier.

All of the work that needs to be done wouldn’t be possible without our state and regional partners. That is why I think it is so important, and why I have worked so hard to build relationships with the DCR on issues along Nantasket Beach. By working with our state partners, including our locally elected leaders on Beacon Hill, I am an advocate for funding to support our small businesses, address climate mitigation efforts, and support development that makes sense for all of us.

I have been able to see so much growth and change in this community in my short three years on the board, and it has been a humble honor to serve all of you. But as you can see, we have so much more ahead of us! If you believe, like I do, in doing everything we can to make sure this beautiful peninsula we all get to call home can be a home to our parents and grandparents, as well as our children, grandchildren, and their children for generations to come, then I invite you to join me! Follow my campaign on Facebook, and I ask for your vote on Election Day, May 15. Thank you.

Seven-member town manager search committee to include citizens, officials

By Carol Britton Meyer

A seven-member committee comprised of town officials and two citizens was created this week to work with the consultant searching for Hull’s next town manager.

The search committee and Community Paradigm Associates will identify and interview the semifinalist candidates for the position, which will be vacated by Philip Lemnios when he retires at the end of June. The committee will recommend finalists to the board.

Membership on the committee will consists of two select board members and one each from the advisory board and school committee, a department head to be named by the other department heads, and two members of the community.

Select board member Irwin Nesoff and Greg Grey and advisory board member Patricia Cormier were appointed by the select board this week, in part because their terms are not expiring – which means they will definitely be on the board throughout the process – and because of their experience on search committees or hiring personnel in their current or past jobs.

Select board acting Chair Donna Pursel is running for re-election, and board member Domenico Sestito is not seeking another term.

“I know what it means to be a director of a large organization, which the new town manager would be,” Nesoff said.

Grey, who owns his own business, said he believes his experience “is good for this [search committee] position.”

Lemnios will reach out to the school committee to ask for a representative to join the panel.

A citizen’s application with information about the qualifications the board is looking for will be posted and advertised in the March 30 edition of the Times, with an April 10 deadline for applications, Pursel said. “The applications will be reviewed the following week,” she said.

The town manager position was recently posted on various websites and a brochure was prepared by the consultants, with an application deadline of April 12.

Paradigm will then review the applications and “will forward their first batch of recommendations to the search committee within 10 days after the closing of the application process,” Pursel said.

Although the list of semifinalists will not be made public, according to Lemnios, “the finalists’ names will become public … after which the board will proceed with the selection process.”

Besides interviewing the finalists, the select board also may visit the communities where the finalists served in municipal government positions to talk with town officials and other people in the community “to do some subtle reconnaissance,” Lemnios said. “It’s also not uncommon to give the finalists a 10-cent tour of the community – not a community forum – give them a sandwich, and have a conversation,” he said.

Citizens group seeks ‘pause’ on HRA development plans to consider alternative uses

By SOS Hull

Once open space is gone, it’s gone forever.

Future generations will never be able to stand on one of the only spots on the planet where they could see the sunrise and the sunset over the water – bay to the west, ocean to the east..

A group of concerned residents in Hull is trying to save this beautiful, vulnerable open land, the last remaining sizeable open space in Hull, from the Hull Redevelopment Authority’s plan for private developers to create multi-story condos, a boutique hotel, and retail establishments. Membership in the newly formed SOS Hull provides individuals an opportunity to get involved and help with this effort.

SOS Hull’s Mission is to pause current HRA development proposals to allow additional time for townspeople to propose alternatives for the HRA land that maintain open space from the bay across to the ocean, as well as consider community-focused economic opportunities rather than private development.

There are draft development proposals to build approximately 115 condominiums, a boutique hotel, and retail space on this property that lies between Nantasket Beach and the Weir River Estuary, also known as Hull Bay.

The designated area lies in a flood zone and is considered a barrier beach and coastal dune. SOS Hull is concerned that rising sea levels and climate change will affect this area in the not-too-distant future. We question the decision to develop in such a fragile natural resource.

Instead of building condos and a hotel in an area that is subject to flooding, we would like to protect this natural resource and seek alternate uses, such as passive recreation and activities that could be enjoyed by the community and visitors alike today and for future generations.

Important reminders:

• Next in-person HRA workshop to discuss the proposed development plans will be on March 27 at 7 p.m. at Hull High School.

• Town meeting will be on May 1.

For more information on SOS Hull, visit the group on Facebook, fill out the contact form at https://bit.ly/sos02045 or email soshull123@gmail.com.