Voters complete work on town meeting warrant, defer action on marijuana bylaw

By Carol Britton Meyer

Town meeting business wrapped up Wednesday night during the third four-hour session, during which the remaining 10 of 26 articles were considered.

There was an unexpected twist to the request to allow an existing marijuana dispensary to add retail sales. The sponsor of the citizens’ petition offered a substitute motion, which was approved: “Based on information we were given by town counsel after town meeting began, I move that Article 18 be referred to the zoning bylaw committee without prejudice for consideration of the article at any special or annual town meeting.” The issue with the article concerned whether its wording would adequately address the general prohibition on retail marijuana sales that Hull voters approved several years ago.

Roughly 200 voters said “yes” to requiring an affordable housing component for any new development of more than 10 units, increasing dog license fees, and authorizing the select board to negotiate with the state for a long-term lease of beachfront property, including the potential for an arts center in the vacant former police station near the carousel.

Voters said “no” to instituting term limits for the select board (the original article, a citizens’ petition, related to all elected town boards).

As with the previous two sessions, Wednesday's town meeting wrapped up around 11 p.m., with Town Moderator George Boylen thanking those who attended for their patience in navigating through some very complex articles and related discussions. 

See this week's edition of The Hull Times for full details.

Town meeting enters third session Wednesday; term limits, marijuana sales still to be decided

By Carol Britton Meyer

Hull’s marathon 2023 annual town meeting continues Wednesday, May 3, at 7 p.m. in the Hull High School auditorium following Monday and Tuesday night’s sessions spanning nearly eight hours.

Town counsel James Lampke addresses a question at tuesday night’s town meeting. Behind him is moderator george Boylen.

The first session addressed only four warrant articles, while last night’s meeting completed an additional 11 articles, ranging from consideration of allowing accessory dwelling units in single-family homes to rezone the Hull Redevelopment Authority property to prevent major development of the parcel.

There was a no-action vote on the ADU article, and the open space zoning for the HRA was defeated. (See related story in this week's edition of The Hull Times, along with full town meeting coverage.)

Between the two sessions, 15 articles have been addressed, with 11 left.

Remaining articles for consideration by voters relate to requiring affordable housing for any development over 10 units; allowing an existing marijuana dispensary to add retail sales, and setting term limits for elected town boards.

Budget debate dominates first night of town meeting; four of 26 articles decided

By Carol Britton Meyer

The first session of Hull’s annual town meeting wrapped up last night after four hours, nearly two of which centered around a discussion of the merits of hiring an assistant town manager at an annual salary of roughly $130,000.

This position was included in the select board portion of the $47,542,888 town budget – including the school department – that voters overwhelming approved on a 293 to 73 vote.  (See this week’s edition of The Hull Times for full details).

There were about 380 voters present when the meeting convened at 7:17 p.m. after Town Moderator George Boylen delayed the start to allow those lined up waiting to get into the Hull High School auditorium extra time to be seated, and around 192 when the meeting adjourned at 10:50 p.m.

Only four of the 26 warrant articles were addressed, with the meeting reconvening Tuesday night (May 2) at 7 p.m. at the same location.

Voters also approved Community Preservation Act funding toward improvements to the Hampton Circle playground,  L Street playground and tennis courts design, restoration of the Village Fire Station,  among others; and up to $986,802 from one-time American Rescue Plan Act funds for design and construction of improvements to the wastewater treatment plant.

Visit our special guide to Hull's 2023 Annual Town Meeting

Hull’s annual town meeting begins on Monday, May 1 at 7 p.m. at Hull High School. Have you read the warrant? Do you know the background of the citizens’ petitions? The Times has compiled all of our town meeting coverage, at this link.

To read the full warrant, click here.

Staff, students, friends, and family honor Peters for 17 years on school committee

By Carol Britton Meyer

After serving for 17 years on the school committee and deciding not to run for re-election, Stephanie Peters was honored for her dedication and hard work by a large turnout of students, staff, sports team members, friends, and family on April 24 during her last meeting.

SCHOOL’S OUT. This past week’s school committee meeting was the last for member Stephanie Peters, who decided not to seek re-election after serving 17 years. Family, friends, staff members were among those who gathered to celebrate her contributions and wish her well. [Courtesy photo]

Proclamations were read, kind words expressed, and flowers presented in appreciation of Peters’ efforts to bring the community walking track and turf field to reality and other accomplishments.

State Sen. Patrick O’Connor presented her with a proclamation and told Peters that her name would be read into the Senate record.

Superintendent Judith Kuehn shared a list of what she called “Stephanie’s Greatest Hits” – besides the turf field, these included her role in holding three open houses to highlight what the school system has to offer, a 2012 U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon award that honors schools that are high-performing and closing student achievement gaps, participation in the New England Association of Schools and Colleges decennial accreditation of Hull High School in June 2012, and creation of the 21st Century School program, with the goal of providing Hull students with an education to succeed in the current workforce.

state Sen. Patrick O’Connor presented stephanie Peters with a proclamation from the state house at her last school committee meeting this week. [Courtesy photo]

“Stephanie attended at least 340 school committee meetings, not including budget subcommittee and negotiation meetings,” Kuehn said. “She has also built relationships and earned the respect of other town departments while often not agreeing with their positions. At the same time, she has fought for fair coverage of the schools in our local paper. For many years, the schools were an easy target for what was wrong with the town. She has been consistent in advocating that investing in our schools benefits the entire town.

“Steph always had the mentality of why not us?” Kuehn continued. “She never wants to hear ‘we can’t,’ but works tirelessly to come up with a plan for how to make something a reality. She is all about student achievement and opportunity. She worked tirelessly on behalf of the students of Hull. She attended the Hull Public Schools and wanted to ensure the students had the best educational experience as possible. Mediocre isn’t in her vocabulary.”

“This is just really nice,” Peters, who isn’t one to sing her own praises, told The Hull Times, “I’m a little overwhelmed!”

Officials say zoning bylaw to increase accessory apartments needs revision

By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

A proposal to authorize Accessory Dwelling Units in single-family zoning districts in Hull will be on Monday’s town meeting warrant, but both the planning and advisory boards say the proposed bylaw needs further study before being considered.

The ADU bylaw provides for a permitting process for 10 accessory apartments per year within owner-occupied, existing single-family homes. The ADUs will not add to the number of buildings in town or reduce the amount of open space, and cannot be used for commercial purposes.

The idea behind Article 13 is to create “housing choices for people who need help by using stock we have and not using open space,” said Patrick Finn, chair of the zoning board of appeals, which is sponsoring the article. “ADUs are also beneficial for providing multigenerational housing.”

The planning board voted to recommend that town meeting take no action, while the advisory board supports referring the article for study.

Finn said most homes are pre-existing, non-conforming uses within their zoning districts and would trigger an approval process through the board of appeals.

“As long as the board does not find what is being proposed as substantially detrimental to the character of the neighborhood, they would get it,” he said. “This creates a permitted use of accessory dwelling units and limits non-conformities.”

“This is the perfect example of the dangers of slipshod piecemeal approach to major housing,” Planning Board Chair Harry Hibbard said. “Right now there is no appetite for Airbnb in this town. What if two select boards down the road there is an appetite? We just created a bonanza for people with accessory units to use as Airbnb.”

Advisory board member Patricia Cormier agreed with the planning board’s assessment that the article is “piecemeal,” and said she would like to “see more collaboration between the entities that affect this and can effect the change.”

Planning board vice chair and zoning bylaw study committee representative Jeanne Paquin  voted against it because she thinks it should be special permit with age and income restrictions. “I want the planning board to take it up and find a solution,” she said. “Zoning should be looked at holistically and thoughtfully. It deserves further study relative to the whole town.”

“This does nothing for affordability; the planning board is looking into an accessory dwelling unit bylaw that would be restricted to elderly and handicapped,” Hibbard said. “Council on aging is interested in this to help seniors age in place; this article does nothing to help that.”

Planning board member Steve White said he agreed with Hibbard regarding the need for aging in place.

“There are good pieces in here, but needs to be crafted differently,” he said.

“It is not that we don’t agree with making Hull more affordable, but [we] don’t think all the pieces are here,” advisory board member Jason Frady said. “[This] provides an income stream for the property owner and argues that makes it more affordable; I don’t think that addresses affordability in Hull.”

Town Manager Philip Lemnios said there are several zoning articles addressing affordable housing in one way or another on this year’s town meeting warrant.

“It is better to send all of these articles to a committee to look at them and develop a comprehensive housing strategy; that is what is being attempted here but runs the risk of having a bunch of unintended consequences popping up,” he said. “Zoning bylaws need to be considered very carefully because they impact the land use of a community and people’s single largest asset is their property.”

Finn concluded he can’t change the main motion without going through the entire process again; however, he would “support any substitute motion that will at least create a permitted use that does not currently exist in Single Family A, B, C. Everyone has ideas as soon as you propose an idea, so I say put your idea on top of our idea and let’s have a good idea together.”

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Town meeting to consider proposal to delay HRA plans, study impacts

By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

Voters at Monday’s town meeting will be asked to consider an proposal to delay decisions on developing the Hull Redevelopment Authority’s property, although town officials say the citizens’ petition is “unactionable” and will recommend against it.

Article 22, sponsored by Susan Vermilya, calls for a study of development impacts on town’s resources.

“We are asking for an independent formal study to tell us how much this is going to cost taxpayers,” Vermilya said. “There is a lot of demand on resources and that is not going to go at zero cost.”

“The independent study will look specifically at what changes or upgrades are needed to each of these resources – water, sewer, electricity – costs of those changes, who is going to pay for those costs, and what resource decline might we expect for this development,” she said.

“I believe this is absolutely unactionable because of the independent nature of the HRA,” advisory board member Jay Polito said. “They (HRA) will not take direction from the town; if this passes, they can ignore it because of their charter and the way it is set up.”

The advisory board voted unanimously to recommend unfavorable action on the article.

As a founding member of S.O.S. Hull (Save Our Space), Vermilya said many in town feel “the HRA hasn’t checked all the boxes or done their due diligence about the full impact of this development.

“We don’t want to find out a year into the project that we need a new sewer plant or a new water tower because not there is so much water usage we can’t get water pressure down to the Village,” she said.

Planning Board Chair Harry Hibbard said the availability of services is part of the process of the planning board in reviewing development plans.

“We will hear from the electric company, the sewer department, public safety, water…everyone can chime in and have the opportunity to say whether this is or isn’t a problem,” Hibbard said. “It is my understanding, any system improvements that are required as part of this development will be covered by the developer and donated to the water company.”

Vermilya said she and the members of S.O.S. Hull understand that the select board will approve the HRA’s Urban Renewal Plan acting as “the voice of the community;” therefore, “if the community is concerned we don’t have all our answers to know whether this is good for our town, then the select board should be just as concerned.”

Advisory board member Jason Frady said that if the select board were to reject the HRA plan, it “does not dissolve the HRA and it doesn’t take away their land or money.” In such a scenario, the HRA could choose to engage developers in the bidding process asking them to submit their proposals for the land and omit further public input.

“No one wants to go there. HRA doesn’t want to go there. I don’t want to go there,” Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Patrick Finn said. “That is like the nuclear option…We don’t want to go back to the mistakes of the past.”

“We set the rules of the game; zoning,” Frady said. “If the development meets the requirements of zoning in the NBOD [Nantasket Beach Overlay District] it would be hard to object… The HRA the way it was voted on by the town, has the authority over that piece of land.”

The advisory board said it considers its recommendations in light of whether it can “advise town meeting in one direction or another,” and members concluded that they cannot recommend action that can’t be implemented.

“We have the duty to think about and guide the voters in understanding what we can and can’t force the town to do,” advisory board member Chad Wolfe said. “That doesn’t mean it can’t be symbolic…there is a lot of great symbolism in the town vote.”

Finn, of the board of appeals, and a candidate for the redevelopment authority, said the HRA is not working with a developer but is gathering ideas for what can be built on the property.

“Article 22 is to see if the town will vote to delay decisions on development proposals,” Finn said. “This isn’t a development proposal. It is a collaborative planning exercises with the Town of Hull that incorporates a two-way road plan.”

Despite the advisory board’s recommendation of unfavorable action, voters still will be able to debate and vote on the article at town meeting.

“We are asking to do this to formalize what impact this is going to have…In the end us taxpayers are going to be paying for it, potentially,” said Vermilya.

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Town meeting article would require large projects to include affordable housing

By Dolores Sauca Lorusso

“With Hull already having missed potential opportunities for inclusionary housing, I believe that the time to address the issue is at hand, so future opportunities will not be lost,” said George Boylen, who filed a citizens’ petition for the May 1 town meeting to create a requirement for “inclusionary housing of 10% of proposed units for any development over 10 units.”

Boylen said the motivation behind his petition came after a meeting with the select board where a developer, when asked about affordable housing, “seemed to indicate that it did not fit with his business model.” Boylen, who is the town moderator, is sponsoring Article 17 as a private citizen.

Although the advisory board voted to refer the inclusionary bylaw for further study, the planning board will recommend favorable action at town meeting. Both boards agree that the issue of affordable housing in Hull must be addressed in some way. Boylen’s plan would give preference to Hull residents and employees.

“The reason we are recommending favorable action is we got stung three times in the last six months with preliminary subdivisions which served to make zoning changes inapplicable once filed,” said planning board Chair Harry Hibbard. “The Aquarium … Paragon Dunes, and also the HRA, all filed preliminary subdivisions. The planning board is committed to working the kinks out of this; a lot needs to be fixed.”

Advisory Board member Dan Sullivan, who presented Boylen’s article in his absence, agreed. “May only be one more big project in this town, and if someone jumps in with a subdivision application, then we lost any chance of this article to work,” he said.

Steve Kiley of the advisory board countered: “I think the timing of the next project, while unfortunate, can’t be a deciding factor in us making a decision on this article.”

“It is important for a board like us to step in and say if there are flaws to be addressed, not just with this particular article, but in general,” said advisory board Chair David Clinton. “We are recommending refer to study because we believe it should be part of a more comprehensive study related to housing policies in town.”

Boylen said he developed his bylaw by researching other towns, data from the Pioneer Institute, and by material from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University. In addition, he found “140 towns or cities in Massachusetts have inclusionary housing bylaws in place.”

“Many communities try to copycat what others have done, but one size doesn’t fit all because there are a variety of considerations,” Town Manager Philip Lemnios said.

According to Boylen, the “language utilized is taken from currently existing bylaws in other towns and modified to address some Hull-specific concerns.”

The proposed inclusionary housing bylaw will give preference to Hull residents and those employed within the town. The bylaw proposal states that “affordable units shall be initially offered to current residents of the Town of Hull who qualify under the income guidelines and who have resided in town for a minimum of five years, to persons employed within the Town of Hull for at least five years, and to persons who, although not currently residents of the town, have previously resided in the Town of Hull for a minimum of five years.”

“I like George’s bylaw because of the local preferences,” said zoning board of appeals Chair Patrick Finn. “If we have too little affordable housing and it is too late, we better use every loophole we can to make preferences for Hull residents, and the elderly… No one wants to create the last remaining units, and finally pass 10% affordable housing, for people to come from out of town.”

Community Development and Planning Director Chris DiIorio said that if state or federal grant money is received for the affordable housing project, there cannot be a local preference; however, preferences for the elderly and disabled can still be made.

Boylen said when he was developing this potential bylaw he was not aware of any action being taken to develop an inclusionary affordable housing regulation.

“When I became aware that the zoning bylaw review committee was considering a potential inclusionary housing bylaw, I forwarded my citizens’ petition to the committee, which decided not to include a bylaw of their own concerning this issue,” he said. “The right action would be to approve this bylaw, so we have something in place that locks in an inclusionary housing requirement, recognizing that it may need certain elements to be potentially amended at a future town meeting.”

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Lewenberg, Roy to fill citizens’ seats on town manager search panel

By Carol Britton Meyer

Roger Lewenberg and Kim Roy were appointed by the select board this week to fill the two community member openings on the town manager semifinalist search committee that will work with the consulting firm Community Paradigm Associates.

ROGER LEWENBERG

Other applicants interviewed April 12 were Stephen Applebaum, David P. Irwin, Susan Mann, Ann Marie Papasodero, Polly Rowe, Amy Whitcomb Slemmer, William Smyth, Francine Townsend, and Stephen White.

The consulting firm will ultimately present who they believe to be the best semifinalists to the committee for their review. The position is open due to the June retirement of Town Manager Philip Lemnios, who will serve in an interim capacity to assist with the transition.

KIM ROY

Lewenberg, a retired judge, had summered in Hull for his whole life before becoming a year-round resident in 2005. He was interested in being a town manager early in his career and spent six months of his undergraduate training interning with the Ipswich town manager. Skills he considers to be of top priority in a town manager include “someone who has good ideas, shares them, and listens to others’ good ideas.”

Roy, currently the human resources director for the Town of Cohasset, has a background in recruiting for municipalities. Before moving to Hull four years ago, she served on the Halifax Select Board and in other government positions in that community.

The qualities she considers necessary include having “great communications skills, integrity, and a real understanding of the community.

“It’s a perfect dance when everyone is on the same plan … working for the greater good of the community and not a personal agenda,” she said.

Before Lewenberg and Roy were appointed, select board member Irwin Nesoff nominated Slemmer to serve as one of the community members, but that motion was not seconded.

After Roy was nominated and appointed and Lewenberg nominated, Nesoff – while acknowledging that Lewenberg “is highly qualified” – said his “only concern” was that some of the earlier candidates “who have been passed over” have been more involved with the town, serving on town committees.

In response, Select Board Chair Donna Pursel said that while involvement with the town is important to look for in the candidates for the semi-finalist committee, “I think it’s important to look at the bigger picture of what [else] can be brought to the table. Town hall experience is not the deciding factor.”

Board member Greg Grey seconded Lewenberg’s nomination.

Roy was appointed on a unanimous vote, while the vote for Lewenberg was 4-1, with Nesoff abstaining.

“We have an unbelievable list of candidates,” select board member Domenico Sestito said. “I’m very impressed by their qualifications.”

The first meeting of the committee is scheduled to take place on Thursday, April 27. Nesoff, the select board representative to the committee, was appointed to serve as interim chair until the committee is up and running. Other members include select board member Greg Grey, advisory board member Patricia Cormier, and school committee member David Twombly.

The committee will meet throughout the month of May and ultimately recommend a list of finalists to the Select Board, which will make the final decision.

While the committee’s meetings will be posted, most of the work will be completed in executive session -- “until the finalist stage,” Lemnios said, although the consultant will be able to share general information about the number of candidates, for instance.

Although the names of the semi-finalists will not be made public, the finalists’ names will, after which the Select Board will proceed with the final selection process.

The committee is expected to present the final candidates to the Select Board around the second week of June.

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Students spend April break focused on service project in the Dominican Republic

By Victoria Dolan

During April break, around 15 students traveled to the Dominican Republic to help serve the community and experience a different culture as part of Project Humanitarian Involvement.

A WORKING VACATION. During their April school break, about 15 Hull High students traveled to the Dominican Republic to serve the community, including improving school facilities and providing assistance with other projects for local children. The Hull students are members of Project Humanitarian Involvement. [Courtesy photo]

Project Humanitarian Involvement, or PHI, is a club that focuses on humanitarian-based service. The club worked with the DREAM project, which works on creating opportunities for people in the Dominican Republic, such as improving literacy skills and academics, as well as providing health information and legal services.
“They do a lot of work with younger kids,” explained club advisor Daniel O’Donnell, “and that’s what our work focused around.” During their week-long trip, the group painted walls, murals, and handicapped-accessible signs for schools. They also spent time playing with young local kids, which “was everyone’s favorite activity.”
However, the trip wasn’t all work and no play. In between serving the community, students participated in a surfing class, swam in a lagoon, and took tours of museums, cultural neighborhoods, and a mangrove swamp.
O’Donnell chose to take on responsibility with the club after the former advisor stepped down because he “always loved traveling,” and “wanted to share that with the students.”
Also supervising on the trip was guidance secretary Julie Galluzzo. Asked to join the trip due to her Spanish fluency and familiarity with participating students, Galluzzo said the students were “wonderful to travel with” and “their behavior was exceptional.”
Both Galluzzo and O’Donnell think the students took home valuable lessons from their time in the Dominican Republic. Not only did they brush up on their Spanish speaking skills, but O’Donnell thinks they “were able to learn a lot about being flexible and going with the flow” as plans changed throughout the trip.
Galluzzo noted that “a lot of kids reflected back on their own situation here, and how good they have it” compared to some of the extreme poverty they witnessed. “For some kids it was eye-opening.”

Victoria Dolan is The Hull Times school correspondent. This column reflects her student viewpoint. For questions or comments, please contact dolan.victorialani@gmail.com.