Tonight’s Selectmen Meeting Expected to be Eventful

The Hingham School Building Committee will ask the Selectmen tonight to open the ballot for a Special Town Meeting.

The School Building Committee hopes to convene a Special Town Meeting and ballot vote this fall to consider a warrant article requesting a debt exclusion override to fund construction of the . On schedule for approval by the MSBA at its September Board meeting, the project is expected to cost approximately $50-$57 million before MSBA reimbursement projected to be between 40 and 44 percent.

Also on tonight’s Selectmen agenda, there will be a continuation of a public hearing from last month to grant locations on Verizon’s installation of new fiber optic cable on Manatee Road, Volusia Road and New Bridge Street.   The company was however it was revealed that previous installations of fiber optic cable had not been carried out to local residents' satisfaction.

According to the town, work done by sub-contractors on Kress Farm Road, Ringbolt Road and Saw Mill Pond Road had left unused conduits and in one case had caused damage to the driveway of a Hingham resident. There is a long-standing agreement between the Department of Public Works and Verizon that any work undertaken leaves the area in the same state that it was before and this appears to have not been the case.  It was recommended by selectmen that any further requests for Grants of Location by Verizon be held over until the errors made have been rectified.

Tonight at approximately 7:10 p.m. the Shade Tree Committee will present  the design for . According to Shirley Rydell, the Shade Tree Committee chairwoman, the new design plans call for a “backdrop” effect of large species of Maple trees along the west side of the park, which will include the Maple trees already there and new Maple trees added to eventually form this background. There will also be a perennial flower and shrub bed at each end of the park to provide summer color, with the north bed replacing the overgrown Arbor Vitae, which will be removed. Next to the flower and shrub beds in the center of the park near each end will be a group of 5 dogwoods, “Stellar Pink” on the north (to include one existing pink dogwood) and white Kousa on the south. In the center will be approximately 7 clumps of River Birch, which will have the second pink dogwood in their midst.

At 7:25 p.m. tonight, the Selectmen will review a contract which will allow the Department of Public Works to purchase a new street sweeper and trackless tractor.

Tonight’s Selectmen meeting starts at 7:00 p.m. on the third floor of the Town Hall and it is open to the public.