January 21, 2025 By The Town of Hingham
Looking back on what he called, “our collective accomplishments,” Hingham Town Administrator Tom Mayo highlighted the actions taken in 2024 to help provide and maintain the “quality of life” provided in Hingham.
“To say I am proud to work with our Select Board, my colleagues in public service throughout the Town, and the residents we serve, is an understatement,” said Mayo. “Having a front row seat to the work they do and witnessing the impacts it has on the community is one of my favorite parts of my job.”
Among the many highlights of 2024 Mayo cited are:
TOWN GOVERNMENT
- Held our first Hingham Local Government Academy in October/November, introducing residents to the inner workings of the Town’s many departments and operations.
- Retained the Town’s AAA bond rating, the highest rating possible, allowing the Town to borrow at the lowest possible cost.
- Held four elections in 2024 with a total of 28,240 ballots cast. 15,849 Hingham voters cast ballots in the November 2024 Presidential/State Election, of whom 7,890 (50%) voted early.
- Rebranded the Senior Center as the Center for Active Living to reflect the Center’s evolving programming. The department also received a recommendation from the Building Committee to locate a proposed new Center for Active Living at Bare Cove Park.
- Hired employees for critical new roles including a Sustainability Coordinator, Social Worker, and Center for Active Living Program Coordinator.
- Continued to promote the MyHingham constituent service app to the public, with several hundred users to date.
TOWN SERVICES
- Cronin Field received major investments, including a new playground, basketball court, and street hockey court. A $250,000 grant was secured to build accessible pathways to make the area accessible to all Hingham residents.
- Opened a new maintenance facility at the South Shore Country Club.
- Public Safety Facility construction continued and is on track to be occupied in mid- 2025.
- Graduated the 65 th class from the Citizen’s Police Academy.
- HPD welcomed new patrol K-9 Gary in training, replacing retired patrol K-9 Pedy after 9 years of loyal service.
- Formed the Hingham Mental Health Coalition consisting of staff and volunteers coordinating Town efforts around mental health, suicide prevention, and opioid addiction.
- Launched a new program to aid residents with opioid-related needs.
- Hosted a Suicide Prevention Walk in September that raised over $80K for suicide prevention and awareness.
- 10,421 people attended 513 programs hosted by the Hingham Public Library. Patrons borrowed 369K items from the Library, including 217K books, 53K e-books, and 45K movies/music/audiobooks.
- Placed selected individuals and families in three new properties made available by the Hingham Affordable Housing Trust.
- Significant progress was made on the new Foster Elementary School (and students moved in in early January 2025).
During 2024, the Town of Hingham was diligent in its Economic Development planning. Leading accomplishments include:
- Continued Economic Development planning with the public and private property owners.
- Launched a study of Hingham’s future water needs and infrastructure, in collaboration with six surrounding communities.
- Reconstituted the Hingham Development & Industrial Commission.
- Issued over $151M in bonds and notes to fund 20 programs and projects.
- Successfully applied for over $4M in ARPA funds from Plymouth County to help fund an economic development plan, regional water study, stormwater master plan, Public Safety Facility construction, and Route 3A sewer improvements.
- Implemented new assessing technology using flyovers and Artificial Intelligence to increase efficiency.
- Constructed 5,000 square feet of new rain gardens for stormwater management.
- Issued an RFP seeking proposals to lease Town property to build new cellular communications infrastructure at 25 Bare Cove Park Drive. A lease agreement is expected in the first quarter of 2025.