By Carol Britton Meyer, April 19, 2019
At a meeting last night, the Hull selectmen unanimously (Greg Grey was absent) agreed to send a letter to the Hingham Selectmen that they asked be read into the official record of the upcoming Town Meeting in support of the acquisition.
"Collectively our towns have a strong and positive history of working well together, and we fully expect this to continue," the letter states in part. ". . . All our residents will benefit from increased transparency in the planning, budgetary, capital, and rate-setting process as all meetings will be held consistent with the Open Meeting Law, and the new enterprise account expenditures will be approved by the public annually. In short, local governance and transparent operations will bring great financial and consumer benefits."
The letter went on to state: "While we recognize there are some vocal and discordant voices in each of our towns, they do not speak for all residents nor do they represent our official position. As the duly elected chief policy-setting body for the Town of Hull, and on behalf of the residents of the Town of Hull, we urge the participants at the 2019 Hingham Town Meeting to approve of the purchase of the Aquarion water system and return to public control this vital asset."
The full letter from the Hull selectmen can be read here https://www.hingham-ma.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=558.
At the same time a group of forty-seven Hull residents asked Hingham voters to say ‘no’ to the proposed water company acquisition warrant article at next Monday's Town Meeting in a lengthy email letter sent yesterday (April 18) to an undisclosed list of Hingham citizens from a “savehullwater” Gmail address. The name "Keep Aquarion" is listed at the bottom of the email along with a Hingham address. The subject line of the email sent by acquisition opponents reads: "How do Hull residents feel?" and is addressed: "Dear Neighbor in Hingham."
The letter details concerns that some Hull residents have with the proposal and points out "ways in which we would ALL be impacted." According to the email, these include the fact that Hull's infrastructure "is some of the oldest in the system and is in need of replacement" and associated costs; that Aquarion is an award-winning water company "run by experts in the industry;" and what they claim are "many missing pieces."
The letter ends like this: "Thanks to the activism of [some] concerned Hingham residents, there will be a secret paper ballot at Town Meeting on Monday, April 22 -- democracy in action! Mark your calendars and plan to attend and vote NO!"
In a Hull Happenings post, a Hingham resident responded to the email, stating that she has attended a number of "excellent forums" presented by the Hingham Selectmen, Advisory Committee, and concerned neighbors and is convinced that "fiscal prudence, opportunity for improved maintenance, the long-term health of the water supply serving us all, as well as stewardship of the invaluable aquifer that we all share require that I vote YES for Hingham's purchase of the water company."
The Hingham resident also states (that in her opinion) Hull residents who attended some of these meetings helped shape the next steps the Hingham Selectmen will take and that the board will continue to be responsive to Hull's needs.