April 8, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer
Now that warmer weather has arrived, Selectman Mary Power is asking residents to adhere to state social distancing guidelines, although it may be tempting to do otherwise.
"The more quickly we do that, the more quickly we will be able to resume some of the activities we can't do right now," she said.
Bare Cove Park and Wompatuck State Park are popular recreation areas. That said, Power urged residents to enjoy their time outdoors while remaining at least six feet apart from those around them.
Meanwhile, Hingham's Emergency Management Team, which meets daily via conference call, has begun transitioning the town’s COVID-19 response to a new, more robust Incident Command System structure led by a larger Incident Management Team to enhance local efforts to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in town, Town Manager Tom Mayo said.
The team is led by Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Steve Murphy and includes Town Administrator Tom Mayo, Assistant Town Administrator Michelle Monsegur, Police Chief Glenn Olsson, Deputy Police Chief David Jones, Deputy Fire Chief Steve Murphy, and Executive Health Officer Susan Sarni.
"ICS is a standardized approach to incident management that Hingham’s public safety departments have been utilizing for years to manage both small and large, and planned and unplanned events or incidents," Mayo reported to the selectmen last night in a teleconference meeting.
ICS is used by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and enables a coordinated response among various agencies by establishing common processes and an organizational structure for incident-level planning and resource management, according to Mayo.
The Incident Management Team is led by a Unified Command consisting of Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director Murphy, Mayo, and Olsson.
"The team meets daily and is currently leveraging staff from 10 departments to help support and expand the town’s COVID-19 response," Mayo said..
For further information about the Incident Management Team and other CODIV-19-related information, visit https://www.hingham-ma.gov/860/COVID-19-Updates.
Hingham is following the Massachusetts Department of Public Health's recommendation that local boards of health report cases of CODIV-19 on a county-wide basis.
Mayo reported that there have been 15,202 cases reported in Massachusetts, including 1,194 across the 27 communities in Plymouth County, which includes Hingham. "I believe Hingham is experiencing COVID-19 cases proportionately to other communities in the county. Town officials [are not allowed] to share information about individual cases."
Mayo urges Hingham residents to do their part, to stay at home as much as possible, and to maintain social distancing.
Asst. Town Administrator Michelle Monsegur reported that World's End will remain closed until further notice, along with Whitney and Thayer Woods, South Shore Country Club (including no golfing allowed at this time) and all town tennis courts and playgrounds.
Monsegur also provided a Hingham Public Library update. "The library is transitioning many of its services to online and remote access and increasing its purchase of e-Books as well as issuing temporary e-cards to patrons without actual library cards through the library website, hinghamlibrary.org.
Digital books and magazines are available, and the young adult librarian is working with the elementary and middle schools to help meet their need during this very-different time.
There are also plans to offer online story hours, craft sessions, lectures, book groups, and a Zoom tutorial because so many people are using that format to communicate instead of attending actual meetings these days.
Citizens with questions about any aspects of town government during this crisis are encouraged to contact Heidi Gaul in the Selectmen's office at gaulh@hingham-ma.gov or to leave a message by calling (781) 741-1400.
"Every day seems to bring a new set of challenges," said Power. "Our dedicated employees are finding new ways of working and taking on new assignments."
In other business at the meeting:
* The Selectmen, acting as the board of water commissioners, voted to adopt the Town of Hingham website (hingham-ma.gov) as the official method for posting Open Meeting Law notices for the Weir River Water System (the new name once the purchase of the part of the system serving Hingham, Hull, and part of Cohasset from Aquarion Water Company is complete).
*The board approved changing the hours of the next -- Rockwood Road -- phase of the Rt. 228 gas main replacement project from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. Sunday through Friday -- as was the case with the recently completed part of the project ending at the library -- to daytime hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), Monday through Friday.
The main reason is to make it easier for National Grid crews to deal with the large amount of ledge in the work area . National Grid representatives stated that this work needs to be accomplished as soon as possible because the pipes were installed in 1913 and have active leaks.
Rockwood Road resident Craig Hutchison asked the selectmen to delay the work while families remain at home during the day to avoid children being disrupted while working on school assignments or taking a break outside and while he and others in the neighborhood are working from home. While understanding of his concerns, the board approved the change of hours.
Work crews will abide by protocols related to the virus and respect social distancing guidelines.
* Selectmen Chairman Karen Johnson reiterated the board's support for downtown merchants. "Rep. Joan Meschino and Sen. Patrick O'Connor are trying to conceptualize some of the benefits and programs being offered for small businesses," she said following a recent meeting of the two state legislators and the HDA. "Hingham businesses have our support."
* Mayo announced that four new police officers, recent police academy graduates, were sworn in remotely by Town Clerk Eileen McCracken and are working on the force. They are Jake Handrahan, Kevin Duff, Christopher Meservey, and Max Goldstein.
"We look forward to welcoming them more publicly as soon as we can," he said, applauding their willingness "to step into the fray" during this challenging time. "We're very proud of these four men."