October 7, 2020 by Carol Britton Meyer
If the Public Safety Facility Building Committee -- following a thorough exploration of the site -- finds the proposed 335 Lincoln St. parcel suitable for a combined police and fire department building -- and the selectmen support that recommendation -- Hingham citizens will be marking their calendars for the second Town Meeting in five months.
As a follow-up to earlier Town Meeting support for funding a feasibility study and conceptual design plans for this proposed project in an amount of up to $250,000, the Selectmen earlier entered into a purchase and sale agreement on a three-acre parcel at 335 Lincoln St. -- where Russo Marine is now located -- for that purpose.
Kaestle Boos Associates, with a great deal of experience in this field, was hired to perform the study and to develop the conceptual design.
The town has a short time left of the due diligence period. If the proposal moves forward as the board and public safety officials hope it will, voters will decide whether to purchase the property for $5.5 million at a Special Town Meeting on Saturday, Nov. 21.
"There will be significant opportunity to discuss this proposed project during the coming weeks," Town Administrator Tom Mayo said.
The police department -- located at Town Hall -- and the North Street fire station have outgrown their current locations. Such a move would allow modernizing HPD services and equipment and make the job of police officers safer, according to Selectman Joseph Fisher.
Such a move to Lincoln Street would allow the fire department to better serve the growing development along the 3A corridor, including the Hingham Shipyard, and to improve its operations. Although the site is on the waterfront, it is not in a flood zone. Other potential sites have been explored over the past several years but were not considered to be suitable.
Such a facility would include a satellite fire station and a new police station. Combining the two operations in this way would free up about 40 parking spaces at Town Hall and allow for a major expansion of the adjacent Senior Center into part of the space now occupied by HPD.
The Senior Center, which serves about one-third of Hingham's population -- has also outgrown its space.
Public Safety Facility Building Committee Chair Robert Garrity explained the committee's progress so far. "We've been very busy," he said. "We've toured the combined police-fire facility in Scituate and have more tours planned."
Garrity explained that access to the site, traffic, parking, and the exiting and entering of emergency vehicles are all under review, and that the town has hired an experienced traffic engineer to assist the committee. "We're really getting down to brass tacks now," he said. The committee's recommendation could be announced this week.
If a Special Town Meeting is held, voters will consider and vote on three warrant articles related to authorizing the town "to acquire the property, set the sum for the full design and construction documents, and authorize the town treasurer to borrow that amount," Mayo said.
Fisher emphasized that this is the first step in the process. "The entire project hasn't been fully costed, so it would be premature to look for funds [at this possible Special Town Meeting]," he said. "What will be decided then will be whether we want to buy the property and whether this is a feasible location for the proposed public safety facility, with more discussion to come."
Both Interim Police Chief David Jones and Fire Chief Steve Murphy said they believe the site will accommodate their departments' current and future needs.
Selectman William Ramsey, noting that "time is of the essence," said he feels it is incumbent on the board "to also lay out our plan for the [proposed] Foster School [renovation or a new school, with hoped-for partial reimbursement from the Massachusetts School Building Authority], which is also a major capital project.
"We need to inform the community that we haven't -- and won't -- lose sight of Foster School," Ramsey said.