Hingham Select Board Defers Pickleball Court Vote After Abutter Noise Objections

HINGHAM — February 11, 2025 — Hingham Select Board defers pickleball court vote after abutters challenge noise study findings. The board, meeting in joint session with the Advisory Committee and Community Preservation Committee on February 11, declined to act on a $758,000 CPC grant or a companion capital article for 12 courts at Carlson Field, with members Liz Kleene and Chair Joe Fiser unable to produce a majority after Bill Ramsey recused himself due to a family member's service on the Recreation Commission. Abutters including Bill Kanan of Edgar Walker Court and Hillside Terrace resident Hillary Teo questioned why the original project application described noise concerns as "non-existent" before a sound study by Citech found pickleball would be "audible at all receivers." The full CPC budget of $2.45 million — including $700,000 for the Hingham Affordable Housing Trust and $600,000 for Old Ordinary campus improvements — was also held pending a future board vote on the contested pickleball component. The board did vote unanimously to approve a $37,900 repair contract for the South Shore Country Club function hall wall and to send a letter urging the Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization to keep the long-delayed Route 3A improvement project in the 2026 Transportation Improvement Program.