Hingham Select Board unanimously places Center for Active Living on town meeting warrant

HINGHAM — January 13, 2026 — Hingham Select Board unanimously voted to place a new Center for Active Living on the 2026 Annual Town Meeting warrant. Chair Bill Ramsey, the board's liaison to the project, said his support hinged on keeping the cost under $30 million — a target he said consultants Dan Palada and Chris Wanty have met — and described a lengthy site-selection process that ruled out Town Hall for parking reasons and a Union Street driving range site for wetlands constraints, settling on Bearcroft Park Drive. Tom Kerry, chair of the building committee, reported his panel had voted unanimously earlier the same day to urge the article's inclusion. Council on Aging Chair Joe Neans urged advocates to make the case on both cost and benefit, while resident Diane Napoli, speaking via Zoom, called for more complete operational cost data before town meeting, which is expected at the end of April. The board also approved a Sunday-and-Saturday opening-hour change for Legal Seafoods at 96 Derby Street, appointed Treasurer-Collector Lori Magner as custodian of tax title properties under a 2022 state law, and received fiscal year 2027 budget requests totaling more than $8.9 million across five departments including DPW's $5,804,462 operating budget and a $2,222,463 transfer station request.