Hingham To Vote On Purchasing Land For New Police, Fire Facility

Hingham MA

06 November, 2020

12:27 PM

Description

HINGHAM—The Town of Hingham is holding a Special Town Meeting, scheduled to take place on November 21 at 12 p.m. on the Hingham High School football field, to decide whether to authorize buying the three-acre property at 335 Lincoln Street on the harbor side of Route 3A for the proposed police headquarters and satellite fire station. The project would give both the police headquarters and fire station more space to operate and upgraded facilities and give the senior center an opportunity to expand within the Hingham Town Hall, which currently allocates approximately 10,000 square feet on the first floor to house the police headquarters. According to the town, this move would triple the total space dedicated to senior center activities. The new satellite fire station would replace the North Street location, with the fire headquarters and South Fire Station remaining where they are. The regional dispatch center would stay at its current location in the town hall. At the Annual Town Meeting in June, the town voted to authorize Article 12, the transfer of up to $250,000 for a feasibility study and conceptual design documents, and Article 13, the establishment of a Public Safety Facility Building Committee to oversee the feasibility study, design, and construction. The town chose Kaestle Boos Architects to conduct the study and draw up plans for the new facility. The plans presented by Kaestle Boos Architects at the October 13 town meeting unveiled a 50,000-square-foot, three-story building with an estimated cost of $39.6 million. Although the Board of Selectmen initially voted to ask for permission to both buy the property and move ahead with the design, they decided at the October 20 meeting to start by only asking to purchase the property. A Purchase & Sale agreement executed on June 25 lists the 335 Lincoln Street property at $5.5 million. The town has until November 30 to decide whether to move forward with purchasing the land.