Hull Water Commission approves budget review, eyes early December pump station startup

HULL -- November 11, 2025, Hull Water Commission hears construction milestones and a stalled regional sewer partnership. The commission, meeting November 11, approved its June meeting minutes and reviewed a fiscal year 2025 year-end budget that closed at 85 percent spent, with remaining funds moved into retained earnings to meet a new town policy requiring at least 15 percent reserves against the roughly $7 million annual budget, a floor the department exceeded at 21.6 percent. Department engineer John reported that the Influent Project at the treatment plant has reached substantial completion and Pump Station 9 is on track to go online in early December, while ocean outfall contractors mobilized the same day to reline six diffusers and add four new ones. An $8 million collection system rehabilitation project and a second phase of the treatment plant upgrade are both expected to go to bid in spring 2026, alongside a request for proposals for a new contract operator targeting a July 1 transition. On regionalization, John said Cohasset has not yet committed its $100,000 share needed to release an EPA feasibility grant, with the town's outgoing manager further complicating the outlook.