Hull Water Committee backs three town meeting articles on bidding, reserves, and contract terms

HULL -- March 18, 2026, Hull Water Committee approves amended minutes and advances three sewer-department warrant articles to May town meeting. The committee, chaired by a member identified only as Rick, voted unanimously to approve its November 12 minutes after adding a notation that member Paul Norton was absent, a correction prompted by Rick's attendance at a recent open meeting law training. Department staff member Kathy reported that water revenue stands at roughly 48 percent of budget, consistent with the billing cycle despite a delay caused by parent company Veolia's failure to produce required consumption reports during a system transition; Veolia has agreed to reimburse the town for staff overtime and hours spent attempting manual entry of approximately 4,500 accounts. Three warrant articles heading to the May annual town meeting would transfer excess retained earnings into a capital emergency replacement reserve, allow best-value competitive bidding for contractor selection, and authorize the town manager to grant up to five optional one-year extensions to the wastewater operations contract beyond its original 10-year term. Hull's Department of Public Works has separately received approximately $240,000 in Chapter 90 funding to convert the former Pemberton-area pump station into a stormwater drainage facility.