Select Board Votes 3-2 to Pull Light Plant From Joint Facility Grant Application

Select Board · Meeting of July 22, 2026

Hull Select Board votes 3-2 to separate light plant from joint DPW facility grant. The Select Board and Hull Municipal Light Board held a contentious joint session Wednesday over whether to pursue a joint Department of Public Works and light plant facility at 9 Nantasket Avenue or renovate the existing site at 15 Edgewater Road. Light Board members Jake Valancourt and Tom Burns presented a case for a $110,000 feasibility study of the Edgewater site, citing the Light Board's unanimous November 2025 vote to build a four-bay garage there and a July 15 notification from the Hull Historical Commission that the circa-1880 building may be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

Town Manager Jennifer Constable rebutted with a $45 million cost figure for the joint facility and said potential federal BRIC grant funding could reduce the light plant's share to below $10 million, compared with a rough Edgewater estimate of $1 million to $4.5 million. The Select Board voted 3-2, with Chair Brian S. McCarthy, Vice Chair Jerry Taverna, and Clerk Susan Short Green in favor, to direct the town manager to separate the light plant from the pending Phase 4 CZM Coastal Resilience Grant application, and voted 3-2 again to direct the light plant manager to proceed with the $110,000 study funded by the light plant.

Constable said she would consult with town counsel before acting, citing her authority over grant filings under the town charter. The board also unanimously approved $412,193 in FY26 year-end transfers and appointments to seven committees.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report, 4,164 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of July 22, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.