By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

A Hingham man will face charges of Operating Under the Influence for the sixth time after allegedly driving drunk through the residential roads of Hingham.

According to police, a Hingham resident on Bel Air Road was in his yard with his three-year-old son when a man pulled up in a car at approximately 1:40 p.m. and spoke to the child, allegedly saying “Hey, who are you?”

The father came over and had a conversation with the man, who appeared to be drunk and confused, police said.

The resident told police that he asked the suspect if he was drunk and if he should be driving. The suspect said “I’m going to drive home,” and drove away, the resident said.

The resident called police soon after the suspect left and reported the incident. When police arrived, they spoke with another witness who saw the incident take place, and who then followed the suspect to his home a short distance away on Downer Ave.

Officers went to the home of the alleged suspect and saw a vehicle, matching the descrption of both witnesses, in the driveway. Police said the car was still warm, as if it had been driven recently. A half-empty bottle of schnapps was found in the front center console.

Police said that an officer knocked on the door and spoke with the suspect, who smelled strongly of alcohol and appeared to be intoxicated.

The resident also arrived on scene and identified the man who had driven up to his house.

The man admitted to officers that he had been driving, and agreed to perform a field sobriety test, police said.

According to police, the man had trouble even getting down the front stairs, and was swaying so much he couldn’t complete the tests.

Paul A. Dillon, 45, from Hingham was arrested and charged with OUI alcohol fifth or subsequent offence, driving to endanger, and having an open container of alcohol in the vehicle.

According to police, Dillon has five prior guilty convictions for drunk driving, ranging from two offences in 1989 in Hingham District Court, to the most recent in 2001 in Quincy District Court.

Despite the convictions, the suspect did have a valid license, as his most recent conviction had occurred prior to Melanie’s Law, which has made strengthened drunk driving punishments.

Hingham Police said they were grateful the incident wasn’t more serious, as the arrest happened right as school was getting out nearby.

“This occurred near a school zone, an elementary school, that let out at 2:30 and we towed [the car] at 2:15,” said Sgt. Steven Dearth. “Parents were obviously arriving early, and many will walk to school to pick up kids. A lot of foot traffic, pedestrian. The caller lives in a residential neighborhood … it’s a concern any time when someone drives impaired, but in a residential neighborhood ... that heightens the severity of it.”

Dillon was released from jail Tuesday night on $340 cash bail. He was arraigned Wednesday in Hingham District Court and released under house arrest home confinement with a GPS monitoring bracelet.

He will be due back in court on May 16.

Photo courtesy of Jones Lang LaSalle.

The office space is above Hingham Beer Works and several other first floor retail tenants. That development, coupled with several other new restaurants and buildings, is part of the changing landscape at the Shipyard.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

The Hingham Shipyard is making a push to lease out existing office space above Hingham Beer Works with the hiring of real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle.

The move is part of an ongoing effort to develop and lease out space at the Shipyard, which has seen an uptick in activity in recent months.

“Samuels has been so successful with residential, so successful with retail, the office [space] - a lot of people don’t even know it’s there,” said Sean Lynch, Vice President of Jones Lang LaSalle. “Is it residential, retail? People don’t know.”

LaSalle will focus their leasing efforts on the second floor and part of the third floor in the building, a total of 45,000 square feet of space.

The space, constructed in 2009, has only been used by Hingham Sports Partnership as a fundraising location for the High School Fields project. According to Lynch, the hope is to bring an awareness of the space to local businesses, and eventually fill out the building.

“We’ve got our marketing team helping us market this in terms of coming up with creative brands or logos [to differentiate the space] for people who saw it a couple years ago,” Lynch said. “We’re out there shaking trees, making sure people are aware.”

Most likely, several tenants will fill the remaining third floor and all of the second. Three tenants, all with high-end built-outs, currently occupy part of the third floor, Lynch said.

According to Leslie Cohen, Vice President of Development for Shipyard owners Samuels & Associates, LaSalle will help the Shipyard better connect with local markets.

“The brokers who work on the South Shore live in the Hingham area, and we’ve learned a lot about the Hingham market,” Cohen said. “It’s a real personal market, from offices to residential; it’s a very connected and networked community. We felt having people entrenched in the community was a benefit for us.”

Filling the vacant office space will round out a slew of developments at the Shipyard, which include a new residential building across the street from the offices, and several new restaurants and stores coming soon.

Of the 26-unit development, finished in October 2012, only six units remain to be sold. Samuels is also working on developing two more residential buildings. The second building is currently in the design phase.

“The goal is probably early next year to get [construction] started on that phase,” Cohen said.

More imminently, two new restaurants will open near the movie theatre, including Stone Hearth Pizza and Union Fish.

Both restaurants have other locations in the area, but these will be the first Hingham location for each.

Construction on a new Trader Joe’s is also underway. According to Cohen, the foundation is in and site work has been complete, with steel on the way to start constructing the building next to the CVS.

The store is anticipated to open in Fall of this year.

“A lot of good stuff happening,” Cohen said.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Police have arrested a man and woman in Brockton who were both wanted for allegedly robbing banks in Hingham and a New Hampshire town.

According to a release from the New Hampshire Deputy U.S. Marshal’s office, members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force from both New Hampshire and Massachusetts were looking for the man and the woman, who were allegedly involved in bank robberies in both states.

On Wednesday, information was uncovered by the Task Force, which led them to believe the two suspects were in a hotel in Brockton.

Managers at the hotel confirmed that both the suspects were staying at the hotel, but when police went to the room, the suspect refused to open the door.

Police forced open the door and arrested Ryan Patrick Lane, 35, from Charlestown and Amy Cole, 38, from Weymouth on the warrants.

Lane had an arrest warrant issued out of Hampton New Hampshire for a bank robbery that occurred on April 4 at TD Bank. He was also accused of robbing a Hingham bank on March 29, police said.

He will be charged with assault and battery with a deadly weapon in addition to the arrest warrants for the robberies.

Cole was arrested on an outstanding warrant for her role in the Hingham bank robbery, where police allege that she was an accessory after the fact. She will also be charged on three less serious warrants.

Lane and Cole will be arraigned in Brockton District Court and are being held by the Brockton Police Department.

According to the release, both suspects are also believed to have been involved in additional bank robberies in the area. Additional charges may be sought pending the outcome of those investigations, police said.

Police were proud of the capture, especially as the crimes took place across state lines.

“Unfortunately, crime knows no boundaries, and criminals can easily move around to commit offenses in any state.” U.S. Marshal David Cargill, Jr. said. “We are fortunate that the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force has a broad, nationwide jurisdiction that allows us to pursue these fugitives anywhere in the country and even around the world through our vast network of law enforcement partners.”

Births per 1,000 residents in 2010

By Matt Carroll, Boston Globe | May 2, 2013

Click here to see a larger, interactive version of this chart.
Additional town-by-town snapshots.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

It was a night for incumbents in Hingham for Tuesday’s Town Election, as those vying for previous positions came out on top, with newcomers only taking vacant seats left up for grabs.

Approximately 29 percent of the town’s voters came out to cast their ballot. Locally, candidate Paul Healey won the vacant selectman seat with 3,562 votes. Selectman candidate Carlton “Al” Chambers, Sr. came in with 847 votes.

Laura Burns, who held the selectman position for two terms, announced in January that she would not run again for the seat.

Healey is new to the selectman seat, but not new to town elections. With 31 years total in public service, Healey referenced his 19-year tenure on the Planning Board for experience. He also previously spent 11 years as a police officer in town.

Healey couldn’t be reached for comment the night of the win, but in an interview during the election, he said he was confident he’d be able to do the job.

“I’ve sat on a committee that meets every week and does a lot of work in the background. I’m not walking into this without a clear understanding of what it is I’m undertaking,” he said.

In other races, School Committee incumbents Raymond Estes and Andrew Shafter were reelected with 2,379 and 2,754 votes each.

Newcomer Elizabeth “Liza” Reed O’Reilly took up the third seat with 3,130 votes. Benjamin Burnham fell short with only 2,068 votes.

Incumbent Edmund Demko retained his place on the Sewer Commission with 2,735 votes, despite a challenge from newcomer Thomas Patch, who heavily critiqued the Commission during Town Meeting. Patch came in second with 1,504 votes.

Finally, Planning Board incumbent Sarah Corey retained her seat, with 2,322 votes. Edward Colbert came in second with 1,921 votes.

To see an unofficial tally of the local election and view other non-contested races, click here.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Hingham police are asking the public to help track down two suspects in a bank robbery that occurred on March 29.

According to police, the suspect and his female accomplice were tentatively identified after a Weymouth Police detective and citizens recognized them from surveillance photos disseminated through the media.

Police said the robbery occurred on March 29 at 4 p.m., with the male suspect entering the Rockland Trust Bank at the rear of the Lincoln Plaza off Route 3A. As he approached a teller, he began to unfold a note, but didn’t hand it to her.

Police said the suspect told the teller he had a gun, said that it was a robbery, and then threatened to kill her. He did not display a weapon.

The teller handed him cash and he walked out of the bank with it in hand. Once outside the bank, the suspect began to run.

Police said he was last seen running alongside the building on the Lincoln Street side of the plaza headed northbound. According to police, the suspect met up with his accomplice a short distance away at the 99 Restaurant.

After an investigation by Hingham Detectives and the FBI Bank Robbery Task Force - made up of members of the FBI, State Police, and local police - detectives believe the suspect is Ryan Patrick Lane, 35. His last known address is Charlestown. Police have obtained an arrest warrant for him on the charge of armed robbery.

Lane is also the suspect in other bank robberies that occurred after the Hingham robbery.

His accomplice was identified by police as Amy Cole, 38, who has a last known address of Weymouth. She has been charged with accessory after the fact to the charge of armed robbery, and a warrant is out for her arrest.

“Lane should be considered armed and very dangerous,” Hingham Police said in a release. “We urge anyone having contact with him to not attempt to apprehend him, and instead call 9-1-1 immediately. Lane and Cole have previously been staying in local motels in the Weymouth area. They have no known vehicles.”

Anyone with information is encouraged to call Hingham Police at 781-749-1212 and ask for Detective Philip Emmott or Lt. John Norkaitis.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Four contested races in Hingham will come to a head on Tuesday, as candidates for Selectman, School Committee, Sewer Commission, and Planning Board square off for empty seats.

Before the polls are opened, candidates for selectman talked about why they should win support, and spoke about the issues facing the town.

To view all the races, click here.

Candidate: Paul K Healey
Past experience: 31 years of public service including as a Police officer in Hingham for 11 years, including five years as sergeant; Planning Board member for 19 years, five of which as its chair; Traffic Committee member; Traffic Safety Committee member; Zoning Bylaw Committee member; Master Plan Committee member; and Member of working group analyzing Main and Cushing Street intersection.
Age: 56
Day job: Private practice attorney.

Boston Globe: You have a long resume, but what makes you the most qualified to be a selectman?

Paul Healey: I’ve just listed 31 years of town experience and in that time, I know the neighborhoods thoroughly. I’ve grown up here. I’ve raised my children here. My wife Esther and I were in the same class from Hingham High and all our kids have gone through the school, so I have a broad base knowledge, both town government and the social culture of the town.

I’ve served on a number of different committees which I’ve just listed, and we’ve addressed a wide range of issues – growth, preservation, effective regulation, development, you name it. So to me, my [Planning Board] term was running out next year, and I was either going to step away or step up, and so I had the opportunity with Laura Burns not seeking reelection to run for the open seat of selectman.

I know many people in town government, whether it’s the employees or the volunteers that serve, and I’ve worked with many of them over the past couple of decades and I’ve worked well with them. The Chief of Police is a guy I used to be a partner with, we went to academy together and worked midnight to 8 a.m. shift…

I think I can serve the town in a positive way. I’ve done hundreds of hearings, literally, with hundreds of projects the Planning Board has worked on…I know how to conduct myself in a hearing. I know how to obey the law. I know how to treat people with respect and listen to their concerns and integrate them into the process so they feel they have a voice, I think that’s something every selectman should be able to do. I can work with people with differing points of view - I don’t bring an agenda. I’m there to serve the best interests of the town. That’s always been my yardstick, and will continue to be if I’m fortunate enough to be elected…

BG: What do you feel the most pressing issues are right now?

PH: There’s quite a few actually. I’m very familiar with the 40B process and the issue of affordability. The planning board has been involved on that for decades…we’ve supported the concept and applicability of affordable housing within projects we’ve permitted. I’d like to continue to do that. One of the three selectmen is typically on the affordable housing trust, so that’s something that requires an ongoing awareness of that issue…

I think the Summer Street corridor as well as the waterfront is an ongoing work in progress with respect to sensible development of it. We recently acquired the gas station, the mobile gas station a couple years ago at town meeting, and we’re talking about building a bridge over the Whitney Wharf … So that’s something we’ll continue to do and selectmen are actively involved in that…

And I think that the dispatch center is something that was highlighted as a potential issue, and I think with my experience as a former police officer, I have a superior understanding of frankly what needs to be done in order to make sure that the calls are dispatched correctly, effectively, and promptly. I think that’s something that can be addressed, I think the regional dispatch center is something a great deal of time and effort has been spent to make it work, it can work, but there have been issues identified that need to be effectively addressed…

Traffic issues are important. Maintaining AAA bond rating is important. The quality of our schools can’t be understated in terms of its importance. My wife served two terms as an elected school committee member, so we’ve had many discussions of the educational issues. I’m a product of Hingham Public Schools and I have five children who are products of Hingham Public Schools, and they have done well in their careers, I recognize the value of the school system.

BG: What is the first thing you would do if you were elected?

PH: First thing I would do? I would do my level best to work well with the two existing selectmen. I know both personally. I believe working collegiately and through consensus is not something that can be undervalued.

I don’t bring any agenda. I know there are a lot of other issues on the fire so to speak – acquisition of the water company was a question I got at a lot of coffees I attended - people are interested to know where I stand on that. I’m waiting to see where the results of the committee charged come up with. I spoke with the chairman of that committee…it’s too early to say just yet what needs to be done there.

… I admire and respect the commitment of my fellow residents…to make town government good. I think the Board of Selectmen and moderator appointment majority of the citizens to sit on these boards. That would be another task I would undertake on a regular basis inside or out of the selectmen’s office. I’ve always been on the outlook of folks to serve in different positions…

It’s a big job, and over the years I’ve had people encourage me to run, and I’ve been happy on the planning board. But I’ve been on 19 years, and I was encouraged this time, and my wife supported it. I couldn’t do this without the assistance of my wife. I know the kind of time involved, the energy you need. I’ve sat on a committee that meets every week and does a lot of work in the background. I’m not walking into this without a clear understanding of what it is I’m undertaking.

I’ve been out there waving signs, getting the message out. I think I can do a good job.

Candidate: Carlton “Al” Chambers Sr.
Past experience: Member of the Industrial and Development Committee in the 70s, member of South Shore Hospital Board for 13 years, member of Hingham Police Department’s Citizens Academy, helped develop Community Response Team.
Age: 72
Day job: Retired financial executive

Boston Globe: What makes you qualified to be a selectman?

Al Chambers: I think I’m well qualified to be a selectman. Most of my years in business were spent in the finance area. I was a financial executive for a good many years … but mostly the highest position I ever held was I was a Senior Vice President for a division president of Tycore, based out of LA, and I ran the northeast for them. So I feel qualified for this job.

The reason I feel qualified for this is because the town is facing many financial issues. As you know, both from the federal government on revenue sharing and the state level we will see diminishment of revenues, because they are struggling under great deficits … the people I’m concerned about primarily are those on fixed incomes with diminished resources because of the recession…I’d prefer if you not think I’m a candidate for the older folks, but the fact of the matter is there are a lot of people who are hurting, who have voted a $55 million middle school…and just went through a town meeting where they voted to spend money on $4.5 million rebuilding the town fields. Also acquired a septic treatment plant in South Hingham.

The town is in a position where it has to spend money…[but] I’m a fiscal conservative, and I want to watch dollars. Those programs have to be done, but I think I’m an ideal candidate to sit down and parse through the dollar expenditures and make some lightening to negate some of the effect as it hits people in the town for taxes.

BG: You just mentioned the tax burden, but what do you are other pressing issues right now?

AC: There are two issues. First of all…I feel that its important that people feel they are being listened to in town government, and there has been a split … people that feel the town of Hingham is being run by money interests, people with lots of money to spend, and by special interest groups that want to build projects like the high school fields and football programs. A lot of people get dragged into it.

The other thing I feel we’re doing wrong…the town is well run but they have ignored a lot of important issues. For example our parks are run down. Town forests are badly overgrown … And we have traffic problems that are not being addressed in terms of dangerous intersections, and I have recommended that the state forest – Wompatuck, the largest camping forest near Boston … the state park has one gate in Hingham. There are other gates in Cohasset, Scituate, Norwell … I think we need to open the gates of the state park to alleviate traffic on the Main Street of Hingham.

BG: What is the first thing you would do if you were elected?

AC: It’s a complicated job. The first thing I would do is frankly I have been studying the job. It’s a very interesting job and frequently thankless. You’re always on the wrong side of the issue [to some people] … I want to continue my study on how to do it.

I’m not a politician, and on Tuesday I might not be one at all, but … I do counseling. When I retired from real estate and from banking I [started doing] counseling of people who are in trouble, and there are a ton of people in the South Shore that have real financial problems … these people are not being listened to, and consequently, I’ve decided that I would put my name in the ring nd run on a conservative basis. What I would be doing is watching the budget closely, monitoring program developments carefully and making sure, as we absorb these new debt burdens over the next couple of years, that they be implemented as inexpensively as possible.

I’m considered an underdog. I just felt it was time to step forward again because I have skills that may be helpful.

Photo courtesy of Atlantic Symphony Orchestra

Conductor Jin Kim shakes the hand of Ethan Wood, concertmaster.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

With nearly 400 seats already sold, the Atlantic Symphony Orchestra is preparing to wrap up a successful season with a finale concert on Saturday.

“It’s been probably one of the better seasons we’ve had,” said Nina Wellford, acting executive director for the orchestra. “… The overall program was a great mix of favorite classical music but [there were] some stimulating and challenging new pieces. The programming was great, we had outstanding soloists, attendance was up - for many reasons, it was a very successful year.”

Members of the regional orchestra started their season in August in Hingham with a smaller show, moving into their full season in October, with performances at Thayer Academy.

Though the orchestra typically splits its concert performances between the 500-seat Thayer and the 1,100-seat Duxbury Performing Arts Center, Thayer became the home base this season while the Duxbury site was under construction.

“People knew where to find us and it was in the middle of the North/South Shore. And it’s a great place to play. You can have receptions and preconcert parties, which you can’t do easily at Duxbury,” Wellford said.

Yet the venue hasn’t been the prime reason for the orchestra’s most recent successes. According to Wellford, the reputation of the orchestra has steadily grown, making the concerts a destination.

“I think each year, more and more people hear about us and make us part of their plans,” Wellford said. “At a certain point you reach a tipping point. Enough people know about us and know it will be a good night out. At this point, attendance is much more steadily up.”

Previous seasons ended with a pops concert, but this season, that was moved to the winter.

“Everyone could use a party in the middle of the year, and this way we could end the season with a similar feel to opening night,” Wellford said. “It’s a festival classical music night rather than a pops, and represents who we are as an orchestra.”

This weekend's program will exemplify Music Director Jin Kim's combination of familiar classics -- "Appalachian Spring" by Aaron Copland and Brahms's Symphony No. 1 -- with a lesser-known work, John Knowles Paine's Overture to Shakespeare’s "As You Like It."

Though the final piece may seem out of place, the composer was an American, like Copland, with German training, like Brahms.

According to program notes, Paine was the first professor of music at Harvard, and composed this piece in 1876, the same year that Brahms finished his first symphony.

“It’s a nice example of [Kim’s] programming,” Wellford said.

For more information on the pieces, visit the Atlantic Symphony’s website.

For tickets or concert information, click here, or call 781-331-3600.

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Come September, South Shore stores may carry a new brand of alcohol on their shelves, produced a short drive away in Hingham.

The Bradford Distillery, proposed for Hingham’s South Shore Industrial Park off Route 3, will launch its round of local approvals next month, and owners hope to see the manufacturing up and running by the fall, producing everything from vodka to gin to fruit brandy.

“It’s been a long time in the making,” said Robert Rohla, from Hull, who will own the business along with aunt and uncle Patricia and Bradford Seeland, from Scituate.

For Rohla, the interest in brewing started when he was finishing up his degree from Northeastern University in 2005. Yet the passion would go on the back burner as he began law school.

He eventually moved to Kentucky to work in a law firm, and began getting involved in the legal side of the distillery process.

“In 2009/2010, we started coming across people that wanted to get into smaller distilleries … you saw a lot of older distillers who retired who were missing the game,” Rohla said.

As his interest blossomed with how to start up a small distillery business, Rohla’s uncle, Bradford, became more interested in the scientific side of the industry.

“Since 2007, his interest has coalesced with mind and we’ve been on the same page since then,” Rohla said. “He wanted to be involved in this…it’s a good working relationship.“

Rohla said the group hopes to use local fruits to make some of the alcohol. The fruit-alcohol business, mainly done with brandy, is still a small segment of the market, Rohla said, but is growing.

The current plans call for distilling the liquor at the facility, then selling it to retail establishments. But he said, “We could expand to restaurants and bars if they like what we’re making.”

Rohla explained that the distillery will not need an alcohol license, because it won't sell alcohol on site, but will go through a three-step approval process.

Locally, the shop will need a site plan review and parking plan review from the Planning Board. The distillery would then apply for building permits.

Finally, the business will have to procure state and production licensing.

According to Mary Savage Dunham, director of community planning for Hingham, the Planning Board review of the 5,000-square-foot space will begin May 6.

Because the distillery isn’t looking to sell the alcohol on-site, the approval process should not be overly complicated.

“It’s going in an industrial area, it’s all interior. The site is already built and it’s a distillery, it's manufacturing really,” she said. “There shouldn’t be a big level of concern … If in the future they expand or put in a retail component, there would probably be more scrutiny. But no pubic will go there [now], just the workers.”

By Jessica Bartlett, Town Correspondent

Hingham residents approved a $3.75 million land purchase for land off Recreation Park Drive during the second night of Hingham’s Annual Town Meeting on Wednesday, an evening that saw little controversy except for a discussion of sewer betterments.

Things started off briskly with a nearly unanimous vote to spend $3.75 million to buy 18.6 acres of land off Recreation Park Drive.

The land is to be used for a water treatment plant, and forestalls a planned 177-unit 40B development by AvalonBay that was making its way through town approvals.

“This article is simply about commercial economic development,” said Selectman Bruce Rabuffo. “It’s a means to help Hingham and encourage the commercial development of South Hingham. Its passage would yield significant economic benefits to those current business in that area, and may allow other benefits to businesses seeking to locate to Hingham.”

Rabuffo outlined that the town had already engaged in discussions with Aquarion Water Co. to bring additional water to the area, the second step in getting a wastewater treatment facility built on the site.

The land abuts Route 3 and would provide the wastewater treatment needed for any new business in the industrial complex nearby.

“We have more work to do and studies to complete, but we believe this land purchase will help with that goal of economic development,” Rabuffo said.

Richard Innis, with Hingham's Advisory Committee, further outlined his support with a statement that the article had earned unanimous support of the group.

“Our reasons are simple. For at least the past four years, and maybe longer, we have realized and discussed among ourselves the need to promote economic development in the areas of South Hingham,” he said. “Only by doing so can we realistically expect to expand the town’s commercial tax base in any meaningful way that is to provide tax relief to Hingham’s homeowners.”

Judy Kelley, who lives next to the property, also voiced her support, as the project would a preferable alternative to the residential development previously planned for the site, which she and residents have been fighting for months.

“I would prefer as a neighbor to work with our town as opposed to working with Avalon [Bay],” the company that proposed the project, she said.

Other articles were also approved easily, though a discussion of sewer betterments pitted a group of residents against others as opinions clashed on a sewer project at Ship and Cottage Streets.

The issue spills over from last year’s Town Meeting, where the town approved a $600,000 betterment project for the Ship/Cottage neighborhood, despite the objections from several neighbors who would have to pay for a project they did not want.

Though approved, some residents continued to fight against the project, leading the town to realize that its bylaws regarding sewer projects and betterments – a method of taxing a select group of residents for a project that benefits only that group – did not match up with the state’s.

Hingham officials subsequently submitted two articles to Town Meeting, one seeking to alter methods for charging betterments – based on frontage, or unit size – and another specifying which type would be used for the project at Ship and Cottage Streets.

The change opened up the entire project to critique, with several calling for the abandonment of the process, already $34,000 deep, and starting over once all the problems with the bylaw had been sorted out.

“I’m concerned we may be leaving ourselves to an ill-defined framework with potential problems and future costs,” said Elizabeth Eldridge, representing the minority Advisory Committee view. “Is this 11th hour change really for the long term or something…we created ourselves when we didn’t do our homework? …We need to think this through before we change this bylaw and not just for the convenience of one neighborhood.”

Tom Patch, a Ship Street resident who vehemently spoke against the project at last year’s Town Meeting, also stood up repeatedly asking the residents to reject the town’s amendments to the project, and asking the town to take the project down entirely.

“Common sense is when you’re made aware of fatal flaws, you stop and regroup,” Patch said. “…I’m incredulous of this insistence to go forward for the sake of one project.”

Debate went on for over an hour, but Town Meeting eventually decided to support the existing project and the town-recommended changes.

“Revoking this project is a drastic step that is neither warranted or appropriate,” summed up Mary Power with the Advisory Committee.

OTHER APPROVED ARTICLES FROM TUESDAY’S MEETING:
- Treasurer/Collector made from an elected position to an appointed one
- Town Meeting quorum reduced to 200 after a 300 quorum requirement is met for the first night.
- Transfer of land to Hingham Municipal Light Plant to build a new facility, to be funded by the Light Plant.
- Creating open space restrictions for previously purchased open space with Community Preservation funds.
- A year-long moratorium (until June 2014) on medical marijuana distribution centers.
- A feasibility study to create a grave for the people buried in a currently unmarked spot on the Town Farm, located off Beal Street.
- An easement at Whitney Wharf to help build a bridge to the bathing beach.