June 11, 2025 By Carol Britton Meyer
The select board set high priority on investing in infrastructure, financial stewardship, economic development, “building the team,” and enhancing communications during a preliminary discussion about their goals for the coming year.
Various objectives relate to:
- completion of the public safety facility on Rte. 3A, with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony planned for mid-July — including tours of the new building;
- exploring the possibility of electronic voting at Town Meeting;
- moving forward with plans for a new Center for Active Living, including socializing all aspects of the project with the public;
- conducting a health insurance analysis with assistance from a consultant regarding different plans “and impacts on our town employees,” according to Select Board Chair William Ramsey. The advisory committee will be included in the process.
- once the South Shore Country Club pool litigation reaches completion following a recent conditional settlement agreement, rebidding the project and getting the latest cost estimates to determine whether they are within the appropriated funding for the new pool. “If not, we will have to reassess and consider a value-engineered project, staying within the scope,” Town Administrator Tom Mayo said. Planning board review will also be required. April 2022 Town Meeting appropriated an amount not to exceed $8 million for the town-owned pool facility.
- finding a replacement for Assistant Town Administrator for Finance Michelle Monsegur, who is resigning at the end of the summer. Both Ramsey and Mayo expressed appreciation for her service to the town and indicated that hers will be big shoes to fill.
- continuing discussions about the possible extension of the memorandum of understanding among the select board, advisory committee, and school committee beyond 2028 and to also consider whatever modifications to its terms might be deemed appropriate.
- Under the MOU, both municipal and school departments committed to budget growth rates of no more than 3.5 percent annually, with a 2 percent cap on the special education budget, with contingencies.
- At the same time, the sustainable budget task force will be revitalized. “It’s important to continue our financial planning so when the MOU expires, we have a plan,” select board member Julie Strehle said.
- long-term capital planning;
- Near the end of the discussion, a longtime resident aired his concerns about the condition of the town’s roads.
- “They’ve never been in such bad shape. What’s going on?” he asked. “This is as important a topic as anything else you have talked about tonight.”
- Ramsey asked the gentleman to contact the select board about which roads he was referring to in order to forward the list to the DPW.
- “Addressing [road-related] concerns is apart of our plan,” he said. There will be further conversations at future meetings.
In other business at the meeting
James Arnpriester, a Quincy resident, was appointed assistant harbormaster for three years by the select board upon the recommendation of Hingham Harbormaster Kenneth Corson.
Arnpriester studied marine transportation at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and went on to serve on large commercial vessels and tugboats operating through the Great Lakes, East Coast, and Gulf of America (formerly Mexico).
He later operated ferries and dinner boats in New York City before becoming port captain for the NYC Ferry. In that role, he managed a fleet of 40 ferries and more than 200 crew members, oversaw new vessel deliveries from Florida, Alabama, and Louisiana, and helped establish ferry operations in Puerto Rico –including repositioning vessels from New York.
Arnpriester’s most recent work experience includes employment by the Port Authority and also as a captain for Boston Harbor City Cruises, primarily serving routes between Hingham, Hull, and Boston.