A multi-year effort to construct a new senior center at Bare Cove Park was halted as Article 12 failed to achieve the required two-thirds majority at Town Meeting. The proposed $25,795,934 project, known as the Hingham Center for Active Living (HCAL), faced intense scrutiny over its scale, environmental impact, and the resulting tax burden on residents. While 510 voters supported the measure, the 470 no votes were enough to block the capital appropriation.

Proponents, including Select Board Chair Bill Ramsey, argued that the town’s current facilities are woefully inadequate for a population where one-third of residents are over 60. Social isolation is a tremendous evil... the time to act on this is now, Ramsey told the assembly. However, opponents like Anita Ryan argued that the building—estimated at five times the size of the current center—was an over-development of protected open space. Just because we can build in a protected open space doesn't mean we should, Ryan said.

Financial concerns also weighed heavily on the decision. Resident Diane Zampi warned that rising residential taxes, which have seen significant increases to fund other infrastructure like the Foster School, are making the town unaffordable. There is a very real probability that my family will no longer be able to live in Hingham, Zampi stated. Following the failure of the vote, a motion to reconsider was also defeated, effectively ending the project's current path forward despite previous approvals for design and land swaps.

Motion: To appropriate $25,795,934 for the construction of the Center for Active Living.

Vote: Failed (510 Yes, 470 No)