By Carol Britton Meyer

What turned out to be a marathon town meeting continued into Wednesday following the two previous nights’ sessions spanning nearly eight hours.

**NO WAY TO RUN A RAILROAD BED**. At this week’s town meeting, Randy Gould advocated a proposal to address abutters’ encroachment on the former railroad bed. Voters took no action on the article. [Skip Tull photo]

The first session addressed only four warrant articles, while Tuesday’s meeting completed an additional 11 articles, ranging from consideration of allowing accessory dwelling units in single-family homes to rezoning the Hull Redevelopment Authority property to prevent major development of the parcel.

During the second session, there was a “no action” vote on the ADU article, and the proposed open-space zoning for the HRA parcel was defeated. [See related story].

Zoning Board of Appeals Chair Pat Finn said passing an ADU bylaw would provide more flexibility to homeowners, providing an opportunity for residents of limited means to remain in their homes, while advisory board member Chad Wolfe explained the board’s concern that the proposed bylaw “doesn’t require these units to be affordable,” among others.

Planning Board Chair Harry Hibbard agreed with Wolfe that “this does nothing for affordability, and there’s no requirement that [the person wishing to create an ADU] needs help [financially].”

Town Moderator George Boylen convened Tuesday’s meeting by sharing comments made to him following Monday’s session.

“On the positive side, the electronic voting went fairly well. The negative side is about the deplorable behavior on the part of some people who couldn’t agree,” he said. “Not everyone has to agree, but we should be respectful to [those with differing views] and expect the same from them, whether a member of this body or a town official. I plead with each of you to be thoughtful and respectful to each other. You will probably lose support if you are loud or abusive.”

Boylen was referring to the sometimes emotion-laden remarks that were made Monday night, especially during the assistant town manager discussion, which prompted him to call a recess until the people involved had a chance to cool off.

More than 200 voters remained throughout the lengthy second session, voting “yes” to:

* Allowing the town to accept, at no cost, an easement to allow for public use of the Nantasket Beach Artwalk next door to the Horizons condominiums, and for maintenance activities;

* Transferring up to $1.5 from available funds into the stabilization fund (known as the rainy-day fund) to help rebuild the balance, bringing it to $2 million;

* Implementation of measures to address light pollution related to commercial and multi-family buildings;

* Allowing the Oscar Smith Mitchell American Legion Post 140 to hold its meetings at the Anne M. Scully Senior Center, previously known as the Veterans Building. This was once the home of the original Post 140. There is Legion history within the building and a plaque listing past commanders that’s hanging on the wall upstairs.

“We have insurance on the building and history on the wall. We are just asking to go home,” Post Commander Jim Richman said before the vote, followed by a round of applause.

Following a lengthy discussion, voters defeated a citizen’s petition filed by Randy Gould and others to establish a bylaw that would have required all town departments to restrict issuance of town permits to abutters of the railroad bed if they are encroaching on the railroad bed without permission.

The advisory board’s recommendation of “no action” advised voters that while this article attempted to resolve inequities involving the use of some abutters of the railroad property, it didn’t present an actionable plan for resolving several “foundational issues,” including the legality of permit denial, substantial title and survey work that would be required, establishing an appropriate fee structure, and “determining a use for this town-wide asset.”

Town Manager Philip Lemnios advocated strongly against the article.

“The motion as presented says that if a resident abutting the railroad bed files a permit to install a water heater, for example, this would require a town official to check to see if there is an encroachment onto the railroad bed,” he said. “This would mean that the water heater couldn’t be replaced until the town was satisfied that they’re not encroaching. I guess that means they would be taking cold showers in the meantime.”

Lemnios went on to say that establishing such a bylaw would “automatically assume you are wrong … saying [town government] is on top and citizens are at the bottom.”

Resident Polly Rowe said she thinks there are “a lot more higher and new priorities to address” at a time when the town is in the process of searching for and hiring a new town manager and with the upcoming local election involving a number of select board seats.

The petition submitted by Anne Marie Papasodero and others asking voters to approve the establishment of a citizen committee to interview the finalist for the town manager position to replace Lemnios when he retires was withdrawn at the request of the petitioner.

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