[0:06] Good evening.
[0:08] Um, the the tellers have informed me
[0:12] that we have a quorum. So, could I ask
[0:14] everyone to please take your seats and
[0:15] we'll get going.
[0:22] Welcome to our 2026 annual town meeting.
[0:26] I'm your moderator U Dan Evans
[0:31] uh and I'll be conducting the business
[0:32] this evening.
[0:34] The tellers have informed me that a
[0:36] quorum is present. So the meeting will
[0:37] please come to order. The return of the
[0:40] warrant by the town constable shows that
[0:42] the warrant was properly served. So the
[0:43] meeting is properly constituted. As you
[0:46] know, we begin our meetings with the
[0:48] pledge of allegiance. May I ask all of
[0:50] you to stand and please joining me in
[0:51] the pledge of allegiance? I pledge
[0:54] allegiance
[0:55] >> to the flag of the United States of
[0:57] America, to the republic for which it
[1:00] stands, one nation under God,
[1:04] indivisible, with liberty and justice
[1:06] for all.
[1:08] >> Thank you.
[1:11] Um I'll start uh as we do typically with
[1:13] introductions. Um up here at the table
[1:16] on your right uh we have our uh select
[1:19] board Ellen Maher chair Chris Plex vice
[1:22] chair David Farerraig and Paul Grady. We
[1:25] have our interim town manager Michelle
[1:27] Liry. We have a town council Roger
[1:29] Smuridge. Um behind me uh on the table
[1:33] on the to the front on your left um we
[1:36] have Mike Barkley, Tom Callahan, Mark
[1:38] Cameron, Mike Flity, Diane Kennedy, Mark
[1:41] Maggie, Courtney Murphy, Vince Thornton.
[1:45] To my right, uh we have the town clerk
[1:47] Lisa Le and assistant town clerk Beth
[1:48] Anderson. On the small table behind the
[1:51] advisory committee, we have our tellers
[1:53] for this evening, Phil Faulner, Debbie
[1:55] Leget, Michael Putsinger, and Susan
[1:57] Putinger.
[1:59] As you know, the guests, if you're not a
[2:00] registered voter, the guests were issued
[2:02] a name tag. And this is the non- voting
[2:04] section. Um, some town employees who are
[2:06] not voters may be sitting um with their
[2:09] colleagues uh in the uh seats here, but
[2:12] other than that, that the non- voters
[2:14] will be sitting up in the non- voting
[2:15] section.
[2:17] Um we have find it
[2:22] you should have two different uh
[2:25] booklets or um stapled material with
[2:28] you. One is the um bound warrant article
[2:32] which arrived in the mail and then there
[2:34] were copies available there that
[2:35] provides notice of the actions that
[2:37] we're taking at the meeting tonight.
[2:39] Then the other packet is the one that's
[2:41] stapled in the upper leftand corner.
[2:43] That's the town manager's proposed
[2:44] motions. Those are the motions that
[2:47] those are the that's the actual wording
[2:48] that will be acting on each on each of
[2:51] the articles this evening. You'll see
[2:53] that um for brevity we don't read them.
[2:55] I will say at the beginning of each
[2:56] article, may I have a motion in the form
[2:59] distributed to the meeting. So what I'm
[3:01] referring to is these these are the the
[3:03] motions that were distributed to the
[3:04] meeting. When somebody says moved, what
[3:06] they're moving is the language that
[3:08] appears under that article in here for
[3:11] the motion. when I say second and
[3:13] somebody says second then they're
[3:15] seconding that and that's the language
[3:17] of the motion that we will start
[3:18] discussing can they can be amended um
[3:20] following procedures but those is that's
[3:22] the language of the actual action so the
[3:24] warrant simply provides notice the
[3:26] proposed motions provides the actual um
[3:28] language that we'll be adopting on
[3:31] um we'll vote vote by voice unless I'm
[3:34] uncertain uh with a voice or at least
[3:36] seven voters indicate that they desire
[3:39] um that they uh out my count by
[3:42] standing, which is fine. Um, if
[3:44] necessary, then we'll vote by hand
[3:45] ballot. We'll um you'll hold these
[3:49] red pieces of paper up in the air to
[3:51] vote by hand ballot. So, keep a hold of
[3:53] those. The tellers will count um if we
[3:55] have to do that.
[3:57] If you would like to speak on a motion,
[4:00] um please move to a microphone, one of
[4:01] the microphones here to be recognized.
[4:03] Once I recognize you, um please begin by
[4:06] giving your name and street address.
[4:08] Please keep the debate concise and to
[4:10] the point. All debate must be courteous
[4:13] and respectful. Uh brevity is both
[4:16] courteous and effective.
[4:19] Sarcasm is never appropriate. Generally,
[4:22] you should not it shall be not necessary
[4:24] to refer to specific individuals
[4:26] involved in the debate. If you must
[4:29] refer to another speaker's remarks,
[4:32] please do so with the utmost respect.
[4:34] You can disagree with ideas. Be careful
[4:36] about disagreeing with people. Speakers
[4:38] are limited to five minutes except when
[4:40] you've arranged it with me in advance.
[4:43] If at any point you have a question
[4:44] about the procedure or the conduct of
[4:46] the meeting, including a concern that I
[4:48] may have done something incorrectly, you
[4:49] should seek to be recognized. Let me
[4:51] know you have a question of a point of
[4:53] order and then state your question or
[4:55] concern. Um, many of you are familiar
[4:57] with the motion for a previous question
[4:59] or calling the question. It brings an
[5:02] immediate vote on the pending motion.
[5:04] So, it stops debate. It requires
[5:06] twothirds vote to be adopted to stop
[5:08] debate. Um, it can only be I will only
[5:10] entertain it after both sides have had a
[5:12] fair opportunity to be heard. And if
[5:14] I've already recognized voters or their
[5:16] voters been standing, I may allow them
[5:17] to speak before proceeding with the um
[5:20] motion to call the question.
[5:22] On timing, we've got a long evening
[5:24] tonight. I think the plan is to just
[5:25] power through it. It may get very late.
[5:27] We got a lot of stuff to do, but we'll
[5:29] get it all done tonight. Any questions
[5:32] before we jump into the business?
[5:36] Great. Thank you. As many of you know,
[5:38] this is my last meeting as your
[5:39] moderator, so let's make it a great one.
[5:51] » Thank you. Thanks. Um, article one,
[5:54] recognizing citizens and employees for
[5:56] particular service to the town. I'll
[5:58] recognize the chair of the the select
[6:00] board, Ellen Maher.
[6:07] » Good evening, everyone. Welcome to our
[6:09] annual town meeting. In recognition of
[6:11] services as an employee of the town upon
[6:14] retirement, Patricia Hamlin, Lorie Topa,
[6:18] Moren Bry, Kathleen Sullivan Sanchez,
[6:22] Kim Kirker,
[6:24] Marshia Campbell, Susan A. Hearn,
[6:27] Theodore Holland, Sandra Zapo, Karen
[6:31] McGinness, Eileen Weisinger, and Russell
[6:34] Sears. Let's have a round of applause
[6:37] for our retirees.
[6:44] We also take a moment to honor those who
[6:46] have passed who have served the town of
[6:48] Cohasset.
[6:50] Pamela Fehee, public health uh director
[6:52] of public health.
[6:55] Paula Gel, Cohassid Police. Randall
[6:58] Rosano, Cohasset Fire. Edward McDermott,
[7:03] Cohassid Public Schools. Dennis Walsh,
[7:06] Cohassid Public Schools. Mary Snow, DBW,
[7:10] and Jane F. Pescatory, Cohassid Public
[7:13] Schools. Thank you.
[7:21] For the record, may I have a motion that
[7:22] the recognition of the named citizens
[7:24] and employees be accepted and placed in
[7:26] the permanent records of the town?
[7:28] >> Thank you. May I have a second?
[7:29] >> All those in favor, please signify by
[7:31] saying I.
[7:32] >> I.
[7:32] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[7:34] saying nay. The motion was adopted
[7:36] unanimously.
[7:45] Uh, article two, annual town report. May
[7:48] I have a motion in the form distributed
[7:49] to the meeting? Thank you. May I have a
[7:51] second?
[7:52] >> Thank you. The motion has been made and
[7:54] seconded. Is there any discussion?
[7:57] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion on
[7:59] article 2 does require majority vote for
[8:01] adoption. All those in favor, please
[8:02] signify by saying I.
[8:05] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[8:06] saying nay.
[8:08] >> The motion is adopted unanimously.
[8:14] Uh, article three, reports of
[8:16] committees. For the pebb committee, I'll
[8:19] recognize Mr. Timothy Davis.
[8:33] » Thank you. Timothy Davis, 257 Atlantic
[8:36] Avenue. The post-employment benefits
[8:39] committee is charged with reviewing and
[8:42] evaluating the town's OPEB and pension
[8:45] liabilities, which provide pensions and
[8:48] medical insurance to our retired town
[8:50] employees.
[8:52] For 15 years, this committee has been
[8:55] working to pro provide these excellent
[8:57] retirement benefits, follow state
[9:00] mandates, and with a and with a
[9:02] manageable impact on the town budget
[9:05] while at the same time contributing to
[9:07] the AAA bond rating for our town debt.
[9:11] The top tier bind rating that we now
[9:13] enjoy saves the town at least a quarter
[9:15] of 1% on our debt service or about
[9:18] $900,000 in interest payments on a
[9:21] 30-year $23 million debt.
[9:24] Since the expectation is
[9:27] that when fully funded, the OPED trust
[9:30] fund assets should never be used. The
[9:32] assets are invested for long-term
[9:35] growth. And so far, Mr. Market has been
[9:38] favorable to us.
[9:40] When fully funded, the catchup funding
[9:44] that are required by the state on the
[9:46] pension funds and what we're doing with
[9:48] OPEB,
[9:49] which will no longer be required,
[9:52] that money plus the annual income
[9:55] generated from the investment of these
[9:57] assets, could be as much as 8 to12
[10:00] million per year,
[10:02] which can then be used to fund other
[10:04] town budget items the town residents may
[10:07] approve. This should coincide
[10:11] with the large investment contemplated
[10:13] for our schools.
[10:16] I would like to thank my colleagues on
[10:17] the post-employment benefits committee,
[10:20] Michelle Liry, the select board, and the
[10:23] community for their continued support of
[10:25] the PB committee work. In particular, I
[10:28] would like to thank Linda Cole for her
[10:30] extraordinary work on all of this. Thank
[10:33] you.
[10:34] >> Thank you.
[10:41] Are there any other committees that
[10:42] would like to be heard?
[10:45] Very well. No action needs to be taken.
[10:47] So we can proceed to article 4, which is
[10:50] the operating budget. May I have a
[10:52] motion in the form distributed to the
[10:54] meeting?
[10:55] Thank you. May I have a second?
[10:57] >> Thank you. The motion has been made and
[10:59] seconded. Requires a majority vote for
[11:01] adoption. I'll recognize our interim
[11:03] town manager, Michelle Liry.
[11:24] Thank you and good evening. Um, so we'll
[11:27] be presenting the FY27 budget. Um, we
[11:30] can fast forwards through some of these
[11:33] slides.
[11:39] So when we start building the budget, we
[11:41] talk about financial strategies. Um, we
[11:44] use dedicated funds for appropriate
[11:46] expenses. We maintain structural
[11:48] balances. We limit reliance on one-time
[11:51] revenues. We align debt service with
[11:54] funding sources. And we collaborate with
[11:56] the school department.
[12:01] The FY27 operating budgetical article
[12:04] number four, the total appropriation is
[12:07] 67,642,444.
[12:12] Of that the general fund is $59,90
[12:16] sewer enterprise fund $2,682,866
[12:21] and the water enterprise fund if
[12:23] 5,959,488.
[12:26] This includes salaries, expenses and
[12:29] debt service.
[12:34] What the budget funds? The budget funds
[12:36] salaries of elected officials and town
[12:38] staff, departmental expenses, debt
[12:41] service, both principal and interest,
[12:43] and other mandatory costs as noted in
[12:45] the five-year forecast. And everyone can
[12:48] look at appendix A for the FY27
[12:51] operating requests.
[12:55] So, the funding strategy again is a
[12:57] combination of reoccurring and
[12:58] non-reoccurring sources. The general
[13:00] fund through taxation, state aid, and
[13:03] local receipts. the enterprise fund
[13:05] contributions and the stabilization and
[13:07] other revenue other reserves
[13:10] enterprise and indirect transfers. So
[13:13] the sewer enterprise revenue is $2.3
[13:16] million and that's raised by user fees.
[13:20] The sewer retained earnings of $300,000
[13:24] and the sewer betterment debt
[13:25] stabilization of $150,000.
[13:29] Those are both um transfers into the
[13:32] sewer enterprise fund for operating
[13:34] expenses. This includes $141,130
[13:39] in direct costs reimbured to the general
[13:41] fund. And as far as the water enterprise
[13:44] revenue, $6.1 million. And this also
[13:46] includes $156,948
[13:49] in indirect costs to reimbursement to
[13:52] the general fund.
[13:55] So general fund sources raised through
[13:58] taxation, state aid and local receipts,
[14:01] we have 57,697
[14:05] 57,697,54.
[14:08] The capital stabilization fund um to pay
[14:11] deaf service is $472,28.
[14:17] The community preservation fund 257,750
[14:21] is also a debt service payment. We have
[14:24] free cash of $30,000 for general
[14:26] operations. The Title Five Betterment
[14:29] Fund, $75 transferred in for debt
[14:31] service, excess overlay reserves. We're
[14:35] using $150,000 that has previously been
[14:38] allocated by the board of assessors and
[14:41] the recreation field revolving fund of
[14:43] $20,000.
[14:44] We have a total indirect transfer from
[14:46] enterprise funds of $298,78
[14:50] for total sources to equal $59,90.
[14:54] General fund key takeaways. The total
[14:57] budget of $59,90
[15:00] with the total townside being $32,969
[15:05] $969,85.
[15:07] This includes all mandatory and shared
[15:09] expenses. and we have a total school
[15:12] budget of 26,31,05.
[15:21] The total mandatory expenses here can be
[15:23] broken out to be 15,753,523.
[15:30] When we talk about the budget as a
[15:32] whole,
[15:33] I'd like to highlight that the total
[15:35] town increase is 2.9%
[15:38] and this includes shared and mandatory
[15:40] costs while the total schools increase
[15:42] is 4.83%.
[15:45] Thank you.
[15:50] The select board has recommended
[15:52] approval by a vote of 4 to zero. The
[15:55] advisory committee has recommended
[15:56] approval by a vote of 8 to zero with one
[15:58] abstension.
[16:00] School committee recommended approval by
[16:02] a vote of 5 to zero. And the community
[16:04] preservation committee has approved the
[16:06] borrowing under article six of the 2023
[16:09] special town meeting. Is there
[16:11] discussion?
[16:14] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion on
[16:16] article 4 does require majority vote for
[16:19] adoption. All those in favor, please
[16:21] signify by saying I.
[16:23] >> I. All those opposed, please signify by
[16:25] saying nay. The motion is adopted
[16:28] unanimously.
[16:35] Article five, unpaid bills from previous
[16:37] years. May I have a motion in the form
[16:39] distributed to the meeting? Thank you.
[16:41] May I have a second? Motion has been
[16:43] made and seconded. It does require four
[16:45] fifths vote for adoption. I'll recognize
[16:48] our interim town manager, Michelle Liri.
[16:50] So, article five, unpaid bills from
[16:52] previous years. Um, we're asking for
[16:55] $5,16.96
[16:59] um to expended by the town manager to
[17:01] pay unpaid bills from the previous
[17:03] fiscal year.
[17:06] >> The select board has recommended
[17:08] approval by a vote of four to zero. The
[17:10] advisory committee has recommended
[17:11] approval by a vote of 9 to zero. Is
[17:13] there discussion?
[17:16] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Again, it
[17:18] does require four-fifths vote for
[17:19] adoption. All those in favor of the
[17:22] motion under article 5, please signify
[17:23] by saying I. I.
[17:25] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[17:27] saying nay. The motion is adopted
[17:30] unanimously.
[17:34] Article six, supplemental appropriations
[17:36] for fiscal 2026.
[17:39] May I have a motion in the form
[17:40] distributed to the meeting? Thank you.
[17:42] May I have a second? Motion has been
[17:44] made and seconded. requires a majority
[17:46] vote for adoption. Again, Michelle Liry.
[17:49] >> So, we are asking that $152,840,000
[17:54] be taken from sewer retained earnings um
[17:56] to fund the general fund reserve
[17:58] transfer. Um there was a transfer given
[18:01] um earlier this year for $152,840
[18:05] um for the membrane purchase. We're
[18:07] asking to refund the general fund for
[18:10] that amount. Um the next item is the
[18:12] transfer peg access funds cohasset 143
[18:15] TV. Um this is an annual article and
[18:18] we're asking for $114,42.51.
[18:23] Thank you. Uh the select board has
[18:26] recommended approval by a vote of 3 to
[18:28] 0. Advisory committee recommended
[18:29] approval by a vote of 9 to zero. And the
[18:31] sewer commission recommended approval by
[18:33] a vote of two to zero. Is there
[18:35] discussion?
[18:38] We'll proceed to a voice vote. does
[18:39] require majority vote for adoption. All
[18:41] those in favor of the motion under
[18:43] article 6, please signify by saying I.
[18:45] >> I.
[18:46] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[18:48] saying nay.
[18:50] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[18:56] Article 7, stabilization and other
[18:58] special funds. May I have a motion in
[19:01] the form distributed to the meeting?
[19:02] Thank you. May I have a second? Thank
[19:04] you. The motion has been made and
[19:06] seconded. Does require majority vote for
[19:08] adoption. again, Michelle Liry. Okay.
[19:11] Um, we are looking to transfer $615,000
[19:14] from raise and appropriate and free cash
[19:17] to the OPED trust fund. $2,199,712
[19:23] transfer um through raise and
[19:25] appropriate and free cash to the capital
[19:27] stabilization fund and a transfer of
[19:30] $150,000 from the sewer betterment
[19:32] stabilization fund to the sewer
[19:34] enterprise fund and $900,000 through
[19:37] raise and appropriate and free cash to
[19:39] the roads and sidewalk stabilization
[19:41] fund.
[19:43] >> Thank you. The select board has
[19:45] recommended approval by a vote of three
[19:47] to zero. Advisory Committee has
[19:49] recommended approval by a vote of nine
[19:51] to zero and the sewer commission has
[19:53] recommended an approval by a vote of two
[19:55] to zero. Is there discussion?
[19:59] We'll proceed to a voice vote. The
[20:00] motion on article 7 does require
[20:02] majority vote for adoption. All those in
[20:04] favor, please signify by saying I. I.
[20:07] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[20:09] saying nay.
[20:11] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[20:17] Article 8, capital improvements budget.
[20:20] May I have a motion in the form
[20:21] distributed to the meeting? Thank you.
[20:23] May I have a second? Thank you. The
[20:25] motion has been made and seconded. It
[20:28] does require twothirds vote for adoption
[20:30] for the capital budget committee. I'll
[20:32] recognize Susan Franklin.
[20:41] » Good evening.
[20:43] I am Susan Franklin and I'm chair of the
[20:45] capital budget committee. I'm presenting
[20:47] article 8 capital improvements tonight.
[20:50] After internal town discussion, our
[20:52] committee was presented 2.7 million in
[20:55] capital projects and equipment for
[20:56] review.
[20:58] Presented here for your approval tonight
[21:00] is 1.2 million in fundings recommended
[21:03] by the capital budget committee. Needs
[21:05] for schools represent 55% of the total
[21:09] recommended items.
[21:11] 44% in total are part of multi-year
[21:14] rollout programs like vehicle
[21:16] replacement and furniture and technology
[21:19] replacement programs utilized in the
[21:21] schools.
[21:23] Annual payments recommended for school
[21:24] buses are inclusive of use and
[21:27] maintenance under multi-year leasing
[21:28] programs.
[21:31] Uh there was a change in the motion uh
[21:34] noting that two of the items uh they're
[21:36] listed at a million2 that is the fire
[21:38] apparatus and the uh sweeper is listed
[21:42] at 336,000
[21:45] but we're uh asking just for the uh
[21:47] amount to fund the initial payments uh
[21:50] for those uh items which total
[21:53] approximately $400,000.
[21:58] Uh lastly, project 23 designed for Elm
[22:01] Street. Those funds will be turned back
[22:03] to the capital stabilization fund in the
[22:06] event that article 23 does not pass.
[22:09] Thank you.
[22:11] Uh the select board has
[22:13] recommended approval by a vote of three
[22:15] to zero. For the advisory committee,
[22:17] I'll recognize Mike Barkley.
[22:32] Good evening. Mike Barklay, 100 Elm
[22:34] Street. On behalf of the advisory
[22:35] committee, um, first I'd like to commend
[22:38] the capital committee for the excellent
[22:39] job. They are tasked with a difficult
[22:42] job of allocating a a limited amount of
[22:45] funds across a really wide need
[22:49] range of needs for the town. And the
[22:51] budget you see before you is really a
[22:53] microcosm of how capital needs should be
[22:56] planned short, medium, and long term. Uh
[23:00] this budget addresses needs across the
[23:03] town. Um and you know, truthfully, we
[23:05] remain in catch-up mode on our capital
[23:08] budget because for about a decade, the
[23:10] budget did not grow yet.
[23:13] equipment aged, assets got older, they
[23:16] needed to be replaced, and unfortunately
[23:19] the uh the budget was static. So, uh we
[23:22] really are in catch-up mode. The one
[23:24] thing I would say that uh what you saw
[23:26] in article seven with the uh special
[23:29] purpose stabilization fund for uh street
[23:31] you know roads and sidewalks those have
[23:33] really proven to be a very nice
[23:36] supplement to the budget that have
[23:37] allowed us to extend um you know the
[23:40] capital budget to other areas that are
[23:42] in need. The advisory committee has
[23:45] reviewed all 23 of these. We agree with
[23:47] the recommendation of the capital
[23:49] committee by a unanimous vote and we
[23:52] hope you agree. Thank you.
[23:55] >> Thank you. I'll recognize Mr. Leland
[23:57] Jenkins.
[23:59] >> Leland Jenkins, Jerusalem Road. All the
[24:02] years I've lived here, we have had three
[24:04] pumpers,
[24:06] which we only have enough manpower to
[24:08] run one pumper. The pumper that's being
[24:11] taken offline is been sitting in the in
[24:14] the uh uh fire department garage, I
[24:18] believe, for seven years without being
[24:19] used.
[24:21] Number one, when we bought number one
[24:24] seven years ago, why do we have
[24:28] three pumpers? Absolutely. I can't
[24:31] understand why. And uh I think when
[24:35] number two comes up, we should be
[24:36] replacing number two, not number three.
[24:38] should not be in that
[24:39] garage. But could somebody answer my
[24:42] question?
[24:44] >> Mr. Someone. Yes.
[24:52] » Good evening. John Dockray, fire chief,
[24:54] 26 Northark Road. Yes, we do have three
[24:57] fire engines. Under the national
[24:59] standard, a typical response for any
[25:01] kind of fire in a single family home is
[25:03] two engines. When one of those two
[25:05] engines is out of service, we put the
[25:07] third engine in service. We maintain two
[25:09] operating engines at both at all times.
[25:12] Also, when one of our two primary
[25:14] engines is out of service due to
[25:15] mechanical issues like we had last week,
[25:17] engine one blew a coolant hose was out
[25:19] of service for two days. Engine 3 went
[25:22] into service during the blizzard of
[25:24] February. Engine 3 was staffed and
[25:27] responded to numerous incidents during
[25:29] the blizzard. Matter of fact, the
[25:31] department responded about 75 runs in a
[25:33] 24-h hour period. Also, when one of our
[25:36] primary engines responds mutual aid to
[25:38] another community for a building fire,
[25:41] we will call back offduty members who
[25:43] will come back and staff engine three or
[25:45] the reserve engine and put the town back
[25:47] into proper coverage to respond if
[25:49] there's an incident in the town. So, we
[25:52] need the three engines. One, the first
[25:54] two are primary and the third is is a
[25:56] reserve backup that does get used a lot.
[26:01] Thank you,
[26:02] >> Mr. Jenkins.
[26:04] >> How many hours does that have on in
[26:05] seven years?
[26:08] >> Sitting there for seven years. How many
[26:09] hours?
[26:10] >> Let's be careful about engaging in a
[26:12] collically. Go ahead.
[26:14] >> I'm sorry. I don't have the total hours
[26:16] off the top of my head. Um, but it's
[26:20] probably close to 50 or 60,000 hours.
[26:25] >> Thank The truck has been the truck has
[26:26] been in service for 25 years under the
[26:29] national standards. Uh the truck service
[26:31] life the first 10 to 15 years serves as
[26:33] a primary piece for the community and
[26:35] then the next 10 years serves as a
[26:38] reserve piece. Thank you. Is there
[26:41] further discussion?
[26:45] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion
[26:47] under article 8 does require twothirds
[26:50] vote for adoption. All those in favor of
[26:52] the motion under article 8, please
[26:54] signify by saying I. I.
[26:57] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[26:58] saying nay.
[27:01] >> Motion is adopted unanimously.
[27:06] » Article 9, allocation of funds for
[27:08] one-time cost. May I have a motion in
[27:10] the form distributed to the meeting?
[27:12] Thank you. May I have a second? Uh, does
[27:15] require majority vote for adoption. I'll
[27:17] recognize our interim town manager,
[27:19] Michelle Liry.
[27:29] So, article 9, allocation of funds for
[27:31] onetime costs. What we're looking for is
[27:32] to transfer $75,000 from cemetery sale
[27:36] of graves to cemetery maintenance. We're
[27:39] also looking to fund $10,000 from the
[27:43] waterways repairs to the harbor master
[27:45] account. Um, we're funding FY232 24 and
[27:49] 25 excise tax that's been owed to the
[27:52] waterways fund in the amount of $24,1625
[27:56] from free cash to the waterways fund.
[27:58] We're also funding early retire teacher
[28:00] early retirements in the amount of
[28:02] $84,156
[28:04] from free cash to the school budget. And
[28:07] we're looking to fund new electrical
[28:09] code inspections for all town buildings
[28:11] in the amount of $63,65
[28:14] from free cash to the facilities budget.
[28:18] >> Thank you. The select board has
[28:20] recommended approval by a vote of 3 to
[28:22] zero. The advisory committee has
[28:23] recommended approval by a vote of 9 to
[28:25] zero. Is there discussion?
[28:30] We'll proceed to a voice vote. A motion
[28:31] under article 9 requires majority vote
[28:34] for adoption. All those in favor, please
[28:35] signify by saying I. I.
[28:38] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[28:39] saying nay.
[28:41] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[28:48] Article 10, Departmental revolving funds
[28:50] annual spending limits. May I have a
[28:52] motion in the form distributed to the
[28:54] meeting? Thank you. May I have a second?
[28:56] Thank you. The motion has been made and
[28:58] seconded. Requires a majority vote for
[29:00] adoption. I'll recognize Michelle Liry.
[29:04] Um so article 10 um we are looking to
[29:06] set the annual spending limits for the
[29:08] departmental revolving funds. Um we're
[29:12] looking to keep these limits um
[29:13] remaining in effect from year to year
[29:15] unless amended by um town meeting vote.
[29:18] This is a housekeeping article.
[29:21] >> Thank you. The select board has
[29:23] recommended approval by a vote of 3 to
[29:25] zero. The advisory committee likewise re
[29:27] recommends approval by a vote of 9 to
[29:29] zero. Is there discussion?
[29:33] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion on
[29:35] article 10 does require majority vote
[29:36] for adoption. All those in favor, please
[29:38] signify by saying I. I.
[29:40] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[29:42] saying nay.
[29:44] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[29:50] Article 11, Massachusetts General Laws,
[29:52] Chapter 91 liability. May I have a
[29:54] motion in the form distributed to the
[29:55] meeting? Thank you. May I have a second?
[29:58] Thank you. The motion has been made and
[29:59] seconded. Requires majority vote for
[30:01] adoption. Recognize Michelle Liry. Okay.
[30:04] >> Article 11 um MassGL chapter 91
[30:07] liability. This is an annual article
[30:09] again and is a prerequisite for state
[30:11] funds to perform work in the Cohassid
[30:13] Harbor and along the shoreline.
[30:16] >> Thank you. The select board has
[30:18] recommended approval by a vote of 3 to
[30:19] zero. The advisory committee has
[30:21] recommended approval by a vote of 8 to
[30:23] zero. Is there discussion?
[30:27] We'll proceed to a voice vote under
[30:29] article 11 requires majority vote for
[30:31] adoption. All those in favor, please
[30:33] signify by saying I. I.
[30:35] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[30:37] saying nay.
[30:38] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[30:44] Article 12, additional real estate
[30:46] exemptions annual renewal. May I have a
[30:47] motion in the form distributed to the
[30:49] meeting? Thank you. May I have a second?
[30:51] Thank you. The motion has been made and
[30:53] seconded. requires majority vote for
[30:54] adoption. For the board of assessors,
[30:57] I'll recognize Patrick Kennedy.
[31:06] » Good evening. I'm Patrick Kennedy, 59
[31:09] Jerusalem Road Drive, chair of the board
[31:10] of assessors. The next two articles are
[31:13] essentially housekeeping articles as
[31:15] well. Um, Massernal Laws Chapter 59
[31:19] section 5 has many provisions that
[31:21] classify
[31:23] uses of property and classifications of
[31:26] types of property as being exempt or
[31:29] possibly uh eligible for deferment of
[31:32] real estate taxes. The provisions of
[31:35] article 11, I'm sorry, 12 are exemptions
[31:40] for uh armed service members,
[31:44] certain low-income elderly residents and
[31:47] also legally blind persons. Applicants
[31:50] have to meet the qualifications and in
[31:53] order for those exemptions to be
[31:55] eligible to them, the town under a local
[31:58] option initiative has to adopt those
[32:00] provisions. So 12 is to adopt certain
[32:03] exemptions
[32:04] and 13 is to adopt local option force
[32:09] deferments of elderly residents,
[32:12] longtime residents who meet and certain
[32:14] income test. Um and this is also to
[32:17] raise the income threshold for those
[32:20] eligible for that deferment.
[32:22] Thank you. The select board recommends
[32:24] approval of the motion under article 12
[32:26] by a vote of 3 to zero. Advisory
[32:28] Committee recommends approval by a vote
[32:30] of 8 to zero. Board of assessors
[32:32] recommends approval by a vote of two to
[32:34] zero. Is there discussion?
[32:37] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion on
[32:38] article 12 requires majority vote for
[32:41] adoption. All those in favor, please
[32:43] signify by saying I.
[32:45] >> I. All those opposed, please signify by
[32:47] saying nay.
[32:49] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[32:53] Article 13, Massachusetts General Laws,
[32:55] Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 41A. May I
[32:59] have a motion in the form distributed to
[33:00] the meeting? Thank you. May I have a
[33:02] second?
[33:03] >> Thank you. The motion has been made and
[33:04] seconded. Does require majority vote for
[33:07] adoption again for the board of
[33:08] successors, Patrick Kennedy. I
[33:11] introduced article 13 a minute ago. It's
[33:13] deferments for elderly longtime
[33:15] residents who meet an income low income
[33:18] threshold. This raises the income
[33:20] threshold to the cir circuit breaker
[33:23] limit set by the state.
[33:26] >> Thank you. Uh the select board
[33:28] recommends approval by a vote of 3 to
[33:30] zero. Advisory committee recommends
[33:31] approval by a vote of 8 to zero. And the
[33:33] board of assessors recommends approval
[33:35] by a vote of 3 to zero. Is there any
[33:37] discussion?
[33:39] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion
[33:41] under article 13 does require majority
[33:43] vote for adoption. All those in favor,
[33:45] please signify by saying I.
[33:46] >> I. All those opposed, please signify by
[33:49] saying nay. The motion is adopted
[33:51] unanimously.
[33:56] Article 14, recision of authorized but
[33:59] unissued debt. May I have a motion in
[34:01] the form distributed to the meeting?
[34:03] Thank you. May I have a second? Motion
[34:05] has been made and seconded. Requires a
[34:07] majority vote for adoption. I'll
[34:09] recognize our interim town manager,
[34:11] Michelle Liry.
[34:13] Article 14 um to see if the town will
[34:16] vote to resend the balance of $3.3
[34:19] million in authorized but unissued debt
[34:21] previously authorized under at a article
[34:24] 9 on May 2021 annual town meeting. This
[34:27] was for a gak system for the water
[34:29] treatment plant.
[34:33] >> Thank you. Uh the select board
[34:34] recommends approval by a vote of three
[34:36] to zero. Advisory committee recommends
[34:39] approval by a vote of 9 to zero. The
[34:41] capital budget committee recommends our
[34:42] approval by a vote of 5 to zero.
[34:45] Is there any discussion?
[34:48] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Requires
[34:50] majority vote for adoption. All those in
[34:51] favor of the motion under article 14,
[34:53] please signify by saying I.
[34:56] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[34:57] saying nay.
[34:59] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[35:05] Article 15 cohasset water rate
[35:07] structure. May I have a motion in the
[35:09] form distributed to the meeting? Thank
[35:11] you. May I have a second? Thank you. The
[35:13] motion has been made and seconded.
[35:15] Requires a majority vote for adoption
[35:17] for the water commission. I'll recognize
[35:19] Chris Pratt. Thank you. Uh good evening.
[35:22] My name is Chris Pratt. I'm the chair of
[35:23] the KASA Water Commission. Uh this is
[35:26] article 15, the proposed water rate
[35:29] structure for the KASA Water Department.
[35:31] So tonight, I'll briefly walk through
[35:33] what's being proposed, why it's
[35:35] necessary, and what it means for us, the
[35:38] residents.
[35:41] So we're proposing a 5-year rate plan
[35:43] with approximately a 4% annual increase.
[35:46] This applies to base fees, uses, usage
[35:49] tiers, fire service fees, and other
[35:51] rates. The goal is to create a
[35:54] predictable and stable rate path rather
[35:56] than larger sudden increases.
[36:00] So why? As you know, the water
[36:02] department operates as an enterprise
[36:04] fund.
[36:05] That means that we're fully funded by
[36:07] our rate revenue and not by taxes.
[36:10] The revenue supports operations,
[36:12] maintenance, regulatory requirements,
[36:16] and infrastructure investments. This is
[36:18] a cost of service model, meaning our
[36:21] rates are set based on actual costs to
[36:23] run the system, pay debt service, and
[36:25] keep the department financially solid.
[36:29] We're also responding to increasing
[36:31] regulatory requirements and ongoing
[36:33] water quality challenges which continue
[36:35] to drive the cost of operating the
[36:37] department.
[36:40] A little bit more of the why is that our
[36:42] operating expenses are increasing.
[36:46] And importantly, these sustained
[36:48] increases we're seeing year-over-year,
[36:50] not one-time spikes. Over the past five
[36:53] years, sludge removal and disposal has
[36:56] increased nearly 9%.
[36:58] Chemical treatment and lab testing is up
[37:00] nine and a half%. Contracted services
[37:04] are up nearly 10%. Utilities are up
[37:07] close to 9%. And these categories alone
[37:11] represent approximately 72% of our
[37:14] operating expenses.
[37:16] Overall, the water department's
[37:17] operating expenses are increasing by
[37:19] about 4.4% annually.
[37:22] When they increase at this level, it has
[37:23] a direct and material impact on the
[37:26] department. So, the proposed 4%
[37:28] adjustment is simply keeping pace with
[37:30] our expenses and not exceeding them.
[37:36] With the ongoing cost pressures, rate
[37:38] considerations, and future planning, the
[37:40] water commission remains strongly
[37:42] focused on financial management and
[37:44] fiscal responsibility.
[37:46] We're actively managing expenses through
[37:48] disciplined budgeting and procurement
[37:50] practices. We're maintaining strong
[37:52] retained earnings to help stabilize
[37:54] rates and support future investments.
[37:57] And we're building a financial
[37:58] foundation to responsibly plan for
[38:00] what's ahead for the department, for the
[38:02] water system, and for the town of
[38:03] Quasset.
[38:08] So again, what it means for us, you can
[38:11] find the full rate table on page 16 of
[38:13] the warrant. So for a typical household
[38:16] which has a 1-in meter which is the
[38:18] majority of households and for the
[38:20] average annual usage
[38:23] the usage portion will increase by about
[38:25] $9 per quarter or $36 per year. The
[38:29] typical residential base fee which is a
[38:32] critical component to help cover our
[38:34] fixed costs will increase approximately
[38:36] $8 per quarter or $32 a year. So that
[38:40] resulted in an overall impact of
[38:42] approximately $68 per year for the
[38:44] typical user. Of course, this is simply
[38:47] an example for a typical user and the
[38:49] usage costs will vary based on your
[38:52] household and your usage behaviors.
[38:56] So what's ahead and why we're doing
[38:59] this? The town of Cohasset and the water
[39:01] department are entering a very exciting
[39:03] and transformative period of time. We've
[39:06] begun a generational investment in the
[39:08] Cohass in Cohassets water system.
[39:12] Currently, our Lily Pond water treatment
[39:14] plant is approaching 50 years old. It's
[39:17] und sized. It underperforms and it has
[39:20] effectively reached the end of its
[39:21] useful life. Our residuals management
[39:25] area, also known as sludge lagoons, is
[39:27] undersized, very costly, and it's a
[39:30] contributor to our treatment challenges.
[39:32] Due to this, we've begun the early
[39:34] stages of the largest public
[39:36] infrastructure investment in coast
[39:38] history.
[39:39] First, the renovation and expans
[39:42] expansion of our residuals area. We're
[39:45] now nearing completion of the design
[39:47] phase of the new residuals management
[39:49] area and look forward to begin
[39:50] construction process on the new lagoons
[39:53] in the near future.
[39:55] Second, we're in the beginning stages of
[39:57] the piloting process, the design and
[39:59] construction of a new modern treatment
[40:01] plant. A treatment plant which will
[40:03] support the town's water needs for
[40:05] decades and generations to come.
[40:09] This rate structure presented tonight
[40:11] allows us to pursue those objectives
[40:12] responsibly. We respectfully ask for
[40:15] your support for article 15. Thank you.
[40:18] >> Thank you. The select board has
[40:20] recommended approval by a vote of three
[40:22] to zero. Advisory Committee reckons
[40:25] mends approval by a vote of nine to
[40:26] zero. The water commission recommends
[40:28] approval by a vote of three to zero. Is
[40:31] there discussion?
[40:34] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Requires
[40:36] majority vote for adoption.
[40:37] >> I have one question for Chris.
[40:38] >> I'm sorry. Go ahead.
[40:39] >> No problem. Uh Jennifer Chu, 25 Virginia
[40:42] Lane. Hi Chris. Um so my only question
[40:45] for you is what kind of improvement can
[40:48] we see in our water quality with the new
[40:50] treatment plant and um how will that
[40:53] impact you know will it or will it
[40:55] impact if we see you know if we have PAS
[40:57] in the water or other
[41:01] kind of a things that we don't want in
[41:04] it.
[41:04] >> So ultimately the the treatment plant is
[41:07] being designed and constructed to solve
[41:09] those water quality problems that exist
[41:11] today. uh when the plant was built
[41:13] almost 50 years ago, PAS was not even a
[41:16] term. People didn't know about it. It
[41:18] wasn't studied. We didn't know the
[41:19] effects of it. Um amongst other things
[41:22] that are uh being regulated today. So 50
[41:25] years later after the current treatment
[41:27] plant was built, regulation has changed,
[41:29] water quality standards have changed. Um
[41:32] and the fact is we have an undersized
[41:33] plant currently and we have a very
[41:35] difficult raw water source to treat. We
[41:37] have high organics and it's a shallow
[41:39] pond. In fact, it is a pond. um unlike
[41:42] larger reservoirs and other bodies of
[41:43] water. So ultimately the long-term
[41:46] solution, the best thing for the town of
[41:47] Kassacet is to invest in a new treatment
[41:49] plant.
[41:50] >> Awesome. Thank you so much. I appreciate
[41:52] it.
[41:53] >> Thank you. Is there further discussion?
[41:57] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Article
[41:59] 15 does require majority vote for
[42:01] adoption. All those in favor, please
[42:03] signify by saying I. I.
[42:06] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[42:07] saying nay.
[42:09] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[42:14] Article 16, wastewater treatment plan
[42:17] system upgrades design. May I have a
[42:19] motion in the form distributed to the
[42:21] meeting? Thank you. May I have a second?
[42:23] Motion has been made and seconded.
[42:25] Requires twothirds vote for adoption for
[42:28] the sewer commission. I'll recognize
[42:30] Bill McGawan.
[42:40] I think I recognize Bill Mcgau. Maybe
[42:42] not. Does anyone from the sewer
[42:43] commission want to speak or do you want
[42:44] to handle it, Michelle?
[42:50] » Paul Kierce, 390 on Coach Road. I am the
[42:52] vice chairman of the sewer commission.
[42:55] Uh this article um that we currently
[42:57] have in front of us, article 16, uh is
[42:59] to start the upgrade of the sewer
[43:01] treatment plant. Similar to what the
[43:03] water department is going through with
[43:04] their plant, uh we're doing the same at
[43:06] ours. All of the uh funding uh for this
[43:10] does uh occur through our current
[43:12] rateayers and uh we've been having a
[43:16] couple of uh funds set aside for
[43:18] membranes and and various upgrades. So
[43:19] on this particular article, we're going
[43:22] to begin to replace some of the uh
[43:25] pumping systems and air systems that are
[43:27] in the sewer treatment plant.
[43:30] Thank you.
[43:32] The select board has recommended
[43:34] approval by a vote of 3 to zero. The
[43:36] advisory committee has recommended
[43:38] approval by a vote of 8 to zero. And the
[43:40] sewer commission has recommended
[43:41] approval by a vote of two to zero. Is
[43:44] there discussion?
[43:46] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion on
[43:48] article 16 does require twothirds vote
[43:50] for adoption. All those in favor, please
[43:53] signify by saying I. I.
[43:55] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[43:57] saying nay.
[43:59] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[44:05] Article 17, creation of a revolving fund
[44:07] for cemetery fees. May I have a motion
[44:10] in the form distributed to the meeting?
[44:12] Thank you. May I have a second? Thank
[44:14] you. The motion has been made and
[44:16] seconded. requires majority vote for
[44:18] adoption. For the cemetery committee, I
[44:21] recognize Glenn Pratt.
[44:27] 472 King Street. Uh the
[44:31] cemeteries uh are almost
[44:33] self-supporting. We earlier tonight
[44:35] transferred money from our sale of
[44:37] graves account for maintenance, which is
[44:39] lawn mowing. And we have other fees that
[44:42] we uh charge folks when they uh have a
[44:44] burial which currently are going into
[44:46] the general fund and the DPW cemetery
[44:49] department doesn't have any benefit of
[44:51] that money for additional services they
[44:53] need to purchase. So this this money
[44:56] that we collect for uh burial fees will
[44:59] be uh a revolving fund like the other 10
[45:02] revolving funds we talked about earlier.
[45:04] It'll be used exclusively for cemetery
[45:06] maintenance.
[45:08] >> Thank you.
[45:10] The select board recommends approval by
[45:12] a vote of 3 to zero. The advisory
[45:14] committee recommends approval by a vote
[45:16] of 9 to zero. Is there discussion?
[45:21] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion
[45:22] under article 17 does require majority
[45:24] vote for adoption. All those in favor,
[45:26] please signify by saying I.
[45:29] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[45:30] saying nay.
[45:32] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[45:38] Article 18, Community Preservation
[45:40] Committee. May I have a motion in the
[45:41] form distributed to the meeting? Thank
[45:43] you. May I have a second? Thank you. The
[45:45] motion has been made and seconded.
[45:47] Requires majority vote for adoption for
[45:50] the Community Preservation Committee.
[45:51] I'll recognize Mr. Tom Reirden.
[46:01] Good evening. I'm Tom Reirden. uh 131
[46:04] Nichols Road and chair of the Cohass
[46:08] Community Preservation Committee. The
[46:10] committee is unanimously recommending to
[46:13] the town meeting two projects. In
[46:16] addition, there is a notification of a
[46:17] payment from CPC funds for the debt
[46:20] service on a bond which was approved at
[46:23] a special town meeting in 2023.
[46:26] That bond issue was designed to improve
[46:29] recreation facilities in various parts
[46:31] of town. The first project that we are
[46:34] recommending is for $11,225
[46:37] from the open space account to the
[46:40] conservation commission and department
[46:43] to conduct a baseline documentation
[46:45] report and matching mapping for
[46:48] conservation restrictions at Salerno
[46:50] Woodlands which is on King Street Bonds
[46:53] Wildlife Sanctuary by Wright Park and
[46:56] Ingram Park on Norman Todd Road.
[47:00] The second project is for $25,000 from
[47:03] the undesated account. That will go to
[47:06] the Paul Pratt Library for an ADA
[47:09] compliant door. The door will be the
[47:13] major access point for the new outdoor
[47:16] pavilion, which is under construction
[47:18] right now and is due to be finished in
[47:21] early summer. The total cost of that
[47:24] door is $50,000.
[47:26] 25,000 is being paid by capital budget.
[47:30] Thank you very much. Any questions?
[47:33] >> Thank you.
[47:34] >> Question.
[47:34] >> Thank you. Let me just quot before you
[47:36] go. Um, select board recommends approval
[47:38] by a vote of three to zero. Advisory
[47:40] committee recommends approval by a vote
[47:42] of 9 to zero. CPC recommends approval by
[47:45] a vote of five to zero for project two
[47:47] and by a vote of seven to zero for
[47:49] project three. Uh, I could see one
[47:53] discussion at least. Uh, Mr. Jenkins.
[47:55] Lee Jenkins, Jerusalem Road. Quick uh
[47:59] comment. The bond payment, the first
[48:01] article, the first thing, number one,
[48:03] bond payment uh pursuant to article six
[48:06] of 2023
[48:09] of of $257,750.
[48:13] How many years do we have to pay that?
[48:19] Is
[48:20] >> there someone that can respond? I think
[48:21] the question was, Mr. Jenkins, how many
[48:22] years do we have to pay that?
[48:25] That's correct.
[48:26] >> Yeah.
[48:27] >> Does anyone know?
[48:31] » I think the question is, is it a onetime
[48:32] payment of that amount or is it that
[48:34] amount multiple years? Is that the
[48:36] question?
[48:39] >> Mr. Ren, would you mind standing up and
[48:40] addressing?
[48:43] >> Sorry. Um, I believe it's a 10-year
[48:46] bond, so it's paid each year for 10
[48:48] years out of CPC funds, unrestricted
[48:51] funds.
[48:54] Thank you. Thank you.
[48:56] Is there further discussion?
[49:00] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion on
[49:02] article 18 requires majority vote for
[49:04] adoption. All those in favor, please
[49:07] signify by saying I. I.
[49:09] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[49:11] saying nay.
[49:13] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[49:18] Article 19, Southshore Regional
[49:21] Vocational School Committee, amend
[49:23] regional agreement. May I have a motion
[49:25] in the form distributed to the meeting?
[49:28] I have a motion. Thank you. May I have a
[49:30] second? Thank you. The motion has been
[49:32] made and seconded. Does require majority
[49:34] vote for adoption. I'll recognize again
[49:36] our interim town manager, Michelle
[49:38] Liring.
[49:44] The amendment to the social regional
[49:46] vocational technical high school
[49:47] agreement um adds the town of Pembroke
[49:50] to the agreement um therefore offsetting
[49:53] the expenses um for many communities.
[49:58] >> Thank you. The select board recommends
[50:00] approval by a vote of three to zero. The
[50:02] advisory committee recommends approval
[50:04] by a vote of 9 to zero. Is there any
[50:06] discussion?
[50:09] We'll proceed to a voice vote. Motion on
[50:11] article 19 requires majority vote for
[50:13] adoption. All those in favor, please
[50:15] signify by saying I.
[50:18] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[50:19] saying nay.
[50:21] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[50:26] Article 20, amendment to cohasset bylaw
[50:29] chapter 244, article 2, sections 244-2
[50:34] and 244-4.
[50:37] I have a motion in the form distributed
[50:38] to the meeting. Thank you. You may have
[50:40] a second. Thank you. The motion has been
[50:42] made and seconded. Requires a majority
[50:44] vote for adoption. I'll recognize our
[50:47] town clerk, Lisa Leger.
[50:56] Good evening. The amendments to our
[51:01] 2442 parking permit required works to
[51:04] solidify the residency requirement for
[51:07] the issuance of the all facility permits
[51:09] as it relates to parking in the town of
[51:11] Cohasset. The second section 2444
[51:15] clarifies the posted parking areas where
[51:17] a permit is required to park in the town
[51:19] of Cohasset and also establishes the
[51:23] criteria for the issuance of
[51:24] non-resident government island parking
[51:27] permits in the government island parking
[51:30] area.
[51:32] >> Thank you. Uh the select board has
[51:34] recommended approval by a vote of 3 to
[51:36] zero and the advisory committee has
[51:38] recommended approval by a vote of 9 to
[51:40] zero. Is there discussion?
[51:44] We'll proceed to a voice vote.
[51:52] Sorry, no discussion is we'll proceed to
[51:53] a voice vote. Does require majority vote
[51:56] for adoption. All those in favor of the
[51:58] motion under article 20, please signify
[52:00] by saying I.
[52:01] >> I.
[52:02] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[52:03] saying nay.
[52:05] The motion is adopted unanimously.
[52:10] We'll proceed to article 21, Cohasset
[52:12] Public Safety Building. May I have a
[52:14] motion in the form distributed to the
[52:16] meeting? Thank you. May I have a second?
[52:18] Thank you. It does require twothirds
[52:20] vote for adoption. I'll recognize for
[52:22] the public safety facilities committee,
[52:24] Mr. Glenn Pratt.
[52:26] >> Uh good evening. My name is Glenn Pratt,
[52:28] chair of the Public Safety Facilities
[52:30] Committee. Tonight, we're going to
[52:32] propose to you uh a new police station.
[52:37] After operating from the Independence
[52:39] Building at 24 South Main Street since
[52:42] 1913
[52:44] in 1962,
[52:46] the police department moved into the new
[52:49] state-of-the-art public safety building
[52:52] on Elm Street. And the fire department
[52:55] moved from their home of 75 years at the
[52:58] harbor into the new building that was
[53:00] going to take care of Khasset's public
[53:02] safety needs for 50 years.
[53:05] It did.
[53:07] Now 62 years on, the building no longer
[53:11] works for either department.
[53:14] The community's needs have evolved, and
[53:16] so have the needs of the fire and police
[53:18] department.
[53:20] In 2005,
[53:23] the need for a new police station was
[53:25] placed on the town's 10-year capital
[53:27] plan.
[53:30] Now, 20 years later, the time has come
[53:33] to do something.
[53:35] This article seeks funding to build a
[53:38] new police station on Route 3A
[53:41] with space for future expansion for the
[53:43] fire department.
[53:46] Commander Gregory Lenon of the police
[53:48] department will show you why we need it
[53:51] now.
[53:59] Good evening. My name is Gregory Lennon
[54:01] and I am a commander with the Kohasa
[54:03] Police Department. I currently serve as
[54:05] the executive officer, which is the
[54:07] second in command of the department. I
[54:09] grew up here and have worked for the
[54:10] Kohasa Police Department for over 31
[54:12] years. If you look at the photos on the
[54:15] screen, you're looking at our squad room
[54:17] being used for evidence processing, drug
[54:20] testing, and training. Work that should
[54:22] never be taking place in a shared space
[54:24] like this.
[54:25] is also where officers eat their
[54:27] meals.
[54:28] And when the room is being used this
[54:30] way, officers have to eat in their cars
[54:32] in the parking lot. The squad room was
[54:35] originally designed for roll call and
[54:37] shift briefings. Today, it serves as
[54:40] roll call space, the interview room for
[54:42] victims, witnesses, and suspects, the
[54:44] evidence processing area, the report
[54:47] writing space, the staff break room, and
[54:50] the primary meeting space for day-to-day
[54:52] operations. All of those functions
[54:54] happen in one single room. So when that
[54:56] room is in use for one purpose,
[54:58] everything else has to wait. If an
[55:01] officer is interviewing a victim,
[55:02] evidence processing is delayed. If
[55:04] evidence is being handled, interviews
[55:06] wait. There is nowhere else to go. That
[55:09] same room is also the only access point
[55:11] to my office. If that room is in use, I
[55:14] can't get in or out. I can't interrupt
[55:17] those interviews, so I'm effectively
[55:18] blocked until they're finished. And just
[55:21] to give you a real example of what that
[55:23] looks like, there was a time I needed to
[55:25] attend an important meeting while a
[55:27] critical interview was taking place in
[55:29] that room. I couldn't go through it, so
[55:32] I had to climb out of my office window
[55:34] onto the front lawn. That's not a joke.
[55:38] Fortunately, it's a one-story building.
[55:41] And even when I'm in my office, the
[55:43] space itself is extremely limited. If an
[55:46] officer needs to speak with me
[55:48] privately, there isn't enough room for
[55:50] them to sit. They have to stand or we
[55:53] step out into the garage or the parking
[55:54] lot to have that conversation.
[55:57] At least I have an office. Most officers
[56:00] who carry additional administrative
[56:01] responsibilities don't have any
[56:03] dedicated space at all. There is no room
[56:06] to provide them with something as basic
[56:08] as their own filing cabinet.
[56:10] This is the daily reality of how this
[56:12] building functions and it's where people
[56:14] are expected to work every day under
[56:16] those conditions.
[56:18] The building itself is about 13,000
[56:20] square ft. It was built in 1962 for nine
[56:24] officers. Today, we have 21 full-time
[56:26] officers and additional staff working
[56:28] out of that same space. Now, look at the
[56:31] booking and sell area. It's from that
[56:34] same era. It does not meet current
[56:36] standards. It's not ADA compliant. It
[56:39] fails inspection every year for
[56:40] deficiencies and it cannot accommodate a
[56:43] stretcher. If somebody in custody needs
[56:46] medical attention, they have to be
[56:48] physically carried out into the hallway
[56:50] before they can even be placed on a
[56:52] stretcher. The cells do not reflect
[56:54] modern standards for safety,
[56:56] supervision, or humane custody
[56:59] conditions, and they create a higher
[57:01] risk of harm for both officers and
[57:03] people in custody. That is the reality
[57:05] of this building today. While Cohassid
[57:09] is a small, close-knit community, many
[57:11] people assume that little happens here.
[57:14] In reality, our offices regular
[57:16] regularly respond to serious incidents
[57:19] and handle them with the highest
[57:20] standard of professionalism.
[57:22] It could be a domestic situation that's
[57:24] escalating. It could be someone
[57:26] experiencing a mental health crisis. It
[57:29] could be a serious accident involving
[57:30] life-threatening injuries. And they
[57:33] respond to those situations as part of
[57:35] everyday service to this community. When
[57:37] they return to the station, their work
[57:39] continues. They may be processing
[57:41] evidence, interviewing a victim or
[57:44] witness, booking someone into custody,
[57:46] or writing reports that require accuracy
[57:48] and attention to detail.
[57:51] And they may be mentally processing a
[57:53] traumatic incident they just responded
[57:55] to. But there's no place to decompress
[57:58] because it is all happening in the same
[58:00] room. And if officers need a few moments
[58:03] to mentally recover from a difficult
[58:05] call, there is nowhere appropriate to do
[58:08] that. They may end up sitting in their
[58:10] car in the parking lot just as they do
[58:12] when they eat their meals or sitting on
[58:15] a toolbox in the garage or the floor in
[58:18] the locker room.
[58:20] Then they immediately move back into
[58:21] interviews, evidence processing, and
[58:23] other responsibilities in the same
[58:24] shared space. Without any place to
[58:27] decompress or reset, they're expected to
[58:30] go right back to work and be mentally
[58:32] ready to think clearly and make good
[58:34] decisions on the next call they respond
[58:36] to. Investigations slow because work
[58:38] cannot be separated into parallel tasks.
[58:41] Evidence processing is delayed because
[58:43] there is no dedicated space to complete
[58:45] it. And when one task has to wait for
[58:47] another, it extends the workday and
[58:49] generates overtime that would not
[58:51] otherwise be necessary.
[58:53] Officers are forced to work within the
[58:54] limitations of the room instead of
[58:56] focusing fully on the work itself.
[58:58] Interviews present another challenge.
[59:01] Victims and witnesses are brought into
[59:02] the same shared space where other
[59:04] activity is taking place. There is no
[59:07] true sense of privacy in no environment
[59:09] that supports them feeling safe while
[59:12] they are recounting what may be one of
[59:14] the most difficult experiences of their
[59:16] life. And once those interviews are
[59:18] completed, we often have to move people
[59:20] out quickly because the room is needed
[59:22] for the next function. That is not how
[59:24] these interactions are meant to happen.
[59:27] When people walk into this building,
[59:28] they see the reality immediately. And
[59:30] quite frankly, the workspace is
[59:32] embarrassing for a modern police
[59:33] department. And for someone considering
[59:36] joining this department, it really comes
[59:38] down to two questions. Can I do my job
[59:40] well here? And will I feel valued here?
[59:43] And under the current conditions, it's
[59:45] hard to see how the answer to either of
[59:46] those can be yes. That is not a
[59:49] sustainable standard for any workforce.
[59:51] Because the people you want responding
[59:53] when something goes wrong, the people
[59:55] you want showing up at your home at 2 in
[59:57] the morning, have options because this
[59:59] is a competitive market and departments
[1:00:01] across the region are all competing for
[1:00:04] a small number of truly exceptional
[1:00:05] officers, including us. And we are very
[1:00:08] selective about who we hire because we
[1:00:11] want the best people serving this
[1:00:12] community and you deserve that.
[1:00:16] And the officers we have are among the
[1:00:17] very best in the Commonwealth. But these
[1:00:20] workplace conditions will ultimately
[1:00:22] determine whether they stay here or take
[1:00:24] their talent somewhere else because this
[1:00:26] is not a standard you can reasonably
[1:00:28] expect people to continue working under.
[1:00:30] The limitations you are seeing are tied
[1:00:32] to a building designed more than 60
[1:00:34] years ago for a department one-third the
[1:00:36] size. A new facility changes that. It
[1:00:40] provides separate spaces so interviews,
[1:00:42] investigations, evidence processing, and
[1:00:45] report writing can happen when they need
[1:00:46] to happen. It provides dedicated
[1:00:48] interview rooms that allow victims and
[1:00:50] witnesses to speak in privacy in a
[1:00:53] setting that supports both dignity and
[1:00:55] safety. It provides a booking and
[1:00:58] detention area that meets current
[1:00:59] standards and allows safe medical
[1:01:02] access.
[1:01:04] It provides a workplace that reflects
[1:01:06] the responsibility placed on the people
[1:01:08] who serve here every day. We ask
[1:01:11] officers to step into uncertainty and to
[1:01:14] respond to situations most people will
[1:01:16] never encounter and to carry significant
[1:01:20] responsibility every day. The facility
[1:01:22] they return to should match that level
[1:01:25] of responsibility. And right now it does
[1:01:28] not. What you're seeing in these photos
[1:01:31] is the current operating environment.
[1:01:33] The decision before you determines
[1:01:35] whether that continues. Thank you for
[1:01:37] your time.
[1:01:47] The timeline that is about to be shown
[1:01:51] shows you that the police station issue
[1:01:54] has been looked at every few years for
[1:01:56] the last 20 years and no action has been
[1:01:58] taken.
[1:02:00] This meeting in 2023 authorized
[1:02:03] 10,400,000
[1:02:06] to purchase and renovate 135 King
[1:02:09] Street. Our architect and project
[1:02:12] manager were hired to design a new
[1:02:14] public safety building in 2024.
[1:02:18] During 2025, the project was put on hold
[1:02:22] and the select board appointed a more
[1:02:24] diverse committee consisting of eight
[1:02:26] citizens and seven exopicio members to
[1:02:30] study more options.
[1:02:32] The proposal we will be presenting to
[1:02:34] you tonight is the results of that work.
[1:02:37] First, we took a look at available uh
[1:02:41] opportunities to expand or renovate the
[1:02:44] Elm Street location. The Elm Street
[1:02:47] location is a small parcel which you see
[1:02:49] on the screen uh outlined in in red.
[1:02:53] It's in a condensed small neighborhood.
[1:02:56] Outward expansion is not possible there.
[1:02:58] There's not enough um parking. any uh
[1:03:02] space that's taken for expanded building
[1:03:04] cuts into some other space that the
[1:03:06] department uses now. There is senior
[1:03:08] housing 64 units in in the back. There
[1:03:11] are group homes. There are unmovable
[1:03:14] utility easements and a myriad of other
[1:03:16] complications that do not make it
[1:03:18] feasible.
[1:03:20] The vertical expansion would require
[1:03:22] structural reinforcements, code
[1:03:24] upgrades, and would not probably provide
[1:03:27] enough square footage for the police
[1:03:29] needs.
[1:03:30] And if we were to do that kind of a
[1:03:32] project there, a temporary location
[1:03:34] would have to be found for both the
[1:03:36] police and fire department for a period
[1:03:38] of most likely two years.
[1:03:41] Elm Street cannot solve the public
[1:03:44] safety needs of either department. And
[1:03:46] even if it could, we wonder whether that
[1:03:49] kind of municipal operation should be
[1:03:51] crowded into that small neighborhood.
[1:03:55] The other thing we took a look at was
[1:03:58] perhaps there's another location in the
[1:03:59] 3A corridor, which is the pre preferred
[1:04:02] location for uh public safety buildings.
[1:04:05] We looked at 13 open parcels of land
[1:04:08] there. None of them can work because of
[1:04:12] conservation restrictions or they're too
[1:04:14] small or they're currently not owned by
[1:04:16] the town. So, they would have to be
[1:04:18] acquired. So simply put, there are no
[1:04:21] locations on 3A that are viable at this
[1:04:24] time.
[1:04:27] Designing a modern public safety
[1:04:29] building. In 2024, we hired project
[1:04:34] manager P3 and HKT architects. HKT and
[1:04:39] P3 specialized in municipal projects in
[1:04:42] Massachusetts and designed and built
[1:04:45] many public safety buildings.
[1:04:47] The building committee and the police
[1:04:49] department worked extensively with HKT
[1:04:52] to ensure that police station design
[1:04:55] that we are presenting tonight meets the
[1:04:57] current and future needs of the KASA
[1:04:59] police. The architects toured the
[1:05:02] existing building on Elm Street,
[1:05:04] observed police operations firsthand,
[1:05:07] and determined the space needs for
[1:05:09] Cohesid police going forward and the
[1:05:12] types of the types of spaces they needed
[1:05:14] and how they should be related to each
[1:05:16] other within the building.
[1:05:18] The designs we are presenting tonight
[1:05:20] meet those goals and they take advantage
[1:05:22] of the efficiencies of renovating and
[1:05:25] adding on to the building we own at 135
[1:05:27] King Street.
[1:05:29] The next slide which you have in your
[1:05:32] handout uh you might get more
[1:05:33] information by looking at that shows the
[1:05:36] uh site plan. The building is centered
[1:05:38] on the property. The existing building
[1:05:40] is shown in the uh light yellowish green
[1:05:44] in the center. The dark blue edition is
[1:05:48] the secure police detention operation
[1:05:50] side of the building. The pale blue
[1:05:53] edition includes the unfinished garage
[1:05:56] which will be used to house the fire
[1:05:58] department spare engine which we talked
[1:06:01] about earlier and other town owned
[1:06:04] vehicles. Garaging a fire engine here
[1:06:06] will allow the fire department to
[1:06:09] operate their seven ambulance from the
[1:06:11] Elm Street location. The garage bays are
[1:06:14] located with easy access to 3A.
[1:06:18] Also on your handout tonight are the
[1:06:21] floor plans.
[1:06:23] The first floor includes a public
[1:06:26] entrance where citizens of the public
[1:06:28] can come in, have access to police staff
[1:06:31] for questions or permitting
[1:06:32] applications, have access to the
[1:06:35] community room, which is also going to
[1:06:37] be used for police training, and in fact
[1:06:40] will be the town's emergency operations
[1:06:42] center, EOCC.
[1:06:44] The second floor is devoted to police
[1:06:46] operations, including roll call rooms,
[1:06:49] evidence, interview rooms, offices, and
[1:06:51] lockers.
[1:06:55] The exterior view
[1:06:58] shows the building from the from the
[1:07:00] north view. The this is the area that's
[1:07:03] being added on which houses the secure
[1:07:05] police areas, police operations,
[1:07:07] detention cells, evidence storage, and
[1:07:09] those kind of uses. These areas are
[1:07:13] separated from the public entrance for
[1:07:15] the safety of the public, police
[1:07:16] officers and detainees.
[1:07:19] A sallyport is a garage which provides
[1:07:22] secure and private movement of detainees
[1:07:25] into the station where they can be
[1:07:26] safely transferred and move through the
[1:07:28] booking process without any public
[1:07:30] interaction. This garage is sized to
[1:07:33] accommodate ambulances in case in the
[1:07:36] event that detainees need to be
[1:07:37] transferred to a hospital. A secure
[1:07:40] garage bay is also provided being built
[1:07:42] here to process uh evidence on impounded
[1:07:46] vehicles.
[1:07:49] So the next thing you might be
[1:07:50] interested in is how we going to cost
[1:07:53] and how are we going to finance it and
[1:07:55] Rich Kinship by chair of the committee
[1:07:57] will speak to that.
[1:08:02] » Good evening everyone. My name is Rich
[1:08:04] Kincherf. I am the vice chair of the
[1:08:06] public safety facility committee and I
[1:08:07] live at 172 Sawyer Street.
[1:08:11] The table on this slide outlines the
[1:08:13] total project cost for their proposed
[1:08:15] new police station at 135 King Street.
[1:08:18] The total project cost is broken down
[1:08:20] into expenditures the town has incurred
[1:08:22] to date on the project as well as
[1:08:23] estimated costs to complete the project.
[1:08:26] Expenditures to date are the first
[1:08:28] grouping in the table. These include the
[1:08:30] purchase of 135 King Street, various
[1:08:32] fees and expenses for design as well as
[1:08:34] project management. To date, the town
[1:08:36] has spent $5,400,000
[1:08:39] on the project, which was entirely
[1:08:41] funded by the original appropriation
[1:08:43] back in 2023.
[1:08:45] The estimated expenditures to complete
[1:08:47] the project are in the second grouping
[1:08:49] on the table. These include the
[1:08:51] estimated construction costs, radio and
[1:08:53] communications equipment, and various
[1:08:54] fees and other expenses. This also
[1:08:57] includes contingency for any
[1:08:58] unanticipated costs that may arise.
[1:09:03] Adding together what has been spent to
[1:09:08] date with what is needed.
[1:09:11] Moving forward, we arrive at the total
[1:09:13] project cost of $32,183,000.
[1:09:19] This next slide explains how we arrived
[1:09:21] at the appropriation we are requesting
[1:09:23] here tonight. As we just saw from the
[1:09:26] previous slide, the estimated total
[1:09:28] project cost is $32,183,000.
[1:09:32] From that, we subtract the 5.4 million
[1:09:35] that has been spent to date and was
[1:09:37] funded in that original appropriation
[1:09:39] back in 2023.
[1:09:41] There is still another 5 million left of
[1:09:43] the original appropriation that has not
[1:09:45] been spent.
[1:09:47] When we subtract that as well, we arrive
[1:09:49] at the appropriation being requested
[1:09:50] here tonight under article 21, which is
[1:09:53] $21,783,000.
[1:10:00] Planning for the long-term operations of
[1:10:02] the new police station has been an
[1:10:03] important part of the building
[1:10:04] committee's work on this project. Early
[1:10:07] in the design, we invited the town's
[1:10:08] facilities department to meet with the
[1:10:10] architect and engineers as we looked at
[1:10:13] alternative HVAC systems. The electric
[1:10:16] air source heat pump incorporated in the
[1:10:18] design was the decision by the
[1:10:20] facilities department as it is a
[1:10:22] preferred system due to its efficiency
[1:10:23] and ease of maintenance.
[1:10:26] Sustainable design features were also
[1:10:28] considered to help bring down
[1:10:29] operational costs. In additions to the
[1:10:32] high efficiency heat pump system, the
[1:10:33] design features high efficiency LED
[1:10:36] lighting and lowflow plumbing fixtures
[1:10:38] to reduce water usage. Insulation is
[1:10:40] being added to the walls of the existing
[1:10:42] building to improve its thermal
[1:10:44] performance. While the new additions are
[1:10:46] designed with high insulation values in
[1:10:48] their walls and roofs,
[1:10:50] the roofs are also designed to be solar
[1:10:52] ready so that PV panels can be added in
[1:10:54] the future to offset electricity costs
[1:10:57] if the town chooses to do so. The
[1:10:59] parking lots also will include vehicle
[1:11:01] charging.
[1:11:03] As designed and based on today's utility
[1:11:05] rates, we estimate the annual operating
[1:11:07] cost of the new police station to be
[1:11:09] about $68,000.
[1:11:12] Since 135 King Street was purchased by
[1:11:15] the town, it has since been the
[1:11:16] responsibility of the facilities
[1:11:18] department and DPW to maintain the
[1:11:20] building as well as the current facility
[1:11:22] on Elm Street. The facilities and DPW
[1:11:25] departments will continue to do so after
[1:11:26] the police station is completed.
[1:11:30] And now I'd like to introduce David
[1:11:32] Farog for his comments.
[1:11:44] Thank you. Good evening everybody. Uh
[1:11:47] David Farog, select board member, 39
[1:11:49] Beachwood Street. When the article to
[1:11:52] purchase the King Street property for
[1:11:53] the public safety building was
[1:11:55] introduced, I was sitting in the
[1:11:57] audience as a town meeting member just
[1:11:58] like you. Since then, I was elected to
[1:12:01] the select board and the public safety
[1:12:03] facilities committee has spent years
[1:12:05] preparing this project for your vote
[1:12:06] tonight. There are a number of facts
[1:12:09] that I've learned during this process
[1:12:10] that I wanted to share with you. When
[1:12:13] the police station on Elm Street was
[1:12:14] built in 1962,
[1:12:16] officer training was informal and on the
[1:12:19] job. Training later became a structured
[1:12:22] statemandated with an 800 plus hour
[1:12:25] program focused on modern policing
[1:12:27] principles. The Municipal Police
[1:12:29] Training Council established in 1964 and
[1:12:33] further reforms were made in 2020. Our
[1:12:36] police station predates all of these
[1:12:38] changes.
[1:12:40] Please go to slide one. Next slide. In
[1:12:43] the 1970s, Boston Magazine's 1977 cover,
[1:12:47] which you see to the the left,
[1:12:49] highlighted the lack of police training,
[1:12:51] highlighting Cohassid police as the gang
[1:12:54] that couldn't shoot straight. These
[1:12:56] stories are now a part of coacassid
[1:12:58] history and folklore, including the
[1:13:00] story at the time of the police chief's
[1:13:03] son riding a motorcycle through town in
[1:13:05] just cowboy boots, two bandeliers of
[1:13:07] ammunition, and nothing else. Thank
[1:13:10] goodness we didn't have camera phones
[1:13:12] back then. Though these stories were
[1:13:14] entertaining, the need for real training
[1:13:16] and professionalization of the coasset
[1:13:18] police was clear and later achieved.
[1:13:21] Please go to slide two.
[1:13:23] Over time, the department has increased
[1:13:25] its professionalism and standards.
[1:13:27] Today, officers are trained in CPR,
[1:13:30] medical response, firearms, crisis
[1:13:33] intervention, deescalation, active
[1:13:35] shooter scenarios, and complete 60 hours
[1:13:38] of annual inservice training, plus peace
[1:13:41] officer standards and training
[1:13:43] certification every three years.
[1:13:45] Officers now serve our community as law
[1:13:48] enforcement, medical responders, crisis
[1:13:51] managers, technology operators,
[1:13:54] investigators, communicators, and
[1:13:56] deescalation specialists.
[1:13:59] To properly protect Cohassid, police
[1:14:01] need the proper tools and facilities.
[1:14:03] The new public safety building offers
[1:14:05] dedicated training areas, briefing
[1:14:08] rooms, and proper prisoner detention.
[1:14:10] Its layout meets Massachusetts codes for
[1:14:13] safety and efficiency. Modern challenges
[1:14:16] including cell phone and computer
[1:14:17] forensics, crisis intervention, overdose
[1:14:21] response, active shooter protocols, and
[1:14:24] bias-free policing demand updated
[1:14:26] resources. Recent issues in town like
[1:14:30] car thefts, retail theft gangs, online
[1:14:33] identity theft, domestic violence, and
[1:14:36] mental health emergencies also require
[1:14:38] effective responses. Our police are
[1:14:41] highly trained and have performed
[1:14:42] admirably even in challenging
[1:14:44] situations.
[1:14:46] During the Anna Walsh murder case, which
[1:14:48] gained national and international
[1:14:50] attention, both the state police and
[1:14:52] Norfol County District Attorney's Office
[1:14:55] depended heavily on our police
[1:14:56] department due to concerns of their own
[1:14:59] objectivity and lack of professionalism
[1:15:02] following the Karen Reed case. They
[1:15:04] depended upon the coassess police's
[1:15:06] professionalism and something that
[1:15:08] cannot be found in a budget or
[1:15:10] mathematically calculated. That
[1:15:12] ingredient was integrity.
[1:15:14] That is how a conviction was achieved in
[1:15:17] the case based on just circumstantial
[1:15:19] evidence.
[1:15:27] Building a top tier police force starts
[1:15:29] with strong leadership at all levels.
[1:15:31] chief, commanders, lieutenants,
[1:15:33] sergeants, and it permeates to the
[1:15:35] patrol officers. Our building, over 65
[1:15:38] years old, 64 years old, is outdated and
[1:15:41] unsuitable for current operations.
[1:15:44] Nearby towns like Kingham, Hull, and
[1:15:47] Situit are upgrading their public safety
[1:15:49] facilities to modern standards. Since
[1:15:51] 1962, Cohassid has built a new Osgood
[1:15:55] school, upgraded the Deer Hill. The high
[1:15:58] school has been renovated twice since
[1:16:00] that time, relocated and expanded the
[1:16:03] library to the old Osgood school and and
[1:16:05] we've constructed a new DPW and senior
[1:16:08] center. After 18 years, Town Hall is now
[1:16:11] being restored to its former glory.
[1:16:15] Please clap for that.
[1:16:19] Uh meanwhile, the Elm Street Police
[1:16:21] Station remains unchanged. Building a
[1:16:23] new public safety building is long
[1:16:25] overdue. In summary, the decision before us is pivotable. We must
[1:16:30] choose whether to unite as a community
[1:16:32] and to move forward together or allow
[1:16:34] division to undermine our shared goals.
[1:16:37] Now is the time for Cohasset to stand
[1:16:39] together, support one another, and
[1:16:41] ensure a safer future for all residents.
[1:16:44] The value of a new public safety
[1:16:46] building to Cohasset goes far beyond
[1:16:48] budgets, dollars, and cents. As Oscar
[1:16:51] Wild once wrote, "A cynic is a man who
[1:16:53] knows the price of everything and the
[1:16:55] value of nothing." Voting yes on this
[1:16:57] article will resolve the issue and
[1:16:59] ensure our public safety operations are
[1:17:01] brought into the 21st century, meeting
[1:17:04] the needs of our community now and for
[1:17:05] future generations.
[1:17:07] Conversely, voting no does not result in
[1:17:10] any financial savings. Instead, it
[1:17:12] creates additional, more expensive
[1:17:14] problems for the town and its residents.
[1:17:17] Therefore, I urge you to join me in
[1:17:19] voting yes on this article. The safety
[1:17:21] of you, your family, and your children
[1:17:23] is of utmost importance. Thank you.
[1:17:34] The select board has voted
[1:17:37] 300 to recommend adoption for the
[1:17:40] advisory committee. I'll recognize Mr.
[1:17:42] Mark Cameron.
[1:17:53] 18 Virginia Lane, uh, vice
[1:17:56] chair of the advisory committee. The
[1:17:59] public safety building was presented to
[1:18:00] the capital budget committee, advisory
[1:18:03] committee, and the select board in the
[1:18:04] fall of 2025.
[1:18:06] As the various committees dug into the
[1:18:08] details, there were still some items
[1:18:10] that needed to be flushed out before
[1:18:11] putting the article in front of the
[1:18:13] community.
[1:18:14] The article was pulled from fall town
[1:18:16] meeting. The process works. The public
[1:18:19] safety committee flushed out the
[1:18:21] details, went through value management
[1:18:23] items, and we have a plan that will
[1:18:25] provide the Cohasset Police Department
[1:18:27] with a facility that meets current
[1:18:29] operations now and years to come without
[1:18:32] increasing police and fire staffing.
[1:18:37] 135 King Street will also help support
[1:18:40] the needs of the fire department
[1:18:41] operations on Elm Street by housing our
[1:18:44] back our existing backup fire engine in
[1:18:47] the shelled out garage space at 135 King
[1:18:50] Street. This frees up space on the Elm
[1:18:53] Street apparatus floor for our existing
[1:18:56] backup ambulance to be stocked with
[1:18:58] medicine and put into service at a
[1:19:00] moment's notice. This is currently not
[1:19:03] the case.
[1:19:05] The shelled out garage space allows for
[1:19:07] f future growth while providing current
[1:19:11] garage needs for critical DPW equipment
[1:19:13] and storms and a space for our school
[1:19:15] buses to receive regular on-site
[1:19:17] maintenance.
[1:19:19] The emergency management center will be
[1:19:21] relocated out of the Deer Hill and
[1:19:23] incorporated into the police station, a
[1:19:25] more appropriate location. It will also
[1:19:28] serve as a community room for in-person
[1:19:31] meetings. The advisory committee has
[1:19:34] voted 8 to1 with one abstension to
[1:19:36] support the police station at 135 King
[1:19:39] Street. Thank you.
[1:19:41] >> Thank you.
[1:19:46] Is there someone from Capital Budget
[1:19:48] that's going to speak?
[1:19:58] Kathy Forest from the capital budget
[1:20:00] committee 36 Parker Avenue.
[1:20:03] One remitt of the capital budget
[1:20:05] committee is to review infrastructure
[1:20:07] projects.
[1:20:09] This committee is separate from the
[1:20:10] public safety facilities committee and
[1:20:13] for this project we have functioned as
[1:20:15] another set of eyes to help the town
[1:20:17] evaluate this proposal.
[1:20:20] The four capital budget committee
[1:20:22] members who have voted to recommend
[1:20:23] article 21 started our work in earnest
[1:20:26] last September.
[1:20:28] The committee consisted of some
[1:20:30] longerterm members with the benefit of
[1:20:31] town history but also some brand new
[1:20:33] members with fresh perspectives.
[1:20:36] During September and early October,
[1:20:38] these four members of the CBC had weekly
[1:20:42] public meetings discussing this project
[1:20:44] directly with the architects, the
[1:20:46] project manager, the chiefs, and town
[1:20:49] management.
[1:20:50] We dug deep into the details of over 50
[1:20:54] documents that were provided to us,
[1:20:57] including existing condition reports for
[1:20:59] Elm Street and King Street,
[1:21:02] public safety staffing and programming
[1:21:04] descriptions,
[1:21:06] detailed site and building renderings,
[1:21:10] and line item cost estimates.
[1:21:13] Perhaps most impactful were the site
[1:21:16] visits that we made during that time.
[1:21:19] We toured the Elm Street station. We
[1:21:22] toured the emergency operations center
[1:21:24] in the Deer Hill basement.
[1:21:27] We toured 135 King Street.
[1:21:31] And most informative, we toured the
[1:21:33] Marshfield Police Station built in 2021,
[1:21:36] which provided a stark contrast to the
[1:21:40] work environment of our town police
[1:21:42] force. and it gave us a firsthand look
[1:21:45] at how police stations support the work
[1:21:48] of modern policing.
[1:21:51] After the select board expanded the
[1:21:53] public safety facilities committee to
[1:21:55] include additional citizens and subject
[1:21:57] matter experts, I was added to the
[1:22:00] committee as an exeicio member. At that
[1:22:03] time, we gained a new representative on
[1:22:06] the capital budget committee who
[1:22:07] unfortunately did not get the benefit of
[1:22:10] those previous extensive meetings or
[1:22:12] document reviews and did not take any
[1:22:14] facility tours.
[1:22:17] From that point, I provided updates
[1:22:19] about the project to the capital budget
[1:22:21] committee at every one of our meetings
[1:22:23] through March, and the CBC continued to
[1:22:26] spend significant time and effort
[1:22:29] pressure testing this proposal.
[1:22:32] We concluded that the current police
[1:22:34] station at Elm Street is outdated and
[1:22:36] inadequate for the requirements of today
[1:22:39] and going forward.
[1:22:41] Our chiefs have done a remarkable job
[1:22:44] keeping their work workforces effective
[1:22:47] in this facility.
[1:22:49] The current facility cannot be expanded
[1:22:52] cost-effectively to solve the complete
[1:22:54] problem but it can be modified to
[1:22:56] provide a suitable home for the fire
[1:22:58] department.
[1:23:00] The police department need a new
[1:23:02] facility, ideally on 3A, which provides
[1:23:06] the best access to the whole town.
[1:23:09] The building at 135 King Street does
[1:23:12] have challenges for its newly proposed
[1:23:15] use.
[1:23:17] The site and the building do need
[1:23:19] modifications to meet the requirements
[1:23:21] for a public safety facility.
[1:23:24] However, a review of other sites around
[1:23:27] 3A found them to be too small or subject
[1:23:30] to conservation restrictions or would
[1:23:32] also require extensive cost to make
[1:23:35] suitable. There are no other suitable
[1:23:38] locations on 3A in our little town.
[1:23:42] We also looked at comparables of
[1:23:44] facilities constructed in the last 10
[1:23:47] years based on town size.
[1:23:50] In this effort, we really struggled to
[1:23:52] get truly comparable data. We could,
[1:23:55] however, see that if adjusted for
[1:23:57] today's building prices, the new police
[1:24:00] facility at 135 King Street will be well
[1:24:03] within the range of what other
[1:24:04] facilities have cost to build.
[1:24:08] As a result of our deliberations, the
[1:24:10] capital budget committee recommends the
[1:24:12] approval of article 21. Thank you.
[1:24:22] Is there discussion
[1:24:28] recognize Mr. Collins first?
[1:24:31] >> Francis just was that did you have some
[1:24:34] concluding remarks?
[1:24:35] >> I'm going to be here to answer
[1:24:36] questions.
[1:24:37] >> Oh, okay.
[1:24:39] Somewhere around 35 or 40 years ago, we
[1:24:41] put a committee together to look at that
[1:24:44] building on Elm Street because there had
[1:24:46] been a lot of deferred maintenance.
[1:24:48] Place was really in bad shape and what
[1:24:50] can we do to make it better and most of
[1:24:53] the uh issues that officer Lennon raised
[1:24:56] tonight, we raised them 40 years ago and
[1:24:59] nothing was done. We just kept putting
[1:25:01] off and putting off and putting off. And
[1:25:03] as you know, as you put off and put off, up go the prices and up
[1:25:07] they go. To have proper policing in this
[1:25:09] town, to have proper facilities for
[1:25:11] these men to do their job that they're
[1:25:13] supposed to do, we need a new police
[1:25:15] station. You know, who wants to spend an
[1:25:17] extra $30 million if we don't have to.
[1:25:19] But we do have to. So, this is um this
[1:25:21] is something that we really and truly
[1:25:23] need. And I hope everybody thinks long
[1:25:25] and hard about it and gives it a good
[1:25:26] yes vote. Thank you.
[1:25:33] Um I've got the gentleman here and then
[1:25:35] I got two people right there.
[1:25:38] Sir,
[1:25:40] uh Jack Kraton, 20 uh three Cushing
[1:25:43] Road. I rise to urge my fellow towns
[1:25:46] people to vote enthusiastically for this
[1:25:50] project. It's a good project. I have
[1:25:52] been privileged to be in parts of it
[1:25:55] going back some 20 years. 20 years ago
[1:25:58] when I was first in the police station
[1:26:00] on the right side, I might add. Um it
[1:26:03] was horrible.
[1:26:05] Hasn't gotten any better. You've heard
[1:26:08] compelling evidence from various other
[1:26:11] boards and commissions who've looked at
[1:26:13] it and come to the same conclusion. It
[1:26:16] needs to go a new project. This project
[1:26:20] has been vetted. People have spent
[1:26:22] countless hours. I think we can all be
[1:26:25] confident that we have a winning
[1:26:26] proposal and I asked you to support it
[1:26:29] and yes there were some financial
[1:26:31] questions.
[1:26:33] Two three years ago there were some
[1:26:35] unfortunate budget projections.
[1:26:38] Fortunately
[1:26:40] all of that is gratefully in the past.
[1:26:43] So let's not let that
[1:26:46] influence today. Let us not be held
[1:26:49] hostage by that. Let's also look at the
[1:26:52] financing. Now, this is a debt
[1:26:54] exclusion, and what that means is, yes,
[1:26:57] we're going to uh up our taxes a little,
[1:27:01] but we only pay the taxes until the
[1:27:04] project is paid for and then it goes off
[1:27:07] the books. It's not an unending
[1:27:10] whatever. So, you can take comfort in
[1:27:12] that. What you hopefully agree to
[1:27:15] tonight
[1:27:16] will be paid for. And again, we are very
[1:27:20] fortunate. We have probably the finest
[1:27:23] small town police and fire department in
[1:27:25] the state, if not the nation. We should
[1:27:28] show our support. We should be grateful.
[1:27:31] And again, I ask each and every one of
[1:27:33] you to vote in favor of this project.
[1:27:36] Thank you. Thank you.
[1:27:42] » Let the woman over here, please.
[1:27:43] >> Uh, hi, Chrissy Francona, 55 Redgate
[1:27:46] Lane. Um, as the fifth member of the
[1:27:48] capital budget committee, I would like
[1:27:49] to just take issue with the comments
[1:27:51] that were made. I was the objecting
[1:27:53] vote. I have no issue with the fact that
[1:27:56] we need a new facility. That has never
[1:27:58] been my argument. My issue has been with
[1:28:00] the process, with the transparency of
[1:28:03] costs, and I think it was a pretty low
[1:28:05] blow to suggest otherwise. Thank you,
[1:28:14] » Mr. Jenkins.
[1:28:16] Jerusalem Road. I voted for the
[1:28:19] $10.4 million original price for this
[1:28:23] job. It's gone up three times. That's
[1:28:26] almost impossible to be done. And $32
[1:28:30] million plus, I know I'm going to say
[1:28:34] another 15 or 20,000. So, we're talking
[1:28:37] between 45 to 50 million to do this
[1:28:40] facility.
[1:28:42] Now, I've been told you can't count the
[1:28:44] interest. Well, that's the interest that
[1:28:46] everybody here pays for, so it should be
[1:28:49] counted. I just think we can do
[1:28:51] something better with this facility. I
[1:28:54] think we can do something better. So,
[1:28:55] thank you.
[1:28:57] >> Thank you,
[1:29:01] » uh, Mr. Dick. And then I've got the
[1:29:03] gentleman over here.
[1:29:05] >> Good evening. Mike Dick, 27 Parker
[1:29:08] Avenue.
[1:29:09] This is um a a clear community need. I
[1:29:14] also on the capital budget committee in
[1:29:17] 2023 voted for the $10.4 million.
[1:29:22] At that time we had a very similar
[1:29:24] presentation outlining the terrible
[1:29:28] conditions on Elm Street and the need
[1:29:30] for a new facility.
[1:29:32] and we were after much debate were able
[1:29:35] to agree to support that vote at town
[1:29:38] meeting. I I'm here to caution this town
[1:29:43] meeting and future town meetings
[1:29:46] that we have to be so careful about how
[1:29:49] much a budget can increase over time.
[1:29:55] And it's stunning to me that this
[1:29:57] project has
[1:29:59] increased so much from the original 10.4
[1:30:04] to meet the the same need that we've
[1:30:06] heard about tonight. I'm sure there are
[1:30:07] many reasons why, but I just ex I want
[1:30:11] us to exercise caution and be somewhat
[1:30:14] careful on how we approach this
[1:30:16] particular project. We have additional
[1:30:19] capital projects, I'm sure, in the
[1:30:22] pipeline.
[1:30:23] Um, if if there were time, I would ask
[1:30:26] both the advisory committee chair and
[1:30:27] the capital budget chair to outline what
[1:30:31] our futual future capital budget needs
[1:30:33] are over the next three years. The final
[1:30:36] point I'd like to make for us all
[1:30:38] tonight is that the projected $525
[1:30:42] additional tax on a $1 million valuation
[1:30:46] um comes on top of
[1:30:50] many dollars of increases we've
[1:30:52] experienced since 2023 in stabilization
[1:30:56] funds and and other reasons. So, I'm not
[1:31:00] saying vote no, but what I am saying is
[1:31:04] rem remember this night as we get future
[1:31:07] projects and how the town and its boards
[1:31:12] review these projects and make decisions
[1:31:14] for us. Thank you.
[1:31:16] >> Thank you.
[1:31:22] » Gentleman over here, please.
[1:31:23] >> Patrick Reen, 167 Pawn Street. Uh, I'm
[1:31:27] also the a sergeant and the K9 handler
[1:31:29] with the Kawas Police Department. I just
[1:31:31] wanted to say a couple of things
[1:31:32] regarding the project. Um, I'm lucky
[1:31:35] enough to be able to work and live in
[1:31:37] the same town. Uh, gives me the ability
[1:31:41] to, you know, help out as many people
[1:31:43] that I live near as I can. Um, and it's
[1:31:47] been a pleasure to be able to do that
[1:31:49] for almost 20 years. Um, this isn't a
[1:31:53] question of whether or not we need the a
[1:31:55] new department. we do need it and it's
[1:31:57] going to have to happen at some point.
[1:31:59] Uh we've been trying to do this for 20
[1:32:01] years. Um and we've just continued to
[1:32:03] kick the can down the road. Um one of
[1:32:06] the issues that I just want to touch on
[1:32:09] real quick is is recruitment. You know,
[1:32:11] we've taken a long time to build the
[1:32:14] department to have quality officers that
[1:32:16] we have today. And we're trying to keep
[1:32:18] these officers. You know, these are the
[1:32:20] people that are responding to your homes
[1:32:21] at 2 in the morning. you know, all hours
[1:32:23] of the day, you know, we're dealing
[1:32:24] with, you know, we're not running, you
[1:32:26] know, from bank robbery to bank robbery.
[1:32:28] This is Cohassid, you know, like we're
[1:32:30] not this we're a community-based police
[1:32:32] department. We serve different needs
[1:32:34] than bigger cities and towns. We're able
[1:32:36] to give you guys the service that you
[1:32:40] deserve. Um, you know, we have that
[1:32:43] ability to do that. Well, in order to
[1:32:45] have that ability, we need to hire
[1:32:47] people that aren't just intelligent, but
[1:32:48] that are emotionally intelligent. You
[1:32:50] know, we, as you've seen in the last 5
[1:32:53] to 10 years, policing's changed a lot.
[1:32:56] We we aren't concerned with just
[1:32:58] strictly crime anymore. We are dealing
[1:33:00] with mental health crisis. We're dealing
[1:33:02] with drug issues. We're dealing with
[1:33:05] people uh that with things that we never
[1:33:08] had to deal with uh you know, 10, 15, 20
[1:33:11] years ago. Know when we respond to your
[1:33:14] homes, you want us to be able to talk to
[1:33:16] you to communicate effectively. you
[1:33:18] know, when you guys uh having issues or
[1:33:20] your family's having issues or friends,
[1:33:22] mental health is has exploded in the
[1:33:25] last 5 to 10 years. We're trying to
[1:33:27] recruit people that have the ability to
[1:33:30] speak to you and deescalate situations, with your loved
[1:33:34] ones, you know, the the the type of
[1:33:36] officer it's hard to find. Like you
[1:33:39] you've seen things from around the
[1:33:40] country, you know, it's hard to find a
[1:33:42] qual, you know, quality people that can
[1:33:44] handle that, you know, that can jump
[1:33:46] from thing to thing. Um, and I just
[1:33:49] wanted to um, you know, say that what
[1:33:51] that's the type of officer that we're
[1:33:53] looking for. We're hiring right now and
[1:33:54] I'm on the hiring committee.
[1:33:57] You want us to be selective. You know,
[1:33:59] you want us to be able to pick people
[1:34:00] that can handle these things that are
[1:34:03] well-rounded. Um, it's really important
[1:34:05] in the station, a new station where
[1:34:07] these officers can actually work and and
[1:34:09] do the job correctly and interview
[1:34:11] people correctly and and and serve you
[1:34:13] guys with the things that you need. It's extremely important be uh you know
[1:34:19] we're in a recruitment crisis across the
[1:34:21] country so it's a buyer market for us
[1:34:23] you know I'm invested I live here I'm
[1:34:25] not going anywhere you know and there's
[1:34:26] a few others that are too but you know
[1:34:28] there's other places that they can go we
[1:34:30] people have options now used to you know
[1:34:32] it used to be very very hard to get this
[1:34:34] job and now in the last 5 to 10 years we
[1:34:37] have to be very selective about who we
[1:34:39] pick because they can go elsewhere so
[1:34:42] you know just for my friends family and
[1:34:44] neighbors or you know we'd like to be
[1:34:46] able to provide the best services we
[1:34:48] can. So that's all I want to say.
[1:34:50] >> Thank you
[1:34:57] gentlemen over here.
[1:34:58] >> Thank you Justin 72 Lambert's Lane. Um
[1:35:02] you know I want to fully support and I
[1:35:04] think everybody in this room supports
[1:35:06] the police and fire department in this
[1:35:07] town. Um I like many of you voted
[1:35:10] enthusiastically for the 10.4 million
[1:35:12] two years ago. Um, uh, one question I do
[1:35:16] have, so this is the second override as
[1:35:18] part of this project. What has not been
[1:35:20] outlined in this is the Elm Street
[1:35:23] renovation as it relates to the fire
[1:35:25] department. And originally, by the way,
[1:35:27] we all know we voted for a police and
[1:35:29] fire station for $10.4 million. We're at
[1:35:32] 32 million and that that amount is is
[1:35:37] not um defined yet. And my concern is
[1:35:40] we're going to be back here a year from
[1:35:41] now asking for another five, six, seven
[1:35:43] million in order to do that project.
[1:35:46] It's going to be a third override. And
[1:35:48] then two years from now, we're going to
[1:35:49] be sitting here with a multiund million
[1:35:51] dollar question in front of this entire
[1:35:53] town when the school planning committee
[1:35:56] comes to us and asks us for another
[1:35:58] override. So, um, I' I'd like to just
[1:36:01] get some clarification as it relates to
[1:36:03] the Elm Street property. Has there been
[1:36:05] research done in order to estimate any
[1:36:08] ballpark whatsoever with regards to that
[1:36:10] renovation?
[1:36:11] >> We have uh earlier this evening
[1:36:15] $150,000
[1:36:16] was uh appropriated so we can begin to
[1:36:19] take a look in depth at what uh can be
[1:36:22] done at Elm Street. We do know what uh
[1:36:24] the requirements of the fire department
[1:36:26] going forward are. There are many things
[1:36:28] that are uh not meeting regulatory
[1:36:30] compliance. And so we're going to take a close look at that now, starting with
[1:36:34] the money we got tonight, but that
[1:36:36] project will probably be at least two
[1:36:40] maybe three years away before we can
[1:36:41] come in with a um price because uh
[1:36:44] nothing can happen till the police move
[1:36:46] out and prices three years out can't be
[1:36:49] estimated today. But we're going to
[1:36:50] start taking a look at that now and
[1:36:52] we'll give you regular updates. We do
[1:36:54] have a uh uh social media website page,
[1:36:58] Facebook page. Uh we'll keep updating
[1:37:00] that uh with Elm Street information as
[1:37:02] we go along. Also,
[1:37:04] >> thank you.
[1:37:05] Woman here, please.
[1:37:07] >> Hi, uh Nina Welfford, um 231 South Main
[1:37:11] Street. I wasn't planning to speak
[1:37:13] tonight, but just sitting here thinking
[1:37:15] uh watching that presentation, which
[1:37:17] I've now seen twice, and thinking about
[1:37:19] what our police department has had to
[1:37:21] put up with for the last 50 years, it is
[1:37:22] deplorable. I mean, I think most of us
[1:37:24] can agree on that. So, I don't think I
[1:37:27] think it boils down to the cost. Okay?
[1:37:30] And all of us are well most of us are
[1:37:34] dismayed about how things have changed
[1:37:36] in the last few years and probably
[1:37:38] aren't real thrilled with the process
[1:37:40] that we were brought through to get to
[1:37:41] this point. But my point right now is
[1:37:43] this project is not going to ever get
[1:37:45] any cheaper. Um, and I would speak the
[1:37:49] reason I felt like I had to say that is
[1:37:50] I was involved and kind of in still
[1:37:53] involved in trying to get a project done
[1:37:55] in a neighboring town that's a small
[1:37:57] commercial building and we raised the
[1:38:00] money for it five years ago. Could not
[1:38:02] decide on what to do with it. The
[1:38:05] program just languished because nobody
[1:38:07] could make up their mind on what to do
[1:38:09] with this need that we all had the need,
[1:38:11] but nobody could come to a decision
[1:38:13] about how to do it. That average square
[1:38:16] footage for that building 5 years ago
[1:38:18] was $400 per square foot. Now the price
[1:38:21] for that building is $1,000 per square
[1:38:24] foot. And it's the delay in our time to
[1:38:27] make the decision that has completely
[1:38:29] put to waste all that money that we
[1:38:30] raised. You know, we've h haved
[1:38:32] basically the the value of that money we
[1:38:34] raised. It's sad and but that is the
[1:38:36] reality that we face today, I think. And
[1:38:39] I don't see this getting any cheaper.
[1:38:41] Um, so if you agree with the need, which
[1:38:44] now I do, I'm convinced thoroughly and I
[1:38:47] think that this building is not extreme
[1:38:49] when I look at what's been put into it
[1:38:51] and what our needs are. If we're
[1:38:53] building something for the future, I
[1:38:55] don't think this is extreme. So if it's
[1:38:57] $27,000 square feet at $1,000 a square
[1:39:00] foot, that's $27 million. So where we
[1:39:03] are, it's probably more than that for
[1:39:05] the kinds of specialized equipment we
[1:39:06] need compared to a regular commercial
[1:39:09] building at 1,000 a square foot. So I
[1:39:11] actually think this is not exorbitant. I
[1:39:14] think we need the we need it and we need
[1:39:16] it now because it's only going to get
[1:39:17] more expensive. Thank you.
[1:39:20] >> Thank you,
[1:39:24] sir.
[1:39:29] Charlie DSantis uh 103 Forest A.
[1:39:35] Let me
[1:39:37] put a little bit more rain on this
[1:39:38] project and hear me out and see if I can
[1:39:42] get some agreement here.
[1:39:48] I see the problem of this project is two parts. We have cost and location.
[1:39:56] As I noted before,
[1:39:59] our first estimate was 10.7 million back
[1:40:02] a number of years and of course now it's
[1:40:05] over 30 million.
[1:40:07] We have Quinsey and we have Hangingham
[1:40:11] that have set two warning bells
[1:40:13] clanging.
[1:40:15] Quinsey's project just finished
[1:40:18] 175 million. The place looks like the
[1:40:21] Taj Mahal
[1:40:23] just down the road in Hangum. They com
[1:40:26] just completed their project and they
[1:40:29] may even have some invoices outstanding
[1:40:32] and it stands at 53 million.
[1:40:36] So I mean it seems to me but this is a
[1:40:38] race that maybe we don't want to be in
[1:40:41] timing.
[1:40:43] Presently we have a war with pressures
[1:40:47] not only to cohass it but the entire
[1:40:50] world's economy and this situation has
[1:40:53] never been seen never before seen in our
[1:40:55] lifetimes.
[1:40:57] Respected economists,
[1:40:59] political scientists, historians and
[1:41:01] journalists are predicting at best a
[1:41:04] deep recession
[1:41:06] with many calling it a future
[1:41:09] depression.
[1:41:11] With every day the straight of her moves
[1:41:13] is closed, the length the economic hit
[1:41:17] grows. Right now, the consensus is a
[1:41:20] four year four-year deep recession if
[1:41:24] we're lucky.
[1:41:26] I say this is not the time for loading
[1:41:28] up with additional debt. We can expect a
[1:41:31] really a yearly debt service bill for
[1:41:35] this project. Um I'm estimating
[1:41:39] um for the numbers uh thrown about here
[1:41:42] today about a 1.6 million a year uh debt
[1:41:47] payment which is equivalent to about
[1:41:50] five afternoon kindergartens that we
[1:41:53] weren't able to fund
[1:41:55] at the last town meeting. So think of
[1:41:57] that. This is a sizable amount of money
[1:42:00] in debt service. Next problem I see is
[1:42:03] the location.
[1:42:05] The present location is on a quiet,
[1:42:07] wide, rural New England street near the
[1:42:10] town hall and the center of town where
[1:42:13] the former one first set.
[1:42:16] Proposed location moves it from the
[1:42:19] center of town and places on a very busy
[1:42:21] commuter link to Boston and our own very
[1:42:24] busy commercial thoroughfare. This
[1:42:27] creates a daunting challenge of entrance
[1:42:29] and egress for everyone, especially for
[1:42:32] people my age.
[1:42:34] solution. What could that be? What
[1:42:39] the words I'm going to use are repair,
[1:42:42] renew, and remain in place.
[1:42:46] I didn't come up with this. The town of
[1:42:48] Bedford, Massachusetts did. They're up
[1:42:50] on the north and west of us, and they
[1:42:53] had a problem similar to us. An old
[1:42:55] building, originally the town library,
[1:42:58] converted to a police station in 1961.
[1:43:02] It was showing its age, benign benign
[1:43:05] neglect of some routine maintenance and
[1:43:09] a severe need of some changes and
[1:43:12] controvers
[1:43:14] and and much controversy they had on the
[1:43:18] solution.
[1:43:19] The town liked the co location, but they
[1:43:22] thought they were trapped into new
[1:43:24] costly into a new costly solution
[1:43:27] somewhere far from the town center. What
[1:43:30] they did was remarkable.
[1:43:33] They decided to repair,
[1:43:36] renew the present place, and remain in
[1:43:39] place.
[1:43:40] >> A time check, sir. You've got You're at
[1:43:42] four minutes. You got one minute left.
[1:43:44] >> I I got two minutes more to read.
[1:43:46] >> No, you got one minute left, sir. Just
[1:43:48] >> I can't do it. One minute. I'll do my
[1:43:49] best. Just Just hear me out.
[1:43:51] >> You got five minutes. You got one
[1:43:52] minute.
[1:43:52] >> Decided to repair, renew, and remain in
[1:43:55] place. They accomplished their goals by
[1:43:58] spending a total of 6 million on a
[1:44:02] project that was on time and on budget, How? By staying in place,
[1:44:09] they avoided the prohibitive cost, as in
[1:44:11] the case of Cohass's proposal of
[1:44:14] repurposing an existing building and
[1:44:17] having to meet all of today's code for
[1:44:20] police headquarters. Their tactic, do
[1:44:23] nothing to the existing structure that
[1:44:25] forces the new building code
[1:44:27] requirements.
[1:44:29] Avoid structural changes that would
[1:44:30] exceed the threshold requiring new
[1:44:33] building code requirements. Thus,
[1:44:35] avoiding such headaches as a full fire
[1:44:37] suppression.
[1:44:38] >> Sir, you now are at five. I'm
[1:44:39] >> not finished. Sir, you every citizen has
[1:44:43] five minutes. I'm going to have to ask
[1:44:44] you to
[1:44:45] >> one more minute. I'm reading slow. I'm
[1:44:47] >> I'm sorry. Yes,
[1:44:48] >> please. Yeah. Um,
[1:44:52] » see. Okay.
[1:44:53] >> Can you just summarize Can you summarize
[1:44:55] the remainder, please? Thank you.
[1:44:58] >> Okay. Sure.
[1:44:58] >> I I'll finish it for him.
[1:45:00] >> Very quickly, please. Jennifer Chu, 25
[1:45:03] Virginia,
[1:45:05] avoid structural changes that would
[1:45:07] exceed the threshold requiring new
[1:45:10] building code requirements, thus
[1:45:12] avoiding such headaches as a full fire
[1:45:14] suppression system, a seismic compliant
[1:45:17] foundation, etc.
[1:45:20] Their instructions to their architect
[1:45:22] engineer avoid any changes that cross
[1:45:25] this threshold. This they did. They have
[1:45:29] a new facility right in the middle of
[1:45:32] town where it belongs and something that
[1:45:35] they believe will serve them for at
[1:45:37] least another 60 years.
[1:45:41] Remember, this project does not have to
[1:45:44] burden us particularly in the bumpy
[1:45:46] times ahead. Repair, renew, remain in
[1:45:51] place.
[1:45:52] >> Thank you.
[1:45:56] I would like to add um my own commentary
[1:45:59] to this as well. So, a major concern for
[1:46:03] me and I've got many uh none of which
[1:46:07] are the police and I do hope that we can
[1:46:10] get to a spot sooner rather than later
[1:46:13] where it is feasible. Perhaps that you
[1:46:16] do renew repair and remain in place or
[1:46:19] something different that will meet the
[1:46:22] needs of all the citizens. The location
[1:46:24] is absolutely problematic. It's
[1:46:27] problematic for people with mobility
[1:46:29] issues, and it's problematic for people
[1:46:32] entering and exiting regardless of their
[1:46:35] age.
[1:46:36] I was passing in front of the new
[1:46:39] building about a month ago, and there
[1:46:41] was an officer, I'm not sure which one,
[1:46:44] but he was in a pickup truck that had
[1:46:46] lights on that was trying to exit the
[1:46:49] facility. And the fact of the matter is
[1:46:52] that about five cars passed without
[1:46:55] stopping in either direction, not
[1:46:58] recognizing that he was trying to exit
[1:47:00] the lot.
[1:47:02] Additionally, and I know this because my
[1:47:05] son was in karate at that building,
[1:47:07] there are huge issues with water
[1:47:10] freezing and completely turning that
[1:47:13] particular drive into a an ice sheet at
[1:47:18] the time when there is extreme weather.
[1:47:23] Finally, I would like to say that I
[1:47:26] think it's been extremely problematic on
[1:47:29] the part of many members of these
[1:47:31] committees that they have made people
[1:47:33] that have questions, concerns, or
[1:47:36] objections feel that they have no right
[1:47:39] to ask. If you've got information and
[1:47:42] you're able to share it, then you can
[1:47:44] bring people on board and get them
[1:47:47] aligned with what your decision is. But
[1:47:49] if you yell at them and belittle them,
[1:47:52] it's not going to help your cause. Thank
[1:47:55] you.
[1:47:57] >> Thank you.
[1:47:59] Uh let's see. I see center here and then
[1:48:02] back there and then up front. Go ahead.
[1:48:04] >> Pam Ireland, 66 Nichols Road. Um I have
[1:48:08] some questions.
[1:48:10] Number one, I was struck by the comment
[1:48:12] that there are no comps or no reasonable
[1:48:16] comps. I found that very confusing. uh
[1:48:18] particularly with the number of towns
[1:48:20] nearby including even on 3A where we've
[1:48:24] had recent construction of public safety
[1:48:26] buildings and related to that um based
[1:48:30] on my research the cost for this
[1:48:32] building at a square foot level is about
[1:48:35] somewhere between $1300 and $1,400 a
[1:48:38] square foot and yet Hangingham appears
[1:48:42] to have only been at about $1,000 a
[1:48:45] square foot situ. That's not as good a
[1:48:48] comp because they already own the land
[1:48:50] and I realize that. But I wonder if you
[1:48:52] could clarify the difference in the cost
[1:48:55] per square foot.
[1:48:57] >> I think that the cost per square foot is
[1:49:00] comparable in all of the buildings
[1:49:01] you've seen uh built around in the last
[1:49:04] uh few years. It is in the thousandish
[1:49:07] dollar range. Uh that's what it is
[1:49:10] today. There's no way to get around
[1:49:11] that. It's very difficult to compare to
[1:49:14] other towns and what they've built and
[1:49:16] why because every police department
[1:49:18] operates differently. Every town is
[1:49:20] different. There are towns that people
[1:49:23] have suggested we should take a look at
[1:49:25] for benchmarking which we did. And we
[1:49:27] find things like they don't have a
[1:49:29] commuter rail. They don't have a state
[1:49:30] park. They don't they don't have um a
[1:49:33] local school district. They have a
[1:49:35] regional school district. They don't
[1:49:36] have a harbor. So there is a very
[1:49:39] difficult problem in trying to benchmark
[1:49:41] what other towns have spent and the size
[1:49:43] of the buildings they have um
[1:49:45] constructed. So we think uh ours is
[1:49:47] right where it should be costwise
[1:49:49] comparable to the others and we think
[1:49:51] that the size and the functionality that
[1:49:53] we've designed is exactly what our
[1:49:55] police department needs.
[1:49:59] >> Thank you Mr. McGowan.
[1:50:01] >> Yes. Good evening everyone. My name is
[1:50:02] Bill McGowan 29 Fernway. Uh this is the
[1:50:06] first time in my 35 years in this town
[1:50:08] to speak other than as a sewer
[1:50:10] commissioner. Uh I feel strongly about
[1:50:13] this project. Um unfortunately I'm also
[1:50:16] in the building industry and do things
[1:50:18] internationally.
[1:50:20] And I see this type of debate all the
[1:50:23] time. I don't care in what country. What
[1:50:25] I would like to ask you to look at is
[1:50:27] the fact that the people that have been
[1:50:28] hired, the experts that have been hired,
[1:50:30] the architects, the engineers are not
[1:50:32] doing this for our angst. They're doing
[1:50:34] this for the benefit of the town and
[1:50:36] sometimes that gets it gets out because
[1:50:38] you're looking at the money. I also want
[1:50:41] to mention that probably a lot of you
[1:50:43] here I for one and had a family member
[1:50:47] who was in need of the services of the
[1:50:49] police and the fire about a year and a
[1:50:51] half ago, two years ago. And I was
[1:50:54] absolutely amazed that the police were
[1:50:56] at my front door within two and a half
[1:50:59] to three minutes. even more amazed. Two
[1:51:02] minutes after that was an ambulance.
[1:51:04] Thankfully, we didn't need the services
[1:51:07] at that time. Uh but they were there.
[1:51:11] I think we have to look beyond cost at
[1:51:14] this point because we can kick this can
[1:51:16] down the road. We can do everything we
[1:51:17] want with that can, but at some point in
[1:51:20] time, we have to pick it up and use it.
[1:51:23] And I think we should look at what the
[1:51:24] benefits are and vote yes for this. As I
[1:51:28] see it, it is a no choice, no problem
[1:51:30] situation. Thank you very much.
[1:51:33] >> Thank you.
[1:51:39] Mr. Moderator. Thank you for
[1:51:40] your years of service to our community.
[1:51:41] Uh my name is Craig Mlen. I reside at 8
[1:51:44] Rustic Drive. I move to question.
[1:51:47] Um we've have a motion to move the
[1:51:49] question. I'd actually seen Miss Jenkins
[1:51:51] up here, so I will recognize her and
[1:51:52] then we will proceed to Mr. Mlullen's
[1:51:55] motion to stop debate.
[1:51:57] Leonor Jenkins, 198 Jerusalem Road. I've
[1:52:00] been listening to questions about
[1:52:02] traffic in that area and since they have
[1:52:05] started the construction of that brand
[1:52:07] new storage facility right next door,
[1:52:10] I'm wondering has there been any
[1:52:12] accommodation thought of of how that's
[1:52:14] going to be handled with the traffic
[1:52:15] situation?
[1:52:18] » I'm not sure I understand your question.
[1:52:22] >> Well, you know where the storage
[1:52:23] facility is, right, Glenn?
[1:52:25] >> Indeed, I do. Indeed. You know, so we
[1:52:26] have the traffic coming out from the
[1:52:29] apartments
[1:52:31] and then we're going to have the traffic
[1:52:33] coming out from the storage facility to
[1:52:37] also add to congestion in that area. And
[1:52:41] I know how congested that area is
[1:52:43] because I'm usually taking that left off
[1:52:46] of Sawyer Street to go down to the
[1:52:48] racket club in the morning and it's uh
[1:52:51] just a mess. So, are we putting in any
[1:52:54] type of uh traffic signals or something
[1:52:59] or how, as Miss Chu said, when she saw
[1:53:04] the police trying to get out, they were
[1:53:06] having difficulty getting out of that
[1:53:08] location.
[1:53:10] >> So, the the traffic volume and traffic
[1:53:13] counts uh that generally are associated
[1:53:15] with um storage facilities are low. Uh
[1:53:18] the Avalon project is there. So that's
[1:53:21] established. The state uh department of
[1:53:24] uh DOT mass highway uh has a long range
[1:53:28] plan which is now out and starting to be
[1:53:30] formulated that will commence after they
[1:53:33] finish the work they're doing south of
[1:53:34] Beachwood Street and it involves the
[1:53:37] area from Soya Street north on 3A. uh it
[1:53:41] rearranges the entire traffic flow, the
[1:53:43] lanes, and one of the considerations
[1:53:45] that's in part of their planning is
[1:53:47] traffic uh control signals for this
[1:53:50] public safety building. We've been in
[1:53:52] touch with them. There's nothing that
[1:53:53] can be talked about or done just yet,
[1:53:55] but it is on the docket. We know about
[1:53:57] it and uh we'll certainly be
[1:53:58] participating in whatever those plans
[1:54:00] are. One of the things that uh you
[1:54:03] should know is that many times police
[1:54:06] cruisers uh respond to an incident from
[1:54:09] their patrol, not not from a base
[1:54:11] station like the fire department. So the
[1:54:13] seeming uh frequency of police cars
[1:54:16] coming out maybe less than you might
[1:54:17] think.
[1:54:19] >> Well, thank you very much because I know
[1:54:20] that has been an issue for several
[1:54:22] years. People have complained about
[1:54:24] trying to get onto 3A from Sawyer
[1:54:26] Street.
[1:54:26] >> Thank you.
[1:54:27] very much. So, we've had a
[1:54:29] motion to move the question there or
[1:54:30] sec. Is there a second?
[1:54:32] >> Thank you. The motion has been made.
[1:54:33] It's seconded. It's not debatable. What
[1:54:35] that does is if it passes, it will stop
[1:54:37] debate and then we'll proceed to a vote
[1:54:39] on the main motion. So, the motion to
[1:54:41] move the question or stop debate
[1:54:43] requires twothirds vote for adoption.
[1:54:46] All those in favor of the motion to stop
[1:54:48] debate, please signify by saying I.
[1:54:50] >> I.
[1:54:51] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[1:54:53] saying nay.
[1:54:54] >> Nay. The motion passes by the requisite
[1:54:57] two-thirds vote. So we will now proceed
[1:54:59] to a vote on the main motion. We'll
[1:55:01] start with a voice vote. Does require
[1:55:03] two-thirds vote for adoption.
[1:55:05] All those in favor of the main motion
[1:55:07] under article 21, please signify by
[1:55:09] saying I.
[1:55:10] >> I.
[1:55:11] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[1:55:13] saying nay.
[1:55:14] >> Nay.
[1:55:15] >> The article did carry with a requisite
[1:55:17] twothirds majority.
[1:55:27] Okay, we've got more than seven people
[1:55:29] doubting my count, which is legit. It's
[1:55:32] fine to do. Um, so we will proceed to a
[1:55:34] vote um with their hand ballots. Can I
[1:55:36] ask the tellers to please take their
[1:55:38] stations, so don't bother putting your
[1:55:40] hands up yet. They got to get to their
[1:55:42] stations. We've got a big big audience,
[1:55:44] so it's going to take them a while to uh to
[1:55:50] do the count. So, we're going to get a
[1:55:52] little arm exercise here.
[1:56:06] » So, what you're not Don't you don't need
[1:56:08] to do it yet, but when you're going to
[1:56:09] be voting, hold up your pink card.
[1:56:12] Little the little pink slip of paper.
[1:56:25] Debbie and Michael, you guys find your
[1:56:26] tape.
[1:56:31] Okay. Um All right. All those in favor,
[1:56:35] please hold up your slip of paper. Hold
[1:56:37] it up tall. Got a lot of counting to do.
[1:56:40] And just leave it up in the air, please,
[1:56:41] for us all.
[1:57:32] Please keep your hands up.
[1:57:49] Debbie and Michael, which one of you is
[1:57:50] counting that section?
[1:57:56] » All right, keep going, please.
[1:58:03] » Okay, teller's all good. Look at me,
[1:58:05] please. Teller's all good. Thank you,
[1:58:08] Debbie and Michael. You guys good?
[1:58:12] >> Yes.
[1:58:13] >> Okay. All right. You hands down, please.
[1:58:17] >> All right. Stay at your stations,
[1:58:18] please. Write down the count and then
[1:58:20] stay at your stations.
[1:58:31] Okay. All those opposed, please hold
[1:58:33] your hand up. Pink slip. Please hold
[1:58:36] them up high.
[1:59:43] Okay, Debbie and Michael, you guys good?
[1:59:46] >> Yes.
[1:59:46] >> Okay, you can put your hands down. Thank
[1:59:48] you. Give me a little bit of time. We'll
[1:59:50] do the count, please.
[2:01:31] Okay, the count is in favor 293
[2:01:35] opposed 129. That is the requisite
[2:01:39] twothirds vote. So the motion passes.
[2:01:51] Thank you. We will proceed to article
[2:01:54] 22,
[2:01:56] resolution for the town of Cohasset's
[2:01:58] municipal services to reach 50% net zero
[2:02:01] greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and
[2:02:05] 100% by 2050.
[2:02:07] May I have a motion in the form
[2:02:09] distributed to the meeting?
[2:02:10] >> Thank you. May I have a second?
[2:02:12] >> Thank you. The motion has been made and
[2:02:14] seconded. Does require majority vote for
[2:02:17] adoption for the alternative.
[2:02:21] >> Thank you.
[2:02:22] >> Uh, alternative energy committee.
[2:02:26] » Okay. Um,
[2:02:29] good evening. Um, I'm Debbie Cook. I'm a
[2:02:32] vice chair of the Alternative Energy
[2:02:34] Committee. I live at 281 King Street and
[2:02:37] we're here to talk about um a
[2:02:40] non-binding resolution um for the town's
[2:02:44] um just the municipal side including the
[2:02:47] schools. Um that basically the
[2:02:51] resolution will support this um a
[2:02:55] commitment by the town to reach 50%
[2:02:58] greenhouse gas reduction by 2030 and
[2:03:01] 100% net zero greenhouse gas reduction
[2:03:05] by 2050
[2:03:07] and approving this is good governance.
[2:03:12] Since 2020 carbon reduction goals have
[2:03:15] been codified.
[2:03:17] The state has mandated that towns reach
[2:03:20] these greenhouse gas goals.
[2:03:23] So, as you can see, there was in 2020 a
[2:03:26] decarbonization road map and in 2025 it
[2:03:30] was made state law.
[2:03:36] Um so the state the state's um uh
[2:03:42] codified greenhouse gas emissions
[2:03:44] reduction is based on 1990 uh greenhouse
[2:03:49] gas emissions for every town and um so basically we would have to do 30%
[2:03:58] um by um I mean 50% by 2030 and uh 100%
[2:04:04] by 2050.
[2:04:07] So right now actually just as a point of
[2:04:10] fact um our greenhouse gas emissions in
[2:04:14] coacassid have increased in the last
[2:04:16] eight years by 3%. We've gone from 77
[2:04:20] metric tons to 80,000
[2:04:23] 77,000 metric tons to 88,000 to 80,000
[2:04:28] in 2025. So we're kind of going in the
[2:04:31] wrong way.
[2:04:39] Okay.
[2:04:41] So, um as you can see the secretary
[2:04:51] um has established programs to reduce
[2:04:54] emissions of greenhouse gases and the
[2:04:57] important thing is uh to promulgate
[2:05:00] greenhouse gas uh regulations. So we
[2:05:05] have to be prepared um to to address
[2:05:08] those and that's what this resolution
[2:05:11] will start us on the road to do. It's
[2:05:14] good governance to get ahead of what's in store for us.
[2:05:26] So um so one of the things that they say
[2:05:30] is that we are going to have to um have
[2:05:32] plans and um so all the municipalities
[2:05:37] will have to be submitting them um and
[2:05:40] uh municipal governments are called for
[2:05:43] building and transportation projects.
[2:05:49] So, as you can see,
[2:05:52] we have state law that we're going to
[2:05:54] have to comply with, but we also have
[2:05:58] another side, which is the green
[2:06:00] community program. The town has been
[2:06:03] really fortunate to have received over a
[2:06:06] million dollars from the greenhouse uh
[2:06:09] from the green community program, but
[2:06:11] that is we've reached our threshold. So
[2:06:15] the next step is called climate leaders
[2:06:17] and that's a five-step program. Um this
[2:06:22] resolution is one of the five steps and
[2:06:26] um it's actually the third step. So
[2:06:29] we've already done two of the steps.
[2:06:34] » Just a time check, you're at four
[2:06:36] minutes, please.
[2:06:40] So, um, the last thing is, um, I I just
[2:06:43] wanted to discuss this decision tree
[2:06:45] because I think it's really important.
[2:06:48] If if you go down on the no side, if you
[2:06:51] don't pass this, um, the town is not
[2:06:54] going to be eligible for future funding,
[2:06:57] and we'll have to do what we um, the
[2:07:00] best we can with volunteer resources.
[2:07:03] Um, if we do pass this, the town will be
[2:07:07] eligible for grants and fundings through
[2:07:10] as we work towards the climate leaders
[2:07:12] program. We will we can get funding
[2:07:14] through there, but we also can get
[2:07:17] technical assistance grants now um
[2:07:20] without even reaching climate leader
[2:07:22] status. So, it's very important. Um, as
[2:07:26] you can see, the it's non-binding. It
[2:07:29] doesn't require the town to spend any
[2:07:31] money at this point. It is just allowing
[2:07:35] the town to go forward and make plans.
[2:07:39] >> Thank you.
[2:07:45] » Questions?
[2:07:46] >> The select board has recommended
[2:07:48] approval by a vote of four to zero. And
[2:07:50] actually, I don't have the the advisory
[2:07:52] committee was going to be give a
[2:07:53] recommendation at town meeting. Is there
[2:07:55] somebody from advisory committee that
[2:07:56] could indicate what your recommendation
[2:07:58] is?
[2:08:02] It looks like the advisory committee
[2:08:03] does not have a recommendation.
[2:08:06] Is there discussion? Mr. Jenkins,
[2:08:08] >> Leland Jenkins, Jerusalem Road. If we go
[2:08:11] with zero%
[2:08:14] release, what will it cost the town in uh 2050
[2:08:19] to get to that point?
[2:08:22] >> Well,
[2:08:23] that is that's way out of my wheelhouse.
[2:08:27] Um I think the the the important thing
[2:08:30] is is that this is this does not commit
[2:08:33] us to anything except just agreeing to
[2:08:36] go forward doing the research. So you
[2:08:41] know if we if we don't do it we don't um
[2:08:45] you know qualify for grants to go
[2:08:47] forward. The next step is to go for a a
[2:08:51] grant for decarbonization because we
[2:08:54] want to do a decarbonization plan.
[2:08:58] >> Thank you, sir. Jay Whitney Howerin, 18
[2:09:01] Rustic Drive and Cohassid. So, similar
[2:09:04] to what Mr. Jenkins just said, we're
[2:09:06] living in a town where we're very keen
[2:09:08] on cost. What is this going to cost us?
[2:09:11] Here we are. I think some might think
[2:09:14] unrealistic green goals decided by the
[2:09:16] state are going to cost us more money
[2:09:18] and hamstring the town's ability to run.
[2:09:21] So, how do we explain that? What are
[2:09:23] some costs of of voting? No. Do you have
[2:09:26] any idea?
[2:09:27] >> You basically, as I said, this is
[2:09:30] statemandated. So, this is something
[2:09:33] that we're going to have to address.
[2:09:34] We'd rather get ahead of it and get the
[2:09:37] grants than wait for being told what we
[2:09:40] have to do because that's that it's
[2:09:43] codified. It's law.
[2:09:45] >> However, you don't have any idea of
[2:09:47] cost.
[2:09:49] >> Not yet. We have to do the plans. We
[2:09:52] have to do the decarbonization plans.
[2:09:54] And don't forget this is only on the
[2:09:56] municipal side right now. And we're
[2:09:58] already I I want you to know we have an
[2:10:02] agreement with National Grid right now.
[2:10:04] We have anou with them. National grid is
[2:10:07] working with us to decarbonize our plant. And I was on a
[2:10:12] call with National Grid today and the
[2:10:16] town hall is going to be 100% electric.
[2:10:19] So it's really we're really making
[2:10:23] progress.
[2:10:24] >> Many of us are we're going green. Many
[2:10:27] of us. However, the the pace the pace is
[2:10:31] unrealistic. I think that's we've seen
[2:10:32] that time and time again. An unrealistic
[2:10:36] uh plan, if you will, that just ends up
[2:10:38] costing the state more, taxpayers more
[2:10:40] everywhere. And that's that's the point.
[2:10:42] So, I think it would be good for you to
[2:10:43] come back with some costs. For example,
[2:10:45] right now, what is it costing us to as
[2:10:48] things are today? 88,000 metric tons,
[2:10:50] 77,000 metric tonses. What is that in
[2:10:53] dollars and cents, please?
[2:10:55] >> I'm sorry that it this is to enable us
[2:10:59] to go forward. We understand that
[2:11:01] search.
[2:11:02] >> I think you're asking unrealistic.
[2:11:03] >> I think we're good. I think you've asked
[2:11:04] the question.
[2:11:05] >> Thank you very much.
[2:11:06] >> Thank you.
[2:11:07] >> Yes.
[2:11:09] >> Uh Richard Avery from Siri Drive.
[2:11:14] Could you explain to us u how we do
[2:11:17] measurement
[2:11:19] setting a baseline and then future
[2:11:22] measurements of did we actually achieve
[2:11:25] a reduction
[2:11:27] especially when we're only doing the
[2:11:30] municipal side of the town and not
[2:11:34] everything? And does this include
[2:11:36] vehicles on the road? What do we mean by
[2:11:40] the municipal side?
[2:11:44] So the municipal side does include
[2:11:46] vehicles. It's town-owned vehicles. Um
[2:11:49] so so basically, you know, um as as far
[2:11:53] as the calculations go, I think that um
[2:11:58] they basically know what each
[2:12:02] um
[2:12:04] you know, vehicle or or piece of
[2:12:07] equipment, um generates. I mean, and so if you can replace it, you they can
[2:12:14] get very specific um um reduction
[2:12:18] figures.
[2:12:20] >> And who does the measuring?
[2:12:23] >> Well, this the state does I I I don't
[2:12:28] know. We're getting into a little bit
[2:12:31] into the a complicated area, but the
[2:12:34] state
[2:12:35] um v has
[2:12:38] certain vendors and certain pieces of
[2:12:42] equipment that they have vetted um and
[2:12:45] you know, so
[2:12:49] that's I basically it's it's a
[2:12:53] combination of the vendor working with
[2:12:55] the state to to talk about what kind of
[2:12:58] greenhouse gases the um piece of
[2:13:01] equipment generates.
[2:13:03] >> Okay. Thank you, sir. The center
[2:13:07] uh Steve Wer, 195 Hull Street. I'm also
[2:13:11] a member of the alternative energy
[2:13:12] committee. Uh I just thought I'd maybe
[2:13:15] make a comment about a a question I
[2:13:17] heard. What can we do to actually
[2:13:19] advance toward this goal and what it
[2:13:20] might cost? I want to remind everybody
[2:13:23] here that we have a wonderful solar
[2:13:26] array at the transfer station that did
[2:13:29] not cost Cohassid a penny.
[2:13:32] Not a penny. And has saved us over a
[2:13:35] million dollars so far. So this is an
[2:13:38] example of the sort of project we can do
[2:13:40] which will advance our goal to to net
[2:13:43] zero. Thank you.
[2:13:48] » Thank you. Gentleman over here, please.
[2:13:50] Uh Owenberry, 15 Braftoft Road. I'd like
[2:13:53] to uh request to move the uh question,
[2:13:55] please.
[2:13:56] >> I'm sorry, I won't recognize that yet.
[2:13:58] We've got two people standing here. So,
[2:13:59] let's let them talk and then we'll
[2:14:01] consider that woman in the front here.
[2:14:03] >> I'm Barbara Russell. I'm also on the
[2:14:04] alternative energy committee. I live at 11 deep run. Um I just want to
[2:14:09] clarify a few things to Deb's point.
[2:14:11] We've already as so we are going up the
[2:14:14] ladder, right? We were a green community
[2:14:16] and now we're about to become a climate
[2:14:17] leader. There are 26 climate leaders in this in the Commonwealth of
[2:14:22] Massachusetts. Um the pool of funds
[2:14:25] available to those 26 are almost $20
[2:14:28] million. So we know that in front of us
[2:14:32] we have $1.6 million of potential
[2:14:35] funding. We have succeeded in getting
[2:14:37] over a million dollars in funding um and
[2:14:40] the climate leaders program. And on the
[2:14:43] topic of how much is this going to cost
[2:14:44] us, we have nothing to do with the fact
[2:14:46] that the state has legislated that we
[2:14:49] will reduce our carbon footprint by 50%
[2:14:51] in 2030 and zero by 2050. We have
[2:14:55] nothing to do with that. But we will
[2:14:56] comply and we must comply over time.
[2:14:59] Sitting and twiddling our thumbs is not
[2:15:01] an option. So why not take advantage of
[2:15:04] the funding ahead of us and become a
[2:15:06] climate leader along with the other 26
[2:15:08] people that are? Thank you.
[2:15:11] >> Thank you.
[2:15:13] got the gentleman here and then over
[2:15:15] here on the side uh Paul Antico 124
[2:15:18] Atlantic. I just had a quick question
[2:15:20] for someone that knows absolutely
[2:15:21] nothing about the state law on this. But
[2:15:23] you referred to the state law and the
[2:15:25] regulations that they're mandating. Is
[2:15:27] that the 50% and 100% at those dates? Is
[2:15:30] that what the state law is requiring or
[2:15:31] is this is this separate from what the
[2:15:34] state law is asking us for?
[2:15:36] >> Oh, this is to comply with the state
[2:15:38] law.
[2:15:38] >> So those those are their mandates. Those
[2:15:40] are those are figures that the state law
[2:15:42] has as part of their road map to getting
[2:15:45] to net zero. They actually have more
[2:15:47] benchmarks. They have something for 2040
[2:15:50] and and different benchmarks were
[2:15:52] supposed to reach, but the two big ones
[2:15:55] are the 20, you know, the 2030 and the
[2:15:58] 2050. So, we didn't complicate things
[2:16:01] by, you know, putting in those other
[2:16:03] benchmarks.
[2:16:04] >> And and just quickly, I'll sit down
[2:16:05] after I ask the question. U 2030 is four
[2:16:08] years away. How far are we from that
[2:16:09] 50%. Thank you.
[2:16:11] >> Well, we're going the wrong way. I will
[2:16:14] tell you that.
[2:16:16] So, no, we that's what we need to find
[2:16:19] out. That's what the next step is to do
[2:16:22] this decarbonization roadmap and figure
[2:16:25] out, you know, how we can how we can get
[2:16:28] to it. It's not unrealistic. We can do
[2:16:30] it. I mean this and especially with the
[2:16:34] resources that National Grid is giving
[2:16:36] us right now and you know they're
[2:16:39] working with us they on the police
[2:16:41] station they've they have a a a whole
[2:16:46] group that works on on new construction
[2:16:49] and and so they've been in on the ground
[2:16:51] floor to make the police station as as um you know effective as it can be.
[2:16:59] the the one thing is obviously there's
[2:17:01] certain safety mandates that will you
[2:17:04] know make things we have to adjust to
[2:17:06] that but
[2:17:07] >> okay thank you we got a comment from
[2:17:09] over here please
[2:17:10] >> so I'm Jocelyn Dana from 27 King Street
[2:17:14] and I'm just trying to understand this
[2:17:17] is a key to get to the money
[2:17:20] that's available to us to do the
[2:17:22] research
[2:17:24] if we are supporting this is that what
[2:17:27] I'm understanding that this is the key
[2:17:29] for us to be able to have access. It's
[2:17:31] not that it's costing us anything. It is
[2:17:33] for us to be able to have access for
[2:17:35] that research for things like the solar
[2:17:39] on the future police station or whether
[2:17:42] we go with electric buses versus the gas
[2:17:45] buses that type of thing.
[2:17:48] So, so this is this is basically yes a
[2:17:52] step along the way that without this we
[2:17:55] can't our next step would be the
[2:17:58] decarbonization roadmap for the
[2:18:01] municipal side. This will allow us to
[2:18:04] apply for grants. We not we may not get
[2:18:07] them but um without this we cannot apply
[2:18:11] for these grants.
[2:18:12] >> That seems like no-brainer. Thank you.
[2:18:14] >> Thank you. Um woman here.
[2:18:19] >> Yes. Hi uh Mayor Joe Larson 12 Virginia
[2:18:22] Lane. I mean basically if you would just
[2:18:24] concentrate on this slide this is an
[2:18:27] opportunity that you have to it's it's
[2:18:30] aspirational. It's it shows that this
[2:18:33] town cares about the decarbonization or
[2:18:36] reducing our emissions that we're
[2:18:38] willing to look into that and that that
[2:18:41] we are willing to take steps and plan to
[2:18:45] try to reduce our emissions. There's no
[2:18:47] cost to you. It's an opportunity that
[2:18:49] the town has to apply for funds. So
[2:18:53] that's why that non-bounding non-binding
[2:18:57] phrase releases you from worries about
[2:19:00] well what's it going to cost? It costs
[2:19:01] you nothing. All you do is say I'd like
[2:19:04] to look into that and we care about this
[2:19:07] issue. We care about the climate issue.
[2:19:09] That's what you're saying. That's all.
[2:19:11] Thank you.
[2:19:12] >> Thank you.
[2:19:16] Um
[2:19:17] we we did have a gentleman move the
[2:19:19] question. If we don't have any more
[2:19:21] debate, then we don't even need to vote
[2:19:23] on that. We can just proceed to a vote
[2:19:24] on the main motion.
[2:19:28] I don't see any more debate. That's
[2:19:29] great. Um, let's move to a vote on the
[2:19:32] main motion. It does require majority
[2:19:34] vote for adoption. All those in favor of
[2:19:37] the motion under article 22, please
[2:19:38] signify by saying I. I.
[2:19:41] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[2:19:43] saying nay. Nay.
[2:19:45] >> The most the motion is adopted by the
[2:19:48] requisite two-thirds vote.
[2:19:56] Article 23, Storm Water Management bylaw
[2:19:59] Procedural Changes. May I have a motion
[2:20:01] in the form distributed to the meeting?
[2:20:03] Thank you. May I have a second?
[2:20:04] >> Thank you. The motion has been made and
[2:20:06] seconded. Requires majority vote for
[2:20:08] adoption. Um, I will recognize the
[2:20:12] conservation agent, Charlotte Pesty.
[2:20:26] Hi guys, how's it going? Uh Charlotte
[2:20:27] Pactyl, conservation agent. Uh for this
[2:20:29] stormwater bylaw change, we're proposing
[2:20:31] to streamline uh single family home
[2:20:34] projects a little bit more. Uh so
[2:20:35] basically we're not really changing
[2:20:37] anything in terms of the administrative
[2:20:38] procedures. We're just changing for
[2:20:40] single family home projects in terms of
[2:20:42] if you're raising rebuilding, building
[2:20:44] an accessory dwelling unit, a garage. If
[2:20:46] those projects trigger what's called a
[2:20:48] full storm water review, which is a land
[2:20:50] alteration of 5,000 square feet or more,
[2:20:52] it would normally have to go to the
[2:20:53] conservation commission for a full
[2:20:55] review with a public hearing. Um, so for
[2:20:57] single family home projects that are
[2:20:59] completely outside wetlands
[2:21:01] jurisdiction, we would like to make
[2:21:02] those administrative. This is kind of
[2:21:04] modeling what Situit already does. uh
[2:21:06] when Situit has a stormwater project, if
[2:21:08] it's in wetlands jurisdiction or partly
[2:21:10] within wetlands jurisdiction, it goes to
[2:21:12] the conservation commission and if it's
[2:21:13] outside, it goes to the planning
[2:21:15] department. So, we were trying to kind
[2:21:16] of model that a little bit with our
[2:21:18] procedures to streamline that a little
[2:21:19] bit more. So, the administrative
[2:21:20] procedures would still be the same. A
[2:21:22] butters are notified. The appeal process
[2:21:24] is the same. So, we'd really just be
[2:21:25] making those projects outside of
[2:21:27] wetlands jurisdiction um a little bit
[2:21:28] quicker in the review process. Thank
[2:21:30] you.
[2:21:31] >> Thank you. The select board has
[2:21:34] recommended approval by a vote of 3 to
[2:21:36] zero. The advisory committee recommended
[2:21:38] approval by a vote of 9 to zero. And the
[2:21:40] conservation commission recommends
[2:21:41] approval by a vote of four to zero. Is
[2:21:43] there any discussion?
[2:21:46] We'll proceed to a voice vote. The
[2:21:48] motion under article 23 does require
[2:21:50] majority vote for adoption. All those in
[2:21:52] favor, please signify by saying I.
[2:21:54] >> I.
[2:21:55] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[2:21:57] saying nay. The motion is adopted by the
[2:22:00] requisite two-thirds vote.
[2:22:02] >> Thank you.
[2:22:05] >> Article 21, citizens petition noise
[2:22:07] control bylaw. May I have a motion in
[2:22:10] the form distributed to the meeting?
[2:22:11] Thank you. May I have a second? Thank
[2:22:13] you. The m motion has been made and
[2:22:15] seconded. Requires majority vote for
[2:22:17] adoption. I'll recognize on behalf of
[2:22:20] the petitioner, Mr. Fran Collins.
[2:22:34] It's missing.
[2:22:39] Here it is.
[2:22:45] » Evening. I'm Fran Collins, 404 South
[2:22:47] Main Street, Cohasset. Um, we have
[2:22:52] talked to a number of people who are
[2:22:54] pretty concerned about the amount of
[2:22:55] noise that we have in town, particularly
[2:22:57] from gasoline powered leaf blows. And
[2:23:01] I'd like to uh reacquaint you folks to
[2:23:04] the
[2:23:06] noise control bylaw section 170-2. It
[2:23:10] says, "Whereas excessive sound possesses
[2:23:12] poses a serious hazard to public health,
[2:23:14] welfare, safety, and quality of life.
[2:23:16] And whereas the residents of the town of
[2:23:18] Cohassid have a right to and should be
[2:23:21] ensured an environment free of excessive
[2:23:23] noise that may jeopardize their health,
[2:23:25] welfare, safety, or degrade their
[2:23:27] quality of life. And uh under section
[2:23:31] 170-3 section G noise disturbance means
[2:23:35] any sound which A may disturb or annoy
[2:23:38] reasonable persons of normal
[2:23:39] sensitivities.
[2:23:40] B causes or tends to cause an adverse
[2:23:43] effect on the public health and welfare
[2:23:45] and c endangers or injure injures
[2:23:48] persons or endangers
[2:23:50] real or personal property. And uh
[2:23:53] sections 170-5 nose to pardon me. Noise
[2:23:58] disturbance. I went to the class at
[2:24:00] public schools. I should be able to read
[2:24:01] better than this.
[2:24:04] Noise disturbance prohibited. No person
[2:24:06] shall make a cause to be made any noise
[2:24:08] disturbance. It shall be unlawful for
[2:24:10] any person to create
[2:24:13] assist in creating cause or suffer allow
[2:24:16] any excessive unnecessary loud unusual
[2:24:18] noise which either annoys disturbs
[2:24:20] injures or endangers the reasonable
[2:24:22] quiet comfort repose or health safety of
[2:24:25] others. That's a whole lot of words. The
[2:24:29] uh the issue we have is that most of the
[2:24:35] people whose businesses taking care of
[2:24:37] lawns,
[2:24:40] landscaping folks use these high-ower
[2:24:43] gasoline engine driven lawn blowers,
[2:24:46] leaf blowers. They make a lot of noise.
[2:24:48] Thursday, I was leaving my house
[2:24:50] Thursday morning and there were two
[2:24:52] people across the street. I had two
[2:24:54] blowers going at the same time. They
[2:24:56] were as far away as me to the bleachers.
[2:24:58] I have a decel meter in my telephone and
[2:25:01] it came in at 197 dec.
[2:25:05] Two weeks ago, I was driving down Border
[2:25:07] Street.
[2:25:09] >> Sorry, there we go. Two weeks ago, I was
[2:25:12] driving down Border Street and uh I saw
[2:25:14] two two other fellows with the with the
[2:25:16] leaf blowers. So, I turned the truck
[2:25:18] around and went back and across the
[2:25:19] street and they were their truck was
[2:25:21] between them and the house that they
[2:25:23] were working on and I got 185 dB. That's
[2:25:26] a lot of noise. That's a lot of noise.
[2:25:29] 85 dB of the A scale. That's a scale is
[2:25:32] the human range of hearing.
[2:25:36] Um,
[2:25:38] eight hours of that a day is hazardous.
[2:25:41] 100 dBA more than 15 minutes a day,
[2:25:45] permanent hearing loss. 10 110 dBA.
[2:25:48] >> Just to time check for, you're at three
[2:25:50] minutes, so you've got about two minutes
[2:25:51] left.
[2:25:51] >> Right, Dandy? I'll move right along. Um
[2:25:54] any noise exceeding 70 dBA is excessive.
[2:25:59] Many folks who have lawn services are
[2:26:01] not home when the noise happens. Now
[2:26:04] frequently in my neighborhood I have
[2:26:06] immediately seven houses, five of them
[2:26:08] have lawn services. Sometimes there as
[2:26:10] many as two and four blowers going at
[2:26:12] the same time. You can't stay outside
[2:26:15] with all that noises going. And it's
[2:26:16] seven days a week this time of the year.
[2:26:18] I spoke with several people who supply
[2:26:22] lawn equipment and uh and was kind of
[2:26:25] surprised that they said, you know, you
[2:26:27] really don't need these big powerful
[2:26:28] blowers in the summertime. You just need
[2:26:30] a small handheld electric blower that
[2:26:33] can blow the grass clippings off
[2:26:34] sidewalks and driveways and whatnot. We
[2:26:36] don't need to blow every square inch of
[2:26:38] somebody's yard to get the uh loose
[2:26:42] grass clippings off. So, when I put the
[2:26:46] uh How am I doing?
[2:26:49] >> Got about a minute.
[2:26:50] >> Good. When I when I put the proposal out
[2:26:53] to the town attorney and she looked at
[2:26:56] it, she said, "Son of a gun." You know,
[2:26:57] I'm trying to work from home and I had
[2:26:59] the window open and I had to shut it up
[2:27:00] because the lawn blowers were making so
[2:27:02] much noise I couldn't hear myself think.
[2:27:05] So, I've lived my whole life with noise.
[2:27:07] I've worked with machinery all my life.
[2:27:09] I understand what noise is. I suffer
[2:27:10] here from hearing loss. And uh but I
[2:27:12] when I'm home now I like to have some
[2:27:14] peace and quiet and if we have electric
[2:27:16] blowers that would be a wonderful thing.
[2:27:19] Now initially we wanted to ban them
[2:27:21] totally. We rethought that they do you
[2:27:24] do need these big blowers in the fall to
[2:27:26] when all the leaves are out. We do need
[2:27:29] blowers in the spring for clean up. So we decided that let's go from May
[2:27:34] 15th to September 15th. There are 11
[2:27:37] towns in the state that have b have
[2:27:39] forbidden them. Three of those towns,
[2:27:42] two of those towns have the the seasonal
[2:27:44] ban that I just mentioned. So, I think
[2:27:47] that for our peace and tranquility, we
[2:27:49] need to get rid of these high-powered
[2:27:51] gasoline engines. And on top of that,
[2:27:53] they're terrible. They're terrible
[2:27:55] polluters. We just heard about
[2:27:56] decarbonization.
[2:27:59] One of these leaf blowers for an hour is
[2:28:01] the same thing as driving your truck a
[2:28:04] thousand miles. It's just it's it's
[2:28:06] ridiculous. So I don't like to uh cause
[2:28:09] any hardship in anybody but uh excuse me
[2:28:13] but um it's time to do something with
[2:28:15] all this noise. We don't have to have
[2:28:16] it's not necessary. The uh what other
[2:28:20] point was I going to make?
[2:28:22] >> Yeah.
[2:28:23] >> And regardless of what they say,
[2:28:25] electric machines are substantially
[2:28:27] quiet by about 35 to 40 dB.
[2:28:31] That's pretty much a a uh an overview of
[2:28:35] what we have. Oh, Home Depot says that
[2:28:37] by 28 2028, 80% of all yard and garden
[2:28:41] equipment will be battery powered.
[2:28:43] That's an interesting fact. I just got
[2:28:45] that today. So,
[2:28:47] I hope you'll give it some serious
[2:28:49] thought. Let's have some peace and quiet
[2:28:52] and uh we'll all be happy.
[2:29:01] The select board has voted recommending
[2:29:04] against adoption by a vote of four to
[2:29:06] zero. For the advisory committee, I'll
[2:29:09] recognize Mike Barkley.
[2:29:22] Uh, good evening. Mike Barklay, 100 Elm
[2:29:24] Street on behalf of the advisory
[2:29:26] committee. Uh the current bylaw that we
[2:29:29] have in place was passed two years ago.
[2:29:32] Um before that was uh brought to the
[2:29:36] town meeting, we spent a lot of time
[2:29:38] studying similar noise bylaws in other
[2:29:41] towns. And you know the goal, no one
[2:29:45] likes noise. No one likes it. No one
[2:29:47] wants it. And when we uh put forth that
[2:29:51] article that was approved here, we
[2:29:55] thought it was really important to
[2:29:56] strike a balance. We wanted to make sure
[2:29:59] that there were guard rails around what
[2:30:02] times people could use equipment,
[2:30:04] contractors could use equipment, uh
[2:30:07] fines were put in place in the event
[2:30:09] that um the rules were not followed. And
[2:30:13] you know again we wanted to make this
[2:30:14] balance so that there were some uh
[2:30:16] because there was no bylaw in place for
[2:30:18] the whole town before that and we wanted
[2:30:21] to strike a balance where there were
[2:30:23] some some definite guard rails in place
[2:30:26] around time. Uh the the police are in
[2:30:30] charge of enforcing this and we also
[2:30:32] didn't want the police to be necessarily
[2:30:35] running from property to property
[2:30:37] measuring decibb and things like that.
[2:30:40] Uh, we also wanted to make sure that part of that balance was that we
[2:30:45] weren't telling all of you what you had
[2:30:47] to do with your lawn equipment. Um, I
[2:30:50] mean, I have an electric mower. Doesn't
[2:30:53] work very well, truthfully. But, you
[2:30:55] know, I don't have to put gas in it.
[2:30:57] That's my own thing. But um you know in putting together the bylaw a couple
[2:31:02] of years ago we did not want to you know
[2:31:05] promulgate that you had to have electric
[2:31:09] equipment. That's a choice. And you know
[2:31:12] some of the you know I know there was a
[2:31:14] handout um you know for instance with
[2:31:16] some costs in it. Um actually you can
[2:31:18] get a lawn mower for under $300 at Home
[2:31:21] Depot or Lowe's a gas powered one. And
[2:31:24] so, um, you know, I had the opportunity
[2:31:27] to speak with, uh, with Fran, had
[2:31:30] tremendous respect for him. Uh, we had
[2:31:32] to agree to disagree, which happens in
[2:31:35] good politics. Um, but I respect his
[2:31:37] opinion. But in this case, um, we have a
[2:31:42] bylaw in place. It makes it's a common
[2:31:44] sense approach to controlling excessive
[2:31:47] noise in our town that gives the police
[2:31:50] some tools to enforce that when people
[2:31:53] do not abide by those guidelines. And um
[2:31:58] you know again we uh are called to vote
[2:32:01] on article 24 in the form that it's been
[2:32:04] presented to town meeting as well. And
[2:32:07] so the vote that we have is based on the
[2:32:11] language that's in the warrant right
[2:32:13] now. And so as you're thinking about
[2:32:16] whatever side you want to come out on
[2:32:17] this, um that's what you're voting on.
[2:32:19] So we we have a a bylaw in place. Um you
[2:32:23] know, again, uh like any bylaw, it's not
[2:32:26] going to contemplate every future event.
[2:32:29] Um, but we also have to be careful about
[2:32:32] uh what kind of, you know, uh, rabbit
[2:32:34] holes we go down in in that. You know,
[2:32:36] we're talking about leaf blowers and and
[2:32:38] line trimmers now. Um, you know, I don't know if snow blowers come
[2:32:44] in electric, but I don't think one would
[2:32:46] have worked very well this winter. So,
[2:32:49] you know, we we voted against this um
[2:32:51] the advisory committee because there is
[2:32:54] a a new bylaw that was put in place two
[2:32:57] years ago that we believe struck the
[2:33:00] appropriate balance between, you know,
[2:33:02] noise, limiting noise at times of the
[2:33:06] day that contractors should not be
[2:33:08] working, but was not an overreach and
[2:33:11] prescribed to people what they should be
[2:33:13] doing and what kind of equipment they
[2:33:15] should be mowing their lawns with or or
[2:33:19] blowing their leaves. So, thank you.
[2:33:23] >> Thank you.
[2:33:25] >> Uh Mr. Wilcox,
[2:33:27] >> uh Mark Wilcox, 26 Parker A. So,
[2:33:30] balance. Balance is the key here. Five
[2:33:33] months a year, five summer months where
[2:33:34] your windows are open, we're asking that
[2:33:36] we not use gasoline powered leaf
[2:33:39] blowers. Nothing to do with lawn
[2:33:41] tractors, nothing to do with chainsaws
[2:33:44] or all any any of the other stuff.
[2:33:47] We're looking for a May 25th 27
[2:33:50] implement I'm sorry May 15th 27th 27th
[2:33:53] implementation. So we have a year to to
[2:33:55] get our arms around this.
[2:33:58] We understand the spring cleanups are
[2:34:00] heavy duty. You got the heavy duty
[2:34:02] machines and you got to do that and
[2:34:03] that's where where Fran talked about,
[2:34:04] you know, we needed to to back off from
[2:34:06] a a complete ban on this thing. And we
[2:34:08] also know that fall cleanup needs needs
[2:34:10] a lot of labels.
[2:34:13] >> Thank you.
[2:34:18] Mr. Dunn.
[2:34:19] >> Oh, sorry. She goes first.
[2:34:23] >> Funny. Miss Dunn.
[2:34:25] >> Elizabeth Dunn, 21 Beach Street. Um I
[2:34:28] think this is a um
[2:34:31] article or an amendment to a bylaw that
[2:34:34] um the bylaw is very very broad. We in
[2:34:38] fact allow um noise seven days a week in
[2:34:43] Cohassid from 7 a.m. to 700 p.m. The
[2:34:46] bylaw has nothing in it that is actually
[2:34:50] um measurable. And I mean we don't
[2:34:52] expect that anybody would be enforcing a
[2:34:54] bylaw with actually measuring decibb.
[2:34:58] But um the the count is um actually 16
[2:35:04] towns in Massachusetts. I'm not sure
[2:35:07] we're that different than any of those
[2:35:09] towns and over a 100 municipalities
[2:35:12] in cities and um all in 27 states. We
[2:35:18] have states that are as diverse as
[2:35:20] Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado,
[2:35:23] California that all have some kind of
[2:35:27] restriction or complete ban on gas
[2:35:30] powered um leaf blowers.
[2:35:33] The public health health data is
[2:35:35] incredibly compelling. The WH recommends
[2:35:38] a level of less than 55 dB for hearing
[2:35:42] preservation and an NIH states that
[2:35:45] exposure of greater than 85 dB can
[2:35:49] result in permanent hearing loss. The
[2:35:52] average decibel level is 100 dB,
[2:35:55] somewhere between 80 and 110. when you
[2:35:58] add two or three folks blowing, you're
[2:36:04] talking about 400 decibel levels. I
[2:36:07] think that um the time has come that we
[2:36:10] move forward. As Fran mentioned, this is
[2:36:13] coming whether we like it or not. Uh
[2:36:16] Lowe's is currently
[2:36:19] selling 60% of their lawn equipment is
[2:36:23] gas uh rather um electric powered. So, I
[2:36:27] just think it's it's common sense. It's
[2:36:30] a ban that is simply in the summer. Um,
[2:36:34] and there's all sorts of different uh
[2:36:36] ways communities have addressed that,
[2:36:38] but they're all addressing it. Thank
[2:36:40] you.
[2:36:41] >> Thank you, gentlemen here in the center.
[2:36:46] >> Dan Ley 215 down. I'll get him and then
[2:36:49] I got gentleman here and then you Mark
[2:36:51] >> Dan Ley 215 forest.
[2:36:55] Um, respectfully, if we're going to
[2:36:57] listen to Lowe's and uh Home Depot,
[2:36:59] there's no need for this at all cuz
[2:37:01] they've projected we're all going to buy
[2:37:03] electric anyway. Um, I would take it
[2:37:06] from a a pure practical standpoint.
[2:37:09] Um, I still do my own lawn. My neighbors
[2:37:13] next door to me on either side across
[2:37:16] the street, they do their own lawn. They
[2:37:18] use ride-on mowers that are as loud as
[2:37:22] any weed whack you can get. I own a
[2:37:25] electric weed whacker. It's as good as
[2:37:29] any gas power, but I have two very good,
[2:37:33] fairly new weed whackers as well because
[2:37:35] I have children who like to help out
[2:37:37] their old father. I also bought a
[2:37:42] uh blower and leaf blower
[2:37:47] because I have 28 trees on my lot and
[2:37:50] they're mostly old oaks. And around
[2:37:53] November 15th, they decide to start
[2:37:55] coming down just as we're getting ready
[2:37:57] for snow.
[2:37:59] The electric leaf blower is a waste of
[2:38:02] time. I used it twice and took it back
[2:38:05] to Lowe's. And I was told at the time,
[2:38:09] and it's all hairs. This is all hearsay
[2:38:12] that we're being uh presented. The guy
[2:38:15] said to me, "You are the third uh
[2:38:18] customer bringing back his electric leaf
[2:38:21] blower today." So maybe it was the
[2:38:24] brand. I don't know. But I'd take it
[2:38:26] from a practical standpoint. We all have
[2:38:28] gas powered devices. This is forcing us
[2:38:31] all to either uh use them only outside
[2:38:35] of these five months that it's here or
[2:38:39] we have to all go out and get brand new
[2:38:41] equipment, which is another form of
[2:38:43] taxation. I live with houses all around
[2:38:46] me. I am until I saw this article, I was
[2:38:49] totally unaware there was a news uh no
[2:38:52] noise pollution issue with any of them.
[2:38:55] I would recommend we just vote this down
[2:38:57] and get on with life. Thank you.
[2:39:00] >> Thank you.
[2:39:04] » And then you Mark, go ahead.
[2:39:06] >> Mark Maji, 19 Stanton Road. Um I don't
[2:39:09] support this, but I have three sort of
[2:39:10] structural administrative issues with
[2:39:12] this. The fivemonth ban is not what's
[2:39:15] listed on the warrant here. That was
[2:39:17] changed after the warrant was printed.
[2:39:19] So, we're talking about the five-month
[2:39:20] ban, but that's not
[2:39:22] >> correct. That's with at the beginning of
[2:39:23] the meeting, I explained the difference
[2:39:24] between the motions printed in the
[2:39:26] packet and the warrant. Correct. So,
[2:39:27] this is narrower than what was presented
[2:39:29] in the warrant. It's within the scope.
[2:39:30] >> What was debated by the advisory
[2:39:32] committee and the select board?
[2:39:34] >> I'm sorry, say again.
[2:39:35] >> What's in the warrant is what was
[2:39:37] debated by the advisory committee and
[2:39:39] the select board.
[2:39:40] >> Okay.
[2:39:40] >> And voted on. Additionally, and I know
[2:39:42] we're not supposed to address people's
[2:39:43] individual uh comments, but it was said
[2:39:46] this is just for leaf blowers. That's
[2:39:48] not the case. Line trimmers are
[2:39:49] explicitly mentioned in the warrant
[2:39:51] article. Finally, it is a citizen
[2:39:54] citizens petition for noise control
[2:39:55] review. The third word is to reduce
[2:39:57] pollution. So, are we quantifying
[2:39:59] pollution or noise? I think this is very
[2:40:00] well-intentioned. I just think from a
[2:40:02] structural and administrative
[2:40:03] standpoint, it's a bit of a mess and we
[2:40:05] should be careful on voting on something
[2:40:06] like that. Thanks.
[2:40:07] >> Thank you.
[2:40:12] Uh Mr. Dunn.
[2:40:13] >> Hey, I'm Mark Dunn, Beach Street, uh in
[2:40:17] Cohassid. So, um you know, you know,
[2:40:20] some of the uh points that have been uh
[2:40:23] brought up have to do with private
[2:40:25] property and my ability to run my
[2:40:29] property and run my lawn care however I
[2:40:32] choose, regardless of whether it has an
[2:40:35] impact on other people. the impact uh
[2:40:38] the impact that it has on other people
[2:40:40] can be noise and could be puh pollution
[2:40:44] and and and a variety of of those of
[2:40:48] those factors. So if uh you know private
[2:40:53] property
[2:40:55] does not mean that you can do anything
[2:40:56] you want to do. Um, so for example, I
[2:40:59] can't go home tonight and decide to turn
[2:41:02] my property into a 7-Eleven or to do
[2:41:05] something else. Zoning and property
[2:41:08] rights are restricted and they're
[2:41:11] restricted for the greater good. Um, so
[2:41:15] zoning for example, I have industrial
[2:41:18] zones. industrial zones were uh created
[2:41:23] uh to isolate impacts whether it's uh
[2:41:26] noise whether it's pollution whatever it
[2:41:29] is
[2:41:31] uh what has happened with leaf blowers
[2:41:33] is it's kind of a migration of an
[2:41:36] industrial product to residential use uh
[2:41:40] and when I say leaf blowers I mean gas
[2:41:42] leaf lovers with respect to the
[2:41:44] structure
[2:41:46] um we agree uh the uh warrant should be
[2:41:50] amended to take out uh clippers or
[2:41:53] tremors and that was an oversight. Um
[2:41:57] and um so uh going you know going
[2:42:00] forward
[2:42:02] um you know unreasonable noise imposes
[2:42:07] costs on other property owners and
[2:42:09] residents. Um, also I would say property
[2:42:12] values. Um, your uh use of your property
[2:42:17] or my use of my property could have a
[2:42:20] negative impact on the value of your
[2:42:22] property. Uh, nobody wants to move in
[2:42:24] next to a hazardous weight waste uh dump
[2:42:28] or something like that. And so I take,
[2:42:31] you know, I I respect the advisory
[2:42:33] committee's uh view. uh but they must
[2:42:36] not live uh dealing with what we live
[2:42:40] with every day. It's just absurd the
[2:42:43] amount of noise uh that is uh is causing
[2:42:47] us issues. So
[2:42:50] um you know Cohassid's a highly
[2:42:52] desirable place. Uh we want to keep it
[2:42:54] that way.
[2:42:55] uh this is not the first um community to
[2:42:58] pass uh this kind of uh restriction and
[2:43:02] hopefully uh with cooperative help we
[2:43:05] can do it. Thank you.
[2:43:06] >> Thank you Mr. Whitney.
[2:43:08] >> Thank you very much Jay Whitney Harin
[2:43:10] again of 18 rustic drug. Hey I want
[2:43:13] green. We all want green. I got a green
[2:43:15] weed whacker. My new brand new truck is
[2:43:17] as a hybrid. Uh it all gets back to
[2:43:20] what's reality. What what is realistic
[2:43:22] of planning of these things? you know,
[2:43:24] the noise. I hate the noise. I can't
[2:43:26] stand it, but it's usually not very long
[2:43:27] in my neighborhood. That guy does it,
[2:43:29] that house does it. You know, it's over
[2:43:31] and then it's my turn to do mine. Um,
[2:43:34] and we and we kind of go through like
[2:43:35] that. So, you know, time, place,
[2:43:36] occasion, so to speak. Um, I also think
[2:43:39] of the economic impact of the people
[2:43:41] working very hard in our town mowing our
[2:43:43] loans and doing these things. What's the
[2:43:45] impact on these poor businesses? You
[2:43:47] know, they're going to have to now
[2:43:48] retrofit, I'm sorry, buy all brand new
[2:43:51] electric
[2:43:53] First of all, is it lawnmowers as well?
[2:43:55] You were saying lawnmowers, but it's but
[2:43:57] it's blower. It's leaf blowers and weed
[2:44:00] whackers.
[2:44:01] >> And weed whackers.
[2:44:03] >> No weed whackers. Okay.
[2:44:07] » Let guys.
[2:44:08] >> Okay. Great.
[2:44:09] >> Do not address people in the audience.
[2:44:11] >> Absolutely. Beautiful. So, okay. So, and
[2:44:13] final point. Is there is there going to
[2:44:15] be a fine or something if somebody gets
[2:44:16] caught with their with their gas leaf
[2:44:19] blower? Is there a fine you're going to
[2:44:20] be installing? Is that what you'd like
[2:44:21] to do?
[2:44:25] » Why don't you tell me? I Why don't you
[2:44:26] tell us? I don't
[2:44:30] >> The gentleman asked, "Will there be a
[2:44:31] finest?" There's one of the proponents
[2:44:32] who can answer that question. Just brief
[2:44:34] very briefly.
[2:44:35] >> Yeah. I just
[2:44:37] >> I'll have to see if I can pick it up
[2:44:38] here right now.
[2:44:41] >> First offense,
[2:44:42] >> we all want green. What's real?
[2:44:44] >> Sir,
[2:44:44] >> you asked a question. Let them answer
[2:44:46] it. If defense is if this is inserted
[2:44:49] into the bylaws, yes, there would be a
[2:44:52] fine. The current bylaws levy f levy
[2:44:55] fines for non-compliance with the bylaw.
[2:44:58] >> Okay, thank you. That was the answer.
[2:45:00] Let's let's take the tone of this
[2:45:01] discussion down a little bit, please.
[2:45:03] >> Okay, I've got a gentleman Jay, you're
[2:45:05] good. I've got a gentleman right here.
[2:45:07] Then I've got the woman back there.
[2:45:08] Please, sir. Fred Zodto, 28 Old Coach
[2:45:12] Road, neighbor of Dan Ley, who is my old
[2:45:14] boss at Hugo's to see you, Dan.
[2:45:18] Um, live in the same neighborhood that I
[2:45:20] grew up in when my parents moved here in
[2:45:22] 1967. It used to be a quiet town. I do
[2:45:26] not think it is anymore. Um, I work from
[2:45:29] home. Uh, my mother's 98 years old. I
[2:45:32] have to constantly shut the windows when
[2:45:33] the weather's nice. Uh, because of the
[2:45:35] leaf blowers. I'm an electrical
[2:45:36] mechanical engineer by training. Um, and
[2:45:40] I can tell you that when one leaf
[2:45:42] blower, yes, can be 110 dB, but when two
[2:45:45] or three operate in unison, they
[2:45:47] reinforce the sound waves and it
[2:45:50] resonates. So, you not only get, it's
[2:45:53] not additive um, as far as 100, 200,
[2:45:56] 300, but you do get that resonance which
[2:46:00] is extraordinarily much louder. When an
[2:46:03] A380 Airbus goes over our house, it's
[2:46:07] less noise than the leaf blowers and
[2:46:09] that's the largest commercial plane in
[2:46:12] the world. It's quiet though. Now, the
[2:46:15] next article is on Wheelright Park. If
[2:46:18] you don't know, Old Coach Road is
[2:46:20] adjacent to Wheelright Park and I've
[2:46:21] been playing in that and taking hikes in
[2:46:23] that for my entire life. When I go for a
[2:46:26] hike in Wirwai Park, the leaf blowers,
[2:46:30] it's 300 acres, but the leaf blowers you
[2:46:34] can hear from each corner of the park
[2:46:37] and you can't escape it. It is
[2:46:39] omniresent when you go for a walk or a
[2:46:43] hike in Wy Park. So, I would really
[2:46:45] encourage everybody um this isn't
[2:46:48] outlawing leaf blowers. certainly not
[2:46:50] outlawing any other gasoline motor
[2:46:52] equipment which was intimated by the
[2:46:55] advisory committee person um which I you
[2:46:58] know with all due respects it's uh the article reads and I do have five
[2:47:03] minutes correct sir
[2:47:05] >> you don't need to use all of it
[2:47:06] >> oh I know you know that but it's the
[2:47:09] first time in 61 years that I've spoken
[2:47:13] at a town meeting so please um the
[2:47:16] article says just for everybody's
[2:47:18] clarification
[2:47:20] moved that the town vote to amend its
[2:47:22] general bylaws, chapter 170, noise
[2:47:24] control by amending section 170-6
[2:47:27] specific activities by adding to the end
[2:47:29] of this section, quote, notwithstanding
[2:47:32] the foregoing, gasoline powered leaf
[2:47:34] blowers and line trimmers are banned
[2:47:37] between May 15th and September 15th.
[2:47:40] Period. End quote. And I would like to
[2:47:42] ask the um the advisory committee we've
[2:47:46] already heard from, but I'd like to ask
[2:47:48] the board of selectmen what their
[2:47:51] rationale was for voting. Um
[2:47:55] the select board recommended approval by
[2:47:57] a vote from 0 to 4. So what their
[2:48:00] rationale was for, if they could
[2:48:02] illuminate on it, uh for rejecting this
[2:48:05] particular um article.
[2:48:08] >> Thank you. Is there anyone from the
[2:48:09] select board that would like to respond
[2:48:11] to that?
[2:48:12] You can go ahead and and sit down, sir.
[2:48:19] » Hi, Ellen Mar 63 Pasture Road. Uh the select board voted to not recommend
[2:48:24] this to town meeting floor. We concur
[2:48:26] with our colleagues on advisory that we
[2:48:28] already have a noise ordinance bylaw and
[2:48:31] that this was um forcing choices upon
[2:48:33] people that they perhaps didn't want to
[2:48:36] make and and now adding in the time
[2:48:39] frame into the motion um from the
[2:48:42] original warrant article um forces
[2:48:44] people perhaps to have too because it's
[2:48:46] been it's been declared that um electric
[2:48:51] powered leaf blowers are not sufficient
[2:48:53] for fall or spring cleanup. So people
[2:48:55] could end up having to have two, an
[2:48:56] electric one for the time period defined
[2:48:59] in the motion and then a gas powered one
[2:49:02] for the other seasons. And we just felt
[2:49:04] it was too uh too oblique the warrant
[2:49:07] article. We felt we had the noise
[2:49:09] ordinance um bylaw in place and it was
[2:49:12] undefined in terms of how it impacts our
[2:49:15] municipal um facilities team and what
[2:49:18] they have to do. Do we have to buy all
[2:49:20] new equipment for our facilities team in
[2:49:22] season and um also for all the
[2:49:25] commercial uh landscapers in town?
[2:49:28] That's not really our concern, the
[2:49:29] commercial people, but it is it is part
[2:49:32] of our the fabric of our community.
[2:49:35] Thank you.
[2:49:35] >> Thank you.
[2:49:37] I've got the woman right here. Please,
[2:49:39] we've got a number of people standing.
[2:49:40] Um we've been discussing through a bit.
[2:49:43] Please be sure you're limiting your
[2:49:44] remarks to new ideas, new new thoughts.
[2:49:47] Please go ahead. I'm Jocelyn Dana from
[2:49:49] 27 King Street. I just wanted to
[2:49:54] agree with um that there is a pretty bad
[2:49:57] sound issue that we have in town
[2:49:59] specific to blowers and that I do feel
[2:50:03] that the time frame that's been selected
[2:50:05] here to have it be available for the
[2:50:08] leaf time when you need a more powerful
[2:50:12] unit and including all of the different
[2:50:15] um service providers for the area so
[2:50:17] that they have that to do that type of
[2:50:19] work. I think that's great. I do think
[2:50:21] this is a really wonderful, smart
[2:50:23] program for us to be able to lead with
[2:50:27] within our community that is so very
[2:50:31] specific and so very measurable and
[2:50:32] something that we can do for ourselves,
[2:50:35] for our community. Um, and it
[2:50:38] environmentally has a positive impact
[2:50:41] and aligns with what I feel our town is
[2:50:43] also doing. So, I feel like this would
[2:50:44] be something that makes sense um from a
[2:50:49] homeowner who is also bothered by the
[2:50:51] sounds in the community and also uses
[2:50:54] both kinds of things and would willingly
[2:50:58] align with this um and support it for
[2:51:01] the small businesses that also would be
[2:51:04] needing to make that transition for our
[2:51:06] benefit. Thanks,
[2:51:08] >> Mr. Peace.
[2:51:10] >> Uh Sam Peas, Three Sanki Road. I'd like
[2:51:12] to call a question, please.
[2:51:14] >> Um, motion to call the question. There
[2:51:16] is the second.
[2:51:18] >> Thank you. It's not debatable. Um, it
[2:51:20] requires twothirds vote for adoption. As
[2:51:23] we saw before, it ceases debate. So, if
[2:51:25] it passes by a voice vote, then we stop
[2:51:27] debate. If it doesn't pass, then we
[2:51:29] continue on our debate. So, it requires
[2:51:31] two-thirds vote for adoption. All those
[2:51:32] in favor of stopping debate, please
[2:51:34] signify by saying I.
[2:51:36] >> I.
[2:51:36] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[2:51:38] saying, "Nay."
[2:51:39] >> Nay. The motion was passed with the
[2:51:41] requisite twothirds vote so that we do
[2:51:43] stop debate and we'll proceed to the
[2:51:45] vote on the main motion. Motion under
[2:51:47] article 24 requires majority vote for
[2:51:50] adoption. All those in favor please
[2:51:52] signify by saying I.
[2:51:54] >> I.
[2:51:55] >> Those opposed, please signify by saying
[2:51:57] nay.
[2:51:58] >> Nay.
[2:51:59] >> That's too close to call. I'll ask the
[2:52:00] tellers to please take your stations.
[2:52:07] » They do. Everybody does. I don't know
[2:52:08] why you guys.
[2:52:11] move.
[2:52:26] Okay, we're going to vote by hand as we
[2:52:28] did last time. Tellers, once the tellers
[2:52:30] take their stations,
[2:52:39] Debbie and Michael, if you guys want to
[2:52:41] ask people to slide over one way or the
[2:52:43] other to make it clear, please do that.
[2:52:55] People in the in the bleachers, if you
[2:52:57] guys could please slide one way or the
[2:52:58] other as asked by the tellers so that
[2:53:00] they can see a clear dividing line so we
[2:53:02] don't have any confusion, that would be
[2:53:03] great. Please.
[2:53:06] Great. Thank you. Every teller's good.
[2:53:08] >> Okay. All those in favor, please hold
[2:53:10] your uh pink slips of paper up way high.
[2:53:13] Hold them up high.
[2:53:39] Keep them up. Keep them up. Keep them
[2:53:41] up.
[2:53:56] Okay, teller's good.
[2:53:59] >> Yes.
[2:54:00] >> Okay, you can put your hands down for
[2:54:02] the S's. Okay, now for the nose. Put
[2:54:05] your hands up high.
[2:54:44] Keep them up.
[2:54:57] » Okay. Michael, Debbie, you guys good?
[2:55:00] >> Okay, you can put your hands down. Thank
[2:55:01] you.
[2:55:25] Yeah, that's good.
[2:56:40] Okay, the tally is in favor 141 opposed
[2:56:45] 145. The motion fails.
[2:56:59] Uh we'll proceed to motion under article
[2:57:02] 26 25 I mean sorry
[2:57:07] I have a motion in the form distributed
[2:57:09] to the meeting.
[2:57:10] >> Thank you. May I have a second?
[2:57:12] >> Thank you. Motion has been made and
[2:57:14] seconded. Requires majority vote for
[2:57:16] adoption.
[2:57:18] I'll recognize for the Open Space and
[2:57:20] Recreation Commission, Adam Norman.
[2:57:23] >> Hello, my name is Adam Norman. I live at
[2:57:26] 88 Don Street and I'm here to represent
[2:57:29] the Cohasset Open Space and Recreation
[2:57:31] Committee. Um, some of you might not be
[2:57:34] aware that the town is in the middle of
[2:57:35] a project to construct a 160 foot tall
[2:57:39] cell phone tower in Wright Park. Um,
[2:57:43] this motion seeks to preserve the
[2:57:45] current condition and recreational use
[2:57:47] of Wheelright Park and ask the select
[2:57:49] board to pursue alternative location for
[2:57:53] this cell phone tower. I want to be very
[2:57:56] clear, we recognize that wireless
[2:57:58] communication networks are an essential
[2:58:01] public service, including for emergency
[2:58:04] response, and let you know that public
[2:58:07] safety is not the issue here tonight.
[2:58:09] The issue is that the process
[2:58:12] uh to select this site and the use of
[2:58:15] protected open space that was gifted to
[2:58:18] this town for a very specific purpose
[2:58:21] and that's recreational use. We see a
[2:58:23] lot of flaws in that process. So, we're
[2:58:25] not opposed to a cell phone tower. We
[2:58:27] just don't want it in our public park.
[2:58:30] We have a lot of concerns about the lack
[2:58:32] of due diligence and the incomplete
[2:58:34] analysis associated with this project.
[2:58:37] We have not seen a town-led study
[2:58:40] demonstrating that alternative sites
[2:58:42] were fully evaluated, nor a clear
[2:58:46] costbenefit analysis that justifies this
[2:58:48] specific location in Wright Park. We
[2:58:51] have repeatedly asked the town to
[2:58:54] present uh alternative sites, but none
[2:58:57] have been meaningfully analyzed or
[2:58:59] shared with us.
[2:59:01] uh technologies and coverage solutions
[2:59:04] for cell phone networks are evolving
[2:59:07] rapidly, but there's been no discussion
[2:59:10] on whether newer approaches could reduce
[2:59:13] the need for a tower in this undisturbed
[2:59:16] open space.
[2:59:18] This plan for this project requires
[2:59:21] crossing a culvert uh through the forest
[2:59:24] a entrance with an intermittent stream.
[2:59:28] It's going to have to widen the access
[2:59:31] path in order for maintenance vehicles
[2:59:33] to access the site, cutting down dozens
[2:59:35] of trees. And yet, there's been no
[2:59:38] wildlife impact study.
[2:59:41] Access to this park is going to be
[2:59:43] severely disrupted, not just during the
[2:59:46] construction phase, but well beyond.
[2:59:50] Um there are potential viable
[2:59:53] alternatives
[2:59:54] uh alternative sites but but those have
[2:59:57] been quickly dismissed.
[2:59:59] Wheight was selected for its elevation
[3:00:03] and its proximity to the areas of town
[3:00:06] that lacks adequate cell phone coverage.
[3:00:09] We have proposed an alternative location
[3:00:11] in the recycling transfer facility.
[3:00:15] um that site in Wheelright has an
[3:00:17] elevation of of 78 feet above sea level
[3:00:20] whereas the RTF site has a a higher
[3:00:24] elevation at 93 feet above sea level.
[3:00:27] That site ated RTF has already been
[3:00:29] disturbed and it's only about a thousand
[3:00:31] yards from the proposed site in Wright
[3:00:33] Park. So this this alternative site
[3:00:36] could actually improve coverage by
[3:00:38] moving it to higher ground.
[3:00:40] Uh at a recent conservation commission
[3:00:43] meeting regarding this project, a
[3:00:45] concern was raised about falling debris
[3:00:47] damaging the the transfer station solar
[3:00:50] field. And our concern is that if
[3:00:53] falling components are a risk from this
[3:00:54] infrastructure, they're also a risk to
[3:00:57] hikers who use the forest trails below.
[3:01:01] The most meaningful differences for the
[3:01:04] RTF site are uh reduce wetland
[3:01:07] disturbance, honoring the the original
[3:01:10] intent of the donors of this park, and
[3:01:12] potentially lowering the overall impact
[3:01:14] from this construction.
[3:01:17] And long-term, last thing I'll say is
[3:01:19] longterm, the ramifications of using
[3:01:22] this pro this protected land are
[3:01:25] profound. If this project proceeds as
[3:01:27] proposed, we'll need to ask how do we
[3:01:29] protect the rest of Wheelright Park and
[3:01:31] our other parks and open spaces from
[3:01:34] similar actions in the future. Once we
[3:01:36] set this precedent that donated open
[3:01:38] space can be repurposed without full
[3:01:40] process and appropriate studies, it
[3:01:42] becomes much harder to say no to the
[3:01:44] next time. This motion will give the
[3:01:47] town an opportunity to pause, reassess,
[3:01:50] and pursue alternatives without limiting
[3:01:52] the town's ability to address public
[3:01:54] safety needs.
[3:01:58] Just a second. He's in the middle of
[3:01:59] speaking.
[3:01:59] >> I just have one last closing. You
[3:02:01] >> about 30 seconds, sir.
[3:02:02] >> The the Open Space and Recreation
[3:02:03] Committee is asking the town to oppose
[3:02:05] this project in its current form, not to
[3:02:07] stop cell phone service, but to demand
[3:02:09] transparency, uh, alternatives, and
[3:02:12] respect for the land that's been
[3:02:13] entrusted to us.
[3:02:15] >> Thank you.
[3:02:21] Mr. Dick. You had a a point of order.
[3:02:23] >> Yes. I'd like to the components.
[3:02:36] » This is on behalf of their proponents.
[3:02:38] The proponent notified me that this
[3:02:40] gentleman was going to speak.
[3:02:44] >> Okay. So, the um the select board has
[3:02:48] recommended against by a vote of four to
[3:02:50] zero. The advisory committee has
[3:02:52] recommended against by a vote of nine to
[3:02:54] zero. I recognize the gentleman over
[3:02:57] here.
[3:02:58] >> Uh why don't we let the selectman go
[3:03:00] first?
[3:03:05] » I defer to the selectman.
[3:03:06] >> Okay. Sorry, I didn't realize that
[3:03:08] selectman were going to speak. Go ahead,
[3:03:09] Mr. Farra.
[3:03:11] >> Thank you. David Farog, Select Board, 39
[3:03:14] Beachwood Street.
[3:03:16] The cell phone project was approved by
[3:03:20] town meeting, special town meeting in
[3:03:22] December of 2022.
[3:03:25] That vote was unanimous. Um, as a part
[3:03:28] of that, the warrant that was sent out
[3:03:31] to every single home in this town giving
[3:03:34] everyone notice regarding the project.
[3:03:36] The article spoke to where the cell
[3:03:40] phone tower was going to be put in
[3:03:41] Wright Park and it also um uh denoted
[3:03:45] the land that it was going to be swapped
[3:03:46] for in the other end of town. That being
[3:03:49] on Route 3A, the EP Espazito property
[3:03:52] which the town acquired uh and it
[3:03:54] authorized the town to go forward with
[3:03:56] article 97 legislation to put up the
[3:03:58] cell phone tower.
[3:04:01] Following that with the select board
[3:04:03] authorized um they went forward to go
[3:04:05] with article 97 legislation in order to
[3:04:09] um swap and do the cell tower. It was
[3:04:11] approved by the state legislature both
[3:04:13] the house and senate. It was approved by
[3:04:15] the governor. It went to the attorney
[3:04:17] general and once all that was done and a
[3:04:20] request for proposal was put out by the
[3:04:22] town of Cohassid uh to select the cell
[3:04:24] phone um company that would help put up
[3:04:27] the tower. the other and and so right
[3:04:30] now that is being permitted in front of
[3:04:32] the conservation commission and soon to
[3:04:34] be in front of the zoning board as we
[3:04:36] speak. The other locations that are
[3:04:39] spoken of and it doesn't address it in
[3:04:41] the substance of the article. It just
[3:04:44] says to find another location um the
[3:04:47] only other town owned properties in that
[3:04:49] into town that I am aware of is the RTF
[3:04:52] and Wadlay Park. Wad Lake Park is um
[3:04:56] next to Rocky Beach if you know as you
[3:04:58] go down Forest A uh to the there and so
[3:05:01] uh a cell phone tower was uh looked
[3:05:04] there but again it's in a neighborhood
[3:05:06] it would be there on Jerusalem road and
[3:05:08] it would have to be standing over a
[3:05:10] house which was not uh appropriate and
[3:05:13] also face the Atlantic Ocean which
[3:05:15] wouldn't be the the greatest when you
[3:05:17] have a noraster the RTF um that keeps
[3:05:20] being talked about as a potential
[3:05:22] location. We have a capped landfill at
[3:05:25] the RTF, which everyone should know. Um,
[3:05:27] when you have a capped landfill,
[3:05:29] underneath that cap, as the organics
[3:05:32] break down, it breaks down to methane
[3:05:34] and carbon dioxide.
[3:05:37] Um, we have a solar array that's on top
[3:05:39] of it now, as you were well aware. And
[3:05:42] the idea that we would be able to drill
[3:05:44] through that cap to then put a uh cell
[3:05:48] tower in, whoever is jackhammering
[3:05:51] through that cap better have their life
[3:05:53] insurance paid because of all the
[3:05:55] methane gas that's below there. So if
[3:05:57] there's a spark, that is not going to
[3:05:59] work out very well. Let alone having a
[3:06:01] cell tower there. It's lower ele it's a
[3:06:03] lower elevation than Wheelright Park is.
[3:06:05] So the RTF is is not an acceptable or or
[3:06:08] sensible uh approach for this. And
[3:06:11] that's precisely why Willight Park was
[3:06:12] chosen. Um, finally, um, the contract,
[3:06:17] uh, we have a contract with a cell phone
[3:06:19] operator, uh, to to build the tower in
[3:06:22] Wright Park. Um, if we were to move it
[3:06:24] somewhere else or try and do that, the
[3:06:26] town would be in breach of contract with
[3:06:28] that carrier. Uh, and the town would be
[3:06:30] on the hook for the consequential
[3:06:31] damages, the architectural renderings,
[3:06:33] the engineering that they've done up
[3:06:34] until this point in time. Uh and then
[3:06:36] finally, um the balloon test, uh we did
[3:06:39] in Wright Park over a year ago showed
[3:06:42] that you can barely see it above the
[3:06:43] treetops for where it is. And and uh
[3:06:46] there's only one small view corridor
[3:06:48] that in the wintertime uh from the other side of the beach side, you might
[3:06:52] be able to see a little bit of the
[3:06:54] tower, but it's it's out of the way. Um,
[3:06:57] and the final note is that when it comes
[3:06:59] to cell phone towers and
[3:07:01] telecommunications equipment, it's very
[3:07:03] common to have them in parks or state
[3:07:05] parks. In fact, the Commonwealth of
[3:07:07] Massachusetts puts most their
[3:07:08] telecommunications equipment on fire
[3:07:10] towers, uh, which are found all
[3:07:12] throughout the state at the highest
[3:07:13] elevations. And if you go to the Blue
[3:07:15] Hills, one of the biggest
[3:07:16] telecommunications towers or needle that
[3:07:19] there is, uh, serves most of the radio
[3:07:21] stations in Boston, including WGBH, NPR,
[3:07:25] uh, the sports and sports radio and half
[3:07:28] of the radio stations that you probably
[3:07:29] all listen to. Uh, your plane, of
[3:07:31] course, has to go around it when you're
[3:07:32] coming from the south back to Logan. Uh,
[3:07:34] but it's pretty common that you would
[3:07:36] you put these um put this technology in
[3:07:39] there. So, for all these reasons, um the to put it plainly, the horse has
[3:07:44] left the barn on this. We're four years
[3:07:47] into it. We've did what Town Meeting
[3:07:48] wanted us to do unanimously four years
[3:07:50] ago, and it's going to be for public
[3:07:52] safety. And then, of course, we'll have
[3:07:54] a few other carriers on it as well. So,
[3:07:56] I ask you to vote no on this article.
[3:07:58] Thank you.
[3:08:00] >> Thank you.
[3:08:02] >> Let the gentleman here, sir.
[3:08:05] >> Yes. Fred Zodto, 28 Old Coach Road.
[3:08:07] Again, thank you for your patience. I
[3:08:09] know it's late. Um, but this actually is
[3:08:12] in our neighborhood. Uh, selectman and I
[3:08:15] guess I wear a few hats. I'm also a
[3:08:17] master's degree in electrical
[3:08:18] engineering and I've been working on
[3:08:20] microcell environments lately for
[3:08:22] autonomous vehicles. Um, so there are
[3:08:25] definitely different ways to get around
[3:08:27] having to put a 160 foot cell tower in a
[3:08:30] trusted deed property where the Rearwite
[3:08:34] family will probably roll over in their
[3:08:36] graves, the ones that ded that trusted
[3:08:39] it to the town. And it sets, as the uh
[3:08:42] committee said, the conservation
[3:08:44] committee, I believe, on my opinion, it
[3:08:46] sets a very bad precedent for people
[3:08:48] that leave gifts and trust to the town
[3:08:52] in their wills. And this was not one.
[3:08:54] This was four wills from the family.
[3:08:56] Now, as far as alternative sites, I've
[3:08:58] heard the RTF. I don't know if anybody's
[3:09:01] noticed, but there is a for sale sign
[3:09:04] right across the street from the
[3:09:05] Wheelwright Park entrance on Forest
[3:09:07] Avenue for 9 acres of property
[3:09:11] um to do with you what you will. I would
[3:09:14] imagine uh we could reszone it or
[3:09:16] whatever, but it wouldn't be uh
[3:09:18] violating the trust of the people that
[3:09:20] put the park up. And I and also with due
[3:09:23] respect to the selectman, I do not know
[3:09:24] of a tree that's 160 foot tall in
[3:09:27] Wheelwright Park. Maybe 80 feet, yes.
[3:09:30] But 160 feet, no. This will rival the uh
[3:09:34] windmill, the electric windmill that
[3:09:36] they were going to put on top of um I
[3:09:38] think it was Turkey Hill or Bear Hill
[3:09:40] off of Route 3A. Um which would have
[3:09:42] been bigger than the one they had in
[3:09:44] Hull, which is now defunct and fallen
[3:09:47] down uh t removed. So I ask you know
[3:09:50] take this even though you've had sunken
[3:09:52] money in the last four years uh
[3:09:55] development in electronics in Wi-Fi
[3:09:57] reception Wi-Fi 6 is here Wi-Fi 7 is
[3:10:00] coming edge network computing you don't
[3:10:03] need those huge cell towers anymore in
[3:10:06] order to get the same coverage. You use
[3:10:08] a unit called a roadside unit which is
[3:10:10] about a foot square and you just put
[3:10:12] them along a few telephone poles up and
[3:10:14] down the streets. you're gonna even
[3:10:16] gonna get even better coverage than you
[3:10:18] would from the 160 cell foot tower which
[3:10:20] is now old technology for less cost. So
[3:10:24] I think you could actually if you looked
[3:10:25] at this you could you could n the
[3:10:27] project and actually save money. Thank
[3:10:31] you. Thank you.
[3:10:35] So I've got a number of people
[3:10:37] recognized. Gentleman here, woman there,
[3:10:39] man behind her, women behind him, and
[3:10:40] then I got a man here. So we've got
[3:10:42] quite a number. You're you're up. Good
[3:10:45] evening. Corey Evans, uh 313 North Main
[3:10:47] Street. Um I was paying attention to
[3:10:50] this project closely when it was
[3:10:53] originally proposed because my house
[3:10:55] looks literally right at where the
[3:10:57] antenna is. Uh and so
[3:11:01] I wanted I was curious. So when the
[3:11:03] balloon was up, I watched from my my
[3:11:06] house. I walked around the neighborhood.
[3:11:09] I walked through the park and came to
[3:11:12] the conclusion that okay, this won't
[3:11:14] affect me.
[3:11:16] I paid attention then because I was
[3:11:18] worried. So I want to share that that
[3:11:23] this is a location that is going to be
[3:11:26] hidden from my perspective. The other
[3:11:28] thing is I'm a frequent runner. I run
[3:11:31] from my house down forest.
[3:11:34] I can't make a phone call from certain
[3:11:37] places. We now I've seen from the school
[3:11:40] committee side. I've heard from parents
[3:11:42] who are worried why the bus tracker
[3:11:44] doesn't work. We lose cell phone
[3:11:46] coverage.
[3:11:48] I understand very much the concerns
[3:11:50] about conservation. I think they're
[3:11:52] valid. But I do think this is a sensible
[3:11:56] solution
[3:11:57] to solve something that anyone who lives
[3:12:00] on Jerusalem Road Drive or goes to the
[3:12:03] beach, we can solve this now. And from
[3:12:06] my perspective years ago, I I think the
[3:12:09] impact is is quite low. Um, so I do
[3:12:13] support this, but everyone's got to vote
[3:12:14] their own way. But from my perspective,
[3:12:16] this is a good trade-off. Thanks.
[3:12:22] » Woman there, please.
[3:12:24] >> Hello, Amy Bernicker, 662 Jerusalem
[3:12:27] Road. I have poor cell phone service in
[3:12:30] my neighborhood, but but I am against a
[3:12:33] cell phone tower in Wilright Park.
[3:12:36] is a unique special place
[3:12:38] in Cohasset. I visit frequently and
[3:12:41] within a moment of stepping in, I feel
[3:12:43] renewed by the natural quiet
[3:12:45] environment. I also was stunned to read
[3:12:48] article 25 which states that the Wright
[3:12:51] family donated the land as a public park
[3:12:54] and that the wills expressly state that
[3:12:56] there be no buildings except for park
[3:12:59] use and no other construction. So I
[3:13:03] believe it would be a profound mistake
[3:13:05] to damage and misuse Wright Park and it
[3:13:08] would not be justified simply to make
[3:13:10] better cell phone service. I am not
[3:13:12] against public safety or a cell phone
[3:13:14] tower for improved reception, but let's
[3:13:17] honor the Wright family and look for a
[3:13:20] more appropriate location for a tower.
[3:13:22] Thank you.
[3:13:23] >> Thank you,
[3:13:28] » sir.
[3:13:30] Jeremy Deona, 276 North Main Street. I
[3:13:33] attended the town meeting when Chris
[3:13:35] Senior spoke about the proposed uh tower
[3:13:37] on December 12th, 2022 and he would like
[3:13:40] to enter into the record that
[3:13:42] approximately the 37th minute. The
[3:13:45] former town manager Christina stated
[3:13:47] there's a lot more work that will have
[3:13:48] to be done and any further action would
[3:13:51] have to come back to town meeting if we
[3:13:52] were to lease the land and and the
[3:13:54] carrier. Town meeting did not vote to
[3:13:57] approve a cell tower in Whale Park. The
[3:14:00] town appears to believe that the
[3:14:02] proposed tower is exempt from planning
[3:14:03] board review. This is an error that
[3:14:05] should be corrected. The current design
[3:14:07] clearly intended for commercial use by
[3:14:10] carriers such as Verizon T-Mobile and
[3:14:11] AT&T which removes the town's ability to
[3:14:14] exempt the site from planning board
[3:14:16] review. Additionally, a violation has
[3:14:18] clearly occurred as we as many other
[3:14:21] abutters and abutters were not notified
[3:14:24] which is required form a notice. I've
[3:14:26] attended all subsequent meetings and at
[3:14:29] no meeting did I and or attendees ever
[3:14:31] vote to approve a cell tower in Willrate
[3:14:33] Park. Thank you.
[3:14:35] >> Thank you.
[3:14:40] » Woman, please.
[3:14:41] >> Hi, I'm Jen Madden from 60 Forest AB. Um
[3:14:46] I walk in Wheight Park often and I just
[3:14:48] have two questions. Um, as I've been
[3:14:52] walking in Wheelright Park, I've noticed
[3:14:54] a lot of tags on the trees. What
[3:14:58] percentage of the park will be used for
[3:15:02] the cell phone tower, including access
[3:15:06] to the cell phone tower? That's my first
[3:15:09] question. My second question is, our
[3:15:12] cross country, Cohassid High School
[3:15:14] cross country team uses Wheelright Park
[3:15:17] as its raceourse. Will they be affected
[3:15:20] by this?
[3:15:24] » So my first question is the percentage
[3:15:25] of the park. How many trees are we
[3:15:28] cutting down? Are we creating an access?
[3:15:31] >> Is there some You may know the answer.
[3:15:33] >> There's somebody from the select board
[3:15:34] that could answer the two questions.
[3:15:36] >> So what percentage of the park is used?
[3:15:39] I think was the question by the proposed
[3:15:41] cell tower and
[3:15:43] >> impact on cross country runners. Uh the
[3:15:45] project takes up about 6 acres
[3:15:48] approximately. Wheelright park depending
[3:15:50] upon how you want to size is between 200
[3:15:52] and 300 acres. Um and the flags that you
[3:15:55] might be talking about might be the uh
[3:15:57] wetland flagging that was done uh for
[3:16:00] the for the project. Thank you.
[3:16:02] >> Any I'm sorry that's great response on
[3:16:05] the question about cross
[3:16:06] >> of land is what they're taking and
[3:16:07] there's at least 70 trees that are to be
[3:16:10] felled.
[3:16:16] At least 70 trees have been earmarked
[3:16:17] for being felled.
[3:16:19] >> 30 on the site and then a 40 on the
[3:16:21] access portion.
[3:16:23] >> I'm sorry. And what about the AC is
[3:16:25] there is it necessary that there be some
[3:16:28] kind of access to the cell phone tower?
[3:16:31] >> Is it necessary that there be some kind
[3:16:33] of access to the cell phone tower?
[3:16:43] Uh the access to the the cell phone
[3:16:45] tower would be from the forest a side
[3:16:48] and it would go along the current cart
[3:16:50] path that is there and then as you go
[3:16:53] down it you take a left to where the cell phone tower would be
[3:16:56] located.
[3:16:58] >> Thank you. Uh let's see. I've got the
[3:17:01] gentleman here in the front
[3:17:04] Cycler 30 Ocean Lely.
[3:17:07] Um, I just need some clarification here.
[3:17:12] The officials seem to be speaking
[3:17:14] against this project, but my copy of the
[3:17:20] proposed motions says that they've
[3:17:23] recommended approval.
[3:17:27] » They Yeah, that it was phrased that way.
[3:17:30] They recommended approval by a vote of
[3:17:31] zero to four, I think, which is the same
[3:17:33] thing as recommending disapproval by 40.
[3:17:38] Thank you. I got the woman over here.
[3:17:41] >> Hi, uh Carrie Pendolino. I'm at three
[3:17:44] Jerusalem Lane. Uh yes, myself does not
[3:17:48] work most of the time. Um but having
[3:17:52] lived in other communities across the
[3:17:54] nation, um Fred here talked about the
[3:17:58] boxes. The boxes actually are the new
[3:18:01] way of putting to uh sell cell access to
[3:18:06] it on telephone poles which is a more
[3:18:10] economical and a more environmental way
[3:18:13] of actually providing cell phone
[3:18:15] service. So Fred here is actually right
[3:18:18] because I have had that in all of the
[3:18:21] cities that I've lived in. So just to
[3:18:25] give you a different perspective.
[3:18:28] » Thank you.
[3:18:31] >> I've got Mr. Jenkins and Jenkins
[3:18:34] Jerusalem Road. As Dr. Wood would say,
[3:18:37] call a question.
[3:18:39] >> Um okay. So I've actually seen I've got
[3:18:42] Thank you for that. I've got um four
[3:18:45] people I think that I've already noted.
[3:18:46] So we'll let them speak and then we will
[3:18:48] uh I'll entertain the motion to call the
[3:18:50] question. So, uh, you're first,
[3:18:53] >> Peter Pascuri, 12 Linton Lane. Um, as
[3:18:58] far as cross country, the runners turn
[3:19:00] left into the Boy Scout camp and take
[3:19:03] the trail back to the parking lot, so
[3:19:06] they wouldn't be going down to where the
[3:19:08] tower is. Um, I walk in there every day.
[3:19:12] Uh wheel right is is the gem of Cohasset
[3:19:16] and it's already being infringed upon by
[3:19:19] houses that are being built close to the
[3:19:23] trails and one is very close to where
[3:19:26] the Boy Scout encampment is and I don't
[3:19:29] think we should have any more
[3:19:30] encroachment on that beautiful park.
[3:19:33] Thank you. Thank you.
[3:19:40] Got the woman here on the right. Uh,
[3:19:42] Marissa Manley, 14 Spin Drift Lane. Uh,
[3:19:46] I moved to Kohasa in 2018, and for those
[3:19:49] that don't know, Spinrift Lane is one
[3:19:51] block up from Black Rockck Beach, um, in
[3:19:54] that sort of dead cell service zone. I
[3:19:58] also sit on the open spaces committee,
[3:20:00] so I'm very close to this project. We've
[3:20:02] been talking about it for the past two
[3:20:03] years. And despite the lackluster cell
[3:20:07] service at my house, I'm very much in
[3:20:10] favor of not having the cell tower in
[3:20:12] Wright Park. Uh in 2018, we had no
[3:20:17] service. Definitely was disconcerting
[3:20:20] when we lost power. In 2026, we now have
[3:20:24] a few bars of service. And I can only
[3:20:26] speak from my own experience, but I feel
[3:20:30] very confident that as technology
[3:20:32] changes and evolves that we will get to
[3:20:36] a place where we will have full cell
[3:20:38] coverage in Cohasset whereas a cell
[3:20:42] tower is a very permanent solution and
[3:20:45] it's a permanent solution that can't be
[3:20:47] undone. It's very destructive to the
[3:20:49] ecosystem in Wright Park and it's a park
[3:20:52] as many have already mentioned that was
[3:20:55] gifted to the town and should be honored
[3:20:58] by those that gifted it. Um the other
[3:21:01] thing I think was kind of glossed over
[3:21:03] that I just want to mention is the land
[3:21:05] swap that was gifted to or what will be
[3:21:09] the trade for this 2acre parcel in
[3:21:12] Wright Park is a swamp. It's a
[3:21:14] completely unused p or un we it cannot
[3:21:18] be a piece of property that can be used
[3:21:20] for any sort of recreation and so for
[3:21:23] that it's not really an equal piece of
[3:21:26] property and the town will actually be
[3:21:28] losing public recreation space.
[3:21:31] >> Thank you.
[3:21:36] I've got the women here at the
[3:21:38] microphone.
[3:21:39] >> Uh Barbara Ren, 44 Black Rock Road. I
[3:21:42] have listened to all the conservation
[3:21:44] hearings and the proposed tower I think
[3:21:47] is 175 feet which is like a 17story
[3:21:50] building and also of note as I think 50
[3:21:52] trees are um some of them very mature
[3:21:55] are going to be marked to take down the
[3:21:57] parking lot's going to be enlarged and
[3:21:59] the cart path uh which is the the
[3:22:01] walking path up to the tower the utility
[3:22:04] companies are asking for a 12-oot
[3:22:05] easement uh enormous cranes 80 800 I
[3:22:10] don't know the the cement trucks that
[3:22:11] are going to have to go up there. That
[3:22:13] path is going to have to be widened and
[3:22:15] altered and I think every quarter um six
[3:22:20] maybe three to six util big utility
[3:22:23] trucks will have to go up to that tower.
[3:22:25] I think the park is going to be
[3:22:26] irrevocably changed. I think that it's
[3:22:29] just a disgrace to the Wright family.
[3:22:32] The park is beautiful. We don't have a
[3:22:34] lot of open space in our town. Um, and
[3:22:38] also when I was listening, I would
[3:22:40] recommend that you all go back and and
[3:22:41] watch the conservation hearings. The
[3:22:43] cell plans are very old. The technology
[3:22:47] has to have improved. There has to be
[3:22:49] something better than a massive tower
[3:22:52] which will have all of those lines
[3:22:53] coming down that the birds can fly into
[3:22:56] there. I think we should pause and the
[3:22:59] technology should be looked at. Um,
[3:23:01] that's pretty much all I have to say.
[3:23:03] Thank you.
[3:23:10] We have had a motion to move
[3:23:12] the question. Is there a second?
[3:23:15] >> Okay. We're going to This is a vote on
[3:23:17] whether we're going to stop debate or
[3:23:18] not. It's not a vote on the main motion.
[3:23:20] to stop debate does require
[3:23:22] twothirds vote for adoption. So, all
[3:23:23] those in favor of stopping debate,
[3:23:25] please signify by saying I.
[3:23:27] >> I.
[3:23:28] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[3:23:30] saying nay.
[3:23:31] Debate is stopped. That passed
[3:23:33] unanimously. We'll now proceed to a vote
[3:23:35] on the main motion. The motion under
[3:23:36] article 25, it requires a majority vote
[3:23:39] for adoption. All those in favor of the
[3:23:41] main motion under under article 25,
[3:23:43] please signify by saying I.
[3:23:45] >> I.
[3:23:46] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[3:23:48] saying nay.
[3:23:50] >> The motion does pass with the requisite
[3:23:52] majority vote.
[3:23:58] » That that concludes the business in our
[3:24:01] warrant. Thank you for your
[3:24:03] consideration and respect. May I have a
[3:24:05] motion to dissolve? Thank you.
[3:24:11] » You serious?
[3:24:13] >> Okay, we we Well, hold on, hold on, hold on. We've got two people at
[3:24:17] least doubting the count. Are there
[3:24:18] others that doubt the count? You need
[3:24:20] seven.
[3:24:21] >> One, two, three, four, five,
[3:24:24] >> six. Is there a seventh?
[3:24:27] >> Seven. Okay. All right. We're going to
[3:24:28] have to do a hand count.
[3:24:34] Please sit tight that we're going to
[3:24:35] have to vote by hand.
[3:24:39] » Making the tellers work.
[3:24:48] » Okay, we got to we got to get this vote
[3:24:50] done.
[3:24:55] » Okay, all those in favor of the motion
[3:24:57] under article 25, please hold your
[3:24:59] little pink slips up.
[3:25:22] Keep your hands up.
[3:25:53] Keep them up. Just a little bit more
[3:25:54] longer, please.
[3:26:05] Okay, write your tallies down, please.
[3:26:14] Okay, tellers, you good? Okay. Uh, all
[3:26:18] those against, please hold your pink
[3:26:20] slips up, please.
[3:26:37] Don't please don't leave. The tellers
[3:26:39] are trying to count. Make don't make
[3:26:40] life hard for them by moving around,
[3:26:42] please.
[3:26:57] Okay, you can put your hands down. Thank
[3:26:58] you.
[3:27:43] I also noticed your hairy
[3:27:52] But it looks like
[3:28:01] » I haven't heard anything.
[3:28:07] I'd be right in front of
[3:28:22] Okay, the tally is uh in favor 199
[3:28:28] opposed 30. It does pass.
[3:28:35] » Um may I have a motion to dissolve?
[3:28:39] >> Thank you. Is there a second? Second.
[3:28:41] >> All those in favor of the motion
[3:28:42] dissolve, please signify by saying I.
[3:28:45] >> I.
[3:28:45] >> All those opposed, please signify by
[3:28:47] saying nay.
[3:28:49] >> The meeting is dissolved.
[3:28:50] >> How are you?
[3:28:51] >> Thank you very much.
[3:28:53] >> This is the first time I've seen you
[3:28:54] with tie.
[3:28:57] >> Thank you.