Cohasset News

11/04/2025

Breaking News. The Cohasset Town Meeting just turned down the citizen kindergarten petition.

11/04/2025

Breaking News: Cohasset Town Meeting just voted down the proposed conversion of the RTF to an enterprise fund. 133-106

10/27/2025

Cohasset Select Board Meeting ReCap – At the September 30 Select Board meeting, Chair Ellen Maher and members Paul Grady, David Farrag and Julie Rollins (with Chris Plecs joining later) worked through a packed agenda. During public comment, residents voiced frustration about finding information for the upcoming Special Town Meeting and questioned the rising cost of the proposed public‑safety facility. The board then unanimously approved transferring a full liquor license and a common victualler license to Just Add Water LLC for the re‑branded Captain’s Hideaway, and separately granted a new victualler license to Hook Pizza Company. In a series of appointments aimed at bolstering local boards, they appointed Gene Pesci to the Affordable Housing Trust, Nicole Roth to Cohasset Community Television, Doug McGregor to the Historic District Study Committee and Sanji Fernando to the Community Preservation Committee.

The meeting included significant financial discussions. The board endorsed a FY 2027 budget message and heard an update on the 62 Elm Street renovation, where a scaled‑down design cut costs from about $7.7 million to roughly $4.2 million, with work phased over five years and delayed until 2028. Members also acknowledged that the Planning Department has secured $1.295 million in grants since 2022, including a recent $196 k award for energy‑efficiency improvements at Osgood and Deer Hill schools. Looking ahead to the Special Town Meeting, the board voted to recommend articles creating a revolving fund for a Cohasset Community Market, paying unpaid bills, adding to stabilization funds, repairing the Joseph Osgood School roof, amending the FY 2026 operating budget and adopting state statutes to convert on‑premises wine/malt licenses to full‑alcohol licenses. They also approved holding the special town election in the Deer Hill School gymnasium and scheduled multiple October forums and tours to solicit feedback on the public‑safety building proposal. A citizen petition seeking tuition‑free full‑day kindergarten sparked debate and was tabled until after the Advisory Committee issues its recommendation. Subsequent reporting after this meeting noted that the board has since pulled the public‑safety building funding article from the Nov 3 Special Town Meeting to give the project more time, illustrating their commitment to thoughtful deliberation.

END

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10/07/2025

Breaking News! The Cohasset Selectboard just voted unanimously tonight to pull the 18 million dollar Public Safety building project request from the Nov 3 Special Town Meeting warrant and they plan to bring the proposed project before the 2026 Spring Annual Town Meeting after further project refinement.

10/02/2025

Very interesting discussion today with select board member Paul Grady, DPW head Brian Joyce and RTF manager Frank Marchione. Lots of questions and answers. Good public dialogue 👍. Held at the Thursday morning men’s club meeting at Willcutt Commons. Every Thursday 9-11am. 😊

09/25/2025

Great turnout this morning for the beginning of the 10th year celebration of the opening of Willcutt Commons! 👍😊❤️

09/04/2025

Very interesting and informative public forum on the RTF to Enterprise Fund proposal, with town officials tonight. Most of the 1.5 hours were spent on dialogue, questions and answers - with the Selectboard and Town Manager listening and answering questions. Should have done this the first time around. 👍

08/31/2025

Man arrested, charged with murder in connection with body found outside South Shore Hospital

Source: Boston 25 News

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08/17/2025

Cohasset Police Log (July 7–13, 2025). 🚓🔥🐾

🚨 Arrests & Serious Incidents
July 8, 8:07 PM – Sky View Way 54-year-old Hingham man arrested for domestic assault. Caller said he was “highly intoxicated,” slapped her, threatened to burn the house down, and refused to return her car keys.

July 9, 8:49 AM – Jerusalem Rd Wave of dog-license crackdowns: eight criminal summonses issued to residents aged 48–70 for unpaid dog license violations.

🔥 Fires, Hazmat & Odd Deliveries
July 10, 5:30 PM – Beach St Resident opened an Amazon delivery containing a beach chair... and something that looked like a leaking bomb. Smelled of turpentine. FD evacuated caller. Turned out to be heavy equipment delivered to the wrong address.

July 7, 9:37 AM – Rust Way Multiple blasting alerts throughout the day: “BLAST IN 5 MINUTES @0932. BLAST COMPLETE @0938.”

July 9, 5:04 PM – Hill St Smoke detector went off in a home. No smoke, no fire — just a “blown smoke detector on the second floor.” Reset and cleared.

July 10, 7:47 AM – Jerusalem Rd & Linden Dr Flooding caused a sinkhole. DPW barricaded the scene; road reopened later the same day.

🐾 Animal Antics
July 9, 2:21 PM – Beechwood St Caller reported a Canadian goose with a broken wing near a bridge. Goose located and “swam off.”

July 9, 3:21 PM – Doane St Chocolate lab with a pink and purple collar running loose. Officers returned it safely to its home.

July 10, 12:40 PM – King St Rabbit trapped in a resident’s house. Caller given advice — bunny safely left unarrested.

July 9, 9:50 AM – Pond St Officers assisted in search for a missing 70-lb chocolate golden doodle. Later: “Dog has been found.”

🚗 Road & Marine Mishaps
July 10, 7:30 AM – Chief Justice Cushing Hwy Black sedan stalled in deep floodwaters, ended up fully submerged. Owner confirmed: “My car died in the water.”

July 10, 11:36 AM – Parker Ave Boat Ramp Docked skiff capsized due to water. Vessel recovered.

July 10, 12:59 PM – Jerusalem Rd Car vs. tree crash. 20-year-old male self-extracted with minor injuries.

July 10, 2:26 PM – Sandy Cove Beach Three paddleboarders stopped for not wearing life jackets. Escorted to shore without incident.

🧠 Drug & Mental Health Calls
July 9, 12:48 PM – North Main St Officers and clinician conducted well-being check. Subject transported for evaluation.

July 10, 5:08 PM – Jerusalem Rd Caller accused ex-husband of giving drugs to their daughter. Police found no one home; neighbor reported they had left an hour earlier.

08/08/2025

Some June 30 – July 6 Cohasset Police Log highlights.

🐾 Animals
07/01 – 8:45 a.m. — Deceased deer washed ashore; reported to harbormaster.

07/01 – 8:06 p.m. — Husky found wandering; reunited with owner.

🔥 Fire / Utility
06/30 – 7:58 a.m. — Controlled blasting; multiple detonations completed.

06/30 – 4:23 p.m. — Faulty smoke detector triggered alarms until replaced.

06/30 – 5:57 p.m. — Leaking hydrant with water “boiling up” from base; Water Dept responded.

07/01 – 11:06 a.m. — Leaning utility pole; short road closure until secured.

07/01 – 1:40 p.m. — Smoke report from golf course; turned out to be a contained fire pit in a neighboring town.

07/01 – 8:33 p.m. — Broken hitch lock discovered on a beach light tower.

🚗 Vehicle Incidents
06/30 – 8:49 a.m. — Stalled BMW later driven home and scheduled for tow.

07/01 – 5:13 p.m. — Hyundai reported stolen; alert issued.

07/01 – 7:42 p.m. — Report of erratic Lexus driving; driver cleared.

🚨 Disturbances / Public Safety
06/30 – 7:22 p.m. — Verbal dispute involving reportedly intoxicated tenant; no arrests.

06/30 – 8:29 p.m. — Group jumping off bridge; moved along.

07/01 – 7:19 p.m. — Large group on bridge playing loud music; moved along.

🧠 Domestic / Mental Health / Protective Orders
07/01 – 8:03 p.m. — Domestic dispute; wife locked husband out; both separated after welfare check.

07/02 – 10:27 a.m. — Abuse prevention order served; one party packed belongings to leave.

💊 Drug / Wellness Checks
07/01 – 9:52 p.m. — Follow‑up at a wellness center.

🎣 Miscellaneous / Unusual
06/30 – 2:41 a.m. — Officer checked on man fishing from bridge — “waiting for high tide.”

08/06/2025

RTF as an Enterprise Fund back under Consideration

Cohasset is once again wrestling with the future of its Recycling Transfer Facility (RTF). In a memo dated Aug. 1, Town Manager Christopher Senior laid out two starkly different paths: keep the facility under the Department of Public Works’ general budget or spin it off into an enterprise fund. The decision, which will come before a special town meeting this fall, could dramatically affect how much residents pay to dispose of household waste.

The RTF currently operates as part of the Department of Public Works and is open to the public four days a week. All money from All‑Facilities stickers, pay‑as‑you‑throw bags and item‑specific disposal fees is funneled into the town’s general fund, where it’s split 61/39 between the schools and municipal services. Rising costs for waste disposal, electricity and labor mean property taxes are increasingly propping up the facility.

Town meeting voters in May rejected an article to convert the RTF to an enterprise fund, leaving a hole in the fiscal 2026 budget because the spending plan assumed the change would occur. The failure of that article means the town will need to take up the issue again at the fall special town meeting to balance the books.

Under the enterprise‑fund proposal, every dollar from RTF sticker sales and bag fees would stay with the facility. The RTF would operate like a stand‑alone business, setting fees to cover its own expenses, building reserves for equipment and weathering market swings without leaning on property taxes. In this scenario, a primary permit would cost about $150 and pay‑as‑you‑throw bags would be $2 for a small bag and $4 for a large one. Secondary All‑Facilities stickers would remain $75, and senior permits would rise from $30 to $60, with revenue from secondary stickers continuing to flow to the general fund.

Keeping the RTF in the general fund would force the town to raise fees dramatically because only 39 percent of the facility’s revenue would be available to pay its bills. The memo estimates a primary permit would jump to roughly $385, and bag prices would climb to $5 for a small bag and $10 for a large one. “Creating an RTF enterprise fund is both the more fiscally responsible and less fiscally impactful approach for town residents,” Senior wrote.

The memo also calls for a pilot program to sell up to 300 non‑resident permits at $300 each beginning Sept. 1, an increase in bag fees to $2 and $4 on the same date, and retaining the All‑Facilities sticker system. Existing stickers are good until March 2026, so no immediate action on those fees is necessary.

An enterprise fund would separate the RTF’s books from the rest of town government and require the facility to live within its means. Advocates say that makes costs transparent and ensures that people who use the service pay for it. It would also free up general‑fund dollars for schools and other municipal services. Critics worry that relying solely on user fees could leave the RTF strapped for cash during economic downturns or when trash volumes drop, leading to more frequent fee hikes. Others point out that the current system spreads the cost of waste disposal across all taxpayers, subsidizing residents who produce a lot of trash and providing a break to those who generate little; an enterprise fund would shift more of the burden directly onto users.

Town officials have already hired an industry professional to overhaul day‑to‑day operations after a fire last fall exposed weaknesses in the facility’s management. New equipment and a streamlined layout are improving efficiency, and Senior argues that a business‑style enterprise fund would keep the momentum going.

This fall’s special town meeting will decide whether the RTF continues as part of the town’s general budget or begins operating as its own business. The outcome will shape trash fees, the town’s budget and how Cohasset residents pay for waste disposal for years to come.