COHASSET — Oct. 26, 2026 — Cohasset Special Town Meeting on Monday approved $20.9 million to convert 135 King Street into a police station, contingent on a Dec. 5 debt exclusion vote, and funded a $2 million middle-high school feasibility study. Voters repealed the town’s ban on single-use plastic water bottle sales 109-107, rejected a summer leaf-blower restriction 109-117 and postponed a surveillance oversight bylaw.
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Police station. The appropriation passed by a declared two-thirds voice vote, but takes effect only if voters approve a debt exclusion at the Dec. 5 special town election. Glenn Pratt, chair of the Public Safety Facilities Committee, said the committee came back after last year’s plan failed at the ballot. The redesign drops a future fire substation wing and leaves the Elm Street fire station for a separate renovation.
Susan Franklin, chair of the Capital Budget Committee, said the $20.9 million plus $5 million left from a 2023 authorization would cover the $25.9 million project, with construction expected from September 2027 through 2028. Based on an assumed 4.75% rate, Franklin estimated a tax rate impact of about $0.59 per thousand of assessed value in the bond’s first year, declining to $0.19. Franklin said a preliminary $7 million Elm Street fire station renovation was not before the meeting.
One resident said many people no longer trust town leaders after recent years; another urged support for first responders.
School feasibility study. Voters approved up to $2 million from the School Capital Stabilization Fund for a Massachusetts School Building Authority feasibility study of the middle-high school. Superintendent Sarah Shannon said the working estimate is closer to $1.5 million and that the vote does not commit the town to a building project. Shannon said the district anticipates reimbursement similar to the 32.46% received on the Osgood roof project. A separate article returned $400,000 of unused Osgood roof money to the school fund.
Water bottles and leaf blowers. The repeal of the 2024 single-use plastic water bottle sales ban passed on a counted vote of 109-107; the moderator declined a request to question the count. Virginia LeClair, chair of the Open Space and Recreation Committee, which sponsored the original ban, opposed repeal.
