Voters at Monday's Special Town Meeting unanimously approved approximately $2.4 million in spending across several projects, including a critical fire alarm system upgrade at the middle-high school.
The largest single expenditure was $1.43 million for a new fire alarm system at Cohasset Middle-High School. School officials emphasized the urgency of the replacement, noting that failure of the current system would make the building unusable. While the town is exploring long-term plans for the school building, Superintendent Sarah Shannon explained that even if accepted into the Massachusetts School Building Authority program next year, a new facility would be at least seven years away.
Voters also approved $535,000 in water infrastructure improvements, funded through retained earnings of the water department. The projects include replacing 600 feet of water main on Short Street, installing 500 feet of new water main on Cedar Street to improve water quality and pressure, and upgrading chlorine gas equipment at the water treatment plant.
Additional appropriations included $350,000 for the town's Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) trust fund and $100,000 for the capital stabilization fund. Tim Davis of the Post-Employment Benefits Committee reported that the town's unfunded OPEB liability has decreased from $29.1 million to $26.7 million, noting that financial management firms consider Cohasset's funding policy among the best in the state.
The meeting also allocated funds for several smaller projects, including updates to the town's open space and recreation plan, maintenance of electric charging stations, and new airlift bags for the fire department.
The Community Preservation Committee received approval for two projects: $75,000 to expand the military memorial wall at the harbor to include Revolutionary War and War of 1812 veterans, and $60,500 for safety improvements at Milliken Field's baseball facilities.
Assistant Town Manager Michelle Leary reported that the town's certified free cash stands at $1.8 million.