Cohasset Select Board sends scaled-back police station to special town meeting

Select Board · Meeting of September 8, 2026

Cohasset advances a $20.9 million police station and sets a December 5 vote. The Select Board voted 5-0 to send the redesigned, 19,246-square-foot building, cut by 4,364 square feet from the version approved earlier, to the October 26 special town meeting, then set December 5 for the required debt-exclusion election. Chief William Cleveland told the board the department's Flock license-plate cameras have produced "zero claims of misuse" as he urged rejection of a citizens petition for a new surveillance oversight bylaw; the board tabled that petition pending Advisory Committee input after Town Counsel Janelle Austin flagged legal exposure in its enforcement provisions.

Petitioner Sarah Reeves argued surveillance data can reveal "where they go to church, where they get reproductive health care." The board also voted 3-2 to recommend repealing the town's water bottle ban and 2-3 against a proposed noise control bylaw.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
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• The complete report — 2,627 words

Source: the Select Board meeting of September 8, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.