Scituate Town Meeting Funds $3.8M Pier 44 Park

In this report: Key decisions · Full report · Sources

What happened

Town Meeting authorized $3,835,165 to construct Pier 44 waterfront park on 44 Jericho Road, funded by $835,165 from Community Preservation reserves and $3 million in borrowing, ending a 16-year planning effort. The meeting also approved $5 million in Community Preservation funding, including $4 million in borrowing, for a Gates Apartments 63-unit senior housing project at the former Gates School site. The Advisory Committee opposed the park funding by a 2-4 vote, citing projected $742,000 in borrowing costs, while the Select Board supported it 4-1.

Key decisions

• ● Pier 44 waterfront park construction. Town Meeting approved a $3,835,165 appropriation, funded by $835,165 from Community Preservation reserves and $3 million in borrowing, to construct an ADA-accessible waterfront park with boardwalk, kayak dock, gangway, public restrooms, and parking spaces at the 44 Jericho Road property acquired from the MBTA in 2010. The Select Board voted 4-1 to support; the Advisory Committee voted 2-4 against, citing approximately $742,000 in projected borrowing costs over 10 years. (Vote approved by required two-thirds vote). Read case details
• 🏢 Gates Apartments senior housing funding. Town Meeting approved $5 million in Community Preservation funding ($587,235 from Community Housing Reserve, $412,675 from FY27 estimated receipts, $4 million in borrowing) for a 63-unit affordable senior housing development under a 99-year lease with the Grantham Group at the former Gates School site. The Select Board voted 4-1 in favor and the Advisory Committee voted 5-1 in support; officials expect the project to bring the town close to 7 percent in the subsidized housing inventory. (Vote approved by required two-thirds vote). Read case details
• 💰 FEMA bond paydown. Town Meeting approved transfer of $500,000 from free cash and $1.9 million from the stabilization fund to pay down a $2.4 million bond anticipation note issued after FEMA declined to reimburse repair costs from four storms: Sandy (2012), Nemo (2013), Juno (2015), and Riley (2018). Any future FEMA reimbursements will be returned to the stabilization account. (Vote approved by required two-thirds vote). Read case details
• ● Sunset Road conservation taking. Town Meeting authorized the Select Board to acquire five Sunset Road parcels by gift, purchase, or friendly eminent domain for conservation purposes using $609,000 in Community Preservation funds reserved in a 2018 CPC appropriation. The land, which has title defects from decades of unresolved probate and land court issues, will be managed by the Conservation Commission and protected from future residential or 40B development. (Vote approved by required two-thirds vote). Read case details
• ● Groveland Cemetery land acceptance. Town Meeting authorized the Select Board to accept a donated parcel on Manlot Road and associated cemetery trust funds for DPW management, establishing the town's second public cemetery. The cemetery has graves of Mordecai Lincoln (great-great-grandfather of Abraham Lincoln) and railroad builder Gridley Bryant, with roughly 200 to 250 available burial plots projected to generate at least $130,000 in net revenue. (Vote approved by unanimous two-thirds vote). Read case details
• 💰 CPC routine projects funding. Town Meeting approved $15,750 for Athletic Fields debt service, $15,200 for Appleton Field community garden improvements, $50,000 for GAR Hall restoration (kitchen and handicap ramp repairs), and $500,000 for a climate-controlled Town Archives vault. The Advisory Committee voted 6-0 to approve; the CPC voted unanimously to recommend. (Vote approved unanimously). Read case details
• 💰 DPW truck replacement. Town Meeting appropriated $57,600 to replace a Department of Public Works truck destroyed in an accident, funded by $42,139.56 from free cash and $15,460.44 from insurance proceeds. The two employees inside the truck were not injured. (Vote approved by majority vote). Read case details
• ● Police training facility postponement. Town Meeting voted to indefinitely postpone funding for the police firearms and decision-making training facility without discussion of a dollar figure. (Vote approved by majority vote). Read case details
• 📜 Waterways and harbor bylaw amendments. Town Meeting approved revisions to General Bylaws Section 25-20 and Sections 39-10 through 39-100, clarifying existing language, defining professional services, and updating notice requirements to allow website posting instead of newspaper publication. Previously controversial 50-percent-of-income and charter-definition language were removed. (Vote approved unanimously). Read case details
• 📜 Consent agenda approval. Town Meeting approved a bundle of nine routine articles including unpaid prior-year bills, FY27 budget reconciliations, transfers to reserves and between capital projects, revolving fund limits, care and custody of Lawson Gates, local-option acceptance of sewer and water betterment statutes, and special legislation extending the town moderator's term to three years. (Vote approved by unanimous voice vote). Read case details

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Full meeting report

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Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.