Scituate Select Board moves St. Patrick's Parade, approves Mordecai Lincoln lease RFP

SCITUATE -- February 24, 2026, Scituate Select Board unanimously postponed the St. Patrick's Day Parade and approved a string of capital and policy measures at its February 24 meeting, held as a major snowstorm cut power to 44 percent of town properties. Chair Andrew Goodrich and the full board voted to move the parade from March 15 to April 12, 2026, after organizer Ed Kelley described 15-foot snowbanks burying the entire setup area. The board approved three contracts, $53,181.44 to Scituate Boat Works for repowering police Marine Unit 2 (offset by a $24,999 port security grant), $17,800 to local Scituate High School graduate Liam Norton for coastal shorebird monitoring (beating out Mass Audubon's $22,207 bid), and $164,550 to FM Generator for a middle school emergency shelter generator funded largely by FEMA. Over the Capital Planning Committee's objections, the board added $150,000 for MS-4 stormwater mapping and $85,000 for a Fire Department pickup truck to the FY27 capital plan headed to the April 13 Annual Town Meeting. Finance Director Nancy Holt secured unanimous approval for a new retiree health insurance policy barring employees retiring after July 1, 2026, from later rejoining the town plan if not enrolled at retirement, a response to 28 new plan subscribers added since August 2025. The board also authorized an RFP for a caretaker-tenant lease at the historic Mordecai Lincoln cottage, with a market rent valuation set at $2,250 per month.