The Scituate Select Board convened a brief emergency session on Monday evening to formally address the impacts of a significant weekend winter storm. With only three members present to establish a quorum, the board moved quickly to align the town’s legal status with state-level emergency protocols. Chair Andrew Goodrich opened the meeting at 6:35 PM, joined by Vice Chair Susan Harrison and member Freya Schlegel. Motion Made by A. Goodrich to accept the agenda and call the meeting to order. Motion Passed (3-0-0).

The primary business involved the timing of a formal state of emergency declaration. This meeting is really for an emergency declaration, Chair Andrew Goodrich noted before asking Town Administrator James Boudreau for the specific requirements. Boudreau advised the board that the declaration should be backdated to ensure the town’s response efforts were fully covered under state guidelines. Boudreau recommended that the board declare a winter storm emergency commencing on February 22nd at noon time and ending concurrent with the state declaration of emergency.

During the discussion, a brief confusion regarding the current date arose. Chair Goodrich initially asked, Isn't that the 24th? Isn't it the 24th today? Boudreau clarified that the meeting was taking place on February 23rd, meaning the emergency status would retroactively begin the previous day to capture the full window of the storm’s impact. I'm sorry. It started yesterday before the storm started. Today is the 23rd. So, the 22nd, Boudreau explained.

The board concurred with the timing to ensure administrative consistency with the Commonwealth’s emergency status. Vice Chair Susan Harrison and member Freya Schlegel both provided affirmative roll call votes to enact the measure. Motion Made by A. Goodrich to declare a winter storm emergency commencing on February 22nd at noon time and ending concurrent with the state declaration of emergency. Motion Passed (3-0-0).

While the town has recently been preoccupied with long-term infrastructure discussions—including the $6.1 million Pier 44 redevelopment and the ongoing construction of the new water treatment plant—this emergency session underscored the immediate challenges of coastal winter weather. The declaration provides Scituate with necessary flexibility for resource allocation and recovery efforts as the community shifts from storm response to cleanup.