MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CUMBERLAND TOWN COUNCIL

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1, 2020 AT 7:30 P.M.

CUMBERLAND TOWN HALL, EVERETT “MOE” BONNER, JR. COUNCIL CHAMBERS

45 BROAD STREET, CUMBERLAND

OPEN SESSION

 

Prior to opening the meeting, President Dwyer read into the record: “To protect the health and well-being of our citizens, and in accordance with Governor’s Raimondo’s Executive Orders 20-05 (relaxing the Open Meetings Act requirements) and 20-09 (restricting gatherings to five (5) people or less), this meeting will be available to the public by live-streaming and by telephone conference call.  The matters on this agenda have been determined to be for an essential purpose as defined in EO 20-05. 

 

Members of the public can listen to the meeting and/or make comments by either:

 

(1)               Calling 401-388-4992 to join a conference call. Once you enter a call, you will be placed on mute until a request for comments is made by President Dwyer. A moderator will manage the order of the calls and will unmute the calls one-by-one.

(2)               Emailing comments to publiccomments@cumberlandri.org. Include your name, address, and statement. Only comments including all required information will be read into the record.

 

Town Council Chambers will not be open to the public.”

 

President Dwyer further stated that he would be the only member of the Council in the Chambers tonight. In accordance with the Governor’s executive order, the other six (6) members of the Council will be joining by conference call. The other Council members are: Councilor Schmitt, Councilor Stephanie Gemski, Councilor Lisa Beaulieu, Councilor Peter Bradley, Councilor Mike Kinch, and Councilor Robert Shaw. There may be a brief delay between the opening of the public portion of an item and the comment from the person calling in; he will try to control the tempo.

 

The regular meeting was called to order at 7:34p.m.

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

President Dwyer; Councilors Gemski, Kinch, Shaw, Bradley, Beaulieu and Schmitt

 

Also present— Mayor Jeffrey Mutter; Town Solicitor Kelley Morris Salvatore; Town Clerk Sandra M. Giovanelli; Chief of Staff Linda Teel; and Finance Director Ray Chauvin.

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

 

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

President Dwyer stated that every vote tonight will be a roll call vote so that everyone will know how every member of the Council votes. He will ask each member for their vote and repeat it for the record. He also repeated the email address and telephone number that could be used by the public to participate and have their comments read into the record.

 

UNANIMOUS CONSENT ITEMS

 

CONSENT AGENDA

A.  Acceptance of the minutes of the Regular Meeting of March 18, 2020

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR KINCH, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE BY A ROLL CALL VOTE.   VOTE 7/0.

 

PUBLIC COMMENTS

President Dwyer opened this item at 7:38p.m.

 

Chief of Staff Linda Teel stated that she had not received any emails at this time. There were one or two individuals on calls, whose microphones were unmuted; and could speak at this time if they wished. President Dwyer invited them to speak, but no one responded.

Town solicitor Morris-Salvatore asked Mrs. Teel to read the last four digits of the callers’ phone numbers to make sure the technology was properly working. Both individuals responded that they had no comment.

 

OLD BUSINESS

A.     ORDINANCES FOR PUBLIC HEARING:

1. #20-06 – An ordinance amending the Salaries of the Executive Staff and Other Positions (Presented by the Council President on behalf of the Administration)

 

Public hearing opened at 7:40p.m.

 

Mayor Mutter explained this ordinance needs to be heard by the Finance Sub Committee before it can be heard; he suggested tabling to the next regular meeting of April 15^th.

 

Public hearing closed at 7:43p.m.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO TABLE TO APRIL 15, 2020 BY A ROLL CALL VOTE. VOTE 7/0.

 

NEW BUSINESS

A.     RESOLUTIONS

 

1.  R-20-34 – A resolution authorizing Mayor Jeffrey Mutter to enter into a contract with HP Electric in an amount not to exceed twenty-three thousand fifty dollars ($23,050.00)

 

Public hearing opened at 7:43p.m.

 

Chief of Staff Linda Teel stated that this was part of the CDBG grant for improvements to the Senior Center.
Three bids were received; the lowest met the requirements of the proposal, and the company had excellent references.

The Building Committee had unanimously voted to accept the bid. They were hoping to begin this work while the seniors were not in the building, as long as they could maintain proper social distancing.

 

President Dwyer asked if there were any questions for Mrs. Teel.

 

Councilor Bradley asked if this was being funded by the grant now, or if the town was funding it with anticipation of a refund.

 

Mrs. Teel responded that the $500,000.00 grant money had been awarded to the town, but the requirement was for the town to expend funds and submit to CDBG for reimbursement.

 

Public hearing closed at 7:46p.m.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR GEMSKI, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE BY A ROLL CALL VOTE. VOTE 7/0.

 

2.  R-20-35 – A resolution authorizing and empowering Mayor Jeffrey Mutter to authorize the purchase of cast iron sanitary sewer manhole frames and covers from Core & Main LP of Norwood Mass for the rehabilitation of Town Sanitary manholes along Mendon Road ($20,454.73)

 

Public hearing opened at 7:49p.m.

 

Mayor Mutter gave a brief overview of the resolution.

 

Councilor Bradley asked if the specifications met Maintenance USA standards. Solicitor Morris-Salvatore commented that if upon review the bids did not follow appropriate specifications, the project would go out for bid again.

 

There were no callers or emailed comments.

 

Public hearing closed at 7:51p.m.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE BY A ROLL CALL VOTE. VOTE 7/0.

 

3.  R-20-36 – A resolution authorizing and empowering Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter to enter into an agreement with New Vision Systems Corporation

 

President Dwyer had been informed this matter needs to be tabled to the special meeting of April 6^th.  Some additional hardware is required which entails presenting a separate resolution April 6^th to purchase said hardware.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR KINCH, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO TABLE TO APRIL 6, 2020. VOTE 7/0.

 

4.  R-20-37 – A resolution engaging the Law Firm of Shectman Halperin Savage, LLP as Special Counsel for the issuance of Tax Anticipation notes at an amount not to exceed $12,000

 

Public hearing opened at 7:57p.m.

 

Mayor Mutter gave his overview of this resolution for special bond counsel and responded to questions from the Council.

 

There were no emails or questions from the public.

 

Public hearing closed at 8:03p.m.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SCHMITT, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE BY A ROLL CALL VOTE. VOTE 7/0.

 

5.  R-20-38 – A resolution authorizing the Town of Cumberland to issue Tax Anticipation notes pursuant to RIGL Section 45-12-4 or 45-12-4.1

 

Public hearing opened at 8:04p.m.

 

Solicitor Morris-Salvatore explained §RIGL 45-12-4 and 45-12-4.1.

 

Mayor Mutter discussed the need for the resolution.

 

Finance Director Ray Chauvin spoke to collection projections and paying off the notes.

 

No emails or calls from the public were received.

 

Public hearing closed at 8:10p.m.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SCHMITT, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE BY A ROLL CALL VOTE. VOTE 7/0.

 

6.  R-20-39 – A resolution authorizing and empowering Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter to enter into a contract with Atlantic Golf and Turf for an amount not to exceed forty-nine thousand four hundred eighty-four dollars and five cents ($49,484.05)

 

Public hearing opened at 8:13p.m.

 

Mayor Mutter discussed the resolution as following the previously adopted plan and the budgeting for it.

 

Alan Neville, chairman of the Parks & Recreation Commission, had sent a letter of support.

 

There were no public emails or telephone calls.

 

Public hearing closed at 8:16p.m.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE BY A ROLL CALL VOTE. VOTE 7/0.

 

PUBLIC COMMENTS

There were none.

 

President Dwyer closed the public comment section at 8:19p.m.

 

Mayor Mutter thanked the Council thanked the council for passing R-20-37 and R-20-38, enabling the town to be able to continue serving the residents. The Mayor also thanked town hall staff and residents for their work, outreach and assistance for anyone with food insecurity; and spoke to the closure of recreation fields and potentially the Monastery and other areas. The town was working daily to keep everyone safe.

 

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN AT 8:25P.M. BY A ROLL CALL VOTE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

 

 

 

____________________________________

Sandra M. Giovanelli, Town Clerk

 

 

 

 

FOR A FULL ACCOUNT OF THIS MEETING PLEASE REFER TO THE VIDEO RECORDING ACCESSIBLE ON THE TOWN’S WEBSITE, www.cumberlandri.org.

 

ADDITIONALLY, THE DVD OF THE ENTIRE MEETING IS AVAILABLE AT THE EDWARD J. HAYDEN LIBRARY.