MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CUMBERLAND TOWN COUNCIL

WEDNESDAY, MAY 17, 2023, at 7:30 P.M.

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

45 BROAD STREET, CUMBERLAND, RHODE ISLAND

 

CALL TO ORDER

The regular meeting was called to order at 7:44pm with a roll call of members.   

 

MEMBERS PRESENT:

In person: President Kinch, Councilors Bradley, Shaw, Magill, Metivier, Schmitt and Beaulieu.

 

Also present—Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter; Town Solicitor Kelley Morris Solicitor; Town Clerk Sandra M.
                        Giovanelli

 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

President Kinch welcomed attendees from BF Norton.

 

CONSENT AGENDA

A.    Acceptance of Minutes of the Regular Meeting of May 3, 2023

B.  MUNICIPAL MOBILE FOOD ESTABLISHMENT

 1.  The Daily Grind

 2.  The Ish LLC

 

C.  COMMUNICATIONS

1.  C-23-28 – A resolution from the Town of Hopkinton in support of FY 2024 proposed infrastructure funds

 

2.  C-23-29 – A resolution from the Town of Little Compton in support of enabling legislation authorizing Tax Amnesty periods for municipalities

 

3.  C-23-30 – A resolution from the Town of Richmond in opposition to Rhode Island Gun Control Legislation

 

4.  C-23-31 – A resolution from the Town of Richmond in support of FY 2024 proposed infrastructure funds

 

5.  C-33-32 – A resolution from the Town of Warren requesting section 44-5-68 be repealed

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

PUBLIC COMMENTS   

There were none.

 

REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS

A.  Report of Executive Session vote(s), as may be necessary.

      There were none to report.

B.  Update from the School Committee

Denis Collins and Superintendent Philip Thornton were in attendance.

 

Mr. Collins, 5 Wedgewood Drive, reported the following:
Last week was teacher appreciation week. On behalf of the school committee, we want to extend our gratitude and appreciation for the work of our teachers and the work they do every single day. Educators provide our students with the knowledge and confidence to become successful in life. The challenges teachers face on a daily basis cannot be overstated, especially the last three years. PTOs and private businesses provided breakfast and lunches to each school, and we thank them. And when I was preparing this, I didn't know we'd have teachers here, so thank you very much. Speaking, of teachers, we announced the 2023 District Teacher of the Year, Ms. Tammy Lemieux transition classroom teacher at Cumberland High School. Congratulations on this well-deserved honor. RICAS update: the month of April marked the beginning of RICAS testing for ELA, which I think I mentioned last time. Principals have reported successful sessions and are pleased with the efforts of the students. We now shift our attention to testing grades three to eight, mathematics this month, and early reports mirror the efforts in ELA. We look forward to seeing our students’ results as we continue to recover from the effects of the pandemic. Gap closure is a district focus, and teachers are working diligently to help students achieve.
And just a couple school construction updates: Ashton School work continues construction and the new addition. With exterior work nearly completed, attention is now focused on the interior this week with cubbies cabinetry, bathroom tiles, ceiling grids, and fire alarm work. The project is on time and is scheduled to be completed later this summer. Community School: the addition of Community at Community is also on time and slated for completion in August of 2023. And at Garvin, the school wide renovation of the existing building remains on schedule. This week, interior wiring work, interior window and door framing, and completing sheet rock spackling has characterized much of the work. There were some delays on the outside part and they're gaining ground on that, according to the superintendent.

 

At this point President Kinch interjected: While we have our friends from B.F. Norton here, does anybody have an objection if I move that resolution, to under, the update from the school committee; And we'll do that now:

4.  R-23-41 – A resolution memorializing the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing the Town of Cumberland, with the approval of the qualified electors, to issue not to exceed $52 million General Obligation bonds, notes and other evidence of indebtedness to Finance the construction, renovation, improvement, alteration, repair, furnishing and equipping of a new elementary school and other related school facilities and the demolition of an existing elementary school on land presently occupied by the B.F. Norton School in the Town provided that the authorization shall be reduced by any grant received from the school building authority Capital Fund

 

Superintendent Philip Thornton: Good evening and thank you, Mr. President. I'm here tonight to give you some details on the resolution for a potentially new B.F. Norton and some other improvements in our district. Tonight, I have a three-part presentation. Part one, I'm calling it the “Why” - Why a new BF? That's my part. I'll talk about that in a second. Secondly, we'll have the “What” – what could a new BF look like? And our architect, Luis Torrado, is here tonight. He'll take you through what the building could look like. And lastly, how would that look on the ballot, the math behind it. And our team of colleagues is here tonight to take you through the math of what this resolution could look like on the ballot.
So, first, let's go into the new concept of BF Norton, and why BF? The first thing I've been talking about a lot in town is enrollment. Enrollment is up. It's going to keep going up. We had another projection done by NESDEC, our company that does enrollments. They did it this winter, and they pegged us going up 7% over the next ten years. That's in contrast to Rhode Island losing kids across the state. Quick little more detail on that. NESDEC tells us in the year 2029/30, we'll have 5,016 kids in Cumberland. We have that pretty much right now. So we're running six years ahead of the projection from this winter. That's how fast we're going up. It's a good thing to have more customers. More customers, more state aid, right. But we have to plan for it and have enough seats for the kids coming in. I would also point out the construction - the thinking in this construction project in Cumberland started back pre-pandemic 2018, 2017. And I would say enrollment has changed a lot since then. And some of the assumptions made back then just don't hold up anymore. That's why we're in front of you talking about this new BF concept. Looking at BF now, the current building, where it sits, as you know, the footprint is limited. You can't add on to BF. As you know, we're adding on to every other elementary school in Cumberland except BF. Right? We can't do it. It's limited. Inside BF, some of the building is still original to 1889. That's how old the building is. We have three 3’s, that kind of thing. So it's limited in what we can do as far as size. If we did, a new BF would be a 4-track school. It would hold 575 students. It would give us 244 extra seats in Cumberland. So picture this: in the north, you have Community, a 4-track school. In the south, BF as a 4-track school. In the middle, three 3-track schools. And that would give us more latitude to kind of offset enrollment as it comes in in either part of the town. So that's the idea behind that. In the end, I think with BF, you have a 21st century space, a new state-of-the-art building in the southern part of town. I think it's just a great feeling. You think about this in Cumberland, I think right now we have momentum, right? We have test scores on the move, we have enrollment going up, we're fixing our buildings. But BF is kind of that one last point where right now, the current plan is an $8 million renovation, and it's really limiting on what we can do with that with the enrollment coming in. So that's my brief speech on the “Why”. If I could, I want to call upon our architect, Mr. Torrado, to come up and show you a little bit of what a new BF could look like. So, Mr. Torrado, can you come on up?

Mr. Torrado: Good evening. My name is Luis Torrado. I'm president of Torrado Architects. It’s been a great pleasure to work with Cumberland over the last few years. And we're very excited about this proposed elementary school. I want to emphasize that if this project goes forward, we expect to do visioning sessions and fully engage all stakeholders in the community. So what this is, is more of a test. We want to see if the program that's required can fit in the land and how that circulation may occur. One of the biggest problems that the existing building has is the circulation in that ideally, you want to separate parent car drop off, walkers and separate the buses. At BF. Norton, they all come together at one point. And although the school does a great job with it, it's a very challenging issue. So let me start with the site.

Pointing to a graphic:

This is Broad Street. The existing building is located here. And there is about a one-story change in elevation from this upper level to this level below. So the proposal is to have the parent car drop arranged here (in place of the existing building). They would stack and be able to go around and be able to drop off at this point. We have some greenery separating Broad Street and the parking area. And then there's an existing memorial located where the proposed play area will be. What we're proposing is to relocate that small stone monument to this corner. It will be a more prominent space. We’ll have some benches around it and it will be much more visible than where they have it.

The main entrance to the building is located here. I want to jump to the building because it helps understand how the site works. (showed graphic)

The reimbursement cost that RIDE gives you to build a building is a very challenging number. It requires you to design a very economical building. And we have found that the most economical way to build and design a school building is by having a three-story academic portion. So that you create a module and classroom staff on top of each other for three stories. Then large span spaces like the cafeteria and the gym are best to be done on a slab and with nothing above. So those are the basis for our design. The problem with three story schools is that you have vertical circulation control. Ideally, you want to enter the school at the second floor. And this site lends itself perfectly. I’ll start by showing you the second floor.

And so this would be the main entrance to the building. We have the administration and nurse area. And this is at the level of the parent car drop off. What we try to do to accommodate 21st century learning is create spaces that create small learning communities. We call those “houses”. And each grade has its own house. The house has a “learning commons”, which is a collaborative project area, and also includes a large faculty planning room, because for 21st century, it's critical to engage fully with the faculty planning.

You see the houses. This would be the house for the second grade, the house for the third grade. And then the other restriction that there is, is that you don't want to circulate to somebody else's house to get to the core spaces. And you see, this allows for direct circulation to the DaVinci rooms, the media center, and then restrooms on this end. Basically, the third floor stacks up directly over that, and it provides the houses for the fourth and fifth grade.

Okay, so this next level is the one abutting Broad Street. This is the car drop off area. You can see it's about one story higher than that. The access to the new building will be through here, and that's how we get to enter the second floor. It’s required that kindergarten and first graders be on ground level, and so that's why they are on this entrance. This is the ground level. It has its own entrance with some control point. And then we have the kindergarten, first grade, houses, and then at this end, you have the gymnasium and cafeteria arranged so that it has easy community access and it could be easily separated from the rest of the building. That basically reflects what the current plan is.

President Kinch: Thank you, Mr. Torrado.

Superintendent Thornton: And now, if I could, for the last part of the presentation, I'll follow up on Colliers to come up to talk about the mathematics behind the potential bond question. We have Holly Demers here with Megan Haverilla. If I could have them come up to talk about the mathematics?

Council members, thank you for having us. Megan Haverilla with Colliers project leader Holly Demers.

Ms. Demers: Nice to be here. Thank you.

Ms. Haverilla: So, we've seen now what the proposal is for the new elementary school. Pretty exciting. Now, the next question is, what are the cost impacts for taking on this next journey in Cumberland? So, what you have in front of you is the financial information based on ride numbers that are.

We'd be going out for the cost of the elementary school bond amount of $50 million. And with that, we're also looking to take advantage of some additional work within the school district that we weren't able to capture under the current bond. So, based on our valuation of the current buildings in place, we've been able to identify about $12 million worth of improvements that should be made throughout the Cumberland School department. So, based on the capital improvement numbers, the new elementary school, that gives you roughly a total amount of $63 million. That dollar amount is what we would be presenting to RIDE for their approval as part of a stage two. But what we need to focus on is on the next section of your sheet that you have is the gray box; when we go in for the bond referendum in November, what we need to focus on there is you've already had a previous approval for two projects, one of them being the BF Norton project that was slated for renovations. That associated dollar amount was 8.3 million. We also have another amount, 3.9 million, that was approved by the voters. However, that amount was not substantiated by RIDE. That was tied back to your FF& E, as well as your It package. So what we're looking to do is represent that again for approval. So, with the new bond, this means you would take in the cost of your capital improvements plus the new elementary school cost, and you would subtract the two amounts that were already approved as the prior bond. So next steps would be to continue these conversations and then seek a new bond referendum in the amount of approximately $52 million.

President Kinch: If you don't mind, can I ask why we couldn't capture the 12 million in the first bond? What changed there?

Ms. Haverilla: Which 12 million? I just want to be clear.

President Kinch: The capital improvements. Okay. You said you couldn't capture the 12 million, so we need that for different projects in addition to the BF. Norton school correct?.

Ms. Haverilla: Correct. So those were additional projects. The roof project at the high school, that roof hasn't been touched, many of it's the existing roof from 1961, I believe, so that includes that work. We've got ADA security, upgrades, as well as health and safety. There was some playground work that we are also looking to capture, not included. And then Ashton and Community, we're looking to bring those schools up to a like new condition, similar to what we were able to achieve at Cumberland Hill. So that's how we're getting the additional $12 million.

President Kinch: Thank you. Any other questions from the councilor? Mr. Bradley?

Councilor Bradley - You're saying parts of that roof are from 1961?

Ms. Haverilla: Yes.

Councilor Bradley So we're talking a 60-year span?

Ms. Haverilla: Yes, that's correct.

Councilor Bradley: Which parts?

Dr. Thornton: The newest sections are 2008. It's the Taff and the Science wing. The rest is 1961, with some work done in different locations. Patches put in, if you will.

Councilor Bradley: At what time were the patches put in?

Dr. Thornton: I don't have exact days. I've been told across many years. Patches, we currently have six active leaks in the roof. We have two leaks in the ‘08 section, four leaks in the older section right now.

Bradley: because I'm just trying to remember back when I went to school, I remember the roof being done, that's why.

Dr. Thornton: I guess being done could be a patch, but it's that old roof, that layered membrane, if you will. But I've been told there are multiple patches up there. We did do a patch recently on the Wellness Center, an $8,000 patch for that roof, a little section. So it's pretty common that we're up there. Patching.

Bradley: Yeah, it didn't seem like a patch.

Councilor Schmitt. Can someone speak to Reimbursement?

Ms. Demers: So the reimbursement has a base rate and then the bonus points, which we were able to capture bonus points on the first bond. And so if you look at this documentation, when we go in with the stage two, if you look at the actual base rate, which is 39.3% is your base rate for this stage Two going in from Ride;, the bonus points is what bumps it up. So, realistically, if you look at that first bonus, the one that references three bonus points, that is the most realistic, capturing of this for the school based on the requirements of each of the bonus points and how we'll reach them. Basically, again, these are estimates, this is really based on square footage, and these numbers will shift a bit, but overall, this is a solid estimate of the reimbursement rate. So for Cumberland, if you go with the three bonus points, the reimbursement rate from the participation rate from Cumberland would be the 45.7%. It shows what the school would actually cost you, and it would be almost $29 million. Do you follow? All the way to the right on the very first-hand box, it shows what the actual cost of the school would be to the district, to the town, the middle? Yes, that's four. That's being very aggressive; conservatively, I believe that the three points is attainable. There's four or five different types of bonus points, but you have to qualify. 39.3% is your base reimbursement rate from the state. The 15 points, you get five. There's five bonus points per bonus point, right. So that's 15. So you get five bonus points per bonus that you're awarded. So you get 15 more bonus points. So if you add the 15 to the 39, you get to the 54.

Councilor Schmitt: Okay. Why wouldn't it say with 15 bonus points, why does it say three bonus points?

Ms. Demers: Because they're all worth five bonus - they're all worth five points.

Councilor Schmitt: Each point is worth 5%.

Ms. Demers: Yes. That's a language that we speak. I apologize.

Councilor Schmitt: So the minimum reimbursement would be 39 change. The maximum would be 54 change.

Ms. Demers: Yes.

Councilor Schmitt: What is the realistic number?

Ms. Demers: 54. The reason why you want to do it now is because the bonus points right now expire at the end of 2023. So going into this for this stage this stage two in September allows us to get under that deadline, which will allows Cumberland to be qualified for the bonus points. The program itself, that is the end of it, right now.

Councilor Schmitt: So you'd have to get everything approved.

Ms. Demers: Yes.

Councilor Schmitt: They give you the 15 bonus points.

Ms. Demers: If we hurt, there are certain criteria that we hit. And based on what you are choosing to do, this school will qualify for three bonus points.

Councilor Schmitt: Okay. And if we don't make that deadline with no bonus points, the difference is roughly $10 million.

Ms. Demers: Yes, exactly.

Councilor Schmitt: Okay. I just wanted to make sure that's I’m reading this correctly, what's the difference between this bond reimbursement and the prior bond in terms of our actual cost?

Ms. Demers: The bonus points are the same, but because of the type of work you did, you qualified for one extra bonus point. Exactly. So you had four bonus points, each with five. And also the base rate from the state from last time actually was reduced a little bit. So that also has an impact.

Councilor Schmitt: Okay, so to reiterate, you are fairly confident that we would qualify for the three bonus points?

Ms. Demers: Yes

Councilor Schmitt: Good for now. Thank you.

President Kinch: Anyone? Councilor Shaw?

Councilor Shaw Thank you. Probably a question for Dr. Thornton. So if you could, Dr. Thornton, we're already approved for the $8 million renovation for BF Norton currently.

Dr. Thornton: Yes.

Councilor Shaw: What would the outlook be like if this weren't to pass?

Dr. Thornton: If we don't do this, we continue with the rental for BF. This next year, we have Ashton getting the Renovations.

Councilor Shaw: If we stay on track with the student population growth that we have, where do you see the district as far as its ability to keep up with the growth, in addition to redistricting to try to spread the wealth right now?

Dr. Thornton: A couple of things. First, as you know, Ashton is going to get renovated next year. Right. Following that, the plan always has been to make Community a K, a 1, a 2, et cetera, from Community, and it'll go to Ashton. Ashton currently is a two-track school. It'll be a three-track school. That's always been in the plan. What you're talking about is more enrollment coming in. That would kind of upset our model, if you will. And I do see that happening right now. I have a sheet I carry around of all my class loads. I have 95 classes in K to five in the five elementaries. I have three K's in this building, two in that building, et cetera. Right now, today, I have 30% of my classrooms are overloaded or maxed by contract. That's in May. So it's happening earlier and earlier in the year. Are we going to max out tomorrow? No, but within five years, I think we have a real enrollment or space problem.

Councilor Shaw: One more question, Mr. President. Personally, I've supported the $83 million bond in the past. I do support the changes potentially for BF. I think that there's more information that should be presented, as far as if this were to happen. Obviously, there's competition in the south, right. With BVP, choice for the residents, and it's just not the dollars that are going out from the taxpayers to make this happen. I think there's also dollars that are there to be seen that the school department wouldn't have to pay to BVP if we were strategic in our planning. Is there any information that you have to what plans and dollar figures, whether it be savings, by retaining students in our school system?

Dr. Thornton: I think it makes sense. I agree with you. A newer building would be more attractive, I would say. Even right now, in our current makeup, we are making inroads to that. Typically, in our budget, we'd model 14 more students every year going to a BVP type school. 14 and 14 more, et cetera. This past year, we went over 30 kids our way. So we actually gained or our Charter bill went down, if you will. And that's before this and before our latest test score information came out and before Cumberland Hill was renovated. So I don't think I can give you a mathematical certainty, but to me, it makes sense. If you have a new building in the southern part of town, certainly it's attractive. I agree.

Councilor Shaw: In services and potentially new services, at BF Norton that weren't currently, correct.

Dr. Thornton: Right. Just remember, if you do a new BF, you have 244 seats out of the gate. 244 more seats available.

Councilor Shaw: Thank you.

Dr. Thornton: Thank you for hearing us tonight. And we know you're not voting this evening.

Councilor Beaulieu: Thanks. So I think the last time we had an update, I know there was something in the works on the placement of the property. Has that been resolved? As far as what the blocker was.

Dr. Thornton:  On that, I think I deferred to the mayor. The mayor deserves all the credit on that. So I think I want the mayor to tell us how that went

Mayor: We finally arrived at what we thought was or what we believe, or what may actually be the owner of that property based on that deed in 1923. And the solicitor could probably speak to the legal aspects of it, but there was a condition, I believe, in 1987 that was needed to be met for the reverter clause, which was not met. So we believe that particular hurdle has been cleared. Now, that being said, there was some work done on the property, and there is a Veteran Memorial Park that Mr. Torrado spoke to. So it's still a concept, but obviously we would like to maintain       the original intent of that restriction and think that we can accommodate that in some way, shape or form. So, long story short, I believe I can say that we're pretty confident.

Solicitor Morris-Salvatore: Yes, optimistic, I think is the word, but I don't think we're prepared to say that it's a clean       title at this point. We're working with the title attorney, and as you know, when we buy property, we want to make sure that somebody's going to insure the title so that nobody can come back at us and say, oh, no, that's mine. So we are working with the former property owner. I don't want to say working with, but we are requesting more information from, basically the subsequent person of interest in the property to get some concrete language, because it's not just the reverter that the title company was concerned about, the restriction itself he has a concern with. So if we can get certain language from, this prior owner, so to speak, the title company will cover us, but if we don't, they won't. So there's still a little bit of cloud that we haven't quite but I would expect within the next, hopefully, couple of weeks, as long as that prior owner is cooperative, that we could kind of wrap this up.

Mayor: And I would add that to all appearances, I would say that that's likely, based on the correspondence that I've done. Council, got any further questions?

Councilor Beaulieu: Yes, I do. Thank you. I know that there was just the ribbon cutting for the playground, so that will remain as is and not impacted by this at all around it?

Dr. Thornton: In that first drawing, you can see the playground still in its entirety in.

Councilor Beaulieu: That location, and, it looks like this adds additional parking. Is that accurate?

Dr. Thornton: I would speak to our architect for that. Mr. Torrado?

Mr. Torrado: Yes.

 

Councilor Beaulieu: Okay, I think that's it for me. Thanks.

President Kinch: Thank you, Councilor. Mayor, is it possible - are we going to be able to have Hilltop here for the next       meeting on this vote? Because right now, we have no financials at all. Because I know it says 28 million, but the folks understand that's interest on top of the 50 million, so we're probably just short of 100 on this when it goes, if I'm not,       too far off there.

Mayor: Yes, Mr. President, as we had mentioned, we would not be seeking action tonight on, R-23-41. We had a scheduled Zoom call a couple of days ago. A little delay, got some preliminary numbers late yesterday afternoon, early evening. We have set up another call with Hilltop, and so, it is our intention to get you some numbers, hopefully on Monday. And our intention is to ask you to put this on the May 25th budget hearing agenda, for consideration. We had hoped to have that prior to but that didn't happen. So, obviously, we would not expect any action tonight without that. And honestly, I can't offer an endorsement without those numbers, either. Thank you.

President Kinch: Thank you, Mayor. Can we have Hilltop here himself? Or at least join us by Zoom? Is that possible?

Councilor Beaulieu: is there any research around what a new school means to an environment? Is there any data?

Dr. Thornton: I'm not sure I have data. I can tell you from experience, I think a new school does a great deal just for the       whole feel of a building of a community. And, I think it's really a nice feather in the cap to have a new building, but I don't have any data for you now.

Councilor Beaulieu: from a facilities perspective, building a new building and having it be brand new, what do we expect as far as, like, the annual cost of care versus what's the annual cost of care?

Dr. Thornton: Now, that's a good question. I have to come back with that next week for you. But I would say, just top of my head, we have some pretty antiquated systems at BF, so I'd have to imagine we're more efficient with a new building than we're running at BF right now with our heating system, for one.

Councilor Beaulieu: Yes. I'll save my other remarks for next time. Thanks.

Councilor Schmitt: two follow-up questions. I believe the first would be for Collier's. You probably answered this. I know the difference between three and four bonus points, but what would qualify us for the three or four?

Ms. Haverilla: There's about six bonus points, so health and safety is an easy one. educational enhancements is the other. Some of them you can't combine, so sometimes they'll qualify, but you can't combine them. And then there is something.   this one is utilization, correct? So basically, you don't have enough space in the school. Now you're going to be able to build a bigger school, so then you qualify for that. Another one is something called the Facilities Condition Index, and you have to have a school that is typically like, 65%. So RIDE would say the state would say, yes, it should not be a school. It's in really bad shape. It shouldn't be a school. And sometimes we can have it reevaluated. The state has a program that you can reevaluate it, but, BF Norton happens to have an FCI in the 20s, so it's a really big stretch. And that would be the fourth. That would be the one that would be up for conversation. There's also security, but you can't put health and safety with security. So it's really how they structure it. And also there's something that, there's an energy efficiency one that they're talking about that I don't know if we may be able to add it to the top later, but it's still a conversation, but from when I've been speaking to RIDE about it. Because obviously all the districts two bonus points is a lot, right? Every dollar, it adds up. And if that would be the case, if that was something that we could do, that would then 17 points. Because typically when they build these schools, like you had just mentioned about energy efficiency, part of the stage two is all of those studies showing what the school is costing now and what it will cost. And the numbers, yes, the systems are expensive, but the long term efficiencies on your utilities, it's amazing how much money you'll save. So there's different levels of energy bonus points. It's hard to have a zero net, zero building at cost of fortune. The state wants you to do that. But because of construction costs, it's hard. But there are certain levels that we can hit. And typically with all of the requirements of RIDE, the two bonus points is attainable.       but that's typically attainable. And so if this passes with the state and they allow us to add that on, then that would be another two points. So we will study and push with RIDE on all of the bonus points. If we can capture, we will save every dollar we can and push the program as much as we can. We know it really well. We've been doing this for years and we're confident on those three. And if we can grab these other two, that's seventeen cents. I mean, that's a lot on a dollar. But again, we'll push.   RIDE has been very excited about this project. I know that Mario Carino has been here walking it and recognizing the need. I've talked to him quite a bit about this particular school. And they'll do everything we can to make sure we get what we can from the state.

Councilor Schmitt: Okay. The second question is probably for the bond people or maybe for the mayor. But I'm concerned about debt service. Several years out, we've got the existing bond, which we're now beginning to repay. We've got this bond I don't know if you're prepared or able to answer - what will this do to debt service and these two bonds alone,       with respect to our 4% levy and 3% tax cap?

Mayor: Okay, so the first payment for the 2018 voter approved bond, that first payment is hitting us in the FY 24 budget that, the Council will start deliberating I think on the 24th and then on the 25th. And so the first payment is like $3.2 million, just shy of $3.2 million. That's an interest only payment. It's offset by somewhere around 2 million even on,       housing aid. So that's a $1.2 million add on our expense line to net, if you will, on debt service. So with the help of the Council, we did take some of our budget surplus of last year. And we've established a debt service fund that we're going to so if you look in in the FY 24 proposed budget, that's at a million dollars right now. Proposed to be at $1,253,000 after the FY 23 budget finally concludes. And about half of that is used as a revenue source to offset this, to keep us underneath - I'm getting to the question - underneath the 3% and underneath the 4%, which I think we should be happy, that's not easy. So it did take us moving some of those fund balances around and some, you know, some modest tax increases. And so that's how we're going to get to fund the 2018 approved bond; when you add this one to that equation. So without this bond, the next big drop off in debt service was FY 29.

We had a plan to get us to ‘26. So now the question is, if you added this on, is there a plan to get you to ‘29? And right now, we don't know. We have some preliminary numbers, but have not really looked at them. But that is the question, because in FY 29, town had a $1.6 million drop off in debt service in that budget year. So there's some space there that you wouldn't want to use for operating expenses. You would want to use it for capital. The question is, can you get to that year by layering in this type of expense and still stay under those caps? And that is a very challenging endeavor. I don't know right now. I don't know. But after Monday's conversation, we will know a lot more.

President Kinch: Thank you, Mayor. Just for those, the caps are state law that we can't go over. In town law, it's a certain just to keep your taxes reasonable that we can't go over.

Mayor: Well, but to be clear, though, the added debt service is a qualifying condition to go over the 4%. So the 3% is a town ordinance rate cap, but the state does impose a 4% levy cap. But you have an ability to go over that cap for just a few conditions and added debt service is one of those qualifications. The question is whether or not in this day and age, in this economy, you'd want to do that.

President Kinch: Thank you. And I know I talked at the school committee meetings with you on this, that some of the rush is because of those two points. And I know it was spoken last Thursday there was discussion, about increasing that date. Well, there's actually legislation and isn't that right? 86330 increases those bonus points until 2024.

Doctor Thornton: That was put in by the Warwick representatives, but I've heard no action on that at this point.

President Kinch: Any other questions? Thank you, Doctor. Thank you. Okay, I'm just going to hop back to that resolution. Yes, we're going to table that. Okay, so without any further discussion on Resolution 23-41, it's a resolution memorializing the general assembly to enact legislation authorizing the town of Cumberland, with the approval of the qualified electors, to issue not to exceed $52 million  In general obligation, bonds, notes and other evidence of indebtedness to finance the construction, renovation, improvement, alteration, repair, furnishing and equipping of a new elementary school and other related school facilities and the demolition of an existing elementary school on land presently occupied by the BF. Norton School in the town, provided that the authorization shall be reduced by any grant received from the School Building Authority capital fund.

I got a request to table this to May 25. Do I have a motion?

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO TABLE TO MAY 25, 2023.  VOTE 7/0.

 

C.  Monthly/Quarterly Financial Report ending April 30, 2023

 

D.  Check registers for April 30, 2023

 

E.  Request from the Tax Assessor to review and approve April 2023 abatements and supplemental bills

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE 2023 REAL ESTATE ABATEMENTS IN THE AMOUNT OF $17,132.25.
VOTE 7/0.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE 2023 REAL ESTATE SUPPLEMENT IN THE AMOUNT OF $7,157.78.
VOTE 7/0.

 

F.  Department Reports

      1. Animal Control

      2.  Building Committees

      3.  Building Official

      4.  Library

      5.  Parks & Recreation

      6.  Planning Board

      7.  Police Department

      8.  Senior Services

      9.  Town Clerk’s Office

 

G.  Water Rate Study

Referred to the Finance Sub Committee

 

LICENSES

A.  ENTERTAINMENT LICENSE

1.   An application for a special event entertainment license from the Cumberland Public Library for Music at the Monastery, to be held on June 21, July 19, and August 16, 2023, at 1464 Diamond Hill Road

 

Everything was in order for this application.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE.  VOTE 7/0.

2.   An application for a special event entertainment license from the Club Juventude Lusitana located at 10 Chase Street, for their St. John’s Annual Feast to be held June 23 and 24, 2023

 

MOTION BY METIVIER, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO RECEIVING EMS AND FINAL TENT APPROVAL.  VOTE 7/0.

 

B.  FIREARMS LICENSE tabled from April 19

1.  An application for a Firearms License from Bradley Victor Beaudoin, d/b/a 401 Armory to be located at 35 Vivian Ave. (tabled last from May 3, 2023)

 

Councilor Schmitt confirmed this was for online sales only.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SCHMITT, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO RECEIVING BUILDING OFFICIAL APPROVAL.  VOTE 7/0.

 

C.  VICTUALLING HOUSE LICENSE

1.  An application for a Fourth-Class Victualling House License from Café La La to be located at 1170 Mendon Road

Manny Correia, 231 Minerva Avenue, was present to speak to his license application.

MOTION BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO RECEIVING FIRE DEPARTMENT APPROVAL AND COPY OF MENU.  VOTE 7/0.

 

D.  HOLIDAY LICENSE 
       1.   A renewal application for a Holiday License from Latin Touch Barbershop II located at 230 Broad Street

 

Everything was in order for this application.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

2.  An application for a Holiday License from Kidozland located at 1726 Mendon Road

 

Councilor Shaw questioned the proximity to the Vape Shop next door.

MOTION BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO RECEIVING FIRE DEPARTMENT APPROVAL.  VOTE 7/0.

 

3.  An application for a Holiday License from Blackstone Quilting Company located at 3751 Mendon Road

 

Whitney Tondreau, 14 New York Avenue, spoke to her application.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILORS MAGILL & METIVIER, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO RECEIVING FIRE DEPARTMENT APPROVAL.  VOTE 7/0.

 

OLD BUSINESS

A.  ORDINANCES FOR PUBLIC HEARING  

1.  #22-05A – An ordinance in amendment of the Code of Ordinances of the Town of Cumberland, Rhode Island, as amended amending the Ordinance and map thereof with reference to Cumberland Assessor’s Plat 016, Lot 0893 (tabled last from May 3, 2023)

 

Public hearing opened at 8:43pm

 

Councilor Schmitt stated that the Ordinance Sub Committee met on May 2, 2023 and by a vote of 3-0 were recommending favorable passage to the full Council, subject to the planning department’s recommendations outlined in their memo.

 

Attorney Charles Redihan, 146 Westminster Street, Providence outlined the petition to create a crematorium and noted 2 exemptions: one for special use for a funeral home and one for lot coverage required by zoning.

 

Thank you for allowing us to come before you this evening. Mr. Council president, members of the council, I'm here this evening on behalf of the petitioner, Mendon Holding, LLC. They are seeking a zone change for property located at 757 Mendon Road, also identified as Tax Assessors plat 16, lot 893, which is currently zoned R-1. They're seeking a change to C-1. The petitioner intends to construct a freestanding, single story, 40 by 70 foot crematorium. The crematorium will expand the services of the funeral home that has operated at the premises for over 30 years. The property consists of six acres. To make this zone change request more palatable, they're also submitting an accompanying administrative subdivision, which will reduce the area being rezoned to approximately 2.4 acres, creating a new lot 893. The balance, or the remainder of the present lot 893 would be merged with an adjoining lot that is also owned by the petitioner, and that newly created adjoined lot would remain zoned R-1.

Now, the petitioner has already gotten DEM approval, specifically from the Office of Air Resources, and they've received a minor source permit. Pursuant to the petitioner's application for installation of the Crematorium  the operation of the Crematorium will remain subject to state and federal air pollution rules and regulations. Additionally, the design, the construction and the operation of the equipment at the site will be limited by the emissions limitations set forth by that Office of Air Resources. As a result of the newly created administrative subdivision, there will be a dimensional shortfall with respect to maximum lot coverage. The zoning ordinance sets maximum lot coverage at 40%. For commercially zoned properties, this proposed new lot would be 73%. So we're asking for two exemptions. The first as to having to seek dimensional relief from the Cumberland Zoning Board of Review due to that lot coverage surplus, and secondly,     seeking an exemption from the petitioner having to seek a special use permit to operate a funeral home on the premises. A funeral home operation is a permitted use in a C-1 zone through special use permit. We are asking for an exemption for that requirement and seeking to amend the ordinance as a matter of right on the subject property. Given the fact that we are here this evening for a public hearing, the matter has been duly advertised. All interested parties have been notified and provided notice, and, of course, the Town Council has plenary power in regards to zoning. We would ask for those exemptions. Our petition has been fully vetted, as was previously referenced by both the Cumberland Planning Board as well as the ordinance subcommittee. Simply put, in some nation there are several other commercial uses that are front on Mendon Road within the general area of 757 Mendon Road, and the change of the zoning would not open up the property to any kind of commercial uses which are incompatible with or injurious to the residential properties in the area. As the Planning Board found, the proposed ordinance meets the goals and purposes of the comprehensive town plan of the Town of Cumberland, and we ask that the petition be granted. Now, I do have members of the LLC presently, I believe, on Zoom, and I also have Jeffrey Bernardo here as well with me this evening. If there's any questions that either myself or Mr. Bernardo can answer relative to this petition, we're happy to do so, Council.

President Kinch: Thank you. Before I go to, I believe, Mr. Stevens, you're going to speak on this, but I'm just going to have Councilors ask questions of the representative of Mr. Bernardo. Does anybody have any questions for the applicant?

Councilor Magill: So when I was looking at the recommendations that were sent over to us from the Planning Board, there were four different stipulations. Why were those stipulations put into place? Do we know why? Specifically, the fourth one, where it's subject to a development plan review approval by the Planning Board.

Jeff Bernardo: I'm President JJ. Duffy Funeral Home. And the applicant here on this subject. The reasons why they’re put on there's a difference of opinion between the town planning director and our funeral home. The first being is that we expanded 25 parking spots back in 2019. The fact of the matter is, in our opinion, and we have records to show, that back in 1985, the lot was drawn up as it currently sits today. And my father didn't, at that time, have the funds to finish the lot. The drainage was approved. It was state of the art drainage at the time. But the reason why we're being triggered is because this development plan/development review is because, in Mr. Stevens’ opinion, we expanded 25 spots. Currently, if you took it, the plan from 1985, and the lot as it sits today, we are down seven spots from that plan. So the main thing here is, the reason why we're getting these stipulations is because of an opinion and a difference of opinion between Mr. Stevens and the Planning Department and us.

Councilor Magill: Did you have to go before the town to get approval to add the 25 parking spots at that time?

Mr. Redihan: They did not. With no malicious intent by the petitioner in 2019, they added additional parking spots at 757 Mendon Road. Pursuant to the zoning ordinance, this would trigger a development plan review, rather, for the addition of spots in that amount. So what is happening now is retroactively. The Planning Board made that suggestion to that's all I can really describe it as retroactively to deal with the parking expansion that was completed four years prior to the petition, which now sits before the Council.

Councilor Magill: And has the property ever been anything else besides a funeral home? Has it always been a business?

Mr. Bernardo: Even back in the minutes back from 1986 Planning Board that my father went to, at that particular time, we got changed to business C. Before the comprehensive zone changed in ‘94, but we were already C, but it was never recorded at the town level. And in ‘94, we were changed with just the public notice in the newspaper. We never even got notification at the funeral home that we got changed from commercial back to residential during that zone change. So realistically, if everything was recorded properly at the town level from 1985 onward, I believe that we wouldn't be even be here right now because we would be C-1 already.

Councilor Magill: well, that was the kind of the point I was trying to get to. So if you were C-1 back in ‘84, as you said, and the town switched it to residential, none of this would be before us today because you'd already be commercial.

Maybe – madame solicitor - wouldn't they get some type of notification if they were going to be changed to a residential property?

Solicitor Morris-Salvatore - So, in 1994, there was a major comprehensive amendment to the zoning maps. And this has happened, where, in fact, if you look at the minutes from way back then, people came in to town hall saying, hey, my land is zoned, whatever, commercial. And right in the minutes of the town council meeting, they rezoned it properly. Unfortunately for this family, that didn't happen. They didn't come in, they didn't alert the town council. And there's no way we can just kind of retroactively - because it was called B zone, which is not is exact as a C zone. So you cannot retroactively say the council should have changed it to commercial. They have to go through this process. It's happened a couple of times before; with regards to the would we be here now? We wouldn't be here. But I think the whole issue relates to this development plan review requirement, and that still would have been required. So there's a distinction between what's happening here and what needs to happen at planning.

Councilor Magill: So why would that come before us now on a vote, wouldn't that be a planning board? They're saying to approve it with that?

Solicitor: Well, I think it's kind of a belts and suspenders because there has been, obviously, a difference of opinion, as Mr. Bernardo stated. I think the planning board or director, Mr. Stevens, can speak to this wanted to ensure that the applicant understands that they have to go back to the planning board. They legally have to go back, whether that stipulation is in or not.

Councilor Magill: Right. So, if they legally have to go back, there's really no reason for us to have it as a stipulation in front of the town council. Because legally, they have to go back.

Solicitor: Yeah, they do have to go back. I'm not going to speak for Mr. Stevens. But they do have to go to the planning board. If you took that out, it would not affect what has to be done going forward. I also just want to speak to item one. Mr. Redihan talked about, the “by right” nature of the funeral home versus the special use permit. I think that condition number one speaks to that exactly, that the use of the property is going to be a funeral home by right. So that takes care of the fact that they do not have to go to the zoning board for a special use permit. I just wanted to throw that in.

President Kinch: Thank you. Councilor, are there any other questions for the applicant? Mr. Stevens, did you want to have any comment on this? No. Okay, perfect. Any questions again for anybody for the applicant? None. Anybody in the audience would like to speak on this particular matter? Anybody on Zoom would like to speak to the council on this particular matter? There were no other comments.

Public hearing closed at 8:56pm

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW, AND IT IS VOTED TO APPROVE BASED ON CONDITIONS IN THE PLANNING REPORT, BY A ROLL CALL. 
VOTE 6/0.

Recused: Councilor Bradley

 

2.  #23-09 – An ordinance amending the Code of Ordinances relative to the Disposition of Public Property
 (Presented by Council President on behalf of the Administration)

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO TABLE TO JUNE 21, 2023.  VOTE 7/0.

 

B. RESOLUTIONS

1.  R-23-30 – A resolution authorizing Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter to enter into an agreement for the sale of Town-owned property to Cumberland Land Trust for the purchase price of Nine Thousand Six Hundred Dollars ($9,600.00) (tabled from April 19)

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO TABLE TO JUNE 21, 2023.  VOTE 7/0.

 

NEW BUSINESS

A.  RESOLUTIONS  

1.  R-23-38 – A resolution to authoring a change order to Tower Construction's contract in an amount not to exceed six thousand five hundred and forty-three dollars and twenty cents ($6,543.20) for the installation of a lighting system at the Diamond Hill Park Pond

 

DPW Director Joe Duarte: Good evening, Councilors. This is part of the project that we have ongoing now at the stage in the Diamond Hill Park. As many of you may have seen, this water fountain feature that was added to the pond. This will add lights that can have multiple types of lights that can be put in there. It could be sequenced to music. And it's just adding to the experience of this whole project that's being added to the Diamond Hill Park.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

2.  R-23-39 – A resolution authorizing and empowering Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter to purchase a new trailer mounted high pressure sewer jet from Chadwick-Baross in an amount not to exceed one hundred and seventeen thousand three hundred and eighty-nine dollars and fifty-seven cents ($117,389.57)

 

Director Duarte: this is going directly to the sewer department for our sewer collection system. Occasionally we're having to go out and flush the system when it has backups and so forth. It's going to replace, um, an existing sewer jet that we have in 2001. It's far exceeded its life. We’ve had quite a bit of difficulties in trying to repair this and keep it on the road. This is the time to purchase this piece of equipment. It will work in concert with another piece of equipment we have that will be mostly used for the stormwater system. This will be for the sanitary sewer collection system. We ask that you favor this resolution.

 

Councilor Beaulieu: Is this like something on a piece of equipment on a trailer?

Director Duarte: It's a trailer. It's a piece of equipment on a trailer that would be towed around.

Councilor Schmitt: I thought that as a result of a settlement between the town and the state a couple of years ago we were required to buy this piece of equipment. Do you recall that?

Director Duarte: I believe that was part of the sewer vac. So we have another piece of equipment that is a vac truck that was part of that settlement with the Rhode Island DEM in on it. It does have a sewer jet capability. So it's a dual purpose truck. The problem with that is that gets used on one part of the town and this is going to get used in the sanitary sewer collection system. We are not adequately flushing our sewer mains properly, I can tell you that. And I've already spoken to my highway garage and we need to start getting a little bit more aggressive in cleaning our systems. I mean, in my prior life, we were doing 20% of the town every year, so that every five years we did a full rotation. Some of these sewer pipes have not been cleaned in years. There's no proactive approach. So, yes, we have a piece of equipment that is being used right now for sanitary sewers, but mainly the vacuum component of it is being used on a regular basis to clean catch basins on the storm sewer side. So because that piece of equipment carries both of those features, we now don't have something else to supplement when we need it and keep the two pieces active, on the street. So we're using them one on a proactive basis to clean storm sewers. But we're not doing much with the sanitary sewers. I am intending to change that so that we have two crews doing two simultaneous cleaning, of our dual systems.

Councilor Schmitt: So that existing piece of equipment is in use 100% or virtually 100% of the time currently?

Director Duarte: So unfortunately, we've had some mechanical issues with that. Right? So we've had quite a bit of mechanical issues. We're hoping to have that behind us, hopefully in the near future. But once it's there most of the year, it will be out in the street almost every day. We have that many catch basins. Again, in my prior life, that similar piece of equipment was used almost every day with the exceptions of the winter conditions of January, February, but otherwise, absolutely. And because of the mandate, the consent agreement that we've had with DEM, we really don't have a choice. We really need to get out and continue this piece of equipment throughout the year. As such, we don't have the utility now for the sanitary sewers. And we've had issues, we've had quite a few issues that, have sanitary sewers backed up into people's homes, for a variety of reasons that we could talk about. I think we need to be proactive on a sanitary sewer side as well and keep that going, as often as we can. The storm sewer is a mandate, the other one is just good practice.

Councilor Schmitt: And we have the staff to operate?

Director Duarte: That's what we're going to be working towards; I’m always looking for efficiencies where we can, change operations, do what we can, and where we can find efficiencies and have people that we can dedicate to that we will certainly do that.

Councilor Schmitt: I saw the fiscal note earlier. Can you just refresh my memory with regard to funding source?

Director Duarte: It will be in the general operating budget. I believe we had one line item that was for vehicle replacement, Mayor. That was for purposes of the vac truck that you had mentioned earlier. But that's already been paid for. So that funding along with other capital expenditure that we had in concert is what we're going to use for within the general operating budget.

Councilor Bradley: I want to touch base on stuff that Councilor Schmitt said. Originally, we were going to do a grapple truck with this sewer jet on it. We ended up doing the vac truck instead. And this is going to be for the sanitary sewers so shouldn't it be getting paid for out of the sewer fund? All the hours should be charged back to that department as well.

Director Duarte: This is being funded through the sewer fund and all the hours used to do the cleaning. That's all getting back charged. Yeah, we will have to work that within the budget. I mean, right now it's an overlap back and forth with the highway department.

Councilor Bradley: The problem being, Mr. Duarte, is not all the town is on sewers. So you can't be overlapping it and charging it to people that do not receive that service.

 

Director Duarte: So we can work on that. Certainly.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

3.  R-23-40 – A resolution authorizing Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter to partner with homeowner safety valve company in offering water and/or sewer line insurance or protection plans for the residential customers of the Town of Cumberland Water and Sewer Department

 

Director Duarte: I'm sure most of you, if not all of you, that on sewer or portable water public water system would have received a letter from this company indicating what their program is about. And it's an insurance policy, basically, so that if your water piping on your property or your sewer pipe was to fail, this insurance policy would pay for that repair. And basically, why is the town involved of it? This is of no cost to the town. It's just basically an endorsement. Um, in my understanding, um, years ago, I guess, there's other insurance companies that came before the town or the residents indicating their services. And it wasn't completely up to par. This company has been vetted a few years back when they originally went out through the, um, uh, bidding process. And so again, it's a support for this company. The agreement basically would outline that we're supporting this one company, not a multitude. So when residents get other letters, this is the company that we're supporting. And so it's an endorsement, basically. It's of no cost to the town.

 

Councilor Schmitt: Do you have any idea how many people subscribe to this?

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SCHMITT, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO TABLE TO JUNE 7, 2023.  VOTE 7/0.

 

4.  R-23-41 – A resolution memorializing the General Assembly to enact legislation authorizing the Town of Cumberland, with the approval of the qualified electors, to issue not to exceed $52 million General Obligation bonds, notes and other evidence of indebtedness to Finance the construction, renovation, improvement, alteration, repair, furnishing and equipping of a new elementary school and other related school facilities and the demolition of an existing elementary school on land presently occupied by the B.F. Norton School in the Town provided that the authorization shall be reduced by any grant received from the school building authority Capital Fund (Heard earlier, see vote)

 

B.  ORDINANCES FOR PRESENTATION & PERMISSION TO ADVERTISE

1.  #23-12 – An ordinance amending the Code of Ordinance regarding Winter Parking regulations  (Presented by the Council President on behalf of the Administration)

 

Referred to the Ordinance & Finance Sub-Committees.

 

2.  #23-13 – An ordinance amending the Zoning Ordinance to expand the Arnolds Mills Historic District  (Presented by the Council President on behalf of the Administration)

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SCHMITT, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO AMEND THE AGENDA TO REFLECT THE PROPER TITLE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

Referred to the Planning Board and Ordinance Sub-Committee.

 

3.  #23-14 – An ordinance establishing the Operating Budget for the Town of Cumberland's General Fund for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 (Presented by the Council President on behalf of the Administration)

 

Referred to the Finance Sub-Committee. Budget hearing dates are:

 

FINANCE SUB-COMMITTEE PUBLIC HEARING:

Wednesday, May 24, 2023, at 6:30p.m. 

Cumberland Town Hall, Everett “Moe” Bonner Jr. Town Council Chambers, 45 Broad Street

 

FIRST PUBLIC HEARING:

Thursday, May 25, 2023, at 6:00p.m.  

Joseph L. McCourt Middle School, 45 Highland Avenue

 

SECOND PUBLIC HEARING & VOTE: 

Wednesday, May 31, 2023, at 6:00p.m. 

                Cumberland Town Hall, Everett “Moe” Bonner Jr. Town Council Chambers, 45 Broad Street

 

FINAL VOTE:

Wednesday, June 7, 2023 at 7:30p.m.

Cumberland Town Hall, Everett “Moe” Bonner Jr. Town Council Chambers, 45 Broad Street

 

4.  #23-15 – An ordinance establishing the Operating Budget for the Town of Cumberland's Water Department for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 (Presented by the Council President on behalf of the Administration)

 

Referred to the Finance Sub-Committee.

 

5.  #23-16 – An ordinance establishing the Operating Budget for the Town of Cumberland's Sewer Department for Fiscal Year 2023/2024 (Presented by the Council President on behalf of the Administration

 

Referred to the Finance Sub-Committee.

 

 6.  #23-17 – An ordinance establishing the Operating Budget for the Town of Cumberland's Recreation Fund for Fiscal Year 2023/2024

 

Referred to the Finance Sub-Committee.

 

PUBLIC COMMENTS  

There were none.

ADJOURNMENT

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN AT 9:16PM. 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.