THE MINUTES OF THE REGULAR MEETING OF THE CUMBERLAND TOWN COUNCIL

THEYDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2025 at 7:30 P.M.

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

45 BROAD STREET, CUMBERLAND, RHODE ISLAND

 

CALL TO ORDER

Council President Kinch called the regular meeting to order at 7:38 pm.

 

Members Present: Council President Kinch, Councilors Bradley, Metivier, Magill, Beaulieu, Sweet, and Shaw Jr.

 

Also, present were Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter; Kelley Morris Salvatore, Town Solicitor; Peter Skwirz, Assistant Town Solicitor; Sandra M. Giovanelli, Town Clerk; Melinda Brouillard, Finance Director; Michael Crawley, Parks & Recreation Director; Glenn Modica, Planning Director

 

PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

 

GENERAL ANNOUNCEMENTS

 

CONSENT AGENDA

A.  Acceptance of Minutes of the Regular meeting on February 5, 2025.

 

B.  MUNICIPAL MOBILE FOOD ESTABLISHMENT LICENSE

1.   Meat Sweats RI

2.   AP Food Services Corporation d/b/a Mac n Cheese please

3.   Rhode Island Kona LLC d/b/a Kona Ice of Warwick/EG

4.   Buggd out Bbq

5.   Artisan Bites LLC

 

 C. COMMUNICATIONS

1.  C-25-06 – A resolution from the Town of Jamestown requesting the General Assembly amend Chapter 15 of Title 46.

2.  C-25-07 – A resolution from the Town of Exeter requesting support of full funding of Categorical Transportation aid as outlined in RIGL 16-7.2-6.

3.  C-25-08 – Dem Notice of Freshwater Wetlands Permit, 127 Mendon Road, Assessor’s Plat 11, Lot 64.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA.  VOTE 7/0.

 

 

PUBLIC COMMENTS

None

 

REPORTS/COMMUNICATIONS

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

No Executive vote(s) reported.

 

B.     Update from the School Committee

 

School Committee Chairperson Amy Vogel spoke regarding a couple of items to report from both the February and January meetings.  At the February meeting, the district total enrollment was 5,077 compared to last year at the same time being 5,078, so down one.  In January, they were very fortunate to have the McCourt Middle School chorus come out and sing to them, which is always nice to see the students do what they love, and they were excited to have them.  The Cumberland School District accountability report was discussed at the January meeting. This report evaluates schools.  A range of factors are considered.  All of this data is fed into an accountability system.  One is academic performance, two is student success, and the third one is college and career readiness.  And there's a star system.  Overall, the district of Cumberland is a four-star out of five, which is wonderful.  And the high school increased by two stars. So good job to the high school.  Update on construction from the January meeting.  Cumberland High School roof and security, North Cumberland Middle School elevator, vestibule, PA and security, Community School update, and playground timeline. Everything is still on time as of January 2025, and they hope to continue to stay that way.  The last thing from this last meeting was that the calendar was approved for the 2025/2026 school year with a full week of vacation in February and April to make Cumberland in line with the Ride statewide calendar.

Councilor Beaulieu questioned the February calendar being shortened this year and how it changed for 2026 back to full week.

Chairperson Vogel stated that when they looked at the calendars, due to the election season and where Labor Day fell, this year they would've gone later into June before the calendar was approved last year.  Seniors were still taking senior exams, but they're not anymore.  So now their graduation's pushed up.  Last year’s graduation was later in the year, so they had to make it later in the day.  So now the graduation's earlier and with the way Labor Day fell, it worked out well.  With the school constructions not complete, but expected, the use of the transitional building should be done after this year.  They should be going back to before Labor Day in the 2026/2027 calendar.

 

C.    Monthly/Quarterly Financial Report ending January 31, 2025

 

Councilor Beaulieu questioned waste removal services and being over budget. 

Finance Director Brouillard stated that she will review the contract, which is for a full year, and it should work out to be even.  Ms. Brouillard will review and send an email to the Council regarding her findings.

Mayor Mutter commented that last year there were 11 payments instead of 12.  This year there will be 13 instead of 12, so that might be the item you are referring to.  If they encumbered 13 and they budgeted 12 there's one too many.  They’ll review and see if that's the cost for the interest and email the Council with our findings.

 

D.    Check registers for January 31, 2025

 

E.     Request from the Tax Assessor to review and approve January 2025 abatements and supplemental bills

 

There are no abatements or supplements to review for January 2025.

 

F.  Department Reports

1.      Animal Control

2.      Building Committees

3.      Building Official

4.      EMS

5.      Library

6.      Parks & Recreation

7.      Planning & Community Development

8.      Police Department

9.      Senior Services

10.    Town Clerk’s Office

 

Councilor Sweet noticed in the Senior Services newsletter, under the Q&A section, a question regarding transportation to/from medical appointments the answer is no transportation services.  Ms. Sweet had a conversation with someone from the Village Commons, and they said that they were having difficulty, not getting volunteers. They've had a lot of volunteers to get people to use the services, and I was wondering if maybe this was an opportunity for someone to reach out to the Village Commons people and see if there was a possibility to just add a line that they don't provide this, but if you want this help, you could contact these people. 

Senior Services Director Crawley stated that is not yet in service, but they refer people to MTM, but not often.  Some Seniors have access to their health care.  They do have 3 of the 9 members from Village Commons that have signed up.

LICENSES

A.  KENNEL LICENSE

     1.   An application for a kennel license from Happy Pets at Home, 75   Wrentham Road (tabled from February 5, 2025)

 

The Council President stated that he would like to move up the kennel license approval if there are no objections.

 

Attorney Nicole Shannon introduced herself, explaining that she represents Carla and David Colcord for Happy Pets at Home.  The Colcords and Happy Pets at Home are not new to Cumberland.  They purchased the old nunnery or convent from Mercymount as their dream property in April of 2021 after the Town’s Zoning Board granted them a special use permit required to do business.  In that time, they worked with approximately 60 to 80 families, most of which are Cumberland residents, and then in areas beyond such as Wrentham, North Smithfield, and Woonsocket.  This past December there was an incident involving one of the pets in their care, a pet that had been there many times without incident.  The incident was very unfortunate and unanticipated, and they don't want anything like that to occur again.  The incident caused quite a bit of light to be shown on the business to see what needs to be done legally, and what should be done in the process of protocols.  Her client went through the process in April of 2021 and thought she was good with the zoning issuing the special use permit because they didn’t need to reapply for a zoning variance.  There was a misunderstanding, and they failed to renew the license.  They need to have that license and want that on record.

 

She added that if they’re fortunate enough to have the Town license, they still need to get the State license.  As she put in an earlier email for the record, they met with the Fire Marshall, the State Vet, and DEM.  There was a lengthy meeting discussing everything from the incident in December, the protocols, the business model, and such.  The ACO provided a report stating that they complied with all the State and Town regulations which was submitted as part of their application for the State license.  The State still must do its inspection.  The State application was submitted in early January, but it couldn’t be considered until the Town license was obtained. 

The public hearing was opened at 7:41 p.m.

The Council President asked for some details of the incident in question. 

Mrs. Colcord explained she wasn’t there, but her husband and aunt were.  The dog in question, Willie, a smaller dog, was unfortunately attacked by two bigger dogs, a boxer mix and a pit bull mix.  They were outside playing in the yard and there was no reason for it, and it was completely unpredictable.  The boxer went after Willie and then left him alone because the pit bull was going after Willie; the pit bull was the main aggressor.  Her husband then came running out of the yard because the aunt was in the yard and stopped the fight.

The Council President questioned how long the squabble lasted and if it’s normal to mix the big dogs and little dogs.

Mrs. Colcord answered that it lasted a couple of minutes.  They used to mix different dog sizes, however, as a result of this incident, they are no longer doing that. Instead, they’ll separate dogs 25 pounds and under, from large dogs rotating the small dog group outside while the large dog group is inside, and vice versa.  During good weather, the dogs are out for an hour at a time.  They also have two large dog rooms so they can shelter inside in inclement weather.  They all rest, and then they go back outside to play.

Councilor Sweet asked if they’ve ever had any other complaints or issues with neighbors or anything with that number of dogs on the property.

Mrs. Colcord replied, no. 

Attorney Shannon noted that one of the letters in the packet was from someone at Mercymount stating the business was a great addition to the area, and their owners have improved the property.  

Mrs. Colcord mentioned that the reason they love that location is because they don’t have neighbors.

Councilor Magill inquired if the ACO David Waycott had visited the property and what his feeling on the issue.   

Mr. Waycott responded that he had.  The Cumberland Animal Shelter is bound by the same criteria.  They look for 3 main things, whichever one's bound by, record keeping, general standards, and species-specific standards; they meet all the criteria.  When conducting the inspection, his job is to verify that’s all there.  They also went over with them the new policy to separate the dogs by size and the staggered play times.  Right now, based on this journal, they are compliant.  

The Council President asked Mr. Waycott if the State requires a minimum number of employees per dog.

Mr. Waycott responded no, however, there is a statute that requires them to be observed when they're in the exercise yard by a person who is sufficiently capable of maintaining order while being exercised.  So as long as they're being observed outside and somebody is watching inside, they do have the two rooms designated, which is for each dog, each dog is supposed to have 24 square feet.  He believes the room where they're going to be enclosed in, the large dog room is almost 600 square feet, and the small dog room is almost 300 square feet.

Councilor Sweet asked if the aunt who was outside during the incident was sufficiently capable of taking care of the dogs and intervening. 

Mrs. Colcord stressed that her aunt is sufficiently capable of maintaining order and intervening as needed. 

Councilor Beaulieu questioned the applicant whether the dogs staying there are in their own unique space.

Mrs. Colcord explained that per ACO, they purchased 10 large dog crates.  However, most of their clients do not use crates at home, so that's why they have couches and dog beds. There are 2 large rooms, and everyone has their own space, but they're not in a confined area.  But they can be.  There also have five other rooms where they could isolate dogs in. Technically there could be one dog per room, but it’s never been necessary.  It's a very social playgroup-style boarding situation.  

Councilor Sweet asked if there were any consequences for the dog(s) that instigated the unprovoked incident.

Mrs. Colcord stressed both of the dogs are no longer allowed to stay at our facility.

The Council President asked if there were any restitution made, and how bad was the dog’s injuries.

Mrs. Colcord reported that she covered all the medical bills for Willie, the injured dog. 

Raymond Salvatore of 35 Southbury Road noted his dog Willie was the dog attacked.  His intent isn’t to stop the approval of the license, because he likes Dave and Carla.  He’d like his version of the story on record.  Some of the information provided by the attorney and Mrs. Colcord was a bit inaccurate, and he’d like to clarify those points.  They entrusted Dave and Carla with their dog while they were on vacation.  On the day in question, he was planning to pick up Willie in the afternoon and received a call from Carla that didn’t sound like a sense of emergency to him.  It was presented as a little altercation with a couple of dogs.  It was never brought to his attention that one of the dogs was a pit bull mix and the severity of his injuries.   So, he felt that it was a little downplayed.  He was informed that Willie was okay, he was safe, and he’d see him when he arrived.  But he was not prepared for what condition Willie was in.  He distributed pictures of Willie’s appearance when he picked him up.  He described that Willie’s ear was torn, there was a gouge on his head, and his hind legs were injured.  Willie has not fully recovered; he has permanent damage to his right eye and his right ear no longer goes up.  The pit bull crushed Willie’s skull, and he had to get a CAT scan and X-rays.  He recalled when he arrived to pick up Willie, he was greeted by David who seemed a little off to me.  The aunt who was present during the incident explained to him that Willie was minding his own business and the boxer started instigating him then the pit bull came over and started to attack Willie for no reason.  Dave conveyed to him that it wasn't a big deal and that Willie just needed love and attention.  They immediately took him to urgent care in Attleboro at the recommendation of our vet.  Urgent care took him in right away because of the trauma he experienced.  They gave him some medicine, and they recommended that they take him to Tufts, but they wanted to see how they did the first night.  The first night was torture, he had a fever and just was not himself, so the next morning urgent care suggested, because of the seriousness of the injuries, they should take him to Tufts or else they could lose him.  He spent four nights at Tufts where he was in so much pain he was given a fentanyl patch. 

Councilor Sweet asked if there was ever an intake process where they tested the dog’s demeanor. 

Mr. Salvotore replied that he believed there was.  Mr. Salvatore continued that he received a phone call saying that someone driving by saw dogs at the facility when they weren’t supposed to have dogs on site without a license.  That's a little concerning to him and asked the council to check with the ACO officer.  He also referenced RIGL law that says it's strict liability, meaning that whatever dog attacked our dog is liable.  They continuously asked for the information of the pet owners and if they were properly vaccinated.  Only after they cited this law were they given the information.  That is when they discovered Carla works for a vet in town, and the pit bull mix is that vet's dog.  They felt it was a bit of a cover-up.

The Council President asked Mr. Waycott if there is a standard state procedure available for the business to follow when handling incidents like this.  For instance, is there something ACO can go over with them before the license is issued? 

Mr. Waycott responded that there is, but before this incident they weren’t licensed, so they weren’t following it.  All the questions that have been asked are covered in that document which they will be bound to it, they’ll have oversight, and there will be periodic inspections to ensure they are following the requirements.    

Councilor Magill asked if they were to be granted a license, would ACO be following up. 

Mr. Waycott confirmed that ACO and the State would periodically do inspections as part of their license renewal.

The Council President asked the Assistant Solicitor Peter Skwirz if they approve this license, can they put restrictions on the license, for example, requiring quarterly check-ins by the ACO?

Attorney Skwirz noted the ACO has jurisdiction over local kennel licenses, so he believes ACO can do such check-ins. 

Councilor Shaw inquired if the inspections would appear on the ACO monthly report even if they don’t make it a restriction of the license.

Mr. Waycott responded yes, those inspections would be included in his monthly report to the Council. 

Councilor Sweet asked the applicant the same question she asked Mr. Salvatore, which is, do they do any behavioral temperament testing?

Mrs. Colcord answered yes, before they were accepted to the playgroup, they conducted a temperament test.  The first meeting was with the owner and with several different types of dogs.  Then they are invited for half a day and then a full day.  And if they're going to be boarding with them, they go one night.  If they're going to be boarding for a week, they slowly acclimate the dogs.

Councilor Sweet asked if it was accurate what Mr. Salvatore mentioned about having dogs there before you received the license.

Mrs. Colcord explained they had several dogs there last week because they watched several of our family and friends' dogs, two of her coworkers' dogs and Dave's sister’s dogs because she went away for a week.

Councilor Beaulieu questioned the ACO Officer if there is anything statutorily that a business like this is supposed to do during an incident to report it to the State, notify the owner, and any protocols to follow, and that they’re followed.  ACO Waycott stated not at the time of this incident.  The business must have all the rabies, notify parties immediately, run logs of rabies documents, and all pertinent information if an incident does occur.  Plans should be in place for an outdoor incident, like having a charged garden hose ready because dogs don’t like to be sprayed and will stop the fight.  Regulations and putting policies in place will help.  This law helps them to develop it and spell it out exactly.

The public hearing was closed at 8:15 p.m.

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SWEET, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BRADLEY TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO FOUR UNANNOUNCED INSPECTIONS BY THE ANIMAL CONTROL OFFICE.  VOTE 6/1.

 

Nay vote: Councilor Beaulieu

 

B.  VICTUALLING HOUSE LICENSE

1.      An application for a First-Class Victualling House License from Sonomex Corporation d/b/a Juncal Mexican Grill & Bar, 2352 Mendon Road.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING, INSURANCE CERTIFICATE, RETAIL SALES PERMIT, DEPT OF HEALTH, AND FIRE INSPECTION.  VOTE 7/0.

 

2.      An application for a First-Class Victualling House License from Furna Restaurant Inc d/b/a Furna Restaurant, 422 High Street.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILORS MAGILL AND METIVIER TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING, INSURANCE CERTIFICATE, RETAIL SALES PERMIT, TIPS CERTIFICATION, SERVSAFE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, MENU, AND FIRE INSPECTION.  VOTE 7/0.

 

3.   An application for a First-Class Victualling House License from APP Express, Inc. d/b/a Angelo’s Palace Pizza Express, 2339 Diamond Hill Road.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SWEET, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU AND MAGILL TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO RETAIL SALES PERMIT, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, AND FIRE INSPECTION.  VOTE 7/0.

 

C.  ENTERTAINMENT LICENSE

1.      An application for an Entertainment License from Sonomex Corporation d/b/a Juncal Mexican Grill & Bar, 2352 Mendon Road.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SWEET TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING, INSURANCE CERTIFICATE, RETAIL SALES PERMIT, DEPT OF HEALTH, AND FIRE INSPECTION.  VOTE 7/0.

 

2.      An application for an Entertainment License from Furna Restaurant Inc. d/b/a Furna Restaurant, 422 High Street.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL AND METIVIER TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO CERTIFICATE OF GOOD STANDING, INSURANCE CERTIFICATE, RETAIL SALES PERMIT, TIPS CERTIFICATION, SERVSAFE, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, MENU, AND FIRE INSPECTION.  VOTE 7/0.

 

3.  An application for a Special Event Entertainment License from Ocean State Brewing Company d/b/a Phantom Farm Brewing, 30 Martin Street, dated March 16, May 25, June 21, July 19, August 31, September 20 (possible rain date September 27), and October 12 (possible rain date October 19).

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SWEET, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO PROMOTOR’S PERMIT.  VOTE 7/0.

 

4.  An application for a Special Event Entertainment License from Cumberland Parks & Recreation, 4097 Diamond Hill Road for the 2025 Diamond Hill Park Food Truck and Music Events dated April 24, May 22, June 26, July 17, August 28, and August 9 for the Community Celebration, with July 31 and September 20 rain dates, if necessary.  

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO PROMOTER’S PERMIT.  VOTE 7/0.

 

5.  An application for a Special Event Entertainment License from Cumberland Parks & Recreation, 1464 Diamond Hill Road for the 2025 Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday, April 12, 2025 (Rain date of Sunday, April 13, 2025).

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SWEET TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO PROMOTER’S PERMIT.  VOTE 7/0.

 

6.  An application for a Special Event Entertainment License from Cumberland Parks & Recreation, 1464 Diamond Hill Road for the 2025 Fourth of July Celebration on July 3 with possible rain dates of July 6, 11, 12, or 15 determined by the fireworks company.

 

A correction is being made on the location address of the event from 1464 Diamond Hill Road to 2675 Mendon Road, Tucker Field.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SWEET TO APPROVE SUBJECT TO PROMOTER’S PERMIT.  VOTE 7/0.

 

NEW BUSINESS

A.  APPOINTMENTS

BOARD OF CANVASSERS

(3 members for 6yr terms & 2 alternates for life terms, appointed by the Mayor from a list provided by the Town Committee Chair)

 

TERM EXPIRES MARCH 1, 2025 – 1 Member

Stephanie Gemski, Democrat member, re-appointment term to expire March 1, 2031 

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR BEAULIEU, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW TO APPROVE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

B.  PUBLIC HEARING

      1.  Community Development Block Grant

 

The public hearing was opened at 8.35 p.m.

Planning Director Glenn Modica stated that this is the second of two required public hearings for the Town's Community Development Block Grant application.  They had the first hearing at the Planning Board on November 7, 2024, which was to provide an overview of the program which essentially is to assist low moderate-income households by improving housing, providing employment opportunities, and improving local infrastructure, and facilities.  The second hearing is more specific to our application, which is to assist homeowners in making home repairs.  And these are low, moderate-income households.  A lot of these projects mostly involve roof repair or window replacement.  If they recall, the Council approved awarding a contract to the Providence Revolving Fund to assist the Town in applying for these rehabilitation projects. So, this is a hearing to notify the public of the Town's intention to apply for these funds and to solicit any feedback from the council or the public.

Councilor Beaulieu asked if the Town has ever applied for this type of grant in the past. 

Mr. Modica responded that our housing rehabilitation program used to be run by Woonsocket.  The folks who ran our program left, so they've been trying for the past two years to revive it.  This program has been going on for many, many years. It stopped for the past couple of years.  So now they're bringing it back with the assistance of an outside consultant.

Council President Kinch asked how they get this information out to the public to show it’s available. Reading the paperwork, it looks like 80% of the average household income and what the income limit would be. 

Mr. Modica answered that for one person it’s $55,000 a year’s income and for a two-person household is $65,000, and it gradually steps up.  They have a waiting list of seven people.  They have been on our waiting list for quite a while, so they're trying to get them through the process first before they take on new applicants.  They're required to advertise it as public notice in the Valley Breeze, and they can publicize it more.  They want to ensure that the seven folks get through this round with the available funding that they do have.  So, from here, I'm hopeful they can continue the process and make it more regular and more available to more folks.

The public hearing was closed at 8:37 p.m.

 

C.  RESOLUTIONS

1.  R-25-13 – A resolution authorizing two change orders to Tower Construction Corp’s contract in a total amount not to exceed eight thousand four hundred and twenty-three dollars and forty-two cents ($8,423.42)

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SWEET TO APPROVE.  VOTE 7/0.

 

2.  R-25-14 – A resolution authorizing Mayor Jeffrey J. Mutter to engage National Security Fire Alarm Systems for security cameras at the new Diamond Hill Park Building in an amount not to exceed forty-seven thousand nine hundred and fifteen dollars ($47,915).

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SWEET, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW TO TABLE TO MARCH 5, 2025.  VOTE 7/0.

 

3.  R-25-15 – A resolution establishing “The Lodge at Diamond Hill” as the name for the new building at Diamond Hill Park.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR METIVIER, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR SHAW TO AMEND LINE 15 BY STRIKING THE WORD PARK.  VOTE 7/0.

 

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL TO APPROVE AS AMENDED. VOTE 6/1.

Nay vote:  Councilor Bradley

 

D.  ORDINANCES for presentation and permission to advertise

1.  #25-04 – An ordinance establishing the fee schedule for the new community center at Diamond Hill Park.  (Presented by the Council President on behalf of the Administration)

 

Ordinance #25-04 is being referred to the Ordinance Sub-Committee

 

PUBLIC COMMENTS

Councilor Sweet commented that in going through the various department reports there were some really excellent things happening at the library.  Ms. Sweet stated that the library is always doing a great job and recommended that if anyone hasn't checked it out, they give it a look.  Especially if you have a family because it looks like there's some pretty interesting stuff going on.

 

ADJOURNMENT

MOTION BY COUNCILOR SHAW, SECONDED BY COUNCILOR MAGILL, AND IT IS UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 9:03 PM.  VOTE 7/0.